James Allen McCune as Jamie, right, and India Tyree as Cathy in “The Last 5 Years,” a presentation of the original Overture Series. In the background are dueling pianists Holt McCarley and Gamble.
(Photo by Katie Cathell Photography)
The Overture Series, funded in 2019 by Cobb PARKS to present concert versions of rarely staged musicals, may be gone, but Jono Davis — who conceived and produced the original series — hopes it can eventually return to his new home at Aurora Theatre. The first baby step in trying to resurrect the series is a July 26 version of Little Shop of Horrors, produced as a concert by Aurora as the closing act for the city of Lawrenceville’s Evening of the Arts festival. Aurora will be adopting the model used successfully by the Overture Series.
After leaving Cobb PARKS last year, Davis — who was the artistic director and manager of the county’s Jennie T. Anderson Theatre — has been with Aurora for a year-and-a-half. He began as the complex general manager and transitioned to the executive director position earlier in 2025. Davis will be directing Little Shop of Horrors with Mary Nye Bennett, and many familiar faces from previous Overture productions are part of the cast and creative team. The ensemble includes Leo Thomasian as Seymour; Isa Martinez as Audrey; Skyler Brown as Orin Scrivello, DDS; and Trevor Rayshay Perry as Audrey II.
Davis promises simplified production elements but a unique emphasis on the storytelling, with some twists and turns. Directing Little Shop of Horrors has been an easy way of getting back into the swing of things for the defunct series. “It’s an Aurora production, but the theater company is letting us hitch our wagon to it and do the concert Overture style, the way we would have done it,” he says.
Ann-Carol Pence, Aurora’s co-founder and producing artistic director, is proud of the history the company has created in Gwinnett for outdoor performances. “The Overture series, under Jono’s leadership, created those same memorable experiences for Cobb County for many years,” she says. “Watching [their] streaming content kept me and the rest of the Atlanta theater community hopeful during the pandemic.”
This is the second year Aurora has participated in Lawrenceville’s Evening of the Arts event. Last year, the city wasn’t quite ready to make the leap to allow the company to do a scripted show and compromised on a well-received cabaret. That success earned Aurora some “goodwill,” and, this year, the city agreed to more. Davis hopes this will lead to similar collaborations.
The original Overture series ended in controversial fashion. Davis’ former Cobb PARKS boss, Marie Jernigan, told him in 2023 that while the county had the budget, they probably would not fund the series for another entire year. That fall, she made it official, although nothing ever replaced it. Cobb County Communication Director Ross Cavitt indicated new leadership was coming to the theater after Davis’ departure but gave no reason for the Overture’s demise.
More on ArtsATL: Jono departs Jennie T. Anderson for Aurora.
Davis says he left his job on good terms to go work for Aurora, but his separation notice indicates he was not eligible for rehire. Cavitt declined to respond.
According to Davis, the department wanted to go in another route. “They thought [The Overture Series] was very costly, which it was, and management wanted another direction to save them money, which I respect, but they did not replace it with anything else. I still have many friends over there, and it is unfortunate that [nothing has taken its place].”
For more than four years, Davis shepherded the Overture Series, the first event of its kind in the Southeast. The acclaimed series featured 17 stagings and won a Suzi Bass Award in 2022. For Davis, the greatest attribute was the input it had from all artists. He took pride in allowing all artists — actors, designers, creative team members — to have a voice in the process. “We were building something together. The industry as a whole latched onto it in a very endearing way because they had a personal investment in it. When we won a Suzi Award a few years ago, it was dedicated to all artists. It was an us project.”
But Davis doesn’t want the Overture Series back just for personal reasons; he feels there is a distinct void, a need for programming of its kind. “It’s not like I would like to bring it back because it felt unfinished … I think it had a beautiful send-off. I miss it. What we loved about the series is that it was doing shows most theater companies cannot risk these days.”
He added that Queen City Concerts, a theater company in North Carolina, has adopted the Overture model and is producing the same shows.
Pence and Davis have shared roughly a dozen conversations about how they would work the Overture series into the Aurora Theatre schedule, and Davis has pitched some ideas to the city of Lawrenceville. “We have the people; we have the vision,” he says.
One option proposed has been a ticket split, with the city of Lawrenceville putting up the cost of the show and Aurora/Overture producing it. Several titles have already been discussed. Davis would love to bring back previously staged Overture titles, such as The Last Five Years and Sunday in the Park with George. But a lot would have to be negotiated, and it could take time.
Furthermore, in the current economy, Davis has to be careful. Given what’s going on in the arts now with various cuts and lack of funding, it feels like an extra component — and he doesn’t want to take away from how Aurora is trying to make it through this time. “I am selfishly trying to look out after Aurora, in the sense of letting that expense come from another investor where we can partner. I am hoping [Little Shop of Horrors] can show [the city] this is what the essence and spirit of the Overture Series was. My goal for them is to like it and want to take a leap and do a full production with us in the future.”
Where & When
The Overture Series presentation of Little Shop of Horrors is part of the Second Annual Evening of the Arts in Lawrenceville on July 26. Free admission.
210 Luckie St. Lawrenceville
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Jim Farmer is the recipient of the 2022 National Arts and Entertainment Journalism Award for Best Theater Feature and a nominee for Online Journalist of the Year. A member of five national critics’ organizations, he covers theater and film for ArtsATL. A graduate of the University of Georgia, he has written about the arts for 30-plus years. Jim is the festival director of Out on Film, Atlanta’s LGBTQ film festival, and lives in Avondale Estates with his husband, Craig.
