The announcement of The Legacy Theatre came early in 2006 when the town of Tyrone and theatre owner Bethany Smith stated that the theatre would now be built near the Millbrook subdivision, directly across the highway from the Publix shopping center. A formal reception was held in March and citizens could purchase seats and hear about the inaugural line-up of shows at the theatre and things went quiet as everyone got to work.

If you drove north on Georgia Highway 74 over the past eight months, you could see the gradual construction of the building.

The theater will celebrate its grand opening next Friday with the production of “A Christmas Survival Guide” at 8 p.m. Though there was still plenty of work to be done inside the theatre earlier this week and the work is expected to go on right up until opening night, the citizens of Fayette County and area theatre-goers from throughout the south metro area are in for a treat.

The building itself is made of stucco which contains amethyst glass, a high end glass tile, giving it a purple glow, which ties in with much of the design of the theatre and the lobby.

Once inside, visitors are in a roomy lobby, which contains an indoor portion of the box office, a large concession stand and office space behind both. Both sets of restrooms are top of the line and tastefully decorated and, per the request of her husband, Mark, the men’s room will have plasma screen televisions playing James Bond films.

Closed off from the lobby are dressing rooms, the eventual dance studio for the Doris Russell School of the Performing Arts, which has the same amount of floor space as the stage, a smaller rehearsal studio and a green room where actors can wait to go on.

The real star of the show is the theatre itself. Starting with an incredible proscenium designed by a friend who works as a scenic designer in Hollywood, the project required materials and the designer to be flown in. The faux finish was done by Smith and members of Flying Cat Studios. There are 180 seats in the theater and there will possibly be some more located on the floor in front to serve as handicapped seating. There is not a bad seat in the house as the stage is 50’x30’, which is large considering the size of the house. A load-in dock leads right up to stage for the easy loading and unloading of sets and there are closets on stage for lighting and sound equipment.

Smith is visibly excited about the opening of her theater and the launching of the inaugural season. “A Christmas Survival Guide” is ready to go, according to Smith and various cast members and pieces of the set were due to be installed later this week. Rehearsals for “The Year Santa Almost Forgot Christmas” began earlier this week and the show will open Dec. 5 with one public performance on Dec. 9 available.

Though there is still a lot to be done and a lot of people working to get the theatre ready, Smith has no doubts that everything will be ready for opening night. To accomplish this goal there will be 30 family members and friends celebrating Thanksgiving on the stage next Thursday and working before and after the holiday meal.

Though tickets for the opening night gala are already sold out, tickets for the duration of the run of “A Christmas Survival Guide,” and the one public performance of “The Year Santa Almost Forgot Christmas” are on sale now. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.thelegacytheatre.org or phone 404-895-1473. The box office will be open during regular business hours once the theater has had its grand opening.

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