What to see, do and hear: ’Jersey Boys,’ Dutch art, vintage Spielberg and more

MUSIC

The Juke Joint Jukes, with frontman William “Blues Man” Reed, pay tribute to old school Chicago and Delta Blues in the style of Muddy Waters and BB King. They’ll be at Blind Willie’s on Thursday, July 18. Their music may be vintage, but the group is not. It was founded in Atlanta just nine years ago. Tickets are $5 and the show starts at 8:30 p.m.

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Atlanta singer/songwriter and guitarist Parker Smith’s third studio album, Short Street (out June 7), comprises easy-flowing melodies and lilting pedal steel that evoke rural Americana without going full-on country. He has independently released five albums and endows his music with touches of soul, roots, bluegrass and jazz and. He’ll be at The Eastern on Friday, July 12. Tickets are $15. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show starts at 8 p.m.

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ART+DESIGN

Artists are returning to the slowly-being-renovated Goat Farm, at least to the sections of the Midtown artists’ haven that are move-in ready. TILA Studios is celebrating its new space there with the group exhibit When She Rests, She Blooms. This inaugural show is described as celebrating “the resilience and beauty of Black women,” and the opening reception will take place on Thursday, July 18, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Free.

Ongoing.

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In the Netherlands of the 17th century, tulip bulbs were expensive, highly sought after commodities. So it’s no surprise that tulips appear in many of the still-life flower paintings at the High Museum of Art as part of Dutch Art in a Global Age: Masterpieces from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Curated to reflect the wealth that the Netherlands amassed as a global trading behemoth, the exhibit also features portraits, landscapes, maritime scenes and glowing still lifes that highlight prized possessions of the era, such as Chinese porcelain and tobacco. The show closes Sunday, July 14, when admission is free. Otherwise, general admission is $23.50, and members always get in free.

Closes July 14

 

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Papermaking is often associated with long-venerated European and Asian traditions which form sheets of paper with macerated pulp, but there are other little-known practices such as hand-beaten bark papers and bark cloths. The Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking at Georgia Tech is honoring these indigenous traditions in its exhibit Bark Rhythms: Contemporary Innovations & Ancestral Traditions. The show features work by artists from Mexico, Hawaii, the Polynesian Islands, Indonesia and Uganda, many of whom have never before exhibited in the United States. The museum will host a reception on Thursday, July 11. Free.

Ongoing.

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FILM+TV

Morehouse graduate Spike Lee’s first big success was his 1989 film, Do The Right Thing, about a Brooklyn neighborhood’s simmering tensions between its Italian and African American residents. The film will screen at the Plaza Theatre on Saturday, July 13, as part of WABE’s City Lights Cinema. City Lights host Lois Reitzes, and Morehouse Professor Stephane Dunn, director of the Morehouse Cinema, Television and Emerging Media Studies Department, will discuss the film at 3:30 p.m. before the 4 p.m. screening. Check the theater’s website for pricing.

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There’s more movie history happening at the Tara Theatre July 13, July 14 and July 18, when E.T. screens as part of the Blockbuster Stevie Series. (That’s Stevie as in Steven Spielberg.) One of the actors in the 1982 science fiction film was 7-year-old Drew Barrymore: Spielberg had the crew members dress up as clowns to scare her during the scenes where she had to scream. In 1983, E.T. surpassed Star Wars as the highest-grossing film of all time. General admission is $16, with discounts available.

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THEATER

Four blue collar kids from New Jersey decided to play music together and soon became the hugely successful group Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. Ask your smart speaker to play “Sherry” or “Big Girls Don’t Cry” for a taste of their 1960s sound. Their story is the premise of the long-running Broadway musical Jersey Boys, which comes to Byers Theatre at City Springs Performing Arts Center for five weeks starting Friday, July 12. According to the theater’s website, “the production contains adult language and is recommended for mature audiences.” Tickets start at $42.

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Another theater event that takes audiences down memory lane is 9 to 5 The Musical, now playing at the Woodstock Arts Theatre. (“Everything retro” seems to be the theme of Atlanta’s arts scene this week.) You won’t see Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton or Jane Fonda, the hilarious trio that starred in the movie version, but you will hear Parton’s hummable music and lyrics. Be ready for high comedy and even higher hair. Tickets start at $18 online; $20 at the door.

Through July 28.

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ArtsATL reviewer Luke Evans found Babble Lab, the one-woman show currently at the Alliance Theatre, to be “a symphony for the senses that embraces childlike glee and the wonders of discovery.” The dialogue is intentionally unintelligible. Why, you may ask? Because actor-playwright Autumn Ness portrays a curious scientist who mistakenly mixes up the letters of the alphabet in her lab, causing her to speak a babbling language. The letters then come to life. Yes, it’s fantasy, designed primarily for children, but adult audiences will appreciate Ness’ virtuosity and the play’s textured landscape and sense of fun. Tickets are $20 for adults; $10 for children.

Through July 28.