Calendar of Events

Help close this year's Jubilee Festival with a traditional shape note singing from The New Harp of Columbia from 2:00-4:00PM followed by a potluck social hour. No experience is necessary and all are welcome to join in or listen.

February 28, 2:00-4:00PM at the Laurel Theater, 1538 Laurel Ave, Knoxville, TN 37916.

"To Kill A Mockingbird," the unforgettable Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, comes to life on the KCT stage with its unique mix of warm nostalgia and frank realism. The lives of young "Scout" Finch and her big brother Jim are about to change forever, when their father Atticus, a lawyer, is appointed to defend a black man accused of attacking a white teenage girl. Meanwhile, the children become fascinated by their reclusive neighbor "Boo" Radley. All their worlds collide in the sleepy town of Maycomb, Alabama, as its citizens confront their fears and prejudices.

Dennis E. Perkins directs the play, and Wheeler Moon assists. Jaden Lily Branson is the stage manager.

Performances are Thursdays and Fridays at 7 PM; Saturdays at 1 PM and 5 PM; Sundays at 3 PM.

Knoxville Children's Theatre, 109 E. Churchwell Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37917. Information: 865-208-3677, www.childrenstheatreknoxville.com.

A Delicious Gingerbread House… A Magical Forest… The beloved tale of two children whose goodness and faith triumph over an evil witch! Performed in English.

Friday, February 26, 2016 at 7:30pm
Sunday, February 28, 2016 at 2:30pm
Opera preview hosted by Maestro Salesky begins 45 minutes prior to each performance

Annoucing Sempre Opera Society! If you would like to attend one of our performances but don’t have anyone to go with you, join our Facebook group: Sempre Opera Society! S.O.S. is an opera-loving group that will meet for dinner and drinks prior to performances and sit together during the show. Join us on Facebook for more information.

At the Tennessee Theatre, 604 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Tickets and info from Knoxville Opera: 865 524-0795, http://www.knoxvilleopera.com/schedule/hanselandgretel/

Jubilee Community Arts presents its signature celebration of traditional mountain music featuring Tennessee artists recognized as accomplished masters of old styles of fiddle, banjo, ukelele, string bands, sacred music and early country and historical ballads, culminating in the annual Epworth Old Harp Singing.

Featured performers and schedule are listed at http://jubileearts.org/JubileeFestival2015.html. This year's event performances by the Lost Fiddle String Band, Kelle Jolly, Tennessee Stifflegs, John Alvis & Friends, Knox County Jug Stompers, Y'uns, Camp Hollow String Band, Possum Crossing, Roy Harper, Mike & Marcia Bryant, the Bearded and the Mumbillies.

Evening concerts begin 7 pm Friday and Saturday, Old Harp Singing at 2 pm Sunday. Tickets: Friday or Saturday evening: $12 (discounts apply to advance purchase, JCA members, students, seniors 65+). Sunday singing no charge. At Jubilee Community Arts, 1538 Laurel Ave, Knoxville, TN 37916. For information/tickets: 865-522-5851, www.jubileearts.org.

Grammy nominee Judy Carmichael Trio will perform at the Clayton Center for the Arts February 26 @ 7:30 PM and record her Jazz Inspired Radio Podcast on February 28 @ 3:00 PM with special guest John Jorgenson. Tickets for the concert, to be held in the Harold and Jean Lambert Recital Hall, are $25.

Clayton Center for the Arts: 502 East Lamar Alexander Parkway, Maryville, TN 37804. Information/tickets: 865-981-8590, www.ClaytonArtsCenter.com

by Earnest J. Gaines; adapted by Romulus Linney. At the Carousel Theatre. “The story’s wrenching power lies not in its outrage but in the almost inexplicable grace the characters must muster as their only resistance to being treated like lesser beings.” The New Yorker

It’s 1948 in a small plantation community in the heart of Cajun country. A young man, jailed for a murder he did not commit, will soon lose his life and has lost his self-respect. A young teacher, with most of his life ahead of him, has lost respect for the situation in which he lives. Both men teach each other the lessons they need to face their very different futures with dignity and strength. The CBT is pleased to be partnering with the Knox County Public Library on a series of ancillary events associated with this production.

Pay What You Wish Night - Wednesday, February 24, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets may be purchased Feb. 24 at the CBT Box Office from 12 to 7 p.m. Cash in full dollar amounts is accepted and limited tickets are available on a first come, first served basis.

Post-Performance Salon Discussions - Tuesday, March 1 and 8, following the 7:30 p.m. performance
Audience-driven, providing patrons and community members the opportunity to discuss their thoughts, experiences, and issues raised after attending the performance.

Sunday Symposium with Dr. Michelle D. Commander - Sunday, March 13, following the 2 p.m. performance
Dr. Michelle Commander will lead a post-performance discussion on the play and its themes. Dr. Commander received her Ph.D. in American Studies and Ethnicity from the University of Southern California. She teaches courses and conducts research on twentieth and twenty-first century African American literature, cultural studies, diasporic literatures, and Black social movements.

Clarence Brown Theatre / Carousel Theatre, 1714 Andy Holt Ave on the UT campus, Knoxville, TN 37996. For information: 865-974-5161, www.clarencebrowntheatre.com. For tickets: 865-974-5161, 865-656-4444, www.knoxvilletickets.com

History, Food, & Fun! Enhance your time in Historic Downtown with Knoxville’s Award Winning, Original Tour! Enjoy a complete Knoxville experience in just a few hours – enjoy tastings of specially selected dishes from some of Knoxville’s best new and iconic restaurants featuring local, regional, Southern & Appalachian cuisine; add pairings of beer from local and craft breweries, wine flights, craft cocktails, Tennessee whiskey, or even moonshine; hear the history of the city and notable buildings. A must for locals and visitors!

