The Lyric Theater

The Lyric Theatre is a vaudeville theatre originally built in 1914 in downtown Birmingham. It went through several different iterations over the years before eventually falling into disuse and disrepair. A massive fundraising effort by the city and the citizens of Birmingham helped restore the theatre back to its original glory. We were tasked with designing the outdoor posters surrounding the theatre and several other pieces both during the fundraising portion and the eventual opening ceremonies, including newspaper ads, social media posts, interior signage, and the official program for the opening night festivities. 

The centerpiece of the design was a poster I illustrated to commemorate the event, which was also sold as a keepsake. We went through several iterations of the designs before we decided on something hand-crafted, just like the restoration was. On a site visit we noticed that the original upper stage curtain – though in terrible shape – still showed the painting of the muses watching the stage below. We decided to honor the muses who had stood the test of time to continue telling the story of the Lyric by making them the focal point of the design, as well as the Lyric’s iconic beautiful blue curtain. The muses chosen all had to do with the theatre or performance. Erato (love poetry), Polyhymnia (hymns), Terpschore (dance), and my favorite, Thalia (comedy).

The opening night of the new Lyric was a huge event, covered by press all over the region. The muses even made a physical appearance by being incorporated into the actual grand opening vaudeville show as narrators, which, I have to say, was maybe the coolest thing I’ve ever done.