Hit musical comes to Atlanta

It started as a unique twist on a classic story and has become a sell-out Broadway show; this weekend “Wicked” will entertain audiences throughout the metro area when it plays at The Fabulous Fox Theatre.

When Gregory Maguire set out to write his novel, “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West,” more than a decade ago, he decided to take an existing piece of literature, L. Frank Baum’s “The Wizard of Oz,” and explore the darker side of the green-skinned villain. The book, which was published in 1995 and rapidly climbed the best seller list, is a political fable about persecution and power in which Maguire set out to explore the topic of evil. Maguire has said of the Witch of the West, “I thought I would hate her. But by the time I had written ten pages, I started to forgive her.”

It’s nearly summer and that means it’s time for movie studios to bring out their arsenal of action films and summer comedies. This week “Poseidon” hit theaters alongside the new Lindsay Lohan comedy “Just My Luck” and the star-free “Goal!: The Dream Begins.” I never saw the original version of “Poseidon” circa the 1970’s, so I won’t be making any comparisons in this review.

I’ll admit it. I’ve seen just about every Lindsay Lohan movie out there, from the surprisingly good “Freaky Friday” and “Mean Girls” to the really bad “Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen.” Why have I watched these movies? I am married and sometimes a man has to watch what his wife is watching. O.K. and sometimes watching one of these movies might have been my idea. Was “Just My Luck,” my idea? Well, I did ask Sabine if she wanted to go with me, but it would have been great if “The Da Vinci Code” came out a week earlier.

RJ (voiced by Bruce Willis) is a raccoon in some big trouble. When RJ tries to steal some food from a grizzly bear (Vincent played by Nick Nolte) he accidentally drops it, and it rolls down the mountain, lands on a freeway, and a truck runs over all of it. What’s worse, Vincent wakes up, sees that all of his food is gone, and tells RJ that he will give him one week to retrieve all the food he lost and get it back to the cave or he will have RJ for breakfast!

Offshoot Productions, the Fayette County-based professional theatre company in its thirteenth season, will tour its new production, “The Frog Prince,” to eight metro-Atlanta counties.

The Sam Chapman Talbot State Bank 2006 Summer Concert Series will kick off with the Grammy-Award winning band America to the Fayetteville Villages Amphitheater on Saturday, May 13. The 70’s rock band is best known for their number one hits “Horse With No Name” and “Sister Golden Hair” as well as Top 10 hits like “Ventura Highway” and “Lonely People.”

For the first time ever, the Fayette County Master Gardeners are sponsoring a Garden Tour in north Peachtree City on Saturday, May 13 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

I wasn’t planning on seeing the latest “Mission: Impossible” movie in protest to Tom Cruise’s lunacy. But when I was offered tickets to a free sneak preview of the film, I couldn’t resist. Not because of Tom, mind you, but because I would have hated to miss director J.J. Abrams’ latest venture into top secret missions.

Is Tom Cruise a weirdo? Yes.

Does that mean that his movies aren’t fun to watch? No.

Should you see “Mission: Impossible III?” That depends.

McIntosh High School's multi-talented drama students will present an evening of comedies tonight at 7 p.m. in the school auditorium.

On Thursday evening, May 18, Southern Conservation Trust will present their most requested nature program. “Snake Man” Jim Rodgers will bring his large collection of reptiles to the Flat Creek Nature Center in Peachtree City. Those in attendance will learn fact from fiction about one of the most misunderstood and persecuted creatures on the planet.

The Starr's Mill High School Choral Music Department will be presenting their final concert of the season in “Celebrate the Music”, featuring the ensembles of the Vocal Jazz Choir, Treble Chorus, Men's Chorus, Women's Ensemble, Bella Voce and Chanticleer.

“Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy” will take audiences on an all-new soaring adventure when performing at The Fox Theatre in Atlanta this weekend.

After many months of rehearsals and set preparation, Landmark Christian School will present their spring musical performance, ”Oliver!,” this weekend in Peachtree City.

You know going in that this movie is not going to have a happy ending.

On Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists highjacked several commercial airlines in the United States and flew them into major U.S. landmarks. Planes crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. One flight, United 93, did not reach its destination, which was believed to be either the White House or the Capitol. The terrorists’ attempt to destroy one of those locations was thwarted by a number of passengers on that doomed flight and this film tells their story, as well as the story of the air traffic controllers dealing with the highjackings and the military attempting to intercept these flights.

