Theatre Tuscaloosa

Mission:

To elevate the consciousness of theater in the greater Tuscaloosa community by providing quality theater opportunities for people interested in participating in live theater and contributing to the cultural education, entertainment, and enrichment of the community through attending live theater.

History:

In 1972, the Tuscaloosa Community Players was founded. The group performed in area hotels, churches and other borrowed spaces until the late 1970s when the Bama Theatre opened as a performing arts venue. 

In the 1980s, Shelton State Community College and Theatre Tuscaloosa entered into a model partnership agreement that allowed Shelton State to be one of only two community colleges in the country to have a professional theater company in residence on campus.

Theatre Tuscaloosa bought and renovated a vacant store front downtown and named its new home for offices, rehearsal spaces, and scenic and costume shops the T. Earle Johnson Stage Centre and performances took place in the historic Bama Theater downtown.

During the 1990s Theatre Tuscaloosa was the recipient of a Governor’s Arts Award, numerous Druid Arts Awards, and top honors in the Southeastern Theatre Conference Community Theatre Competition.

In 1993, Theatre Tuscaloosa was selected as the first performance organization invited to tour Narashino, our Japanese sister city. In 1995, Theatre Tuscaloosa founded Stage Centre Company, its professional division, which has provided over one thousand educational performances to schools and communities around the state.

In 1998, Theatre Tuscaloosa completed construction of the Bean-Brown Theatre, its current home. The facility was funded through a public-private partnership that involved hundreds of individuals, corporations, and foundations.

The Alabama Stage and Screen Hall of Fame was established to recognize Alabamians who have made significant contributions to the arts and brought fame and credit to the state through their work in theater, movies, or television. That same year, Theatre Tuscaloosa was invited to perform in Schorndorf, Tuscaloosa’s sister city in Germany. 

Currently, Theatre Tuscaloosa is now one of the largest theater companies in Alabama and this past season produced its first world premiere, A Dickens of a Carol, with musical score written by Alabama native Brad Simmons.