Mae West: Heart of Dixie

Preservationists, theatre historians, and big-hearted culture mavens in the heart of Dixie are bravely trying to rescue a formerly superb (but now neglected) vaudeville house where MAE WEST once electrified the audience.
• • According to Jesse Chambers, a fundraising effort is afoot this weekend. It's a cause worthy of your time and contributions, so please read on.
• • From Birmingham, reporter Jesse Chambers writes: All the greats played the Lyric — — including Mae West, Bob Hope, Will Rogers, Buster Keaton, George Burns, Billie Burke, and the Marx Brothers. ...
• • The Lyric Theatre, the magnificent old vaudeville palace at Third Avenue and 18th Street North downtown, was built by theatrical impresario Jake Wells in 1913 when Birmingham was a raucous boomtown with a thriving entertainment district. Wells gave the Lyric 1,200 great seats, pin-drop acoustics, and elegant decor, and it quickly became the premier venue in Birmingham. ...
• • However, the good times for the Lyric, and for vaudeville, ended with the stock market crash of 1929. Jake Wells lost his theatres, including the Lyric, to the mortgage company. The theatre was sold to the Waters family of Birmingham in the mid-1930s and became a second-run movie house. It closed in 1958 and, since then, has been all but forgotten, in urgent need of renovation and rediscovery. ...
• • However, Birmingham Landmarks has so far been unable to achieve a critical mass of support for the renovation. One problem is that few people in Birmingham are old enough to remember the Lyric or have any nostalgia for it. “It’s easy to raise money for the Alabama, but people who had positive Lyric memories — — who saw Mae West and Will Rogers — — they’re all dead,” Liles says. “In my generation it was B-movies, C-movies. It’s been Birmingham’s best-kept secret.”
• • Open House on Sunday 13 December 2009 • •
• • This weekend, the people of Birmingham will have a rare opportunity to get in on the secret of the Lyric and, perhaps, develop their own sense of enthusiasm about the venue’s exciting possibilities. The 2009 Holiday Open House at the Alabama Theatre, the Lyric Theatre, and the Hill Arts Center is scheduled for Sunday, 13 December 2009, beginning at 2:00 in the afternoon. Phone: (205) 252-2262.
• • • • Tell them the MAE WEST BLOG told you to come up and see 'em.
— — Excerpt: — —
• • Article: "Open house takes you inside Alabama and Lyric theatres"
• • BY: Jesse Chambers
• • Published by: The Birmingham Weekly — — www.bhamweekly.com
• • Published on: 9 December 2009
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
________
Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
NYC
Mae West.