Atlanta Opera reimagines Turandot’s unfinished ending for centennial staging
The Atlanta Opera will present a new production of Puccini’s Turandot that discards the ending used in nearly every staging for the past century. Opening April 25, exactly 100 years after the opera’s 1926 world premiere, the production uses only music Puccini composed before his death from throat cancer in 1924, setting aside the completion written by Franco Alfano.
General and Artistic Director Tomer Zvulun created the new staging, which reimagines the drama through the lens of chess and draws on Bauhaus design and Piet Mondrian’s geometric abstraction. Principal Conductor Iván López Reynoso leads the orchestra.
Metropolitan Opera soprano Angela Meade stars in the title role, having last performed it at the Met in fall 2025. Tenor Piero Pretti, a regular at Milan’s Teatro alla Scala, makes his Atlanta Opera debut as Prince Calaf. Soprano Juliana Grigoryan sings the role of Liù.
Puccini completed the score only through Liù’s funeral procession before his death. Composers have attempted various conclusions over the decades, though none has gained wide acceptance.
Four performances are scheduled April 25 through May 3 at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. Tickets start at $35.
— Derek Prall
Dad’s Garage announces 31st season with original shows and improv
Atlanta comedy theater Dad’s Garage has unveiled its 2026-2027 season lineup, featuring three original scripted productions alongside recurring improv formats and celebrity guest appearances.
The season opens with Invasion: Christmas Carol, running Nov. 27 through Dec. 30, in which the ensemble performs a reworked version of the Dickens classic. Each performance features an unannounced guest who alters the show in real time without the cast’s prior knowledge.
Jon Carr’s Suzi Award-winning dark comedy Black Nerd returns Feb. 26 through March 20, 2027. The show, which premiered in 2018, explores the experience of growing up as a Black nerd before the “Blerd” identity entered mainstream culture. Carr also serves as the theater’s artistic director.
The season closes with Flippin’ Filthy Fairytales, a remounted adults-only musical comedy running June 4-26, 2027. The production blends circus and rock elements with darkly comic retellings of classic fairy tales.
Recurring improv shows including BlackGround and TheatreSports round out the programming.
Season packages covering all three scripted productions are on sale now at a 20 percent discount. Dad’s Garage is located in Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward neighborhood.
— Derek Prall
Georgia Rivers offers $5,000 in prizes for statewide paddle-a-thon
Georgia Rivers is accepting registrations for its annual Paddle-A-Thon, a competition offering more than $5,000 in prizes to canoeists, kayakers and paddleboarders who fundraise or log trips on the state’s waterways.
Participants can compete as fundraisers through June 19, with top contributors recognized during Paddle Georgia 2026, a weeklong canoe and kayak trip on the Coosawattee and Oostanaula rivers June 14-20.
A separate paddle raffle runs through Nov. 23. Participants submit reports of their Georgia river trips online, with each report earning a raffle entry. Removing trash during a trip earns a bonus entry. Trips passing through a Georgia State Park qualify for a separate drawing for a two-night cabin stay.
Prizes include an Old Town kayak from Appalachian Outfitters in Dahlonega, gift certificates from Festive Water Paddlesports in Cumming and gear from retailers across the state.
“Paddle-A-Thon not only helps raise important funds to protect our rivers, it also provides us with valuable information about where Georgians are boating,” said executive director Rena Peck.
Registration is available here.
— Derek Prall
Atlanta Ballet stages mixed-repertory program featuring two world premieres
Atlanta Ballet presents Golden Hour at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, April 3-5, a mixed-repertory program featuring works by five choreographers including two world premieres.
The program opens with You Dig, a new work by choreographer-in-residence Claudia Schreier set to music by Julius Eastman and other composers. The piece draws on Eastman’s poem Stay On It as a meditation on perseverance and resistance.
Two excerpts from Yuri Possokhov’s Swimmer, titled “Nighthawks” and “Lolita” draw on John Cheever’s 1964 short story of the same name. Possokhov, choreographer-in-residence at San Francisco Ballet, also contributes a second world premiere, Dunayevsky Pas de Deux, performed with live piano accompaniment.
