Alliance Will Be Renamed the Coca-Cola Stage Following Renovation

The ALLIANCE THEATRE announced today that it will name its main stage the Coca-Cola Stage at ALLIANCE THEATRE following its upcoming renovation. The name recognizes a major contribution from The Coca-Cola Company to the Woodruff Arts Center's Transformation Campaign designated for the complete remodel of the ALLIANCE THEATRE's facility, the first renovation in its 48 year history.

"As a result of this transformation, the Alliance is going to be able to offer our patrons and our artists an iconic and defining space in which to experience and make theater," said Susan V. Booth, Jennings Hertz Artistic Director. "How incredibly fitting to be able to name that space in recognition of one of Atlanta's most iconic and defining community partners, The Coca-Cola Company. We are deeply grateful to them for their extraordinary generosity, and for the army of Alliance supporters who have brought us to this fantastic moment."

The ALLIANCE THEATRE has retained the services of the New York City studio of Trahan Architects, led by founder, Victor F. "Trey" Trahan and partner Leigh Breslau to design the reimagined facilities of the Alliance. The project will include a complete transformation of the Alliance's main stage, the theater's rehearsal spaces, education spaces, and artist support spaces. The remodel will provide significant enhancements to patron experience, technology, and infrastructure.

The renovation is scheduled to begin in Spring 2017. During that time, the Alliance will produce its 2017/18 season in different venues around Atlanta, celebrating Atlanta's diverse arts, cultural, and education destinations. It will return to the Coca-Cola Stage at ALLIANCE THEATRE in the Fall of 2018 in time for its 50th anniversary season.

The Woodruff Arts Center also announced today the successful completion of the Transformation Campaign at $110 million, surpassing its original goal of $100 million.

The ALLIANCE THEATRE is Atlanta's national theater, expanding hearts and minds on stage and off. Founded in 1968, the ALLIANCE THEATRE is the leading producing theater in the Southeast, reaching more than 165,000 patrons annually. The Alliance delivers powerful programming that challenges adult and youth audiences to think critically and care deeply. Under the leadership of Susan V. Booth, Jennings Hertz Artistic Director, the ALLIANCE THEATRE received the Regional Theatre Tony Award in recognition of sustained excellence in programming, education, and community engagement.

Known for its high artistic standards and national role in creating significant theatrical works, the Alliance has premiered more than 100 original productions including Tony Award winners The Color Purple, by Alice Walker, Aida, by Elton John and Tim Rice, and Alfred Uhry's The Last Night of Ballyhoo. The Alliance has developed and premiered important American musicals with a strong track record of Broadway, touring, and subsequent productions, including the world premieres of Sister Act: The Musical, Twyla Tharp's Come Fly Away, Bring It On: The Musical, Stephen King and John Mellencamp's Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, Harmony - A New Musical by Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman, and most recently the world premiere of the new musical Tuck Everlasting. The Alliance also creates and nurtures the careers of artists through the Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition, producing the world premiere for the competition winner as part of the regular season, and the Reiser Atlanta Artists Lab, providing developmental support and production resources for three performing arts projects each year.

The Alliance's dedication to providing access to the arts is reflected in its commitment to creating new work for all ages, and to bringing that work into classrooms and communities across Atlanta and throughout the region. More than 50,000 students each year experience age-specific professional performances and participate in acting classes, drama camps, and in-school initiatives through the ALLIANCE THEATRE Acting Program and Education Department. The Alliance's groundbreaking Kathy and Ken Bernhardt Theatre for the Very Young performances offer professionally-produced, fully interactive theater for infants and toddlers; the Palefsky Collision Project invites high school artists to create and perform new civic-minded theater based on a classic text; and community acting classes and skill-building workshops engage professional artists, young actors, business leaders, and curious learners of all ages. Twice recognized by the U.S. Department of Education for leadership in arts education, the Alliance Arts for Learning Institute equips classroom teachers with theatrical techniques that link directly to school curriculum and have been empirically proven to improve student learning. These programs include Georgia Wolf Trap Early Learning Through the Arts and Dramaturgy K-12, in which students create research material that informs Alliance productions and prepares peer audiences.

The work produced by the Alliance allows locally based artists the chance to create on a nationally watched stage, building and sustaining Atlanta's artistic community. The vision of the ALLIANCE THEATRE is to be a beacon of leadership for the national field, while remaining deeply rooted in and reflective of our local Atlanta community.