Reservations Required. Purchase Tickets at www.knoxvillefoodtours.com or call 865-201-7270.

An off-Broadway hit comedy-drama by Jack Heifner. The story follows three young girls as they journey from high school in the 1960s to college days and beyond in this sharply sad and funny play. Tickets: 423-586-9260.

Performed at Rose Center, 442 West Second North St., Morristown, TN, 37814. www.rosecenter.org

Athens Community Theatre presents Rodgers & Hammerstein's Oklahoma! February 18 - 28, 2016 in the Sue E. Trotter Theater at The Arts Center in Athens, TN.

Rodgers & Hammerstein's first collaboration remains, in many ways, their most innovative having set the standards and established the rules of musical theatre still being followed today. Set in a Western Indian Territory just after the turn of the century, the high–spirited rivalry between the local farmers and cowboys provides the colorful background against which Curly, a handsome cowboy, and Laurey, a winsome farm girl, play out their love story. Although the road to true love never runs smooth, with these two headstrong romantics holding the reins, love's journey is as bumpy as a surrey ride down a country road. That they will succeed in making a new life together we have no doubt, and that this new life will begin in a brand–new state provides the ultimate climax to the triumphant Oklahoma!

Oklahoma! is directed by recent Steel Magnolias star and ACT veteran director, Melonie Carideo, with music direction by AACA Executive Director Emeritus, Ellen Kimball, and choreography by Pippin choreographer, Angie Hudson .The score is played by a live orchestra led by Ellen Kimball.

Performances are February 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 26, and 27 at 7:00pm and February 21 and 28 at 2:00pm. Tickets for all performances are $15 for adults, $8 for students. Tickets are available online at athensartscouncil.org, by phone at 423-745-8781, or in person at The Arts Center, 320 N. White St., Athens, Tennessee. For more information, contact The Arts Center at 423-745-8781.
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Music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown. An emotionally powerful and intimate musical about two New Yorkers in their twenties who fall in and out of love over the course of five years. The show's unconventional structure consists of Cathy, the woman, telling her story backwards while Jamie, the man, tells his story chronologically; the two characters only meet once, at their wedding in the middle of the show.

"I can't think of any better way to celebrate the arrival of spring than by spending 90 exhilarating minutes with The Last Five Years, Jason Robert Brown's giddily sorrowful eulogy for a brief marriage."
—Bloomberg News

"It's instantly clear […] that this poignant, richly dramatic and piercingly honest two-character show is destined to be a hit."
—The Chicago Sun-Times

"Jaw-dropping! A gem of a show from Jason Robert Brown."
—New York Magazine

Theatre Knoxville Downtown, 319 North Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37917. Information & tickets: 865-544-1999, www.theatreknoxville.com

William Shakespeare’s “Titus Andronicus” will play on the CBT mainstage February 10-28 with 7:30 pm and 2:00 pm performances. A Pay What You Wish Preview performance will be held Wednesday, February 10, a talk back with the actors will take place Sunday, February 21 following the matinee, and the Open Captioned performance is Sunday, February 28 at 2:00 pm. The production is for mature audiences only.

Believed to be Shakespeare’s first tragedy and most graphically violent, “Titus Andronicus” was created as a crowd-pleasing shocker, full of murder, intrigue, betrayal, and revenge. Returning victorious from war, Titus has lost many sons in battle. And he has no idea that his worst nightmare is yet to take place. His prisoner of war, Tamora, Queen of the Goths, is bent on getting revenge for the loss of her son at Titus’ hands. The two become tangled in a cruel cycle of revenge in which they lose more than either one could ever imagine. Although the tragedy is consistently popular, it is rarely performed.

“The central idea in the play is that when justice and rule of law is subverted by man’s pursuit of revenge, man is capable of unspeakable violence. Even the most principled and civilized man (like Titus) can become barbaric,” said Director John Sipes.

Clarence Brown Theatre / Carousel Theatre, 1714 Andy Holt Ave on the UT campus, Knoxville, TN 37996. For information: 865-974-5161, www.clarencebrowntheatre.com. For tickets: 865-974-5161, 865-656-4444, www.knoxvilletickets.com

Edward S. Albers, Jr. has a unique way of capturing travel memories. Rather than the traditional camera, he travels with paints, a sketchbook, and a folding stool and often skips shopping for a scenic spot and an hour of sketching. Visitors to the Museum of East Tennessee History can vicariously travel the world with Bud Albers through a selection of his most interesting and beautiful paintings, such as Dublin Doorway, Saint Basil’s Cathedral, Russia, and Hong Kong Harbor from Victoria. Local pieces include a painting of Bud’s grandfather Andrew J. Albers, seated in his carriage and holding his small son, Edward S. Albers, Sr., who became Bud’s father. In the background is the family’s beautiful home that stood on the corner of Market and Locust, until torn down to make way for the present Medical Arts Building. The painting reproduces the scene from an old photograph. The exhibition, Bud Albers Recollections: Works from Life and Travels, is on view in the Bilo Nelson Auditorium of the East Tennessee History Center.

Albers is a retired businessman, philanthropist, and artist, whose family is deeply rooted in Knoxville and East Tennessee. He has a strong interest in history, and his vision was instrumental in the creation of the Museum of East Tennessee History.

East Tennessee Historical Society, 601 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Museum hours: M-F 9-4, Sa 10-4, Su 1-5. Information: 865-215-8824, www.easttnhistory.org