By Katie Roth
Did you know that Homewood has its own theater? The aptly named Homewood Theatre been producing plays for three years, but just found its new home on the top floor of Brookwood Village across from Books-a-Million. Dinner and a show at the new location means affordable $20 tickets, free covered parking and a selection of restaurants within a short walking distance. We sat down with Kyle Bass, long-time Homewood resident and executive director of the theater, to talk about the relocation.
How did Homewood Theatre get its start?
We had some wonderful mentors in the theater, and I asked them, “What do we need to do if we want to have some community theatre in Homewood?” They said, “You need to be a nonprofit,” so I started pushing nonprofit paperwork. Then in August 2016, we did our first show. We sampled a few things out our first year, and we’ve had two full seasons of structured plays and musicals since then. In general, we do all comedies and musicals.
Where was the Homewood Theatre located before, and why did you decide to move?
We were at The Dance Foundation in downtown Homewood. It was a great space, but they were just too busy. They had classes and recitals all the time, and that’s why we started looking around for another space. We had to build our sets so they could be torn down every night because The Dance Foundation had dance classes in the theater during the day, so it was a little logistical problem.
How did you land on Brookwood Village?
Here at Brookwood Village we’ve got covered parking, so you don’t even have to get wet if it’s raining. We’ve got great restaurants within walking distance, so you can go get dinner then come see a show. You could even go back and get dessert after the show’s over, and you never have to move your car. It seemed like the perfect spot for that kind of thing. What more could you want?
What stands out about this location?
I think it’s going to be able to bring more people in. Everybody knows where Brookwood Village is, so we’re in a visible spot with easy access. We did a little poll of all of our audience members, and most of them come from Homewood. But the others come from Vestavia, Mountain Brook and Southside, so you can’t get more centrally located than this. It’s also going to give us a chance to leave the set up all the time and build more elaborate sets. We were kind of limited and had to do things in kind of a minimalist, bare-bones kind of way before now.
What performances should people be looking forward to this season?
Oh, I’m looking forward to all of them! They’re all going to be wonderful! We’re kicking off the season with Bill Bugg and Friends. They’ve kicked off our last two seasons. We’ve got some fabulous singers coming with Bill Bugg: Kristi Tingle Higginbotham, Jan Hunter, Dana Porter, Stan Nelson and Clint Pridgen. The second show is one I’m directing, so I’m looking forward to that—Girls’ Weekend. A book club goes off for a girls’ weekend, and the guys show up and hilarity ensues. People asked us to do a Christmas show, so we’re doing one called Inspecting Carol. It’s about a group that’s trying to put on the old Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, and again hilarity ensues. Around Valentine’s Day in February we’re doing Isn’t It Romantic. In April, we’re doing Catch Me If You Can, which is kind of a murder mystery comedy. And then we’re ending the season with another musical called I Do! I Do! in May. We would love to have you!
Learn more about the relocation and how to purchase individual and season tickets at homewoodtheatre.com or follow @HomewoodTheatre on Facebook.
