POWERGRAMS

31 Ritz Theatre Executive Director Culver and Technical Director David Keefer at soundboard preparing for performance. that Marine Private 1st Class Jesse Brown Jr. somehow survived two years of battle at Wake Island, Gilbert Islands, Marshall Islands, Truk, Saipan, Tinian, Marianas Islands, Palau, Yap, Caroline Islands, New Guinea, Guam, Angaur, Ngesebus, Peleliu, Palau Islands, Leyte Island, Luzon, Southwest Mindoro, Corregidor, the Philippines, Okinawa and Ryukyu islands. His monthly pay was $54. He was paid $58.44 to travel by bus from Key West, Florida, to Birmingham in returning to civilian life. "There are some unique things in here," Williams says. "For a little town to have this, we're really proud." The Hall of Heroes already has been honored in the Congressional Record, by the Alabama House of Representatives and Gov. Kay Ivey, and named the Nonprofit of the Year by the local Chamber of Commerce before the doors first opened. "We think we're kind of a special surprise," Williams says as he shows off an Army field telephone from WWII. "It's Veterans Day here every day." PUTTIN' ON THE RITZ Still flush from the Black Jacket Symphony's sold-out two-night performance of Queen's "A Night at the Opera," George Culver notes that the rock performance is another impressive highlight for the Ritz Theatre since it was saved from demolition two decades ago. The restored and recently renovated Ritz includes the adjacent revived Otts building, where the long hallway outside the green room and management offices is lined with signed photos and posters from prestigious productions and famous singers. There's Diahann Carroll, Don McLean, Martha Reeves, Judy Collins, Mickey Rooney, Ricky Skaggs, Ronnie Millsap, Hal Holbrook and scores of other artists amidst 14 posters from prior Black Jacket concerts. "We've pulled some coups over the years," says Culver, the executive director since 1996, except three years when he directed the Birmingham Children's Theatre. The 1936 Ritz is considered one of the nation's best examples of art deco theaters, with its façade of opaque structural glass of the kind in New York's Rockefeller Center and Radio City Music Hall. The building front had fallen into ruin in the 1990s, with a third of the panels missing, but those were matched perfectly with antique vitrolite glass collected by a St. Louis artisan. The huge marquee was brought back to life with red and green neon lighting crafted by a Birmingham specialist. Culver presided over the fundraising campaign that led to the Feb. 16, 1998 reopening concert by the National Symphony String Quintet. "They said the acoustics were as good as anywhere they'd ever played," he says. A renovation last year replaced the cushions in all 550 seats and removed six coats of paint from the steel frames, as the side designs were repainted by hand. The tall walls were sanded and given a fresh coat of paint with an art deco-inspired design. Eight large lamp sconces were placed along the walls, based on the design of the lone original light. Houselights, surround sound and other modern infrastructure was added. "The Black Panther" was on the big screen the weekend of Jan. 11-13. Some performances make big money, some don't bring in a dime and others lose money. But the shows for all third-, fourth- and fifth-graders in Talladega County presented without charge since 1998 may provide the biggest benefit of anything ever shown at the Ritz. "One of the things I'm most proud of is our arts education," says Culver, who recalls coming to the standalone cinema as a child growing up in nearby Munford. "This year we will pass 100,000 students in this theater the past 20 years to see professional arts entertainment. Very few towns, not only in Alabama but across America, can say that." DEGA BREWHOUSE SURPRISE On Talladega nights, Lindsey Moses welcomes a diverse crowd to Dega Brewhouse, where the music swings from hip-hop to country to heavy metal rock, and none of the old, young, black, white, blind or deaf patrons blink an eye. In the mornings, Moses teaches classes at LMo & Co., the art studio she opened in 2011; at night she serves beer and banter at her bar; when she's not eating or sleeping, she paints. Moses goes down the smooth curving concrete bar she built four years ago, reciting the name of each person who slides up on the black wood stools. Local hero Lt. Tommy Perry is welcomed this night with hugs and kisses from many in the crowd, just two months after being shot in the face by a killer's .357 Magnum while on patrol. "I'm just proud to be here," the 32-year Talladega Police veteran says. One of those shaking Perry's hand is Johnny Williams, who decades ago was among the world's elite athletes. An introduction to an out-of-towner leads to small talk, which

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