The old Grissom High School auditorium on Bailey Cove Road has new seats, an orchestra shell, motorized rigging and a new name. It is now the David A. Chan Theatre, a 611-seat proscenium hall inside the Sandra Moon Performing Arts Center. For anyone living on Green Mountain, this is the closest real stage they have ever had. Its first holiday season runs from mid-November to the week before Christmas.
The Madison County Nature Trail at the top closes before dark, and the theater at the bottom runs evening shows and weekend matinees. With a little planning, one Saturday can cover both.
A room built for the companies that used to travel
The City of Huntsville put $32.4 million into renovating the Sandra Moon Community Complex. Arts Huntsville runs the theater day to day and is still raising private money for equipment and furnishings through the inaugural season. WHNT covered the complex's ribbon cutting on September 15, and the renovated auditorium got its own ribbon cutting later that month.
The first public day on the new stage was a free Showcase of the Arts on September 26. Local groups rotated through in half-hour sets, from the Challenger Middle School Jazz Band at 9:30 a.m. to the Huntsville Concert Band at 3 p.m. Several of those same groups are now back with holiday productions. In the City of Huntsville's announcement of the theater's name, David A. Chan described the space this way:
"The City of Huntsville and Arts Huntsville have crafted an extraordinary venue where local talent can shine."
The holiday run, date by date
The City named six holiday and winter productions for the theater. Four of them have posted dates. The times below come from each presenter's own event or ticket page.
| Dates | Production | Presenter | Showtimes | Tickets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov. 19–22 | Come From Away | Independent Musical Productions | Thu. and Fri. 7:30 p.m.; Sat. 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; Sun. 2 p.m. | Listed as sold out |
| Dec. 3 | The Rocket City Nutcracker Community Night | Dance Élan | Thu. 6:30 p.m. | Free |
| Dec. 4–5 | The Rocket City Nutcracker | Dance Élan | Fri. 7 p.m.; Sat. 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. | $20 |
| Dec. 7 | Holiday Concert | Huntsville Youth Orchestra | Mon. 6:30–8:30 p.m. | No price posted |
| Dec. 18–20 | The Nutcracker: A Yuletide Ballet | Rocket City Ballet | Fri. 7 p.m.; Sat. 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.; Sun. 2 p.m. | $27 adult; $22 student, senior or military; $17 ages 10 and under; plus fees |
The other two are the Huntsville Community Chorus Association Holiday Concert and The Beasley Brothers Christmas Show. Both are on the City's lineup, but neither had a date in that announcement.
A 611-seat house fills before the calendar does
At the end of October, IMP's ticket page already showed all five Come From Away performances as sold out, just over three weeks before opening night. Those five shows add up to about 3,000 seats. A sellout like that, before November even started, tells you something about the December shows. Availability can change, so check IMP's page if you are still hoping for a seat.
Both Nutcrackers have more performances. Dance Élan sells three ticketed shows of The Rocket City Nutcracker through its online store at a flat $20. It is also holding a free Community Night on Thursday, December 3, at 6:30 p.m., which is the cheapest way into the theater all season. Rocket City Ballet's four performances are sold through its ticketing page, which posts separate prices for adults, students, seniors and military, and children 10 and under. The Huntsville Youth Orchestra's holiday concert page gives Monday, December 7, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., at the Bailey Cove address.
The mountain closes before the curtain rises
Madison County runs the Madison County Nature Trail, a free 72-acre park on Green Mountain. It is open every day from 7 a.m. until 30 minutes before sunset. Sunset comes early in December, so the evening shows all start after the gates have closed.
Here is what you can fit into a morning or early afternoon at the top:
- Sky Lake and the 1.5-mile walking trail, with the covered bridge and the chapel along the way.
- The state's largest and oldest Champion Winged Elm, which stands along the trail.
- Weekday fishing on Sky Lake for visitors under 16 or 60 and older, at $3. Veterans fish free with veteran ID. Fishing is not allowed on weekends.
- The pavilion, outdoor classroom, picnic tables and accessible restrooms, all listed by the county as part of the park.
The county calls the winter season one of "stark beauty and the quiet rustle of leaves along the forest's floor." The weekend matinees are what let you see that and a show on the same day. Saturday, November 21, and Sunday, November 22, both have 2 p.m. curtains for Come From Away. Dance Élan has a 2 p.m. show on Saturday, December 5. Rocket City Ballet has 2 p.m. shows on Saturday, December 19, and Sunday, December 20. A morning loop around Sky Lake followed by an afternoon in a theater seat works on any of those dates. For an evening show, flip it. Walk the trail in the afternoon, leave before the gates close, and come down to Bailey Cove for a 7 p.m. curtain.
Down the hill, the rest of the complex keeps its own hours
The theater is one part of a larger building, and the rest of it can fill the gap between a trail walk and a show. The City lists the Sandra Moon Community Complex hours as 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, and 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Inside are a fitness center, an indoor walking path, two gymnasiums, an event hall and a multimedia center. On a cold or wet December day, that indoor walking path is a fallback when the mountain trail is not appealing.
The South Huntsville Public Library at 7901-L Bailey Cove Road is open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Those Saturday and Sunday hours overlap every weekend matinee on the schedule. The library celebrated its fifth birthday on the same September day the theater held its first showcase, since the library project was what started the complex's redevelopment.
Two more things nearby are worth knowing this month. Saturday, November 7, the City's Paws in the Park walk meets at Hays Nature Preserve, 7161 Hays Preserve Trail SE. It is a free guided walk with dogs from 8 to 11 a.m. Across Bailey Cove at 7900, Storia Deli & Cafe still says "coming soon" on its website and has not posted an opening date. For now, pre-show dinner plans should not count on it.
The full holiday calendar fits between November 19 and December 20, on one stage a short drive down from the Nature Trail gate. If family coming in for the Nutcracker starts asking how Green Mountain's streets connect to everything opening along Bailey Cove, Sheryl Schettinger is happy to walk through it with you, calmly and one step at a time. Schedule a free consultation.
