AJT’s Arts and Entertainment Highlights

From Rob Schneider’s film antics to Stephen Sondheim’s theatrical music and Annie Leibovitz’s photography, Jewish Atlantans have a lot of arts and culture to choose from in the coming months. Check out a few upcoming productions:

Rob Schneider Comedy at City Springs
A household name and a bona-fide comedy star, Rob Schneider is well-known for his trademark blend of character and comedic acting. He has become one of the most popular touring acts in comedy and brings his show to the Byers Theatre of the Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center 8 p.m. Fri., Sept. 28.
Schneider created and stars in the Netflix docu-series “Real Rob,” which focuses on the day-to-day hijinks of Rob’s life. The series marks the first time any actor has ever written, produced, starred in, directed and financed an entire season of a television show.
The star first came to prominence on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” along with his SNL friends Adam Sandler, Tim Meadows and David Spade. He starred in some of the top comedy features of the past 20 years, including “Grown Ups,” “You Don’t Mess with the Zohan,” “Big Daddy,” and “The Waterboy.”
He also starred in the movie: “Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo” and “The Hot Chick.” Tickets are available at the arts center box office or online at www.citysprings.com.

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Callanwolde Concert Band Perfoms “Dances”
The 47th season of the Callanwolde Concert Band’s fall concert, “Dances,” is coming to the Callanwolde Fine Arts Center at 3 p.m. Sept. 30.
The Callanwolde Concert Band is made up of 65 members, including 12 Jewish performers. It is a community volunteer group, Dekalb County’s premier symphonic wind ensemble and it is a registered nonprofit charity. Several times a year the band plays at Congregation Beth Jacob.
Music Director Glenn Moore will be joined by guest conductors and assistant conductors and will feature local vocalist Sophie Decker. “Dances,” a program with classic wind band selections, features a “dance” theme. Jack Shenk, director of development and a bass player in the band, says, “Many of the songs have the word ‘dance’ in the title: ‘Gypsy Dance,’ ‘Russian Dance,’ and ‘Wedding Dance,’ which has a Klezmer sound. We will also be playing many other dance tunes.”
The “Dances” concert will be held outdoors in the newly renovated amphitheatre at the Callanwolde Fine Arts Center and guests are encouraged to bring lawn chairs, a blanket and a picnic. This is a free concert and open to the public. For more information about the band, www.calcb.org.

Merrily We Roll Along
A three-night-only concert staging of this rarely-produced Stephen Sondheim classic is coming to the Actor’s Express Oct. 5-7. “Merrily We Roll Along” features a score that many Sondheim acolytes consider his greatest.
It tells the story of the clash of personal and professional ambitions between three old friends whose lives have diverged. As it moves backward in time, we rediscover the jealousies and conflicts that separated them, and understand the origins of the deep bonds that have inextricably cemented their lives to each other.
“Merrily We Roll Along” features a great score, which includes such musical theater standards as “Old Friend,” “Good Thing Going,” “Our Time” and “Not a Day Goes By.”
A Jewish-American composer, Sondheim is best known for writing the lyrics to “West Side Story” and “Gypsy” and for writing the music and lyrics for “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.”
“Merrily We Roll Along” is based on the book by George Furth and directed by Freddie Ashley, with music and lyrics by Sondheim. Tickets are available at: www.actors-express.com.

Jerusalem Quartet with Pinchas Zukerman and Amanda Forsyth
The Jerusalem Quartet with Pinchas Zukerman and Amanda Forsyth will be at Emory University’s Schwartz Center for Performing Arts, Emerson Concert Hall, at 8 p.m. Oct. 10.
The Jerusalem Quartet partners with husband-and-wife duo Zukerman (violin and viola) and Forsyth (cello) for a redolent and dramatic evening of late romantic works. The sextet performs the opening of Strauss’ “Capriccio,” the composer’s final opera and culmination of his work in the genre, along with Tchaikovsky’s “Souvenir de Florence, Op 70” and Schoenberg’s “Transfigured Night.”
The Jerusalem Quartet’s ensemble was founded in 1993 and after its 1996 debut, the four Israeli musicians embarked on a journey of growth and maturation. Zukerman reigns as one of today’s most sought after and versatile musicians as a violin and viola soloist, conductor and chamber musician. Canadian Juno Award-winning Forsyth is considered one of North America’s most dynamic cellists
This concert is part of the Flora Glenn Candler Concert Series, which brings internationally-renowned artists to the Schwartz Center for Performing Arts. For tickets and information, visit boxoffice@emory.edu or call 404-727-5050.

Annie Leibovitz At Work
Annie Leibovitz, one of the most influential photographers of our time, is bringing her author tour to the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre Nov. 29. This is an exclusive Atlanta event to mark the publication of a revised and expanded edition of the book, “Annie Leibovitz at Work.” In this lecture, she will present and discuss a selection of her pictures.
“At Work” reveals the inner workings of Leibovitz’s practice, offering details of her creative process and legendary career, from her early years as a young photographer for Rolling Stone to her recent work at Vanity Fair and Vogue.
Leibovitz speaks about her relationship to photography, both as a medium and as a practice. She shares her stories and thoughts on the unique challenges the genre presents, from the elaborate fashion shoots for Vogue to her brave, somber coverage of the war in Sarajevo, and from the intimacy of photographing nudes to the artistic struggles of shooting an ad campaign.
“Photography has given me the opportunity, over the years, to collaborate with subjects whose relevance and influence on the wider culture mean something … They are people who have helped define our era”
For tickets for “Annie Leibovitz at Work,” visit cobbenergycentre.com. ■

You can find out more information about local upcoming events and entertainment at www.atlantajewishconnector.com.