Wallace State Fine and Performing Arts announce performance schedule

HANCEVILLE, Ala. — The Fine and Performing Arts programs at Wallace State Community College are in final practices for upcoming performances in April and early May.
The Theatre program will present its annual Broadway Night on Thursday, April 11 at 7 p.m. in the Recital Hall of the Burrow Center for the Fine and Performing Arts. Broadway Night is a student-led production. Students audition to participate and choose their own arrangements to perform. They then spend the next several weeks planning the production from beginning to end.
“Broadway Night is the culmination of student work in the musical theatre class, as well as individually selected auditioned songs and ensemble work,” said Lauren Cantrell-Salerno, director of the Wallace State Theatre program. “It gives students the opportunity to perform musical theatre pieces that they are passionate about, and it’s always one of our favorite evenings of the year.”
The students will perform solo and in ensembles, choosing selections from Broadway shows past and present. A $10 donation is requested as admission.
On Friday, April 19, the Wallace State Jazz Band will present its annual Big Band Dance at 7 p.m. in the Burrow Center for the Fine and Performing Arts. Always a highly-anticipated event, the Jazz Band performs a variety of big band and jazz tunes sure to have toes tapping and dancers spinning as they take the dance floor.
“This is something we look forward to each year,” said Ricky Burks, director of the Jazz Band and the Fine and Performing Arts program at Wallace State. “We get to see a lot of old friends each year and a good number of students attend and hit the dance floor.” A $15 donation is requested as admission.
The Theatre students will present an encore performance of their Broadway show on Friday, April 26 at 7 p.m. at Goat Island Brewery in Cullman. Broadway at the Brewery will be held at 7 p.m., and admission is free for this performance.
The finale of the spring semester will be the presentation of “Stars Fell on Alabama: Music Inspired by a Southern State.” Celebrating Alabama’s Bicentennial, this original production honors the music created in or inspired by the state of Alabama and celebrates Alabama entertainers who have left their mark on the world. The show will feature the Wallace State Singers, Concert Choir, Vocal Jazz Ensemble, Jazz Band, Concert Band and Wallace State Theatre.
“This show has been in the works for a couple of years, from the spark of the idea to the implementation,” said Tiffany Richter, director of the Wallace State Singers. “The hardest part has been narrowing down the song selection. Alabama is blessed to have a long and storied history of talented entertainers and music producers. Choosing which songs to include in a two-hour production has been a daunting task, to say the least.”
“Stars Fell on Alabama” will be presented May 2-4 at 7 p.m. nightly at the Betty Leeth Haynes Theatre. Donations will be accepted at the door, $5 for students and $10 for adults. “Stars Fell on Alabama” will then go on the road for a European tour that includes performances in Cullman’s city sister of Frankweiller.