Wedding season has begun!
Flying Anvil Theatre is bringing back “Mary’s Wedding” with the stars who made it such a hit in early 2018. Emily Helton and Parker Jenkins will return for a two-week run May 9-19 at the theater in Rocky Hill.
On the night before her wedding, Mary has a dream about her first love and the challenges that face it as a war to end all wars looms over the lives of ordinary people. The dream state of the romantic drama permeates the production directed by Jayne Morgan.
“Mary’s Wedding” starts May 9 with a pay-what-you-can preview at 7:30 p.m. It continues Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. through May 19. The opening-night gala is May 10. Tickets here or through the box office, 865-357-1309.
Be there and be Square
Music returns to Market Square tonight as the city opens the season of Concerts on the Square with Variety Thursdays. Jazz Tuesdays debut on May 7.
Tonight’s performers are the Karns Middle School Jazz Band at 7 p.m., followed by the Karns High School Jazz Band at 8 p.m. On Thursday, May 9, Symphony on the Square will be featured from 7:30 to 9 p.m.
The University of Tennessee Saxophone Ensemble will kick off Jazz Tuesdays 7-9 p.m. May 7. On May 14, the Knoxville Youth Jazz Orchestra will perform at 6 p.m., followed by the Knoxville Jazz Orchestra at 8 p.m.
The Variety Thursdays series will continue May 16 with a Rhythm n’ Blooms Festival preview featuring Katie Pruitt; May 23 Ensemble Swing Time Band; May 30 Bary Jolly’s Jimmy Buffett Tribute; June 6 Mike Snodgrass; June 13 Frontier Band; June 20 Uptown Moonlighting; and June 27 Square on the Square.
Jazz on the Square concerts, 8-10 p.m. May 21-Aug. 27, will boast such fine jazz musicians as Vance Thompson and Friends, the Greg Tardy Quartet and many more. Check out the calendar here.
There is no admission charge for Concerts on the Square, and free parking is available after 6 p.m. in city-owned garages. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own blankets or chairs for seating. No outside vendors are selling food during the events, but people can bring their own or get takeout from Market Square or other downtown restaurants. Alcohol use is limited to inside establishments or their patios.
First and foremost
Friday is First Friday, of course, so downtown will be a happening place. New exhibits will open at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay St., and the Art Market Gallery, 422 S. Gay St., along with various restaurants and shops. … “Jersey Boys” is at the Tennessee Theatre May 3-5 … Steep Canyon Rangers play Saturday, May 4, at the Bijou Theatre.
From “Grace and Grandeur” at the Emporium Center: above, Ama Dablam in Evening Light from Dingboche, Khumbu, Nepal, October 21, 2011 by John Vavruska. Left, a work by Sam Stapleton.