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From March 1, 2007...

• The artistry of Lillian Hellman and William Wyler and their Alabama connection.
• Follow the relationship of three women from high school thorugh adulthood.
• Meet jazz programmer and Birmingham native Russ Davis
• Community Calendar
• Birmingham whistler Dan Gilliland

And the Oscar goes to...Birmingham! For The Hellman-Wyler Festival! That's right, a real live, or at least real gold - Academy Award serves as an icon for the Hellman-Wyler Festival beginning this weekend. It's a celebration of the lives and work of playwright Lillian Hellman and film director William Wyler. Lissa LeGrand explores their connection to Alabama...

Lillian Hellman and William Wyler

We all have them -- those people who we've intensely bonded with during one phase of our lives... but find that years later we really have nothing in common. The latest production from Theatre Downtown - a comedy called "Vanities", explores the morphing relationship of three young women who move from high school, through college, then early adulthood. Mary, Joanne, and Kathy start out as high school cheerleaders - pretty dense ones at that! After graduation, they go to college and join a sorority. But post-college the big changes happen. Mary decides life if too confining. She "sleeps her way through Europe", then returns stateside to open a successful high-end erotic art gallery...much to the chagrin of Joanne, who's married to her high school sweetheart and lives for her kids and suburban life. Meanwhile, Kathy, always the list-maker and organizer of the group, finds her life has disintegrated. She's a manic depressive who's become a "kept woman".

Theatre Downtown presents "Vanities"

We heard from actresses Lyndsey Antos, Melody Norman, and Dianne Gogerty and assistant director Billy Ray Brewton. Vanities runs through March 18th at Playhouse Costume Cooperative...across from the Alabama Theater, in downtown Birmingham.

It's not uncommon for children to dream about what they're going to be when they grow up -- dreams that don't always pan out. In the case of XM Satellite Radio jazz programmer Russ Davis, he figured out pretty early what he wanted to do in life. As a child in the early 60s, Davis listened to local Birmingham Top 40 station WSGN.

Russ Davis interview

To hear the audio portion of the Community Calendar from Tapestry, click here.

Want to know more? Activeculture.info is a one-stop source for finding out what's going on in the Birmingham metro area.

With a talent that's thrust him onstage with notables such as Bob Hope, Birmingham musician Dan Gilliland isn't just whistling Dixie, he's whistling all around Dixie - and other places as well. And he's singing and performing a busy concert schedule and serving as Minister of Music at his church to boot. But Gilliland, who spoke with us in the Tapestry studio, traces his musical journey back to his parent's old phonograph. (AUDIO MONTAGE) Musician Dan Gilliland, whistles Shubert's Ave Maria from his CD "Favorites from Whistling Acres".

Tapestry is produced by Tanya Ott, Michael Krall, and Hunter Bell. Assistance this week, from Lissa LeGrand, Steve Chiotakis, Francesca Rosko and Islara Vazquez. I'm Greg Bass. See you next week!

Support for Tapestry comes from the Jefferson County Commission through the Jefferson County Community Arts Funds administered by the Cultural Alliance of Greater Birmingham.