Birmingham Area Theatre Alliance

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November 2011

The Fantasticks - Theatre LJCC - 3960 Montclair Rd

November 10, 12, 17, & 19 at 7:30pm; November 13 & 20 at 2pm

Book by Tom Jones; music by Harvey Schmidt ; lyrics by Tom Jones; based on Les Romanesques by Edmond Rostand

Talk about a time-proven audience-pleaser! “The Fantasticks” is the longest-running production of any kind in the world, and with good reason. At the heart of its breathtaking poetry and subtle theatrical sophistication is a purity and simplicity that transcends cultural barriers. The result is a timeless fable of love that manages to be nostalgic and universal at the same time.

Adults $15.00; Students $12.00.  Call 879-0411 for tickets or more information.

 

Quilters - Birmingham Festival Theatre - 1901 1/2 11th Ave South

November 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 19 at 8:00pm; November 13  matinee

Written by Molly Newman and Barbara Damashek, lyrics and music by Barbara Damashek / Directed by Sandra Taylor

A series of short tales matched with musical numbers, the stories in Quilters present aspects of womanhood in frontier life—girlhood, mar-riage, childbirth, spinsterhood, twisters, fire, illness, and death. Each woman’s story unfolds, literally, from a piece of quilting work whose de-sign reflects her experiences. By the play’s end, these story panels com-bine to make one huge quilt that the characters raise high as the flag of pioneer womanhood. Nominated for six Tony Awards in 1984, this production was first performed at BFT in 1987, directed by Sandra Taylor.

Adults $20.00; Students and groups $15.00, Thursday September 22 pay what you can afford, $7 minimum.  Call 933-2383 for tickets or more information. 

Postcards to J. Bird- Theatre UAB - The Odess Theatre at Alys Stephens Center

November 9, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, 18, 19 at 7:30pm; November 20 at 2pm

By Stephen Webb, Directed by Dennis McLernon

Joanna has spent her life locked in the past, struggling to reclaim the fulfillment she once felt with a childhood mentor and compromising the present with her son. A poignant work that explores the damaging effects of denying one’s own truth, Postcards to J. Bird tackles themes of abandonment, conformity, and identity. Postcards to J. Bird, written by Theatre UAB graduate Stephen Webb, won the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival 2011 David L. Shelton Full-Length Student Playwriting Award.

General Admission $12 & $15, Students $6, UAB Employees & Senior Citizens $10.

 

 
 

December 2011

 
 

January 2012

Becky Shaw - Birmingham Festival Theatre - 1901 1/2 11th Ave South

January 12, 13, 14, 19, 20, 21, 26, 27, 28 at 8:00pm; January 22 matinee

Written by Gina Gionfriddo / Directed by Mel Christian

In Becky Shaw, a newlywed couple fixes up two romantically challenged people: wife's best friend, meet husband's sexy and strange new co-worker. When an evening calculated to bring happiness takes a dark turn, crisis and comedy ensue. Gina Gionfriddo’s comedy of bad manners, a tangled tale of love, sex and ethics among a quartet of men and women in their 30s, is as engrossing as it is ferociously funny, like a big box of fire-works fizzing and crackling across the stage from its first moments to its last. Penned by one of the writers for TV’s Law and Order, Becky Shaw is a Pulitzer Prize nominated new play, in keeping with our continuing effort to bring new theatre to Birmingham!

Adults $20.00; Students and groups $15.00, Thursday September 22 pay what you can afford, $7 minimum.  Call 933-2383 for tickets or more information. 

 
 
 

February 2012

On the Verge, or The Geography of Yearning - Theatre UAB - The Sirote Theatre at Alys Stephens Center

February 22, 23, 24, 25 at 7:30pm; February 26 at 2pm

By Eric Overmyer, Directed by Karla Koskinen

Overmyer’s mirthful fantasy tracks the exploits of three Victorian lady explorers spinning through time. For these intrepid “sister sojourners” the future weaves a rich tapestry of history, geography, feminism and fashion. Theirs is a serendipitous adventure through darkest Africa, highest Himalaya and Terra Incognita!

