The Arts
Cultural talent abounds in Alexander City
STORY BY BETSY ILER PHOTOS BY KENNETH BOONE & JAKE ARTHUR
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rom quality live performances to award-winning art, the Lake Martin area is blessed with a wide variety of artists and arts organizations that inspire, entertain and improve the quality of life in Tallapoosa County. Alexander City Theatre II, a nonprofit community theatre company focused on showcasing the talents of local townspeople in live stage productions, presents an annual season that includes classic and original plays. The troupe reopened this spring, after COVID-19 restrictions canceled the 2020 season, with a free showing of Alfred Uhry’s Pulitzer Prize winning script, “Driving Miss Daisy.” Presented outdoors and socially distanced at the Town Green at Russell Crossroads, this event was open to the public free of charge, thanks to the sponsorship of local businesses and individuals. ACT II’s September production of Neil Simon’s Plaza Suite also will be open to the community at no charge. Presented on the Betty Carol Graham Center stage on the Alexander City campus of Central Alabama Community College, this highly acclaimed 1968 comedy in three acts 44 | 2021-2022 THE SOUTH'S BEST KEPT SECRET
has a long-standing reputation as one of most hilarious scripts from one of Broadway’s most popular playwrights. The remaining ACT II 2021 season will include a cemetery tour in late October and a live presentation of It’s a Wonderful Life, A Live Radio Play by Joe Landry. Visit actheatre2.com for performance dates, locations and details. Traveling productions and concerts are presented throughout the year by Alex City Arts, a nonprofit presenter organization that brings popular, award-winning music and theater productions to the area, including the Vienna Boys Choir, Virginia Samford Theater and more. This year’s ACA offerings will include October’s Cashback, a tribute to Johnny and Jane Carter Cash; the return of 7 Bridges Band, the ultimate Eagles experience in November; Longineu Parsons’ What a Wonderful World tribute to Louis Armstrong in February; and a March appearance by Martin musical heritage group, Rockland Road. The area also is a hotspot for artists and art lovers who meet through a number of juried arts events all around the lake.
