What to See, Do and Hear: Asian American Cinema, Lantern Parade, More

FILM+TV

Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders Heritage Month kicks off in May. The Kirkwood Branch Library celebrates with AAPI Experiences: Film Screen & Discussion on Tuesdays May 7 and May 21. The films include Islands, about a Filipino immigrant who finds himself isolated after the death of his parents, and Past Lives, charting the shared destiny of childhood sweethearts reunited decades later in New York. Free with required registration.

May 7 and May 21.

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If a hearty laugh is more your speed, try the Red Clay Comedy Festival. Taking place at The Earl on Saturday, May 11, the event features screenings of short comedy films along with live comedy performances. The festival includes films featuring a feral pimple and a father and son brought together over an awkward masturbation mishap. Tickets $15.

Saturday, May 11 only.

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MUSIC

International conducting phenom Dmitry Matvienko will lead the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra on Thursday, May 2, and Saturday, May 4, in a performance of works by Benjamin Britten and Rachmaninoff. Matvienko, winner of the 2021 Malko Competition for Young Conductors, has conducted symphony orchestras internationally, making his U.S. debut with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra earlier this year. His Japan debut is next month in Tokyo. In between, he will lead Atlanta musicians, along with Korean piano virtuoso Yeol Eum Son, in Britten’s only piano concerto, closing the program with Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2. Tickets start at $26.

Thursday and Saturday.

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DANCE

ArtsATL’s Robin Wharton recently filed the compelling story of choreographer Angelita Itzanami Andrade, founder of dance company SOMOS, who returned to Atlanta from a Madrid residency with a fresh perspective on her artistic practice. See the results of her new vision in veintitrés, an evening-length work performed with 19 dancers that is dedicated to the memory of Andrade’s cousin, who died at age 22. Taking place at KSU Dance Theater, the piece explores what remains after death. Tickets start at $15.

Saturday only.

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Legendary poet Alice Lovelace has channeled her talents toward dance in Journey on the A Train: A Jacob Lawrence Story, being performed at Rialto Center for the Arts on Wednesday. Together with Artistic Director Dana Marie Lupton and in collaboration with Moving in the Spirit, the work tells the story of the Harlem Renaissance painter at 13, as dancers “become bold tempera, choreographed with brushes of powerful history to create a stunning human canvas.” Tickets start at $17.

Wednesday, May 8 only.

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THEATER

What happens when the lives of two best friends intersect over the course of three decades? Obviously sharing life’s traumas and insults will be on the menu. Such is the case in Pulitzer Prize nominee Rajiv Joseph’s Gruesome Playground Injuries at the Mask Center in Little Five Points through May 11. This “dark romantic saga” is presented by the Tesseract Theatre Project and Act Before You Think Productions and stars Elizabeth Gibbs and Matt Mercurio. Tickets start at $18.

Through May 11.

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No less a blue-chip outpost of journalism than Rolling Stone has declared the new To Kill a Mockingbird “an emotionally shattering landmark production of an American classic.” And 60 Minutes called it “the most successful American play in Broadway history.” Aaron Sorkin’s adaptation of Harper Lee’s classic Southern novel comes to the Fox Theatre next Tuesday, May 7, through the following weekend. Richard Thomas stars as Atticus Finch. Tickets start at $39.

Tuesday through May 12.

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ART+DESIGN

When painter Kate Javens moved to 127th Street in Manhattan, she found there one of New York’s many “vest-pocket” gardens and the lovely community that cared for it. Kate Javens: Good Neighbor at Marcia Wood Gallery through May 25 brings together eight of the painter’s delicate but large-scale portraits of the people she has known for 15 years, rendering them with old master techniques in a fresh, new way. Free.

Ongoing.

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The journey of Charmaine Minniefield’s Praise House Project: Standing on Hallowed Ground has been a story of epic highs and lows, as the small, wooden church-like structure has now successfully been moved from the Emory University campus to Beacon Hill in Decatur. The “praise house” concept uses immersive digital media and sound installation to amplify the idea of a “ring shout,” enlivening African American traditions subject to erasure. The house will stand through September 14, and an artist talk takes place May 4 during the Decatur Arts Festival. Free.

Saturday and ongoing.

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Chantelle Rytter’s dream of the Lantern Parade grew from 600 participants and no spectators in its first year to over 70,000 people involved in its most recent iteration. Quickly becoming a cross between Mardi Gras and Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade — but with Atlanta’s dirty South DIY spirit — this year’s parade is scheduled for next Saturday, May 11. Rytter’s Krewe of the Grateful Gluttons is always a feast of light and color for the eyes. Many craft workshops also precede the event. Free.

Saturday, May 11 only.

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