Marc Broussard Lyric Theatre Birmingham Birmingham

Lyric Theatre Birmingham was a movie theatre and vaudeville at one point. It is located in the heart of Birmingham, on the corner of 18th Street North. It was built in 1914 and adjoined by a Lyric Office Building built at the same time. The venue is one of the theatres designed to maximize acoustics, once the finest performing arts theatre across the city. The Theatre was non-functional for a time until the 1970s. In 1993, it was then acquired by Birmingham Landmarks and underwent complete renewal in 2009. More than $8 million was raised by the "Light Up The Lyric" campaign, which resulted in the venue's re-opening on January 14, 2016, the 102nd anniversary of its inception.

Some of the well-known stars who performed at the Theatre include Mae West, Sophie Tucker, Will Rogers, the Marx Brothers, and Milton Berle. It was typical to attend shows at the Lyric Theatre during the 1920s, especially on Monday nights. The theater underwent an $11.8 million restoration and got listed on the National Register as the major part of the Birmingham Downtown Retail & Theatre Historic District. The venue remains one of the best choices for performing arts such as symphony, opera, ballet, and theater.

In the late 1910s and early 1920s, the Lyric was at its peak, and under the B. F. Keith Big Time Vaudeville banner, it hosted some major touring shows. In later years the venue was used for cinema screenings, second-run or alternative releases. The Lyric is said to be one of the only surviving vaudeville theaters across Birmingham.