Once upon a time Cassie (Jo-Jo Levesque) used to love her dad (Robin Williams playing Bob Munro) until puberty kicked in and she became a snot-nosed, typical teenager. Now she wants little to do with her dad or her mom, and she treats her 12 year old brother Carl like scum. Carl is played by Josh Hutcherson of “Zathura,” and mom, Jamie, is played by Cheryl Hines.

Local farmers and artisans from Bear Creek Farms, Fairy Wood Thicket, Jane Storey’s Knitting and Woodcrafts, Puck’s Farm, Scharko Farms and Titania’s Soaps will feature the fruits of their labors at the Fairburn Farmer’s Market on Saturdays from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. beginning May 6 and running through Oct. 28 at the city’s Historic Freight Depot located at 30 West Broad Street.

East meets West in the beloved Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, “The King and I,” which is a fictionalized account of the true story of Anna Leonowens.

It’s opening weekend at Peachtree City’s Frederick Brown, Jr. Amphitheater, and the Lexus & Webb Lindsey Wade 2006 Concert Series is kicking off with a two night appearance by Eddie Money.

For anyone who prefers movies that are action packed and dependent upon plot to move them along, “Friends With Money” is probably not for you. The new film in limited release is a story about relationships that doesn’t revolve around any clearly defined plot. Rather, it focuses heavily on the dialogue and interactions that occur between a single woman, Olivia (Jennifer Aniston), her three wealthy and married friends, Christine, Jane and Franny (Catherine Keener, Frances McDormand and Joan Cusack, respectively) and their husbands.

The President, upon re-election, decides to start reading the newspaper again and he finds out that he doesn’t know as much as he thinks he does about the world. This causes him to get a little depressed, stay in his bedroom and continue to read about the world around him. To get him out of his funk, his chief of staff gets the top rated television show in the world, “American Dreamz,” think “American Idol” with only Simon judging, to hire the Prez as a special celebrity judge for the final episode. Among the contestants on this current season of “American Dreamz” are Sally, a soulless vamp from Ohio with an injured war hero as a sort of boyfriend, and Omer, a flunked out terrorist who was sent to live with Iraqi-American relatives in Orange County to get him out of the way. They will battle for the top spot, America will vote and host Martin Tweed will try to keep his contempt for the show, and his life, hidden.

Students from McIntosh High School’s drama, chorus, and band programs will present the popular musical “The Wizard of Oz” on April 28 and 29 in the new school auditorium at 7 p.m.

Newnan resident and web-savvy mother Barb Webb shows other mothers how to avoid paying full price on everything from groceries to baby needs to home renovations as well as find legitimate opportunities to make extra income for their households in her new book, “The Mom’s Guide to Earning and Saving Thousands on the Internet.”

When Offshoot Productions holds the premiere of The Frog Prince on May 12 and 13 at the Roger Spencer Community Center in Tyrone, children in the audience will be contributing to the action of the play.

This weekend artists and art lovers alike will be out en mass as organizations from throughout the county gather for the first ever YMCA Family Festival of the Arts.

The curtain’s going up on Newnan Theatre Company’s production of “Sylvia” this weekend. The cast, Scott Pollak, KC Pollak, Rick Olsen and Rachael Shaw, along with director Joey Cleary have been fine-tuning the show and are ready to unleash this uproarious comedy.

What do you get when you combine “The Grudge,” “War of the Worlds,” “Saw,” and “The Village” with the comedy stylings of “The Naked Gun” series? You get “Scary Movie 4,” only it’s not nearly as appealing as it sounds.

Are good movies for 11 year-olds extinct these days?

Samson (voiced by Keifer Sutherland) is a lion father whose son Ryan is tense because he can’t roar. They live in the New York City Zoo, and kids usually laugh at Ryan’s kitty-cat roar. Ryan (Greg Cipes) decides to run away.

The Second World War ended in 1945, however Allied and Axis troops will once again battle for Europe when reenactors recreate a WWII skirmish at Falcon Field in Peachtree City during the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) Dixie Wing “WWII Day: Boots, Wheels and Wings” on April 22.

Get ready for a rollicking good time with food and drink a-plenty and rip roaring entertainment. Beginning this weekend and continuing weekends and Memorial Day through June 4, locals and visitors alike will enter the gates and enjoy The Georgia Renaissance Festival.