Just about any week of the year, visitors to Alabama’s Coastal Connection can find great theatre somewhere on the Scenic Byway. Both Mobile and Baldwin County have active community theatres that bring quality shows to life.
Mobile’s thriving theatre community includes The Playhouse-in-the-Park, a youth theater offering school shows and weekend shows, as well as acting and music lessons. This year’s season includes “Frankenstein” and “Babes in Toyland.” The shows for “Frankenstein” will be held at Playhouse-in-the-Park’s theatre in Langan Park in Mobile. “Babes in Toyland” will be presented at the Saenger Theatre in downtown Mobile.
Downtown Mobile is also home to the Mobile Theatre Guild and Joe Jefferson Players. The vision of Mobile Theatre Guild is to provide arts education through quality theatre. This year’s season includes performances of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” by Tennessee Williams, and more. For more information, go to:
The place of Joe Jefferson Players in the theatre scene is well established. Begun in 1947, the group has been operating for almost 60 years. Still to come in the 2016-17 season are “Much Ado About Nothing,” “Chicago,” “Chapter 2” and “The Producers.”
Across Mobile Bay in Baldwin County, a very active Fairhope organization traces its roots back to 1912 to a group called The Paupaukewian Minstrels. Today, Theatre 98, formed in 1960, continues to bring live theatre to residents. This year’s season has already included performances of “Plaza Suite,” The Glass Menagerie” and “Absurd Person Singular.” The final show of the year is the play “Proof,” with shows beginning Oct. 7.
Newer to the Baldwin County theatre scene is the Eastern Shore Repertory Theatre. ESRT provides quality musical theatre experiences for families. Upcoming shows include “Lion King, Jr.” presented Nov. 5-7, and preparations are already in the works for the Junior Theatre Festival in Atlanta in January.
Farther down Alabama’s Coastal Connection is South Baldwin Community Theatre in Gulf Shores. Founded in 1972, SBCT features six shows with primarily adult casts and three shows with primarily children’s casts. The 2016-17 shows include “Laura,” “Elf The Musical Jr.,” “Dearly Departed,” “Let’s Murder Marsha,” “Twelve Angry Men,” “The Velveteen Rabbit” and “Shrek the Musical.” Additionally, the University of Alabama is in residence with its annual SummerTide Theatre musical and classes at the Gulf Shores facility each June.
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