A four-year project to find a new space for Terrific New Theatre will culminate with the opening of Stephen Sondheim’s Pulitzer Prize-winning musical “Sunday in the Park with George” on Nov. 21.
That will be the first production in TNT’s new permanent space at 2112 5th Ave. North in downtown Birmingham. “Sunday in the Park with George” will be followed by the plays “POTUS,” “Tiny Beautiful Things” and “The Minutes” in what TNT is calling a “mini-season.” (Future seasons will include six productions).
“TNT has been planning this opening for quite some time, and we are excited to get back to the business of making art,” Tam DeBolt, executive director of TNT, said in a news release. “We’ve been ‘putting it together, bit by bit’ and doing our best to make a theater where there never was a theater.
“The Sondheim musical is a big effort … cast size, set, music, musicians,” she added. “It will be a fantastic way to welcome our patrons back to TNT.”
Information about ticket sales will be announced soon, including an opening-night party for “Sunday in the Park with George” in November.
TNT, founded by Carl Stewart and Steve Stella in 1986, was originally on 21st Street before moving to Lakeview’s Pepper Place, where it was located from 1991 until 2020.
The board searched for a new location before supporters John and Louise Beard bought the 5th Avenue North building and gave it to the theater. An ongoing capital campaign has raised money to renovate and reopen the space as a 100-seat theater.
Here’s a look at TNT’s planned mini-season:
- “Sunday in the Park with George” (Nov. 21-Dec. 8): Stephen Sondheim’s acclaimed musical inspired by artist Georges Seurat and his painting “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.” Caleb Clark will star as George, with Kristen Campbell as Dot. David Strickland directs, with musical direction by Michael King.
- “POTUS” (Feb. 20-March 9, 2025): The Birmingham premiere of the Broadway comedy by Selena Fillinger. The show about the women in the life of the U.S. president features an all-female cast. Bethe Ensey is the director.
- “Tiny Beautiful Things” (April 10-27, 2025): Nia Vardalos (who wrote and starred in “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”) adapted Cheryl Strayed’s novel into a play. It’s about an unemployed writer who becomes a newspaper advice columnist. Rebecca Yeager directs.
- “The Minutes” (June 12-29. 2025): A dark comedy about a fictional city council meeting, written by Tracy Letts, who wrote “August Osage County.” “The Minutes” was Tony-nominated in 2022. Michael Flowers will direct.
