The Rotary Club of Birmingham Rings in the Holidays at Red Mountain Theatre

Rotarian Dave Wood and President Brenda Hackney with Brett Meredith.

This week the Rotary Club of Birmingham celebrated the holiday season with a special off-site meeting at the new 50,000-sq.-ft. Red Mountain Theatre Arts Campus. Rotarian Keith Cromwell, Executive Director of Red Mountain Theatre, emceed a fantastic program featuring performances by the theatre's talented stars followed by a tour of the impressive campus.

Cromwell recognized special guest Kathryn Harbert for her integral role in bringing the theatre company's permanent home in Birmingham's burgeoning Parkside District to reality, along with LIVE Design Group, Brasfield & Gorrie and Harbert Management Corp. He thanked all the Rotarians who participated in the $25 million capital campaign that transformed the 100-year-old warehouse into a state of the art theatre, teaching, rehearsal and event space. Cromwell highlighted the theatre's youth programs which reach 17,000 kids in 72 unique zip codes around the state and shared the impressive lineup of upcoming performances.

Cromwell shared how he came to Birmingham in 2002 for a temporary directing opportunity and fell in love with the city and its people. He shared his overwhelming excitement for the return of live theatre after the challenges of the pandemic shutdown and his dreams for the theatre's future.

"The beauty of being back together is so incredible," Cromwell said. "The fact that we welcome over 70,000 patrons a year means this is not just an arts organization. This is an institution that actively participates in improving our home. We're 47 years old and, now that we're here, I think we're going to make it to 100."