General Admission $12 & $15, Students $6, UAB Employees & Senior Citizens $10.  

 
 

March 2012

Holy Ghosts - Birmingham Festival Theatre - 1901 1/2 11th Ave South

March 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17 at 8:00pm; March 11 matinee

Written by Romulus Linney / Directed by Bethe Ensey

Romulus Linney writes a moving and funny account of unsophisticated people in moral and emotional crisis in the Deep South. Nancy Shedman, in an effort to escape the drunken attentions of her husband Coleman, has moved in with a band of Pentecostal snake handlers and fallen in love with their leader, Rev. Obediah Buckhorn. Rich with atmosphere and the feel of southern rural life, the play blends humor and poignancy as it probes into the circumstances and stories of the various cult members. What happens when Coleman comes to claim his wife? The notes in the original script give credit to BFT for being one of the first theatres in the country to stage the play in 1976.

Adults $20.00; Students and groups $15.00, Thursday September 22 pay what you can afford, $7 minimum.  Call 933-2383 for tickets or more information. 

Theater UAB Annual Festival of Ten Minute Plays - Theatre UAB - The Odess Theatre at Alys Stephens Center

March 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 at 7:30pm

Produced by Lee Shackleford

Our edgy, tremendously popular festival features eight super-short original plays. The 2012 theme, Get Me Out of Here! presents stories of cages, prisons, and traps of all kinds.

General Admission $5 

 

April 2012

Hay Fever - Birmingham Festival Theatre - 1901 1/2 11th Ave South

April 19, 20, 21, 26, 27, 28, May 3, 4, 5 at 8:00pm; April 29 matinee

Written by Noel Coward / Directed by Ellise Mayor

No Anniversary Season would be complete without a good old-fashioned comedy! And Hay Fever fits the bill. Set in an English country house in the 1920s, the play features the four eccentric members of the Bliss fam-ily. Unbeknownst to the other family members, each invites a guest to spend the weekend at the house. However, as the festivities commence, each guest pairs up with a different family member. When their paths cross at points throughout the house, the reactions are over-dramatic and over the top! This play was first performed at BFT in 1980.

Adults $20.00; Students and groups $15.00, Thursday September 22 pay what you can afford, $7 minimum.  Call 933-2383 for tickets or more information. 

Macbeth - Theatre UAB - The Sirote Theatre at Alys Stephens Center

April 18, 19, 20, 21 at 7:30pm; April 22 at 2pm

By William Shakespeare, Directed by Dennis McLernon

Fair is foul, and foul is fair in this tale of murder, greed and untimely death. The prophecy of three witches sends ambitious Macbeth on a ruthless quest for power. Goaded by his restless, scheming wife, bloody treason spirals into paranoia and guilt from which they cannot escape. Shakespeare's darkest tragedy is also his most gripping, intense and psychologically thrilling.

General Admission $12 & $15, Students $6, UAB Employees & Senior Citizens $10. 

 

May 2012

 
 
 

June 2012

The Last Hotel for Women - Birmingham Festival Theatre - 1901 1/2 11th Ave South

June 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, 23, 28, 29, 30 at 8:00pm; June 24 matinee

Written by Randy Marsh / Directed by Edward C. Miller

The novel by Vicki Covington was adapted for the stage by her brother Randy Marsh, a playwright and founding member of BFT. Set in Bir-mingham in 1961, when Freedom Riders were passing through the Deep South, the production centers around a hotel run by Dinah Fraley and her husband. They are visited frequently by the Birmingham Commissioner of Public Safety, Sheriff Bull Connor, a known racist and bigot. Racial tensions run high in this powerful drama that was originally staged in 1996, and closes out our 40th Anniversary Season.


Adults $20.00; Students and groups $15.00, Thursday September 22 pay what you can afford, $7 minimum.  Call 933-2383 for tickets or more information. 

 
 

July 2012

 
 

August 2012