Curtains Up! The Best Theatre and Art Events in Memphis in January
In this monthly blog, Wesley Paraham immerses you in the diverse arts scene Memphis has to offer from theatre and dance productions to art shows and markets.
In this monthly blog, Wesley Paraham immerses you in the diverse arts scene Memphis has to offer from theatre and dance productions to art shows and markets.
Have a production or show to promote? Add it here.
Green Fountain at Tops Gallery
All month
Memphis-based artist Justin Bowles’ Green Fountain is a vibrant tapestry of screen-printed, marbled, and stenciled elements. Inspired by The Unicorn Tapestries, among other historical illustrations, she elevates everyday materials into a joyful celebration of the decorative arts.
Six Men Dressed Like Joseph Stalin at TheatreWorks at the Square
Jan. 10 - Jan 26 | $25+ (various discounts available)
Six Men Dressed Like Joseph Stalin is a comedy written by playwright Dianne Nora about a man who looks like Joseph Stalin who’s tasked by the Kremlin to be a body double for the head honcho of the USSR himself, Joseph Stalin. The best part is it’s sort of based on a true story!
Shanghai Express: Film Screening and Discussion at the Brooks Museum
2 p.m. - 4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 12 | $5
Dr. SunAh Laybourn, associate professor of Sociology at the University of Memphis, and Katie Gee Salisbury, author of Not Your China Doll, will be hosting a screening of Shanghai Express, the 1932 Hollywood film noir drama famous for being both very good and surprisingly feminist for a movie made in the 30s. This screening has a particular focus on the life and career of the star Anna May Wong, and how her performances paved the way for future Asian American actors.
Inherit the Wind at Theatre Memphis
Jan. 17 - Feb. 2 | $28+
Enjoy a Theatre Memphis production of Inherit the Wind, a 1955 play written by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee (not that one) that dramatizes the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial in which a Tennessee teacher was prosecuted for teaching evolution in violation of state law, which was used as a parable for the then-contemporary McCarthy trials. Lots of layers here.
Parade at Playhouse on the Square
Jan. 17 - Feb. 16 | $25 (various discounts available)
Playhouse on the Square presents Parade, a Tony award-winning musical based on the true story of Leo Frank, a Jewish factory superintendent in Atlanta, Georgia, who was wrongfully accused of murder in 1913. The play explores the rise of antisemitism and the devastating impact of prejudice and injustice on his life and his family. Although if you wanted to subject yourself to two-and-a-half hours of antisemitism, you could just download X for free.
ANA•LOG, Size Matters, and Still at Crosstown Arts
Until Jan. 19
This is a collection of three shows in the galleries at Crosstown Arts from Memphis-based artists—ANA•LOG by Lester Merriweather, Size Matters by Alex Paulus and Still by Michelle Fair.
Black Odyssey at Hattiloo Theatre
Jan. 24 - Feb 16 | $35
Off-Broadway Theater Award-winning playwright Marcus Gardley’s Black Odyssey is a poetic reimagining of Homer's epic set in modern-day Harlem with shades of ancient Greece. Ulysses Lincoln, a soldier grappling with the challenges of homecoming, embarks on a journey guided by his ancestors and their rich history.
Cirque Kalabanté at GPAC
8 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. Jan. 24 | $23+
When Yamoussa Bangoura was growing up in Conakry, Guinea, he dreamed of founding a circus school. After studying the art, he joined Guinea's original circus company Circus Baobab, then Cirque Éloize and Cavalia in Montreal, then Cirque du Soleil. Finally, he decided it was time to realize his dream and start his own company: Cirque Kalabanté. Gravity means nothing to the acrobats of Cirque Kalabanté.The Afro-jazz rhythms and West African melodies invigorate and lighten them with each beat of the drum and strum of the kora. Isaac Newton looks down from heaven (or up from hell? I didn’t know the guy) in shock.
Preston Jackson: A Hidden Culture at the Metal Museum
Until Jan. 26, ticket required
Preston Jackson is the professor emeritus of sculpture at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and has been named the 38th Master Metalsmith of the Metal Museum of Memphis. You can see his work on exhibition which, in his own words, “reveals history that has been buried, forgotten, or deemed unimportant by society.”
The Metal Museum has also issued a content warning for this one: This exhibition includes imagery and narratives that contain sensitive subject matter including pregnancy, childbirth, racial violence, racial slurs, sexual assault, slavery, violence and war.
All Aboard: The Railroad in American Art, 1840-1955 at the Dixon Gallery & Gardens
Until Jan. 26
All Aboard: The Railroad in American Art, 1840–1955 explores the intricate relationship between American painters and the railroads that transformed the nation. The exhibition, featuring works by prominent figures of the era, charts the railroad's evolution through their eyes.
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