Best bets: 'The Line,' Free Fridays concert, 'Honky Tonk Laundry,' 'American Idiot,' more
“THE LINE”: The Actors’ Warehouse’s newest production, “The Line,” can be seen on stage through June 12. “The Line” was originally performed via Zoom in 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdown and produced by The Public Theatre in New York City. The Actors’ Warehouse production will be its live staged world premiere. “The Line” was created in an award-winning documentary style and crafted from first-hand interviews with New York City medical first responders during the COVID-19 pandemic. It cuts through the media and political noise to reveal the lived experiences of frontline medical workers in New York and their battle to save lives in a system built to serve the bottom line. The playwrights also captured the words of traumatized health care workers dealing with the trauma of the people they serve. This thought-provoking one-act play will be staged at Actors’ Warehouse, 2512 NE First Blvd. with performances at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays plus 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Tickets are $25 for general admission and $20 for students and ages 65 and older. For more information, or to purchase tickets online, visit actorswarehouse.org.
“FREE FRIDAYS” CONCERT: Catch the next performance of the city’s popular “Free Fridays” concert series from 8 to 10 p.m tonight at the Bo Diddley Plaza downtown amphitheater, located at 111 E. University Ave. The free concert series highlights a different act each week, with Gainesville Retro Society performing tonight. The Gainesville Retro Society is a Chicago tribute band. Attendees are encouraged to bring their blankets and lawn chairs to Bo Diddley Plaza to enjoy the concert under the stars. For more information, including a list of upcoming performances, visit bodiddleyplaza.com/upcoming-events.
“HONKY TONK LAUNDRY”: The Hipp’s newest production is a country-flavored, bootscootin’ musical. Beginning Saturday, you can wash your cares away with “Honky Tonk Laundry,” a jukebox musical full of country favorites from Dolly Parton, Carrie Underwood, Reba McEntire, Gretchen Wilson, Patsy Cline and many more. When Lana Mae Hopkins, owner and proprietress of the Wishy Washy Washateria, hires Katie to help out, they soon find themselves up to their elbows in soap, suds and cheatin’ hearts. The women join forces to transform the laundromat into a bootscootin’ honky-tonk and exact a touch of revenge against those that done ’em wrong. This production includes some sexual references and mild profanity, including talk of prescription drug and alcohol use. It is suitable for ages 13 and older. Catch a show at 7 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays plus 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, opening Saturday and running through July 10. Tickets are $23 for general admission and $18 for students and children. For more information, or to purchase tickets online, visit thehipp.org/honky-tonk-laundry.
“AMERICAN IDIOT”: Green Day’s powerhouse album “American Idiot” is brought to life in this electric-rock musical of youthful disillusion put on by the Gainesville Community Playhouse. The two-time Tony Award-winning hit musical, based on the Grammy Award-winning multi-platinum album, boldly takes the American musical where it’s never gone before. This high-octane show includes every song from the “American Idiot” album as well as several songs from its follow-up release, “21st Century Breakdown.” This production contains adult language and adult humor. Catch a show at 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays or 2 p.m. Sundays through June 12 at Gainesville Community Playhouse, 4039 NW 16th Blvd. Tickets are $23 for general admission, $19 for seniors and $12 for students. For more information, to purchase tickets online or to see a list of upcoming shows, visit gcplayhouse.org.
JOURNEY TO JUNETEENTH: CELEBRATION OF FREEDOM: Antoinette Chanel, founder of Feathered Press Indie Publisher, will reflect on the importance of Juneteenth and how its meaning informs her work as an author, artist and advocate from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday at the Newberry Branch Library, 110 S. Seaboard Drive in Newberry. Chanel is an author, affirmation artist, motivator and advocate. Her career began when she was 11 years old and won a schoolwide poetry contest. From there, she leveraged her writing talents into two master’s degrees, 15-plus years of professional blogging and freelance writing experience, and a decade-long career as a professor and instructional designer. Chanel created The Midday Reset Podcast in 2018 to share with others the strategies she found for combating anxiety and depression. Growing up, prioritizing mental health was not something taught or readily modeled for her, and she says it still is not modeled or encouraged in communities of color. For these reasons, Chanel emphatically advocates for Black women and girls to protect their mental health through talk therapy, journaling and other constructive mental health habits. To register for this free event, visit attend.aclib.us/event/6668933.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Best bets: 'The Line,' Free Fridays concert, 'Honky Tonk Laundry'
