City Springs Theatre Company was formed in 2017 by Sandy Springs (a suburb of Atlanta, GA) residents Jan Collins, Steven Hauser, and Peggy and Jerry Stapleton in response to the needs and desires for high quality musical theatre produced locally and highlighting regional talent. Through the company’s affiliation with the brand-new Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center (PAC), City Springs Theatre is committed to artistic excellence, community engagement, and educational initiatives for all ages.
At the Sandy Springs PAC, the 50,000 square-foot Byers Theatre supports a wide range of programs and activities. The theatre features excellent sight lines, with seating for 1,070 on three levels including box seats. Superb acoustics, a full orchestra pit, and fly loft make the theatre an ideal venue for a variety of performance events. The theatre’s modern performance technology offers robust lighting and a cinema-quality 4K projector and screen.
This is the City Springs Theatre Company’s first season (2018/19), in which it has produced five full-scale, Broadway musicals chosen to entertain and inspire audiences, while creating a sense of place through the experience of live theatrical production. In addition to entertainment, City Springs Theatre Company will create and produce arts education programming and community enrichment activities, serving students and educators PreK through College. Its diverse program offerings will engage the educational community through a student matinee series, hands-on training, and summer programming, highlighting all disciplines of the arts.
This season’s theatre offerings have included: 42nd Street (September), Elf (December), South Pacific (March), Billy Elliot The Musical (May) and Hairspray (July). The group’s second season has been announced and will include: Mary Poppins (September), Holiday Inn (December), A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder (March), Sister Act (May) and Spamalot (July).
The professionalism and character of the City Springs Theatre Company is evident from the selection of productions over their first two seasons and how they’ve chosen to staff and cast those shows. For example, as the first locally produced production of Billy Elliot The Musical, an incredible artistic team has been assembled to bring this story to life, led by City Springs Theatre’s Artistic Director Brandt Blocker, Resident Choreographer Cindy Mora Reiser, Resident Music Director Judy Cole, Set Designer Campbell Baird, Resident Costume Designer Amanda Edgerton West, Lighting Designer Mike Wood, Wig Designer George Deavours, Sound Designer Steve Kraack, and Production Manager Justin Gamerl.
The cast, beyond the fine group of local talent from the Atlanta area, also includes some Broadway veterans: Pamela Gold as Mrs. Wilkinson (Broadway: How To Succeed In Business Without Even Trying, Once Upon A Mattress), local Atlantan Sarah Charles Lewis as Debbie Wilkinson (Broadway: Tuck Everlasting) and Broadway veteran Drew McVety as Dad (Broadway: Bandstand, Big River, Spamalot, Frozen, Titanic, The Heidi Chronicles, Billy Elliot). For you long time fans of BETM, you’ll recognize Drew as having spent a couple of years in the Broadway cast of the show where he was a member of the Ensemble and also was the cover for the role of Dad.
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| Pamela Gold | Drew McVety | Sarah Charles Lewis |
And as all fans of the musical know, this show is carried on the slight shoulders of the young man playing the title role of Billy. Again, City Springs Theatre has excelled in its selection of a 13 year old who, despite the tender age, is a veteran performer in the role. This will be his fourth regional production bringing the character of Billy Elliot to life on a stage — with 76 previous shows under his belt in that title role. His name, Liam Redford, is well known to this show’s “superfans”.
To learn more about Liam, click on the Billy Profiles button (below) to be taken to his detailed profile.
To see a complete listing of the rest of the City Springs Theatre cast, just click on the Cast Information button.
In the days before the opening of BETM in Sandy Springs, the City Springs Theatre produced this promotional video which highlights the demands of the role of Billy:
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