About the Lyric Theatre
Atlanta Lyric Theatre, Atlanta’s home for local professional musical theater, was formed in 1980 by Tedi and Robert Langdon and Sally Knap as the Southeastern Savo yards, a repertory theatre company dedicated to presenting the works of Gilbert and Sullivan. The company’s first production, Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Mikado, was performed at Emory University in December 1980. Later, the company’s productions were moved to the Marist School, the 14th Street Playhouse, Center Stage Theater, and then to the Robert Ferst Center for the Arts on the campus of Georgia Tech where the company’s main stage performances were produced for seventeen seasons.
The History of the Atlanta Lyric Theatre
Atlanta Lyric Theatre, Atlanta’s home for local professional musical theatre, was formed in 1980 by Tedi and Robert Langdon and Sally Knap as the Southeastern Savoyards, a repertory theatre company dedicated to presenting the works of Gilbert and Sullivan. The company’s first production, Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado, was performed at Emory University in December 1980. Later, the company’s productions were moved to the Marist School, the 14th Street Playhouse, Center Stage Theater, and then to the Robert Ferst Center for the Arts on the campus of Georgia Tech, where the company’s main stage performances were produced for seventeen seasons.
As the company grew into a highly regarded regional musical theater company, its repertoire expanded beyond Gilbert and Sullivan into light opera and musical theatre and the company changed its name to The Savoyards Light Opera, then The Savoyards Musical Theater Company, and finally in 1998 to Atlanta Lyric Theatre. In May 2005, Atlanta Lyric Theatre relocated its headquarters into a new office and performance space off Northside Drive called The Byers Studio Theatre at The Lyric.
J. Lynn Thompson served as the company’s original Music Director, Conductor and as Artistic Director until his retirement in 2007. In May 2007, New Orleans-native and award-winning director/producer Brandt Blocker became the new Artistic Director and General Manager of Atlanta Lyric Theatre. Blocker embarked on an ambitious program to reorganize the company’s management, to transform the professional production values of the company’s shows, to reach out to new audiences and expand the season subscriber base, and to secure a permanent and first-rate performance venue for the company.
From 2008-2012, The Lyric performed at the Earl and Rachel Smith Strand Theatre on the Marietta Square. In 2013, The Lyric found its home at the Jennie T. Anderson Theatre on the Cobb Civic Center Complex. This 600-seat theatre is the perfect venue for The Lyric to produce high-caliber, technically demanding shows. In this new location, Blocker could truly stretch the company to its full potential.
Since 2016, the Atlanta Lyric Theatre was led by Artistic Director, Mary Nye Bennett and Company Manager, Stephanie Polhemus (since 2018). Producing Broadway’s hits, featuring local professional talent. The Lyric continued to call the Jennie T. Anderson Theatre home for its main stage season while also operating The Lyric Studio Theatre, a 90-seat black box theatre located on the Marietta Square, featuring cabaret and intimate performances in an environment not unlike a New York City cabaret/supper club.
In March 2023, the Lyric closed it’s doors due to a significant drop in overall attendance in the wake of the pandemic. They tried to respond to this challenge over the course of several months, but despite their best efforts, the financial resources were not sufficient to finish the current season, or embark on the next, which would have been the 43rd. Consequently, the Board voted to dissolve the organization.
