Prepare to indulge, as Aurora Theatre announces their 29th season, to be a Feast for the Soul lineup. Four musicals and one comedy will be presented at Lawrenceville Arts Center. The five-course menu of anticipated titles includes The Color Purple, Christmas Canteen 2024, King of Pangaea, Ken Ludwig’s The Gods of Comedy and Waitress. Season 29 is poised to captivate and inspire audiences from near and far.
Producing Artistic Director Ann-Carol Pence says: “Aurora is committed to building deep ongoing relationships with our community. We believe stories told on our stage belong to our community and that when you are here, you are home. As always, we promise to continue elevating the voices of remarkable artists, many of whom call Atlanta home. Like a curated menu, this season is filled with the distinct flavors of healing, laughter, courage and inspiration.”
The Color Purple is based upon the novel written by Alice Walker. It will be on the Grand Stage from August 15 to September 15, 2024. This Tony Award-winning musical will kick off Aurora’s Season 29. Follow the unforgettable journey of Celie as she discovers her own strength and resilience in the face of extreme adversity. The joyous musical features a score that blends gospel, jazz, and blues. Originally developed in Atlanta at the Alliance Theatre in 2004, and most recently a 2023 smash-hit movie, Aurora welcomes home this epic story that is a testament to the healing power of love.
Christmas Canteen 2024, an Aurora Original, plays from November 29 until December 22, 2024 on the Grand Stage. This has become an Atlanta favorite tradition, Christmas Canteen is returning for a 29th year to illuminate the holidays. Canteen is a stocking stuffed with a dazzling array of musical numbers, riotous bursts of comedy, a star-studded cast and the perfect sprinkle of nostalgia that delights every generation. This year, we add a new interactive twist that will “light up” your holiday season and have audiences “raving.”
King of Pangaea – A New Musical, will be on the Main Stage from January 23 to February 16, 2025. As part of Aurora’s New Musical Initiative, this folk-rock musical is inspired by the real-life story of its creator, Martin Storrow. When a sudden loss shatters the world of college student Christopher Crow, he travels back to his imaginary childhood island of Pangaea, in hopes of finding answers that will put the broken pieces back together. Like the whimsy and suspense of The Wizard of Oz, Chris’ family transforms into the fantastical characters on his island. It has been a breakout hit with audiences at the National Alliance for Musical Theatre New Musical Festival.
Ken Ludwig’s The Gods of Comedy will be on the Aurora Grand Stage March 20 -April 13, 2025. Playwright Ken Ludwig has penned many of the biggest comedic hits in Aurora Theatre history: Lend Me a Tenor, Moon Over Buffalo and The Fox on the Fairway. In this latest farce, Ralph, a young classics professor at a prestigious university finds a long-lost manuscript by Euripides, only for Daphne, his protégé to accidentally misplace it. With fame, fortune, reputation and the future of the University on the line, Daphne calls out to the Greek Gods for help. To her surprise, the Gods actually appear and that’s when things get really crazy.
Waitress, based on the motion picture written by Adrienne Shelly, will begin on the Grand Stage on May 22 and continue through June 22, 2025. Waitress is a homespun tale that features music and lyrics by Grammy Award-winner Sara Bareilles (Brave and Love Song). Jenna, a waitress and expert pie-maker, dreams of a way out of her small town and a rocky marriage when a pie-baking contest in a nearby county offers the winner a big cash prize. As a multi-platinum recording artist, Bareilles serves up a delicious score that brought a whole new audience to Broadway with her empowering story about the family we choose, told with extreme heart and irreverent humor.
Micro-transit anticipated in Norcross by this fall
Gateway85 Gwinnett Community Improvement District Board has allocated funding to jumpstart micro-transit in the Gateway85/Norcross region. It’s anticipated the system will be operational by September of 2024.
