The Suzi Bass (www.suziawards.org) awards are the Atlanta area’s version of the Tony Awards, celebrating excellence and achievement in professional theatre. This fall The Legacy Theatre, the only full-time professional theatre south of Atlanta, will celebrate its third anniversary and embark on its fourth season.

 On the heels of these achievements, the Atlanta theatre scene is starting to take notice with two nominations by the Suzi Bass Awards for Dustin Lewis for Best Actor in the Musical john & jen and Disney’s High School Musical 2 for Best Ensemble!

The Legacy Theatre is the brainchild of Bethany Hayes Smith who acts as Executive Producer and her husband Mark Smith, Artistic Director. The Legacy has been called “a Mini Fox Theater” or a boutique theatre:  one of a kind. Unlike many of the theaters currently in operation in the Atlanta area, the Legacy Theatre is a for-profit business with only 3 full-time employees.  It is one of only a handful of theaters in the entire country still thriving as a for-profit venture.

The Legacy Theatre produces five main stage productions throughout the year. Their shows include a “hidden gem” slot in the spring, usually a piece that many theatre-goers have not yet experienced, as well as four other Broadway-caliber productions. In addition to the main stage season, the Legacy produces a hugely popular Children’s Series that performs for area schools! The Legacy Theatre also offers a highly successful education program that includes the Broadway Workshop and summer camps.

Not only was receiving the nomination for High School Musical 2 a wonderful compliment to the high quality cast, but also to the thought given to each casting decision by Director, Mark Smith and  Choreographer, Bethany Hayes Smith. High School Musical 2 was the largest professional cast ever assembled by the Legacy team. The Smiths utilized local professionals and a select youth ensemble from  the Broadway Workshop program, as well as national talent brought from all over the country.  Due to their efforts, High School Musical 2 turned out to be a top-notch production!

Dustin Lewis was born in Peoria, IL and grew up in the Central Illinois area. Dustin attended Butler University for a short time and has traveled the globe for the past 17 years as a singer, dancer, actor and choreographer where he has performed for such stars as Dick Clark and Michael Jackson. He has worked for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and Cunard Cruises as a lead singer and cabaret artist. Over seas he has performed in such shows as Miss Saigon, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and Larry Hart and Michael Jackson’s Sisterella. He now resides in the Atlanta area where he is still performing.  In addition to being a part of the creative team at The Legacy, he also acts as sales/ marketing director, playing an integral part in helping start The Legacy Theatre. He was most recently seen in Disney High School Musical 2 (Mr. Fulton), john & jen (Suzi Bass Award nominee for Best Actor in a Musical) the World Premiere of Vintage Hitchock: A Live Radio Play, Wizard of Oz (Cowardly Lion), The Spitfire Grill (Caleb), Some Enchanted Evening (Director/ Singer), Forever Plaid/ Plaid Tidings (Sparky), and King David Oratorio (Joab) where he performed for Mr. Alan Menken. Chicago audiences got a glimpse of him as the corn fed farm girl from Iowa, Bonnie Louise Cutlet, in the Chicago premiere of Pageant by Bill Russell. In addition to performing, he is also an educator with The Legacy Theatre’s very popular children’s camps and Broadway Workshop programs.

The Legacy Theatre’s 2009-2010 Season includes: Children’s Letters to God, A Tuna Christmas, My Way: A Tribute to Frank Sinatra, Baby, Annie, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Madeline’s Christmas, Miss Nelson is Missing.

For more information about the Legacy Theatre www.thelegacytheatre.org Box office: 404-895-1473

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