Vagabond Marionettes at Theatre Atlanta 1967

Red, White and Maddox

After an Atlanta opening in the fall of 1968, Theatre Atlanta sent Don Tucker and Jay Broad's Red, White and Maddox: A Thing With Music to Broadway. The show ran for a total of 41 performances from January 26th to March 1st, 1969 at the Cort Theatre at 138 W. 48th Street. The show featured Jay Garner as Lester Maddox and also Susan Shalhoub Larkin, Fran Brill (later to become the first female Muppeteer hired by Jim Henson for Sesame Street), Mitchell Edmonds, Georgia Allen, Lois Broad, Ronald Bush, Karl Emery, Clarence Felder, Gary Cage, William Gammon, Elaine Harris, Ted Harris, Christopher Lloyd (yes, that Christopher Llyod), Bettye Malone, Ted Martin, Sandy McCallum, Muriel Moore, Arlene Nadel, Steve Renfroe, Judy Schoen, William Trotman and James Westin. The show was produced by Edward Padula (William Domnitz and Arthur Miller Associate Producers) and featured sets and costumes by David Chapman, lights by Richard Casler and visuals by Bill Diehl, Jr.

"The Day Atlanta Stood Still" Orly Crash Documentary Online

Here is the link to Georgia Public Broadcasting's documentary on the Orly crash:

http://www.gpb.org/day-atlanta-stood-still

Theatre Atlanta's building on West Peachtree was paid for by a single benefactor, Frania Lee, in honor of her daughter Helen Lee Cartledge who died at Orly Field, Paris, along with her husband and 104 other members of the Atlanta Art Association on June 3rd, 1962. Helen Lee Cartledge had been active in Theatre Atlanta since the company was formed in 1957. The book pictured here, Explosion at Orly: The Disaster that Transformed Atlanta, by Ann Uhry Abrams was published in 2002 by Avion Press. There are references to Theatre Atlanta throughout.

The Vagabond Marionettes at Theatre Atlanta, December 1966

In August 1966, Vincent Anthony, Mitchell Edmonds and Susan Shalhoub (Larkin) arrived in Atlanta from New York to start a touring puppet company, Vagabond Marionettes. In search of immediate employment, all three auditioned and were hired by Theatre Atlanta as actors and scenic artists. Their first project was The Royal Hunt of the Sun directed by Jay Broad. This was the first show produced by Theatre Atlanta in their brand new building and their first production as a professional repertory ("legitimate") theater. In December of that year, Theatre Atlanta hosted a series of performances of Vagabond Marionettes' first and only title at the time, Rumpelstiltskin.

Theatre Atlanta's Building Today

Theatre Atlanta opened a brand new building in fall 1966 on West Peachtree Street in Midtown. Today the building is a concert venue known as Center Stage. It is at the corner of the recently created 17th Street and West Peachtree.

Welcome to the Theatre Atlanta Blog!

Recently while conducting research on Theatre Atlanta I was very distraught to find virtually nothing about the company anywhere on the web. This blog is being launched to remedy that situation. My goal is to preserve and share the history of Theatre Atlanta and perhaps reconnect the artists that were a part of it. Contributions of stories, photos and other memorabilia are welcome (and necessary as I was not a member of the company). I am looking forward to sharing what I have found and hearing from Theatre Atlanta alumni. Stay tuned!