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By DAVE DOMESCIK | Staff Writer

PELHAM – One of Shelby County’s premier entertainment spots has announced an exciting spring lineup for 2025.

South City Theatre, located in Pelham, will put on multiple shows and special events ranging from the dramatic to the comedic.

“God of Carnage” opens on Friday, Feb. 14. The play, published by Yasmina Reza in 2008, focuses on two sets of parents meeting over their children’s dispute in a public park. The play does come with a content advisory, as it contains adult content, explicit profanity and intense emotional situations. The South City Theatre installment of the play will be directed by Pat Yates.

The next play on the spring schedule for South City Theatre in the spring is “The Complete Works of Shakespeare, Abridged” which opens on Friday, April 25. The play breaks the fourth wall frequently and is a comical retelling of the classic works of the Bard of Avon. Victoria Boyce will be directing this installment of the play.

The third and final play on SCT’s spring schedule is “Laughter on the 23rd Floor,” a classic Neil Simon play from 1993. The play contains characters directly pulled from Simon’s real life experience, and focuses on the star of a comedy show and his writers’ room. The play will be directed by Clay Boyce and opens on Friday, June 13.

Four special events will also run in the spring season at South City Theatre. The theatre is partnering with the Pelham BEAT, a nonprofit organization in Pelham that supports the arts, to bring “Hulas and Homicide” to the Pelham Civic Complex and Ice Arena. The show runs on Friday, May 2 and Saturday, May 3.

Doors for the event open at 6:30 p.m., with tickets costing $55. The event will feature appetizers, cocktails, a dinner buffet, dessert and the show. The event is an interactive murder mystery, and tickets are available at Pelhambeat.org.

The second weekend in May features performances from South City Theatre’s Acting Up Children’s Workshop. Donna Williamson, the artistic director of South City Theatre, gave some background on this event.

“These performances are the culmination of their rehearsals for “The Great Cellphone Catastrophe,” Williamson said. “These tickets sell out fast.”

South City Theatre will also be holding a summer camp in June for kids, and will put on “Moana, Jr.” as a production. Children will attend the camp from Monday, June 2 to Thursday, June 12 and will perform on Friday, June 13. Reservations are open now at Southcitytheatre.com.

Finally, South City Theatre will run its Summer Shorts program in mid-July. Williamson added some background on the event.

“This is our third year of Shorts and (they) have quickly become a favorite,” Williamson said. “The program consists of a selection of ‘short’ plays, usually lasting about 10 minutes each. With our shorts we give new directors the opportunity to learn and polish their director skills. This also allows new actors to see what it is all about without demanding a large time commitment.”

Williamson then provided context on why South City Theatre chose the three productions for the spring season, starting with “God of Carnage”.

“The three mainstage productions were chosen for a variety of reasons,” Williamson said. “We usually stage five comedies and one drama each season. ‘God of Carnage’ has been on a list of plays we wanted to produce for quite some time. Sometimes you must wait for the right director, and Pat Yates is that person.”

Yates said one of the biggest challenges associated with the play is managing the conflict in a professional manner.

“The challenge in staging this play is to not have it evolve into a screaming match between four actors, but to find the levels of emotion necessary to make each actor an individual with their own beliefs and convictions,” Yates said.

Williamson believes “The Complete Works of Shakespeare, Abridged” is a more simplistic look at Shakespeare.

“It is a fun look at the Bard and his works,” Williamson said. “Many people find Shakespeare intimidating and hard to understand. This is a fun way to incorporate his ‘complete works,’ as told by only three actors.”

She added that the play itself presents various challenges considering the breadth of content it covers.

“Three actors portray multiple characters from all 37 Shakespeare plays and an actor sometimes plays more than one character in the same play,” Williamson said. “The challenges of staging this show are that the actors must have chemistry. They must play off one another to make it successful. It is very fast-paced, and the actors must keep it going, even if mishaps occur.”

“Laughter on the 23rd Floor” is a show that the theatre has put on before, according to Williamson.

“We often include a show from a past season that was well-received,” Williamson said. “Laughter on the 23rd Floor was performed in the 2010-2011 season. It has also been on a list of past shows to bring back. This seemed like the right time to do it.”

Clay Boyce gave some more background on the show and main character Max Prince.

“He (Prince) and his team are fighting for what they believe is good comedy and the right to give this comedy to the TV viewing public,” Boyce said. “It’s about everyone and how every human sees the job they do and the fight to do that job the right way, as they see it. (Neil) Simon’s play is not just about the ‘50s battle but a battle for humor as we see it in everyday life. The challenge is to portray these real people not as caricatures but as people who lived and worked in a time vastly different from our own today.”

Williamson believes that South City’s Theatre’s importance in the community comes from its ubiquity.

“South City views our role in the community as fundamental,” Williamson said. “We are the only theatre located in north Shelby County and have been active since 1999. We provide quality shows, which are generally family-friendly, and are geared to attract a variety of tastes.”

Williamson concluded by emphasizing 2025 as the beginning of a special year for South City Theatre.

“Our 2025-26 season marks 25 years for South City Theatre,” Williamson said. “We are planning an Anniversary Gala over the summer to celebrate this milestone. Our next season is in the final planning stage. Patrons can expect to see a comedy in August, a mystery in October and a wonderful Christmas show in December.”

To purchase tickets from South City Theatre, visit Southcitytheatre.com. Reservations, which are strongly encouraged, can also be made by calling 205-621-2128.