So after you’ve all been to …Dinner” at RLT several times, of course, you’ll be aching from some more theatre to enjoy as an after “…Dinner” treat.  There’s a lot going on Beyond the RLT!

Locally, the Shorter University Theatre Department is presenting my wife’s very favorite story, Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” Feb. 16-26 in the Callaway Theatre.  Remember that the theatre is small and they usually sell out, so contact the box office early on at 706-233-7288 for a reservation.  I understand that RLT’s own Jonathan Chisolm is in the cast!  And more information will follow in the next newsletter about Shorter’s spring musical in April, “It’s the Talk of the Town:  A Musical Tribute to Jerry Livingston,” famous American songwriter and Academy Award nominee.  Berry College Theatre Company will be presenting the Tony Award-winning Best Play, Alfred Uhry’s “The Last Night of Ballyhoo” on the same dates, Feb. 16-26.  I saw the world premiere of this play at the Alliance Theatre during the Olympics in 1996, and it went on to take the top award when it went to New York.  Atlanta playwright Uhry (“Driving Miss Daisy”) has written a wonderful and touching memory play about Jewish debutantes making their debut in Atlanta on the same night as “Gone with the Wind” is having its world premiere.  You will LOVE this play!  Make your reservations with BCTC at 706-236-2253.  They will also be hosting a Festival of Staged Readings one time only on March 17^th, and their April show will be selections from several Irish plays which they are calling “Erin Go Bragh”, and we will discuss that further in the next newsletter.

Darlington School will be presenting their winter musical, Gershwin’s music in a modern re-working called, “Crazy for You,” which borrows liberally from several Gershwin shows, particularly “Girl Crazy.”  I was lucky enough to see this show on Broadway and it promises to be a tap-dancing and musical treat!  The dates of the show will be Feb. 24-26.  They usually have 7:30 performances on Friday and Saturday and a 2:00 or so matinee on Sunday, but contact Darlington for details when tickets go on sale in February by calling 706-235-6051 and they can take your reservations over the phone.

Calhoun Little Theatre in the Ratner Theatre at the Harris Arts Center in downtown Calhoun has announced a production of the musical “Radio Gals: March 22-26 with matinees on Saturday at 2:00 and Sunday at 3:00.  This is a hilarious show about a local radio station in the 1920’s and the shenanigans of an all-girl band called the Hazelnuts.  You might find more information on the web site at www.harrisartscenter.com and clicking on “Little Theatre,” or calling them at 706-629-2599.  Also a thirty-minute drive away, the Pumphouse Players at the Legion Theatre downtown will next present “Seeing Stars in Dixie,” a comedy set in Natchez, MS in 1956 when Hollywood comes South to film the movie “Raintree County,” and the locals try to get involved.  This show will run January 27^th-February 4^th, so get your tickets now.   Next up at PHP is Shakespeare’s most popular tragedy, “Romeo and Juliet,” set to run February 25^th only for a matinee and evening performance.  Following this the PHP will present “It’s All in the Timing,” a romantic comedy about warring roommates which promises a pie fight!  This show will run March 23^rd-31^st.  Information about all of these shows is available at www.pumphouseplayers.com.

As always, things are busy at the Fabulous Fox Theatre on Peachtree Street in midtown Atlanta.  The annual visit of the award-winning musical “Annie” will return to the Fox January 14^th-22^nd, once again starring Sally Struthers from TV’s “All in the Family” as Miss Hannigan.  Reba and I saw the original cast on Broadway on our honeymoon, and I’ve probably seen the show over 20 times, but I just can’t stay away.  I’m really looking forward to the next national tour at the Fox, the musical “Memphis,” which two years ago won the Tony Award for Best Musical, about a white deejay who plays soul music in the 1950’s and along the way falls in love with an African-American singer.  I’ve been waiting and waiting for this show, and it will finally play the Fox January 31^st-Feb. 5^th.  Later in the month, Feb. 16^th-19^th, the Alvin Ailey Dance Company will make its annual trek to the Fox, and before the next newsletter, Elton John’s Tony Award musical “Billy Elliott” will finally arrive on its national tour at the Fox March 13^th-18^th.  I am really excited to finally get a chance to see this musical, as I am a big fan of the original movie.  “Les Miserables” and “Jersey Boys” will be making return visits later in the year and that information will be in later newsletter articles.

At the Alliance Theatre at the Woodruff Arts Center in midtown, lots of exciting things are happening.  First up is another Tony Award-winning Best Play, “God of Carnage,” running now through January 29^th, so hurry or you might miss this southeastern premiere.  Next up the Theatre for Young People will present the favorite musical, “The Wizard of Oz,” February 25^th-March 11^th on the Alliance Stage.  February 3^rd-26^th will see the production of the winner of the Kendeda Graduate Playwriting Competition, “The Fairytale Lives of Russian Girls” presented on the Hertz Stage downstairs from the Alliance Stage.  Following that production, the next play on the Hertz Stage will be “I Just Stopped By to See the Man,” about the blues in the Mississippi delta, and this will begin its run before the next newsletter, from March 9^th -April 8^th.  Information on all of these amazing shows at the Alliance is available at www.alliancetheatre.org.

Also in midtown, the January repertory at the New American Shakespeare Tavern includes “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “The Merchant of Venice” through January 29^th.  February 2^nd-26^th will be performances of “Romeo and Juliet,”  the March production will be “The Merry Wives of Windsor,” and coming up in April will be “Much Ado About Nothing.”  You can enjoy a different Bard show each month, and sometimes two, and there’s just nothing to compare with the Bard, food and libations!  Get details at www.shakespearetavern.com.

