The Antiquities is a series of exhibits about humans created by AI beings. It ranges from the 1860s to the 2070s. It captures key moments in the creation of AI such as the first machines, the first robots, the early internet, Alexa-like devices, and more. 

Jordan Harrison has written a very thought-provoking play about the evolution of humans and AI. It has some very funny moments along with a very strong warning about the dangers of AI. 

At 100 minutes, it is quite long to not have an intermission. There is even a perfect time for one, right after the “central exhibit” scene. Or, even better, would be to have this exhibit displayed for the audience to come and look at closely during an intermission. Join the Pro-Intermission movement here.   

This play joins a great list of other stories on this topic including A.I. Artificial Intelligence and Companion.

The entire cast is great, especially the performance by Kristen Sieh.

Cost of a ticket: $50

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Worth It +  

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Get tickets now for The Antiquities through June 1st! 

Quinn Delaney

A man has just been fired, so he gathers his things. “Seperate Ways” by Journey starts to play. Then, he rips an apron off one of his coworkers. Then, he grabs a wig off another. “Hey, that’s my real hair” he exclaims! Next, he pulls off a black shirt from another coworker, who is wearing an identical shirt right under it. This scene continues in an epic slow-motion montage which has the audience roaring with laughter. 

This Too Shall Slap is full of hilarious scenes likes this one. Also, there is very little mention of politics, which is a nice break. 

Jordan Stafford is hilarious as the grandma calling all the numbers she has written down (without names next to them) to wish Darlene a Happy Birthday.  Adonis Holmes is outstanding as the kid who goes absolutely nuts after being eliminated from a game of musical chairs.  Hannah Ingle is so funny as the daughter of two black men, who needs to be introduced to white culture.  

Adisa Williams cracks everyone up as the kid who is so embarrassed by her father interrupting play time.  Bill Letz is absolutely hilarious as a father more focused on his X-rated crossword than on his three daughters picking out a wedding dress for one of them.  Leila Gorstein is outrageous as the body builder going through a tough workout. 

Cost of a ticket: $75 (General Admission)

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Get tickets now for This Too Shall Slap on the mainstage! 

Quinn Delaney

Five women are upstairs in a bedroom avoiding the wedding reception downstairs. It’s the room of the bride’s sister. They all have different reasons for taking a break from the festivities taking place below. It mostly has to do with the men in attendance. 

Alan Ball (American Beauty, Six Feet Under) has written a hilarious play that dives in the lives of the bridal party at the reception in Knoxville, Tennessee. It’s mostly nonstop laughs with just a touch of drama in the second half. 

Kayla Erpenbeck is hilarious as the 21-year old virgin who is saving herself for her husband. All the others roll their eyes every times she says she’s a Christian or mentions Jesus. Claire Rutkowski (Boeing-Boeing, The Shady Lady) is superb as the friend who has a history with the groom. Hannah Green is so funny as the bride’s sister. Laura Peterson is great as the groom’s sister, who is so full of sass and charm. Alexandra T. Cross (Barefoot in the Park) is solid as the friend who is the most cynical about love of the group, but who seems to hit it off with one of the other guests, played by Trey Sorensen. 

Cost of a ticket: $35

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Worth It +

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Get tickets now for Five Women Wearing the Same Dress through May 18th! 

Quinn Delaney

Hermia is in love with Lysander, but her father wants her to marry Demetrius. So, she runs away to marry Lysander. Helena loves Demetrius, but he loves Hermia. This is a musical retelling of Shakepeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. 

Dominick Alesia has written a funny and modern take on this Shakespeare classic. This production is very well done with great singing and excellent costumes. It’s also a lengthy one, coming in at just over 3 hours with an intermission.  

The only issue is with the in the round seating, which results in the actors facing directly away from you at times. If they just removed one of the four sides, this issue would be fixed. As it is now, the best seats are the ones directly across the room from the piano. 

Cost of a ticket: $26

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Exceptional Value –

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Get tickets now for Helena & Hermia in the Enamored Odyssey through May 10th! 

Also, check out their next production, Footholds Vol. 6, which runs from June 6th to June 21st!

Quinn Delaney

Gil and Benny meet at a funeral. Gil is grieving the loss of his father. Benny has something important to tell him. His mother just told him that his father is the man in the casket. The two men go on to form a strong bond, a brotherhood that gets them through good times and bad. 

Lolita Chakrabarti has written a very powerful play about brotherhood, which can even begin in middle age. Also, the ending of the story is quite unexpected. 

James Vincent Meredith (Noises Off, Describe the Night) is great as Gil, who really enjoyed running a business with father and now wants to share this experience with his brother. Chike Johnson is superb as Benny, who is so happy to have discovered the other half of his family. 

Cost of a ticket: $70

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Discounted +

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Get tickets now for Hymn through May 25th. 

Quinn Delaney

Serge invites his friend Marc over to see the painting that he just bought. Marc describes the painting as some white lines on a white background. He can’t believe that Serge spent 200,000 francs on it (the equivalent of approximately $70,000 USD today). Yvan, the third friend, says he likes the painting, at first. Eventually, Marc reveals the other reasons for his anger and what he thinks this purchase really means. 

Yasmina Reza has written a hilarious play about modern art and male friendship. The characters joke and laugh with each other but then really open up. At 90 minutes, it would still be nice to have an intermission. Join the Pro-Intermission movement here.

Chad Bay is great as Serge, who truly wants to share the grandeur of the painting with the others. Justin Albinder (The Lord of the Rings) is hilarious as Marc, who is shocked and amazed by the purchase. Eduardo Curley is suberb as Yvan, who finds himself in the middle trying to please both of them in a George Constanza style. 