Val Caniparoli’s Aria, a masked solo set to Handel, and Christopher Wheeldon’s Within the Golden Hour, an abstract ensemble work making its Atlanta debut, round out the bill. Wheeldon serves as artistic associate of the Royal Ballet.
“This program illuminates the versatility and depth of contemporary ballet,” said artistic director Gennadi Nedvigin.
Golden Hour runs for three performances. Evening shows begin at 7:30 p.m., with a Sunday matinee at 2 p.m. Tickets are available through the Atlanta Ballet website or the Cobb Energy box office.
— Derek Prall
Two Metro Atlanta cities receive $100k food system grant
Food Well Alliance and the Atlanta Regional Commission announced Chattahoochee Hills and Palmetto as the awardees for the 2026 Local Food System Plan, with a $100,000 grant for each city.
The grant package will include a $75,000 cash grant plus $25,000 of in-kind support to launch a strategic plan for strengthening the local food system.
Each city will co-create a strategic “Local Food System Plan,” formerly known as a City Agriculture Plan. City leadership will spend the next year working with community members on city-wide surveys about food access and gardening, focus groups with local growers and pop-up conversations at markets and more.
Ultimately, the plan will aim to expand healthy food access, support local growers, promote sustainable practices and expand agriculture. The cities will contribute an additional $50,000 in-kind match to help the planning and implementation period.
Palmetto Mayor Teresa Thomas-Smith said the project is about “cultivating health” and “restoring dignity” by centering food access for residents. Chattahoochee Hills is already an agricultural hub – 70% of the city’s land is designated for agriculture and forestry.
“We are thrilled to work with communities that are already regional leaders in conservation-based planning,” Food Well Alliance Senior Policy and Planning Manager Sarah Brown said. “This process will help connect existing farms, garden and agritourism assets, lift up community priorities, and invest in projects that make the local food system more resilient and equitable.”
— Delaney Tarr
Emory’s Goizueta Business School names real estate executive to lead new center
Emory University’s Goizueta Business School has appointed Joel Murphy as inaugural executive director of the BL Harbert Real Estate Center and its first distinguished industry chair in real estate.
Murphy founded Murphy Capital & Advisory Group and previously served as CEO of Preferred Apartment Communities, guiding the real estate investment trust through its $5.8 billion sale to Blackstone in 2022. He earlier led the retail division at Cousins Properties.
The center, established through support from alumnus Billy Harbert, connects students with industry professionals through mentorship, applied learning and career development programs.
— Derek Prall
Mystic District Marketplace returns to Star Community Bar on April 11
The Mystic District Marketplace, an annual gathering of Atlanta’s alternative arts community, returns April 11 at Star Community Bar with an event organizers are calling The Inferno Edition.
The event runs in two parts. An outdoor market from 4 to 10 p.m. features more than 25 vendors selling art, vintage goods, handmade items and metaphysical curiosities alongside tarot readings, fire performances and live DJ sets. That portion is open to those 18 and older.
A late-night cabaret follows from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. for guests 21 and older, featuring drag, burlesque and experimental performances hosted by Mecca Mwah. The lineup includes Taylor ALXNDR, Royal Tee, Koochie Koochie Ku and City Alien.
The event includes a raffle benefiting the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights.
Producer Liz Peña said the marketplace, which started as a small gathering of artists and creatives, has grown into a recurring platform for Atlanta’s independent arts scene.
Tickets are available here.
— Derek Prall
Woodruff Arts Center exhibit features works by artists with disabilities
A free exhibit at the Woodruff Arts Center showcases 21 works by artists with disabilities who participate in programs run by InCommunity, an Atlanta-based nonprofit.
The exhibit, titled Limitless, is on display through the end of May in the second-floor lobby of the Goizueta Stage for Youth & Families. It debuted during the recent ribbon-cutting celebration for that venue.
