The Alliance Theatre is Atlanta’s national theater, expanding hearts and minds onstage and off. Founded in 1968, the Alliance Theatre is the leading producing theater in the Southeast, reaching more than 165,000 patrons annually. The Alliance delivers powerful programming that challenges adult and youth audiences to think critically and care deeply. The Alliance Theatre is a recipient of the Regional Theatre Tony Award® in recognition of sustained excellence in programming, education, and community engagement. Known for its exemplary artistic standards and national role in creating significant theatrical works, the Alliance has premiered more than 135 original productions, professionally launching important American musicals with a strong track record of Broadway, touring and subsequent productions, including the Tony Award winners The Color Purple, based on the novel by Alice Walker; Aida by Elton John and Tim Rice; and Alfred Uhry’s The Last Night of Ballyhoo. Recent musical premieres include Sister Act: The Musical, Twyla Tharp’s Come Fly Away, Bring It On: The Musical, Stephen King and John Mellencamp’s Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, Harmony – A New Musical by Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman, Tuck Everlasting, Born for This: The BeBe Winans Story, The Prom, Janece Shaffer and Kristian Bush’s Troubadour, Becoming Nancy, Maybe Happy Ending, Trading Places, Water for Elephants, and The Preacher’s Wife.