Cost of a ticket: $36

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Worth It +

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Get tickets now for ‘Art’ – A Comedy through June 1st! 

Quinn Delaney

A young intern is tasked with fact checking an essay over the weekend by his boss, the editor-in-chief. He sees this as a big opportunity for his career,  and he takes it very seriously. He quickly discovers that many of the facts are incorrect. When he brings this up to the author, he says that he slightly changed the numbers to make them sound better and to make them fit better into his essay. Eventually, the boss has to come and sort out all the discrepancies.

The playwrights (Jeremy Kareken & David Murrell and Gordon Farrell [based on the book by John D’Agata and Jim Fingal]) have written a very fast paced, funny, and invigorating story that has the audience at the edge of their seats. What are the true facts of the story? Will the boss publish half truths?

This story calls to mind the scandal surrounding Hasan Minaj. It was revealed that he bent the truth in his stand-up special. The key to the issue is realizing the context. If he were bending the truth on his news show, The Patriot Act, that would be out of line. But to alter the story for a stand-up routine is perfectly fair. Who expects a comedian to only be telling true stories? Thus, the key to this play is the context of the magazine. Is it a factual news outlet, or is it one that allows some flexibility for dramatic storytelling?

Thomas Neumann is great as the enthusiastic and idealist intern. Jamie Ewing is fantastic as the author with artistic integrity and a skill for truth bending dramatic writing. Lori Rohr is superb as the editor who struggles to find a compromise between the two.

Cost of a ticket: $39

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Get tickets now for The Lifespan of a Fact through May 4th!

Quinn Delaney

Theatre Pick: The Artistic Home Presents Cut to the Chase at The Den Theatre (Through May 4, 2025)

Cut to the Chase is a short play festival presented by The Artistic Home. This year it features six short plays that fall into different genres including drama, sci-fi, and dark comedy. It’s a showcase of playwrights (Will Dunne, Siah Berlatsky, Jillian Blevins, Nina Dellaria, Chelyn Cousar, Greg A. Smith) and actors. The festival has been specifically programmed with plays that have the theme of “What is real?” that helps tie them together into one show.

Check out our review of The Artistic Home’s production of Hedda Gabler here.

Cost of a ticket: $28

Get tickets now for Cut to the Chase through May 5th.

Concert Pick: Mungion with Consider the Source at Martyrs’ (May 3, 2025)

Listen to the latest album from Consider the Source, The Stare. 

Cost of a ticket: $24

Get tickets here. 

Quinn Delaney

A family is watching a police encounter from their balcony. It starts to escalate as the man gets very angry and the cop pulls out his gun. Suddenly, there is a bright white flash and the man is gone without a trace. 

Zora Howard has written a thought-provoking and hilarious play. The characters and situations are so real while the flash is surreal. Afrocurrentism is like Afrofuturism, but instead of imagining a future in which black people have full agency, it asserts that they have it now. 

The world premiere of this play took place on February 13th at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta. This is the same production now on stage at the Goodman.  The set design by Matt Saunders is truly impressive. Full multi-level sets slide in and out with such grace. 

The cast is fantastic. It consists of Mark Bedard, Cecil Blutcher, Renika Williams-Blutcher, Caroline Stefanie Clay, Bernard Gilbert, Caitlin Hargraves, Jorge Luna, Victoria Omoregie, Keith Randolph Smith, Ray Anthony Thomas, and Ivan Cecil Walks. The understudies include Jodi Gage, Cory Hardin, Gabrielle Lott-Rogers, Vernon Mina, Patrick Newson, Jr., Joseph Primes and Jazzy Rush.

The audience will be quoting this play, “It’s not an afterlife, it’s more life”, and processing it for days afterwards. It has a bright future which will likely include a Broadway run.  

Cost of a ticket: $45

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Exceptional Value +

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Get tickets now for BUST through May 18th! 

Quinn Delaney

This is night two of Howie Day at the City Winery. “I played all the good songs last night”, he jokes in a great example of his sense of humor. 

Late in the night, he plays “Bunnies”. This is one of his more experimental songs. It features a lot of loops and improvisations. Also, it stretches out to about 10 minutes. 

“I think I need to play ‘Longest Night’ or else she will have a nervous breakdown!”  So, he plays this song from 2009’s Sound The Alarm. “Is it dark where you are?
Can you count the stars where you are?” Technically, you can count the stars from anywhere. Sometimes, the count might be zero. 

Instead of the normal cheering for an encore, he requests that the audience be as quiet as possible and then he will return. The result is some quiet talking with others saying “Shhhhh”. The crowd erupts when he returns. 

Howie says that sometimes when he’s in a bad mood, he doesn’t play “Collide”. Luckily, this isn’t one of those nights and he does play his biggest hit, from the 2003 album, Stop All The World Now. “But it won’t be the last song,” he says. “Because that would be too cliche”. This song has over 480 million streams on Spotify.  “Even the best fall down sometimes / Even the wrong words seem to rhyme / Out of the doubt that fills your mind / You finally find / You and I collide”. 

To close out the night, he plays “Treetops” from his 2015 album, Lanterns. “Cause we’re dancing on the treetops tonight / We’re hiding from the people and the lights”. It’s a great joyful song to end on and it sends the audience out with smiles on their faces. 

Cost of a ticket: $54

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Worth It

Rating Scale: Exceptional Value > Worth It > Discounted > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

Quinn Delaney