Review: THE LYRIC Brings Glamour Back

On January 14, 1914 The Lyric opened in Birmingham as a Vaudeville house. The opening night crowd was described as "large, responsive, and representative of the best element of the city." One hundred and two years later, to the day, The Lyric has reopened and I have to say the crowd could be described the same way.

Wearing their finest, from gowns and party dresses to tuxedos, top hats and canes, Birmingham's citizenry turned out in full force to see the transformation of this old relic.

Although one of the few theatres during the twenties to open its doors to both white and black audiences, it had separate entrances and seating for the two races. Last night, the audience was a blending of the races, as were the performers on stage. It was a beautiful sight to see.

During the depression, times were hard and The Lyric tried to evolve to survive. Changed into a movie house, it suffered from a layout that was built for live theatre. It opened and closed several times, even becoming an adult movie theatre for a time.

Eventually it closed for good and although groups attempted to restore the theatre, they all fell short. The well-built structure was too solid to tear down, but too deteriorated to reclaim.

Finally, in 1993, the owner sold the theatre for only $10 to Birmingham Landmarks, the same group that had saved and restored The Alabama Theatre. After many volunteers cleaned up, feasibility studies were performed, and eventually $11 million was raised, the real renovation began.

This weekend the theatre opened to three sold out performances. The show was perfectly fitting for an old vaudeville house. On the program were performers from many of the cultural and artistic organizations of Birmingham including Red Mountain Theatre Company (RMTC), Opera Birmingham and the Alabama Ballet.

Renowned storytellers Dolores Hydock, Bobby Horton, and Sharrif Simmons were the MCs for the evening. The Birmingham Sugar Babies, Three on a String, The Hot Tamales and the young people of RMTC filled the stage with laughter, tap dancing and song.

Music from The Birmingham Sunlights, an a cappella, gospel group, was a highlight of the evening, as was an appearance by Sophie Tucker portrayed delightfully by Tam Debolt.

As usual, Amy Johnson brought down the house when she gave a sneak preview of the upcoming RMTC production of THE LITTLE MERMAID. As Ursula, she reminded us of the caliber of talent we have in Birmingham.

Abijah Cunningham shared the stage with Sharrif Simmons for his spoken word presentation that was followed by Ms. Cunningham's rendition of "Home" from THE WIZ. Again, it made us realize that Birmingham offers all we could want in gifted performers and truly made us proud to call Birmingham "Home".

But the true star of the evening was The Lyric itself. Now a beautifully restored "jewel box" of a theatre, it kept pulling my eyes to the refurbished mural over the stage, the gilded opera boxes down each side and the beautiful ceiling above. Sparkling chandeliers, the beautiful turquoise curtain and the excitement filling the air made for a night I never would have expected in Birmingham. I will never forget it.

After the show, as we strolled to our car, my son and I spoke with excitement about the return of that area of our city. On two blocks there is the stately Alabama Theatre, The S.H. Kress building, home to the RMTC Cabaret and a lovely rooftop party venue, McWain Science Center, several new upscale lofts and now The Lyric, another gem in the crown of what is shaping up to be a spectacular theatre district for our city.

It has been a roundabout history, a hard fought battle and a long time coming, but I think Birmingham is on the verge of something wonderful and The Lyric shines brightly to testify to that.

This presentation of 3 NIGHTS OF MODERNE VAUDEVILLE is only the beginning to what they are calling "Live at the Lyric". There are approximately 24 varied bands and performers already scheduled for this new venue and I am sure there will be even more scheduled soon. For complete information go to www.lyricbham.com or call 205-216-3118.

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