Local gay actor and playwright Topher Payne (top) kicks off spring theater with a transgender role in ‘Babylon’ (with Barbara Cole), a production of his latest work ‘The Attala County Garden Club,’ and a set design gig for ‘Theodora: She-Bitch of Byzantium.’
MORE INFO MORE INFO ‘Theodora, She-Bitch of Byzantium’ in repertory with ‘Babylon’ Through March 25, Whole World Theatre 404-245-4205 ‘Jelly’s Last Jam’ March 15 – April 9, Alliance Theatre 404-733-5000 ‘A Perfect Ganesh’ March 16 - April 9, Theatre Decatur 404-373-5311 ‘Little Women’ March 28 – April 2, Fox Theatre 404-817-8700 ‘The Glass Menagerie’ April 14 - May 7, Shakespeare Tavern 404-874-5299 ‘Wicked’ May 17 – 28, Fox Theatre 404-817-8700 ‘Last Sunday in June’ May 18 – July 1, Actor’s Express 404-607-7469 ‘Die! Mommie! Die!’ June 2 – July 1, Dad’s Garage 404-523-3141 ‘Dr. Doolittle’ August 22 - 27, Fox Theatre 404-817-8700 ‘Bklyn’ July 11- 16, Fox Theatre 404-817-8700
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HOME > COMMUNITY > THEATRE

Mar 10, 2006  |  By: JIM FARMER  | COMMENTS |   |  

Theatergoers looking for gay fare in Atlanta this spring and summer can expect everything from a splashy Broadway musical to smaller-scale shows sure to please.

The biggest production of the season might just be Broadway in Atlanta’s "Wicked." The musical charts the early paths of Glinda the Good Witch and the Wicked Witch of the West, long before the beloved "The Wizard of Oz" takes place.

Actor’s Express turns its attention late this spring to Jonathan Tolins’ "Last Sunday in June," set during Gay Pride Weekend. In it, a group of gay men assemble in the Greenwhich Village home of one couple. One friend shocks the others by telling them that he is going to get married — to a woman. The play is helmed by gay director Freddie Ashley.

Another heavy hitter might be the comedic "Die! Mommie! Die!" presented by Dad’s Garage. Charles Busch’s award-winning play, also made into a movie, is a throwback to the melodramas of the 1940s and ‘50s, with murder and sibling rivalry in the mix. Like Busch’s original, the main character, Angela Arden, is played by a man.

Another of Busch’s plays, the campy "Theodora, She-Bitch of Byzantium," is currently at Process Theatre, running in repertory with "Babylon," starring gay actor and playwright Topher Payne as a transgender woman. At the same time, Payne’s play "The Attala County Garden Club" can be seen at Onstage Atlanta, as can a strong version of the Broadway musical "Urinetown."

Terrence McNally, the gay playwright behind such work as "Love! Valour! Compassion!" is always popular locally. Theater Decatur is about to open his "A Perfect Ganesh," written by McNally in 1993. Something of a change of pace, the rarely staged show deals with two middle-aged women who decide to take a trip to India. One of them has found a lump in her breast, and the other is mourning her late gay son.

Shakespeare Tavern often does some of its most vivid work when it steps away from the Bard. In April, gay associate Drew Reeves tackles Tennessee Williams’ "The Glass Menagerie," featuring gay actor Jeff McKerley.

At the Alliance Theater, gay director Kent Gash is set to open a version of "Jelly’s Last Jam," written by gay theater legend George C. Wolfe. "Jam" dissects the life of Jelly Roll Morton, the self-proclaimed inventor of Jazz. This is the first production of the show since its acclaimed Broadway run.

And "Wicked" isn’t the only major touring show this season. Broadway baby Tommy Tune brings his musical gifts to the stage this summer as "Dr. Doolitle," and Maureen McGovern headlines an unlikely musical version of "Little Women."

In July, American Idol’s — and Snellville’s — Diana DeGarmo teams with Melba Moore in "Bklyn," about a young girl’s search for fame and the father she never knew.