The works were created by participants in InCommunity’s day programs in Marietta and Roswell. Art instructors helped curate the pieces, which are displayed alongside profiles sharing each artist’s background and inspiration.
InCommunity provides community-based support to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The organization’s Limitless Gala is scheduled for May 16.
The exhibit was produced in partnership with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Admission is free.
— Derek Prall
Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre Announces its 58th season’s productions
Atlanta’s nationally acclaimed Alliance Theatre, Jennings Hertz Artistic Directors Tinashe Kajese-Bolden and Christopher Moses, and Managing Director Brandon Kahn announced the productions of the Alliance’s 58th season. The 2026-2027 season will feature the anticipated world premiere musical “Alice in Neverland;” the Tony Award-winning and Pulitzer Prize-winning play, “Purpose;” the hit Tony-nominated play “John Proctor is the Villain;” a world premiere adaptation of “Winnie the Pooh;” the world premiere musical “Like Father” and many more.
“From Pulitzer Prize–winning plays to world premiere musicals, this season is as varied as it is vibrant – a constellation of stories pulsing with imagination, courage, and heart,” said Jennings Hertz Artistic Directors Tinashe Kajese-Bolden and Christopher Moses. “These works celebrate the fearless artistry of our time – inviting us to gather closer, listen deeply, and rediscover the profound power of human connection. The productions of our 58th season inspire us with a renewed sense of what’s possible, both on our stages and in our lives. In short, we wanted to put together a season as aspirational as the city we love.”
Season Tickets Packages and Memberships for the Alliance’s 58th season are on sale now. Tickets for individual performances will go on sale on May 20, 2026.
— Megan Anderson
12th Annual Olmsted Plein Air Invitational to be held April 18-26
Entering its 12th year, the Olmsted Plein Air Invitational is primed to bring its plein air painting extravaganza to Atlanta from April 18-26. The artist selection committee works year-round to gather artists from across the United States to be a part of the Olmsted. This year thirty artists will paint scenes in and around Atlanta in real time, capturing the light and feeling of moments in our city’s life. Attendees are invited to participate in artist talks, demonstrations, gallery tours, and intimate opportunities to interact with the painters.
“The Olmsted Plein Air Invitational is one of two first class shows produced by Olmsted Arts, the parent nonprofit organization”, said Phil Cuthbertson, director of Olmsted Arts, Inc.
“We have beautiful parks, streams, rivers, vistas, and urban settings. Plus, it will be Spring and there is no place lovelier than Atlanta in the Spring. Our second show of the year, Georgia Color Plein Air, features Georgia-based artists and is held in Savannah in October. Please join us for both.”
This year the Olmsted is Midtown-centric. The exhibition gallery will be located in Atlantic Station and on April 26, the annual PaintQuick timed competition will be held in Winn Park in the Ansley Park neighborhood.
For a full schedule of events and more information, visit the Olmsted Plein Air Invitational events page.
— Megan Anderson
Sweetwater 420 fest seeking volunteers for ‘Green Team’ to continue festival recycling efforts
One of Atlanta’s most beloved festivals, Sweetwater 420 Fest, will return Friday April 17 & Saturday April 18, at Shirley Clarke Franklin Park. To continue the festival’s sustainability practices, 420 Fest is looking for volunteers to help with this year’s recycling efforts. Last year, the Green Team was able to collect 60,000 aluminum cans and cups, 475 lbs of plastic bottles, and 220 lbs of cardboard.
Volunteer Benefits include access to 420 Fest and the ability to attend the festival as a guest, a meal token for each 6.5 hour shift signed up for, and a SweetWater Green Team t-shirt to be worn during the work shift. Volunteers must be 18 or older, willing to commit to at least one volunteer shift, and able to attend a training via Zoom on April 14, 6:30 p.m. and an onsite training before the scheduled shift.
Volunteers will be divided into teams including guest sustainability education, aluminum can and plastic bottle pick-up and waste material guidance for trash and recyclable materials.
For more information and to sign up to volunteer, fill out the SweetWater 420 Festival Green Team sign up sheet.
— Megan Anderson
