ATLANTA: After a year of construction, the Alliance Theatre has announced the three youth and family productions that will open the new Goizueta Stage for Youth and Families, marking an investment to Theatre for Young Audiences with a dedicated space. Inspired by the massive construction project that uncovered the dirt floor beneath the Memorial Arts Building, the Goizueta Stage space will open with three productions all set underground and performing in repertory from January 2026 through the summer. Dubbed “The Underground Rep,” the family season will feature TYA musicals Into The Burrow: A Peter Rabbit Tale, Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: The Rock Experience, and the world premiere of The Great Ant Sleepover by the creators of The Incredible Book Eating Boy.
“We set out to build a space where wonder is always in season,” said artistic directors Tinashe Kajese-Bolden and Christopher Moses in a joint statement. “This exciting repertory model lets us fulfill the promise of this new stage by offering families a reason to come back again and again—an open invitation to come whenever inspiration strikes, where every week holds something new to be enchanted by, and where the Alliance is a joyful part of growing up.”
The Goizueta Stage will be a transformative space for Atlanta’s youngest patrons, featuring thoughtfully curated, year-round programming by Alliance Theatre and Atlanta Symphony Orchestra on the campus of the Woodruff Arts Center. Alliance’s programming will be supported by the Imagine Endowment, a permanent fund which will keep ticket prices accessible for an expanded base of young audiences, provide field trip resources for Georgia schools, and support high-quality streaming productions for classrooms around the globe. Schools can now apply online for transportation reimbursement to offset the costs of using school buses for field trips. Patrons are invited to name a seat in the theatre.
The Alliance cited recent research that children who have access to the arts are two times more likely to graduate college; four times more likely to participate in math and science fairs; three times more likely to win an award for school attendance; and four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement. They also feel more engaged in school and more hopeful about their own futures.
“A young person leaves the theatre with an increased sense of hope in their own future, and with a larger capacity for tolerance, resilience, and conscientiousness,” Kajese-Bolden and Moses said in a statement. “Now that we empirically understand the impact that these arts experiences have on a child’s development, it’s up to us to figure out how best to scale these benefits to as many young people in our community as possible. That is the promise of the new Goizueta Stage for Youth and Families–a place where live theatre is as accessible as it is inspirational…We’re building a pathway to ensure that theatre is a birthright for every child in our community.”
Founded in 1968, Alliance Theatre is the leading producing theatre in the Southeast, reaching more than 165,000 patrons annually. The theatre values community, curiosity, collaboration, and excellence, and is dedicated to representing Atlanta’s diverse community.
