THIRD FLOOR LOFT SPACE
We have had a good summer with the new banquet hall and the fall and winter bookings for parties and meetings are coming in well at this point. The expansion of the 3rd floor Loft room is also coming along well and will soon be in business.
BANQUET HALL EXPANSION
The second planned opening from the theatre into the new banquet hall is finally complete. This will allow theatre patrons to utilize the 8 restrooms in the Hill Event Center, expanding the total number of ladies restrooms from 8 to 16, which should help the long lines at the ladies rooms during the intermissions. This expansion will also allow easier access from the theatre to the 2 Hill Center rooms for pre and post-show events. We will also add two more bars which should also help with intermission.
HOLIDAY FILM SCHEDULE
For those of you who have already started calling about the holiday movies, the 2009 holiday film schedule is set and listed below. If you haven’t visited the Alabama Theatre during the holidays you have missed one of the most beautifully decorated, wonderfully enjoyable buildings in downtown Birmingham. From the 20-foot Christmas tree in the grand lobby with over 1,000 lights, to the auditorium, with over 3,000 lights and Christmas carols played on the historic Mighty WurliTzer Pipe organ, and 2000 people each evening singing along. If all of this does not give you a warm, fuzzy, holiday feeling in your stomach then you are kin to Ebenezer Scrooge. The Holiday Season is the only time when up to 4 generations of a family will visit the theatre together.
Mon Dec. 14th - 7pm A Christmas Story (1983)
Tue Dec 15th - 7pm It’s A Wonderful Life (1946)
Wed Dec 16th - 7pm It’s A Wonderful Life
Thu Dec 17th - 7pm Christmas Vacation (1989)
Fri Dec 18th - 7pm Christmas Vacation
Sat Dec 19th - 2pm Children’s Matinee TBA
Sat Dec 19th - 7pm White Christmas (1954)
Sun Dec 20th - 2pm White Christmas
Mon Dec 21st 7pm Meet Me In St. Louis
Tue Dec 22nd 7pm Miracle on 34th Street
NEW FEATURE AT THE ALABAMA
To provide you with more efficiency and to speed up the time you spend in line at the bars during the intermission at concerts, the staff has come up with something new. For those wanting just beer during the large shows we will have several GRAB-AND-GO BEER BARS, where you can just walk up and get beer in a can. Look for the signs indicating additional bars and restrooms during the large shows beginning in September.
NEEDED FUNDS
THE ALABAMA THEATRE NEEDS $100,000 BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR.
As you might have read, funding for non-profits is at an all time low and it has hit the Alabama Theatre hard. We cannot find funds to purchase light bulbs, have the carpet repaired and many other items. We are already forced to curtail expenses everywhere we can and unless we receive the needed $100,000 we will have to make more cuts.
Remember, the Alabama Theatre is a 501©3 non-profit organization and all donations are fully deductable. Call 205-252-2262 for more info. You can make a donation and place it on your credit or debit card, write a check, and even cash still works at the Alabama.
NEW WEBSITE
The Alabama Theatre, The Hill Event Center and the Lyric Fine Arts Theatre will have a new website in September. Our webmaster, Byron Ford, is working hard trying to create a new and exciting site. It will be better, more informative and a more fun site to navigate while you learn about events, projects, banquet halls, meeting rooms, etc. As you learn more about the organization, we hope you will share with us your suggestions that will make the organization and website an even a greater place to visit.
NEW EMPLOYEE
When you call the Alabama Theatre you will hear a new voice, our new office manager and event coordinator Kathi Glasscox. Kathi has worked at the Alabama in several capacities, and we feel lucky to have her and her vast experience to enhance our theatre family. During any visit to the Alabama Theatre, you might see Kathi shadowing our Executive Director Cecil Whitmire as she tries to soak up in a few months his 22 years of experience. Welcome Kathi!
ANOTHER AWARD
In addition to all the other awards our Executive Director has received, the newest one came during the Centennial Celebration of the Birmingham Branch of the NAACP, THE CHAMPION OF THE ARTS AWARD.
LYRIC THEATRE REPORT
For those of you that continue to ask about the future of the Lyric theatre just across the street from the Alabama, here goes….
The Lyric theatre was built in 1914 and was the premier Vaudeville theatre in Birmingham for 16 years before talkies became the "in" thing. The owner of the Lyric Theatre, Jake Wells, committed suicide during the great depression in 1929 and the mortgage holder, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company leased the theatre to the Schubert Theatre chain out of New York in early 1930. From 1920 to 1935 the Lyric had high-class vaudeville and movies. Then, in 1935, the Schubert’s did not renew their lease and the building was sold to the Waters Entertainment organization, a local owner and operator of neighborhood theatres and drive-in theatres. Programming was westerns, b-movies and hold over movies from the Ritz Alabama Theatres.
The one eyed monster, television, came on the Birmingham scene in the early 50’s and many theatres had to close their doors. In 1959, the owners of the Lyric shuttered the theatre and, with the exception of a couple of years in the 70’s, the theatre has been closed since that time. In 1991, Birmingham Landmarks acquired the Lyric Theatre and the adjoining 6-story office building. Since that time, only a small amount of needed upkeep has been done to the buildings.
Three attempts have been made to rescue the theatre; the Women’s Committee of 100 tried, the supporters of the Alabama Symphony tried and Operation New Birmingham tried and all failed to generate much support. Now, with this theatre in the hands of Birmingham Landmarks, Inc., a decision has to be made soon as to what has to be done to finally restore the beautiful building to its former glory.