Let’s Misbehave as Barking Legs turns 25
Ann Law moved to Chattanooga with her husband, Dr. Bruce Kaplan, a neurologist, in 1990. He set about building his practice and she got to work looking for opportunities to perform and teach dance. She noticed almost immediately that Chattanooga didn’t have a place for artists of almost any kind to create new works.
The city had nice venues, such as the Tivoli Theatre and Memorial Auditorium, but they were mostly presenting traditional works.
“Musicians were playing bars, for the most part,” she says. “But it didn’t have a space for new works, and I was interested in presenting new works.”
Law was looking for a place where artists would have the freedom and opportunity to experiment, succeed or fail without bankrupting themselves and develop. She opened Barking Legs Theater on Dodds Avenue in 1993.
The 4,000-square-foot space will celebrate its 25th anniversary tonight through Saturday, Nov. 1-3, with a cabaret inspired by the music of Cole Porter.
Included each evening will be a menu of food and drinks specifically curated to go with each performance. Performances will blend jazz, hip-hop, dance, spoken word, drag and more genres. VIP tickets include the show, meet-and-greet with the artists, photo, reserved parking and a complimentary bottle of wine from Kaplan’s cellar.
Through the Contemporary Performing Arts of Chattanooga organization that Law created, she introduced Chattanooga to a wide variety of dance, comedy, spoken word, performance art and thought-provoking salons, workshops and panel discussions.
Kaplan began partnering with local businessman and bluegrass lover George Bright to produce music shows at the venue in 1997 under the name Flying Fingers Productions. Artists such as Butch Baldassari, Russ Barenberg, Steve Baughman, Biscuit Burners, Norman and Nancy Blake, Zoe Boekbinder, Roy Book Binder, Brock McGuire Band, Andrew Bird, Bohola, Spencer Bohren, Mark Boling Trio, Allison Brown, Robin Bullock, Jon Butcher and Cadillac Sky performed there.
Barking Legs Theater has hosted numerous shows featuring local performers in all mediums, and was home to local film club Mise En Scenesters for while.
“It is a versatile space,” Kaplan says.