Updated on Jan. 23 to update date of Lucas Pepke cabaret show.
It’s been almost 10 years since Kyle Bass decided Homewood needed its own live theater, and he started it. Now, in a prime location in SoHo, Homewood Theatre going strong, consistently presenting its shows to sold-out houses. A new cabaret series has added another dimension to the theater’s offerings. Founder and executive director Kyle Bass talks about the genesis of the theater, as well as where it is now and where it might be going.
Tell me a little about yourself.
My story is fairly boring. I was born in a small town in north Alabama, came to Birmingham-Southern College and never left the Birmingham area. Married to a wonderful woman, have two wonderful kids, three wonderful grandchildren and have lived in the same little house in Homewood for the past 25 years. I worked at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama for 30 years and took an early retirement to run a small community theater. Fairly boring … but I feel like I’m the luckiest guy around.
What’s your first memory of being on stage?
Let’s see … I think I was in 1st grade and my school was having a variety show fundraiser. My sister and I sang “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head,” and my sister carried an umbrella. Good use of props!
Can you tell me a bit about your Birmingham theater history?
I started doing shows in Birmingham theaters in the early 1990s, then I took a break while my kids played soccer, softball, etc. It was hard to balance all the work, kids and doing shows. But as my kids got older and headed to college, I picked back up around 2010-ish doing shows with Jack Mann at Virginia Samford Theatre. He was a great guy and a wonderful man to learn from.
What about Homewood Theatre? How did that start and when did you move to the current location?
For years, I had been wondering why Homewood didn’t have a community theater. The theaters in Birmingham were great, and I still love everything they do. But I thought there was room for a small community theater in Homewood. I submitted all governmental paperwork, and in 2016 Homewood Theatre was born. Initially, we literally rehearsed shows in my garage and then rented space at The Dance Foundation for a week to perform. After about three years, we moved into our own permanent space at Brookwood Village mall. And when the mall closed at the end of 2021, we moved to our current location in beautiful downtown Homewood. The space was a taco restaurant, a pizza restaurant and a mattress store before we moved in. We still have some mismatched bedding in the back we can sell you.
This season, you’ve added a cabaret series. Why?
We bought a piano! I have always loved a cabaret-style show. I think it’s a beautiful way to spend an evening. And we are trying some different things. We have always had the “Bill Bugg and Friends” cabaret show on our season ticket, and we have had other cabaret shows here and there along the way. But having the piano onsite has allowed us to have more cabaret events.
How do cabaret nights usually work?
Our monthly cabaret nights (the series is called The Michael J. and Mary Anne Freeman Cabaret Series – thanks to them for being our sponsor) are based on an idea I “borrowed” from a trip to NYC. I came back to the hotel after a Sunday afternoon matinee, and a group of “experienced” performers were around the lobby piano taking turns entertaining each other. We got a drink, sat in the back and ended up listening to them for a couple of hours!. In our version we are experimenting a bit. We put out a theme on social media and email and take replies for who will perform that month (if we have too many or duplicates, we ask them to wait until next month). We hire an accompanist, the performers have 10 minutes each to rehearse before the show, and we start the cabaret that night at 7. It is a wildly busy night. We’re working without a net, but so far, it’s been lots of fun! This month’s monthly cabaret is Jan. 19 at 7.
You also have a night featuring one cabaret performer. Is this a first? More to come?
Yes, this is our first cabaret show with a single performer. We have Brandi McClaran coming and she’s bringing Kevin Grigsby as her accompanist. They will play and sing up a storm! The show is Jan. 18 at 7:30 p.m.
And yes! We do have more to come. Unbeknownst to me, March is “Cabaret Month”. Lucky for me (and all of us), Jan Hunter made me aware of this and initiated shows for the entire month! Here’s the line up so far (we may have another one or two added) :
March 7 – Carl Dean
March 8 – Courtney Cook
March 22 – Sunny Brown
March 28 – Lucas Pepke
March 29 – Suzanne Mann
Tell me about Brandi and Kevin and what to expect.
This cabaret show is going to be a night full of music and fun. Brandi McClaran is a professionally trained soprano, has studied voice all over the place, and she has been performing regionally and locally for years. Brandi is the board president at Leeds Arts Council and the current theater arts chair/director. And she will be accompanied by Kevin Grigsby, who was a part of the amateur Van Cliburn competition in 2016. He holds degrees from Troy University, The University of Oklahoma and Birmingham Southern College, and has played with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra countless times. These two are going to perform everything from jazz standards to pop classics and have a great time while doing it. This is going to be a fun one. And since the show is at Homewood Theatre you can get 15% off your dinner at SoHo Social, Social Taco or SoHo Standard. Make it a “Dinner and a Show” night!
What’s in store at Homewood Theatre for 2025?
We are putting together our 2025-2026 season even as we speak… some fun productions are coming. We are looking at a couple of classic plays, and a couple of really fun new works. But, I also want to explore more things outside our six-show season like more cabaret, maybe more musicals, more things with our student education (they are doing free performances of “The Descendants” in Homewood Park in April) and more events coordinated with the local library, high school and colleges.
