BLAME IT ON THE BOOMERS

SATURDAY, FEB 20, 7:30pm
Center Theater Restricted Seating

Writer/Actor Jon Schwartz, taking on the persona of Vinny Verelli, stars in this hilarious one man-plus show that takes aim at what we thought we'd never become - our parents.

Seating is limited to 20 on a first-come-first-serve basis due to Covid restrictions with masks required and social distance seating put into place the night of the show.

The show will be filmed before a live audience and later available on Virtual Center Stage for online viewing.

AH SURELY: Irish Brunch and Show

SUNDAY, MARCH 14 in the Historic Gym

Enjoy a socially distanced Irish brunch and show by Atlanta's premier Irish band, Ah Surely, in the Historic Gym. Ten tables of 4, maximum, will be available for purchase and positioned a minimum of 12 feet from the stage show. Servers and staff will be masked. Meal and show included - enjoy your favorite Irish brew for purchase. Doors open at 12:30 p.m., brunch at 1:00, show 2:30 - 4:00.

Ah Surely is the title of a great old Irish dance tune. It's also a common phrase that you may hear in Ireland, as in "Ah surely, the music will be grand tonight!" And every Ah Surely performance is indeed grand as Evan Kinney, Olivia Bradley and John Maschinot make you want to kick up your heels with a program of pure, authentic Irish music and dance!

Combining the Irish uilleann pipes (a soft-spoken cousin of the Scottish bagpipes), banjo, guitar, Irish wooden flute, tin whistle and bodhran with traditional Irish step dance and songs in English and Irish Gaelic, the trio is sure to tickle the fancy of young and old alike!

Performers: Olivia Bradley (vocals, step dance and bodhran), Evan Kinney (guitar, vocals, banjo, fiddle), and John Maschinot (uilleann pipes, flute, tin whistle, bodhran).

Learn about Ah Surely

Ticketing: table of 4 - $140.00

DARA CARTER
Singer, writer and instrumentalist

SATURDAY, APRIL 3 at 7:30pm in Center Theater

A native Georgian, this diverse singer, writer and instrumentalist captures the attention of audiences everywhere with her magnetic spirit and outstanding musicianship.
Ticketing and pricing info TBA

More info

BLUEGRASS ON THE GREEN

SATURDAY, MAY 1 & SUNDAY, MAY 2, 1pm - 7pm, Outdoor Stage and Lawn

Two days of bluegrass at the outdoor stage (Gym if rain) featuring Elliott Sperin, The Smoky Mountaineers, Bittersweet, Frances Mooney & Fontanna Sunset and Jonah Riddle & Carolina Express.

Elliot Sperin




Bittersweet

Fontanna Sunset


Jonah Riddle & Carolina Express

Beer, wine, sodas, water for purchase. Food trucks.
Ticketing and pricing TBA

LEWIS GRIZZARD: IN HIS OWN WORDS

SATURDAY, JUNE 5 & 6 • 4pm in the Center Theater
featuring actor Bill Oberst, Jr.

Actor Bill Oberst, Jr. has stepped into the late Lewis Grizzard's shoes over 1,000 times in the last decade. Oberst's portrayal of the Southern writer and humorist is a one-man show authorized by Grizzard's family, which says it is the closest thing to seeing the late great spokesman of the south onstage again since Grizzard's death at age 47.

Grizzard's widow Dedra still remembers the moment she first saw Bill Oberst, Jr. as her late husband. "When he looked down over those glasses and the audience laughed, it really was like seeing a ghost." she says. Yet Mrs. Grizzard was skeptical. A tribute show with an actor playing Mr. Grizzard had not been her idea, but hers was the final word. "After the show so many people came up and thanked me. So I decided that maybe we could do this in a way that honored Lewis's memory, which was the most important thing to me. I told Bill "Let's just try it and see what happens." Twelve hundred performances later, the show is still going strong.

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The two-act performance features Grizzard's best-loved stories and jokes, along with some poignant and funny readings from his books and newspaper columns. Lewis Grizzard was the most widely syndicated columnist in America for 15 years until his death at age 47, appearing in 450 daily newspapers. He famously refused to use a computer and wrote on a manual typewriter, saying, "I like to by-God hear some noise when I type." Grizzard wrote early each morning at his Atlanta breakfast table, agonizing over each word and going through countless drafts and cigarettes before calling his secretary at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution to dictate the finished result. He once turned in an entire manuscript to Random House with no e's in it because his ancient Royal typewriter's e key had snapped off. Gizzard told the publisher, "Wherever you see a blank space, just put an e in there."

Lewis Grizzard's 18 best-selling books include five Number One bestsellers on the New York Times' bestseller list: Elvis Is Dead And I Don't Feel So Good Myself • Shoot Low Boys - They're Riding Shetland Ponies • When My Love Returns From The Ladies Room Will I Be Too Old To Care? • Don't Bend Over In The Garden Granny - You Know Them Taters Got Eyes.

Oberst is a South Carolina native. He lives in Los Angeles these days doing film and TV work. Onstage the actor wears Mr. Gizzard's own Gucci loafers and his favorite golf shirt. "1,200 shows and I can count on my fingers the number of those that weren't sold out," says Mr. Oberst, "It has nothing to do with me and everything to do with Lewis. The whole experience has been one of the greatest blessings of my life. I just hope when I get to heaven he's not mad at me for wearing his shoes."

Ticketing and pricing TBA