Looking to fill your A&E calendar for the spring? We know it’s still winter, but it is never too early to catch up on all the great performances heading our way as local arts groups gear up for their spring seasons. Check out the upcoming plays, musicals, concerts and other performances below and don’t forget about the Editor’s Top Five A&E Hits.
The Glass Menagerie
PlayMakers Repertory Company
Jan. 25-Feb. 28
The University of North Carolina (UNC) students bring to life Tennessee Williams’ masterpiece, a moving tale of a mother/daughter relationship complicated by the daughter’s disability, with universal themes of family conflict and dreams deferred.
UNC-Chapel Hill.
919-962-PLAY (7529).
www.playmakersrep.org.
Well
PlayMakers Repertory Company
Jan. 25-Feb. 28
“Lisa,” the onstage playwright, attempts a memory play about her force-of-nature mother who, though constantly ill, manages to heal a community. Characters rebel at Lisa’s version of events, upending the story in a howingly funny and emotionally powerful look at mother/daughter dynamics.
UNC-Chapel Hill.
919-962-PLAY (7529).
www.playmakersrep.org.
Spooky-Dog
Queen City Theatre Company (QCTC)
Feb. 5-21
Under the direction of Glenn T. Griffin, QCTC brings to stage this irreverent parody of Saturday morning cartoons — for adults only. Come see a hilarious play that follows the adventures of this familiar gang of teen sleuths: a butch, blond frat boy, an even more butch brainy gal with a trusty flashlight, a hot-to-trot diva in a miniskirt, a spaced-out hippie, and a talking dog.
Duke Energy Theatre,
345 College St., Charlotte.
www.queencitytheatre.com.
The Receptionist
Manbites Dog Theater
Feb. 12-28
Ringing phones, office politics and dark mysteries are where you least expect them. Brenda deals effortlessly with her job as a receptionist in the Northeast Office: ordering a birthday cake for her boss, solving her co-workers’ romantic crises and zealously guarding her office supplies. Everything seems ordinary, until a charming visitor raises questions; very, very disturbing questions.
703 Foster St., Durham.
919-682-3343.
www.manbitesdogtheater.org.
Blue
Actor’s Theater of Charlotte
Feb. 18-March 7
Follow the tale from the fictional Kent, S.C., and the life of the Clarks, an affluent African-American family who runs the local funeral home. Ultimately a story of family, music and the experience of both together in a show that wraps you up in a warm theatrical blanket.
650 E. Stonewall St., Charlotte.
704-342-2251.
www.actorstheatrecharlotte.org.
Zarathustra
Charlotte Symphony
Bank of America Classics Series
March 20-21
Join the Symphony for a presentation of Wagner, Moozart and Strauss classics. Christof Perick, conducting. Baiba Skride, violin.
Belk Theater, Charlotte.
704-972-2000.
www.charlottesymphony.org.
All Beethoven
Charlotte Symphony
Bank of America Classics Series
April 3-4
The Charlotte Symphony presents a special collection of classic Beethoven works, including “Symphony No. 8,” and the “Mass in C Major.” Christof Perick, conducting. Oratorio Singers of Charlotte, Scott Allen Jarrett directing. Ute Selbig, soprano.
Belk Theater, Charlotte.
704-972-2000.
www.charlottesymphony.org.
Southern Rapture
Actor’s Theater of Charlotte
April 15-May 2
Take a trip back in time with the Actors’ Theatre of Charlotte when the Queen City was coming of age in the heart of the culture wars of the 1990s. “Southern Rapture” is a sidesplitting, fictionalized farce based on the defining battle between the city’s artists, politicians, pastors and innocent bystanders over a local production of “Angels in America.”
650 E. Stonewall St., Charlotte.
704-342-2251.
www.actorstheatrecharlotte.org.
Cape Fear Series
North Carolina Symphony
Join the North Carolina Symphony for one of its spring Wilmington/Cape Fear Series presentations. Beethoven, Prokofiev and Rachmaninoff.
Kenan Auditorium, UNC-Wilmington. 919-733-2750.
www.ncsymphony.org.
The Overwhelming
Manbites Dog Theater
March 19-April 4
Rwanda, 1994: An American academic, in a country with his family, searches for a missing friend, but finds instead a nation on the brink of chaos. Nothing is what it seems and no one can be trusted. The price of survival is more than he could have imagined.
703 Foster St., Durham.
919-682-3343.
www.manbitesdogtheater.org.
Blue Skies & Golden Sands
North Carolina Symphony
Fidelity Investments Pops Series
March 27-29
The North Carolina Symphony presents “Blue Skies & Golden Sands: Carolina Beach Music & Shagging!” featuring Legends of Beach, comprised of five of the original members of The Embers.
Progress Energy Center, Raleigh.
919-733-2750.
www.ncsymphony.org.
9 Parts of Desire
PlayMakers Repertory Company
April 22-26
Based on a decade of interviews by playwright Heather Raffo, herself an Iraqi-American, these probing, poetically-rendered portraits of nine different Iraqi women are woven into a remarkable and riveting presentation — a multi-faceted portrayal that lifts the veil on women’s lives in a culture vastly different from our own.
UNC-Chapel Hill.
919-962-PLAY (7529).
www.playmakersrep.org.
Verdi: Requiem
North Carolina Symphony
Duke Medicine Classical Raleigh Series
May 1-2
The North Carolina Symphony presents Verdi’s “Requiem” with Grant Llewellyn, music director, the North Carolina Master Chorale and the Choral Society of Durham.
Progress Energy Center, Raleigh.
919-733-2750.
www.ncsymphony.org.
Evil Dead: The Musical
Actor’s Theater of Charlotte
June 10-27
What can go wrong when five college students break into an abandoned cabin in the woods? Apparently a whole hell of a lot! They unleash demons, become the un-dead and…(OMG!) sing showtunes! Sam Raimi’s cult classic ‘80s films are brought to life in a hilarious, campy show that is to die for.
650 E. Stonewall St., Charlotte.
704-342-2251.
www.actorstheatrecharlotte.org.
— Information in this Guide compiled by Q-Notes staff from and courtesy of arts and entertainment groups’ seasonal listings and brochures. Featured photo credit: Andreas Praefcke.