‘Tis the season for Tony Award-winning premieres, and the Theatrical Outfit downtown at the Balzer Theatre is premiering “Red,” the winning Best Play of last year.  This show will star TO founder Tom Key in a play about artist Mark Rothko and will run Feb. 1^st-March 11^th.  More information can be retrieved at www.theatricaloutfit.org.

The Horizon Theatre in Little Five Points on Euclid Avenue is reprising their Suzi Bass Award-winning musical of last year, “Avenue Q,” about a group of young people and puppets trying to survive in modern day New York.  Warning:  the show contains full puppet nudity and topics and language that is not for the kiddies, but the story is heart-warming and affecting.  An open-ended run begins on January 13^th, and I can’t wait to see the same cast I saw last year reprise their performance again and prove why it won the award for best production of a musical.  The Horizon has announced its 2012 season, but the next production is not slated until May, so that information will follow later.  Don’t miss your chance to see “Avenue Q!”  www.horizontheatre.com.  True Colors Theatre Company in Southwest Atlanta will be announcing their upcoming season soon.

A little closer to Rome in Marietta, the wonderful all-musical Atlanta Lyric Theatre at the Strand on the square will be presenting the favorite Fats Waller jukebox musical, “Ain’t Misbehavin” February 17^th-March 4^th.  I can never see this show enough!  The rest of their season includes the beautiful “The Light in the Piazza,” “Gypsy” and “Legally Blonde,” favorites all, so you are missing out if you haven’t see a Lyric show.  Download the season brochure at www.atlantalyrictheatre.com.  January  18^th- February 26^th  will see a reworking of a Feydeau French farce, called “The Ladies Man” at Theatre in the Square mainstage, just across the square from the Strand.  And February 8^th-March 10^th will see the return of famed Atlanta actor Brad Sherrill in a world premiere production, “Red Letter Jesus,” another one man show similar to his “The Gospel of John” which he performed so many times to great acclaim, this time focusing on the other three gospels.  And March 4^th-April 8^th will see the production of Atlanta playwright Pearl Cleage’s story “Flying West,” about the lives, hopes and memories of four former female slaves as they try to carve out a new life out west.  Information on all of these shows is available at www.theatreinthesquare.com.

Also in Marietta, at the beautiful Cobb Energy Centre, the marching band big musical phenomenon, “Blast!” will run January 19^th-22^nd.  March 3^rd-11^th, the Atlanta Opera will be presenting a new production, “The Golden Ticket,” based on the book and movie, “Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.”  And later in March, the national tour of the hilarious Mel Brooks’ musical, “Young Frankenstein,” will play CEPAC March 29^th-April 1^st, and I can’t wait to see this again.  CEPAC has a really slick website at www.cobbenergycentre.com.

Just a little further out but still considered to be in the metro area, the beautiful Aurora Theatre in downtown Lawrenceville will next be presenting Lee Blessing’s “A Body of Water,” January 19^th-Feb. 12^th, a mystery about a middle-aged couple who wake up one morning in a cottage completely surrounded by water, and they don’t know how they or it got there.  And I’m really looking forward to the next show, a new musical called “Bonnie & Clyde:  A Folk Tale,” with a book written by Georgia born Broadway star Hunter Foster (“Urinetown the Musical” and “Little Shop of Horrors”.)  “B & C…” will run March 15^th-April 8^th.  More information about these two great shows is at www.auroratheatre.com.

And don’t forget that you can find out more information about these and so many other metro Atlanta theatres at www.atlantaperforms.com, including information about half price last minute tickets through their program called Atlantix.

A bit further out in Gainesville, at the Gainesville Theatre Alliance in northeast Georgia, another Tony Award-winning show will take the boards Feb. 14^th-25^th, Frank Galati’s adaptation of John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath” at Brenau University’s Hosch Theatre.  And running simultaneously at Gainesville State College’s Ed Cabell Theatre is the hilarious musical, “The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” Feb. 17^th-25^th.  More information about both of these productions is at www.gainesvilletheatrealliance.org.  And at the Holly Theatre in Dahlonega, Neil Simon’s hilarious comedy “Rumors” takes the stage January 13^th-29^th, to be followed by the musical “Roald Dahl’s Willie Wonka,” presented by the Holly Performance Academy students February 17^th-26^th.  And next up from the National Shakespeare Players and North Georgia College, “The Taming of the Shrew,” will run for one night only February 23^rd.  Visit www.hollytheater.com (note spelling of “theater”) for information about these and future shows.

We drove through Greenville, SC last month, but there was not a production going on at the beautiful Greenville Little Theatre, darn it!  But next up there is Agatha Christie’s mystery “The Unexpected Guest,” running Feb. 24^th-March 10^th if you find yourself up that way.  Greenville is such a lovely town to visit in the spring or in any season, and the theatre is wonderful, so make the short trip and get more details before you leave at www.greenvillelittletheatre.org.  “Barefoot in the Park” is coming in April!

And of course I must talk about our favorite venue of all, the wonderful Cumberland County Playhouse in not so far away Crossville, TN.  I am fond of saying that you can see as many as four shows in one weekend at CCP, and running right now are Alfred Uhry’s amazing  “Driving Miss Daisy” January 21^st-April 14^th .  Next up you can get a sneak preview of “The Sound of Music” prior to RLT auditions Feb. 10^th-April 6^th.  March 1^st-May 25^th will add the comedy “The Moving of Lilla Barton” to the repertory, and March 16^th-May 12^th will add the Elvis juke box musical (which we loved on Broadway!) “All Shook Up.”  If you haven’t been to CCP yet, what are you waiting for???  More information is available at www.ccplayhouse.com.