Theatre Tuscaloosa nets 2 awards at national festival

By WVUA 23 Digital Reporter Ben Smith

TUSCALOOSA – Theatre Tuscaloosa achieved national recognition at the American Association of Community Theatre Festival in Louisville, Kentucky, on June 17.

The company’s performance of Michael Higgins’ “Launch Day: Love Stories from the Year 2108” competed against 12 other theaters organizations at the festival.

Jeanette Waterman earned Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design and Charles Prosser earned Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design.

At March’s regional competition, Theatre Tuscaloosa was crowned “Best in Show” and earned recognition for outstanding costumes, makeup/hair design, sound and scenic design, and actors Kazarious Brown and Mileidy Crespo-Jones received performance awards.

“We are beyond thrilled with our cast and crew’s work on bringing this show to nationals,” said “Launch Day” director and Theatre Tuscaloosa Executive Producer Tina Turley in a statement. “Bringing home two national titles is just icing on the cake.”

Theatre Tuscaloosa’s last appearance at the national festival was in 2021, where Cooper Shattuck’s “Love and Cheese Toast” won two awards for outstanding achievements in acting. Managing Director Adam Miller said these recent achievements are putting a major spotlight on Theatre Tuscaloosa.

“With two consecutive appearances in the national AACT Fest, Theatre Tuscaloosa is establishing its reputation as having some of the best talent in the country,” said Managing Director Adam Miller in a statement. “We are grateful to the Tuscaloosa community’s support in helping us go to nationals, and we can’t wait to continue to showcase more exceptional Tuscaloosa talent at our summer musical, Sister Act.”

Theatre Tuscaloosa’s next performance, “Sister Act,” premieres Thursday, July 20, at 7:30 p.m. and runs through July 23. You can learn more about the show or pick up tickets right here.