The Gateway85/Norcross area has been identified in numerous studies as needing significant increases in transit availability to improve economic opportunity. The proposed project will operate as an on-demand minibus ride sharing service that offers a cost-effective solution to transportation needs within specific zones. Rides are requested via an app, or call-in option for users without a smartphone, and will cost around $3.
Emory Morsberger, executive director of the CID says: “This transit innovation is critical for the economic vitality of this region. We have heard from major employers, as well as community organizations, that micro-transit will help employees get to work, customers reach businesses and will unlock economic opportunity for one of the most transit-dependent communities in the metro area.”
This project, initiated by the Gateway85 Gwinnett CID, has received significant support and partnership from the City of Norcross which voted to approve the micro-transit project on March 18, and from Gwinnett County which will vote for final approval on April 16. The project is supported by a number of major employers and community organizations including Ole Foods, CIC Flooring, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Viewpoint Health and Corner’s Outreach.
Suwanee Arts Center has summer offerings for youth
Get ready for a summer of imagination and fun at the Suwanee Arts Center.
Make this summer in Suwanee one to remember! Here’s a chance to let your child’s creativity shine with our Future Filmmakers Camp series. This thrilling three-part series gives you the opportunity to become:
- A Junior Filmmaker, master filming and equipment skills.
- A Book Builder, for young authors and illustrators and perfect for storyboarding a film.
- Fancy making your story into an animated film? Try your hand at Stop Motion Clay Animation!
Take one or take all three!!
For the Wee-Littles, the program offers seven weeks of Mini-Makers Art Camp. A blend of activities and projects that ensures every child can find their own unique means of expression.
Among the other courses offered are exploring watercolor and acrylic paintings plus a Bob Ross painting class.
JEMC Foundation makes grants of $69,575 to Gwinnett
A $15,000 Jackson EMC Foundation check to Neighborhood Cooperative Ministries will support its Emergency Housing Assistance Program to provide rent or mortgage assistance for families in the Norcross area. At the check presentation were, from left, Jennifer Fennell, Jackson EMC Gwinnett district manager; Beauty Baldwin and Dee Anderson, Jackson EMC Foundation board members; Ryan Jones, executive director of Neighborhood Cooperative Ministries; and Kenny Lumpkin, Jackson EMC Foundation representative.
The Jackson EMC Foundation board of directors awarded a total of $122,394 in grants for organizations during its recent meeting, including $69,575 to organizations serving Gwinnett County.
- $15,000 to Hebron Community Health Clinic in Lawrenceville, a nonprofit providing low-income, uninsured Gwinnett and Barrow County residents with medical and dental care, to fund the Next Step Program, which provides diagnostic referrals and testing and prescription medication.
- $15,000 to Neighborhood Cooperative Ministries, Inc., for its Emergency Housing Assistance Program to provide rent or mortgage assistance for families in the Norcross area of Gwinnett County who are experiencing temporary or long-term hardships.
- $15,000 to YMCA of Georgia’s Piedmont, Inc., in Winder, for its Pryme Tyme afterschool program, which provides homework help, sports, arts and crafts to children from economically disadvantaged families in Barrow, Clarke, Gwinnett, Hall and Jackson counties.
- $12,445 to Oconee Therapeutic Riding (formerly Butterfly Dreams Farms) to provide therapeutic and hippotherapy treatment for special needs and at-risk children, youth and their families, to help families from Banks, Barrow, Clarke, Gwinnett, Hall and Jackson counties attend therapy sessions that use a horse’s movement to improve neuromuscular function.
- $12,130 to Good Samaritan Health Center of Gwinnett, which provides primary and preventative medical and dental care to pharmaceutical assistance for low-income and uninsured families in Gwinnett County to purchase exam tables and stools for its women’s health environmental upgrade.
Jackson EMC Foundation grants are made possible by the 218,810 participating cooperative members who have their monthly electric bills rounded to the next dollar amount through the Operation Round Up program. Their “spare change” has funded 1,909 grants to organizations and 428 grants to individuals, putting more than $20 million back into local communities since the program began in 2005.
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