What to see, do and hear: “Everybody,” Emory Chamber, “Outdoor Worship” and more

ART+DESIGN

Sandler Hudson Gallery presents paintings by Chilean painter Ignacio Michaud in his first solo exhibit in Atlanta. Red Right Hand will feature works evoking artists as diverse as Paul Klee, Howard Hodgkin, Henri Matisse and others. Michaud begins his process with sticky notes before transferring his sketches onto the canvas, blending them with pencil and charcoal and then applying paint. Opening reception Saturday 2-5 p.m. Through November 5.

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Inman Park’s WADDI art gallery reopens this weekend with Outdoor Worship, a solo exhibit featuring the work of Harry Underwood. An American outsider artist born in 1969, Underwood grew up in the rural “Redlands” farming area near Homestead, Florida. The son of a carpenter, he learned how to draw at a young age and taught himself to paint. He cleaned motel swimming pools and worked in the construction industry, painting in his spare time, until he met British gallerist Henry Boxer, who began showing his work at the Outsider Art Fair in New York. Outdoor Worship features 18 of his text-based paintings in WADDI’s front gallery through October 29. While you’re there, check out Brandon Sadler’s huge new mural in the courtyard. Opening reception Saturday 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

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This House is Mine at the High Museum of Art is the first major survey of work by American artist Bob Thompson in more than two decades and it closes on Sunday. It is a fascinating look at the artist’s highly personal and symbolic paintings, which draw upon his experience as a Black man in the United States and Europe, his explorations of European art masters and religious narratives, and his love of jazz greats such as John Coltrane. He is known for his silhouetted figures and animals in pastoral settings and for his euphoric color. Read the full review by ArtsATL art critic Catherine Fox. 

MUSIC

Michelle Malone has described Dede Vogt as the backbone of Decatur’s acoustic music scene, and she helped build the community that spawned the Indigo Girls, Shawn Mullins, Caroline Aiken, Malone and many others. She was the bassist for the Indigo Girls on their debut album, and performed for many years with Cowboy Envy. Vogt now lives in North Georgia, where she owns a recording studio, but she will come down from the mountains on Friday for a “songwriters in the round” concert at Eddie’s Attic that also features Becky Shaw and Sonia Tetlow.

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The Emory Chamber Music Society of Atlanta opens its 30th season Friday with a Cooke Noontime Concert at a new venue: Emerson Hall in the Schwartz Center for Performing Arts. William Ransom, the artistic director of the society, will perform Robert Schumann’s Piano Quintet and the Vega Quartet will perform George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. The concert is free.

THEATER

The Alliance Theatre has kicked off its 2022-23 season with a production of Everybody, co-directed by Susan Booth and Tinashe Kajese-Bolden. The play, written by Pulitzer Prize finalist Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, is based on the 15th-century play Everybody and explores the meaning of life and how we respond to life’s random twists and turns. The all-star cast includes Andrew Benator, Shakirah DeMesier, Chris Kayser and Bethany Anne Lind. The production runs through October 2. Tickets start at $25.

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The high-flying Mary Poppins has extended its run at the Aurora Theatre through September 18. With the company’s new home at the Lawrenceville Arts Center, there is ample room for Galen Crawley in her role as Poppins to raise her umbrella and fly from the stage up to the balcony. Crawley told ArtsATL that the harness and line took some time to get used to. “We needed to test and see how many seats (in the balcony) would need to be taken out — there are a couple spots that, if people were in those seats, I would decapitate them,” Crawley says. “It was a kind of weird, really bizarre sensation to be like, ‘I am eye-to-eye with the people in the mezzanine right now!’” Tickets start at $21.

DANCE

Nadya Zeitlin and her Bautanzt Dance ensemble have been all over the city with their public art works, from Downtown to the Fourth Ward and Virginia Highland. This Friday and Saturday they are guest artists in meta/physical, an evening of dance featuring Emory dance department’s Julio Medina. He will present an excerpt of a new work desahogo:undrown and the remounting of his 2021 work Ridge. Zeitlin will share a new version of Archs & Textures DWTN, originally performed on the steps of Atlanta’s Central Library. The work explores the unique architecture of the library which was renovated last year. Schwartz Center for Performing Arts. $15.

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Manga African Dance is celebrating its 25th annual Osun Festival which includes classes in drumming, and Yoruba, Haitian and Brazilian dances, and two concerts, one on Friday at the West End Performing Arts Center at 6 p.m. for seniors and students, and the second at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Emma Darnell Aviation Museum. Friday concert $10. Saturday $30.

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It’s been three years in the making — yes, the pandemic slowed things down — but the Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre collaboration with New York choreographer Troy Schumacher, new media artist Sergio Mora-Diaz and a host of Georgia Tech scientists who explore artificial intelligence, neuroscience, technology and ethics has finally come together. Step the Brain Along a Path will premiere Friday at 7:30 p.m. at the Ferst Center for the Arts. Repeat performance at 3 p.m. Sunday. General admission $10. Children and seniors $5.

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Movement artists who participated in the Dance Canvas nine-week residency on the Atlanta Contemporary campus will present their new works on Sunday. The residency serves as a creative outlet for dance artists while supporting and amplifying diverse voices. Each 15-20 minute work was created in response to today’s social and cultural climate. Choreographers are Kendall Alexander, Keith Alexander, Anicka Austin, Molly Howel, Vanessa Zabari and Meaghan Novoa. Audience members are advised to bring a water bottle. Complimentary water and card-only bar for those 21+. Outdoors at the Pavilion. Tickets $30 and $35.

BOOKS

Former Newsweek national political correspondent Jonathan Darman will discuss his latest book, FDR: The Personal Crisis That Made A President, tonight (September 8) at a virtual event hosted by the Atlanta History Center as part of its Author Talks series. The book delves into Roosevelt’s battle with polio, and how it shaped him as both a person and a political figure as he led the country out of the Great Depression and then through World War II. The event is free, but registration is required.