The fall semester is slowly coming to an end, winter break is just around the corner and soon students will be packing up to go home to spend time with family. However, there are still many students that are not granted the same opportunity and luxury to go back home whether it is for cost-effective reasons, for instance like international students or otherwise for any given reason. This will be most student body gone and leaving the campus vacant, which still leaves many students with limited opportunities and options to keep occupied in the meantime. The options available to these on-campus students in the nearby Florence region are limited when it comes to travel convenience, timing schedule, and financial flexibility. However, in the downtown area of Florence Alabama, the Shoals Community Theater offers a variety of budget-friendly admissions and entertainment options to choose from to UNA students.

The manager of the Shoals Community Theatre Steve Price explained that “Two theatre groups bought this theatre…right now there’s a two-week uninterrupted time prior to each play and the week of the play of course they’ll open on Thursday and runs through Sunday. We have the Gingerbread Players which are our children’s plays and Zodiac Players which do our adult plays.” Both theatre productions are open to audiences of all ages to watch, and both groups are known to have played several cult classics over the years. For Zodiac Players this includes recent production such as “Legally Blonde,” “The Beverly Hill Billies,” and coming soon in January “Steel Magnolias” for the Zodiac Players production. For Gingerbread Players this includes recent production such as “Willy Wonka,” “Little Women,” and coming soon next year “Junie B. Jones.”

It would be years until films would premier again on screen in the Shoals Theater, a development which has since been a recent addition to the theatre in recent events. The manager Steve Price mentioned the process that it took to start putting films back on screen and stated that, “We been kind of feeling our way through this. You know, it was experimental of course and wondering what was going to work and what wasn’t going to work and trying to get the word out.“ The Shoals Theatre has recently released its upcoming screenings of cult classics for the winter holidays such as “White Christmas,” and “Christmas Vacation” which has sold over three hundred in pre-sale tickets with admissions and concessions costing only $5 each.

There have been a handful of students here at UNA that know about the entertainment services the Shoals Theatre has to offer. One UNA student, Addi Broadfoot, is a native Alabama local in the Florence region and has been attending the Shoals Theatre since high school. Addi Broadfoot recalled her first time and experience being at the Shoals Theatre and stated that, “The first time that I ever went like inside the building I used to help. I was tech crew for my drama club in high school. I think we did ‘Sound of Music’ was my first year. That was the first time I went. The first movie that I saw there though, I think it was ‘The Princess Bride’ which is one of my favorite movies of all time. So, it was really great to get to see that.” Along with the distinct options that the Shoals Theatre offers its patrons, it also provides a place where artistic groups of people can come together to support the arts associated with film and theatrical performance production within the Florence community.

The Muscle Shoals Community Theatre offers an array of entertainment options with a budget friendly cost that is more affordable than the other mainstream and conventional options in the Florence region. It is a culturally captivating place that holds a significant spot in the local community for both the older and younger generations. The theatre itself holds the equivalent of a time capsule of the early 20th century entertainment that gives its patrons a sense of nostalgia whenever they walk through the front doors. These factors make this theatre considered a hidden gem in downtown Florence that art enthusiasts and regular audiences enjoy, offering destination convenience and budget friendly options available to UNA students.

The Shoals Community Theater has held a significant place in the downtown Florence region for nearly a century and holds a captivating, rich history. The building was built and commissioned in the early 20th century by the original owner Louis Rosenbaum. It was intentionally designed to host only movies when it first opened but as time went on it would become a popular spot to host all types of entertainment venues over time in the community. Over the years, the Theatre would undergo several phases of ownership and renovation until the Shoals Community Theatre purchased it along with two other theatre groups with the Zodiac Players and The Gingerbread Players being the co-owners.

These two theatre groups have since been renowned in the local Florence community with hosting several theatre production shows in the fall and winter seasons in the Shoals Theatre since the change in ownership.