Send any comments or suggestions to alec@byalecharvey.com.

And don't forget to visit ByAlecHarvey.com for more news, reviews and features.

Opera Birmingham tells Helen Keller's story in premiere of 'Touch'

Helen Keller is not only an Alabama icon, she's an international icon, renowned for her activism and known also, of course, for her childhood in Tuscumbia. Opera Birmingham has commissioned Carla Lucero to compose "Touch," an opera about Keller and her teacher, Anne Sullivan. It premieres this weekend at Red Mountain Theatre Company.

Support Theatre Downtown

After an absence of several years, Birmingham's Theatre Downtown returned recently with a production of "The Crucible" (pictured). Now, the theater is fundraising and trying to find a permanent home. You can help by dining at Rojo on Tuesday night.

Congratulations ...

Beverly Brasell, who taught speech and theater at Vestavia Hills High School for 32 years,will be inducted into the Vestavia Hills City Schools Hall of Fame.

Brasell (pictured, via Facebook, with husband Joseph Slane) will be honored on Monday, Jan. 29, at 6:30 p.m. in the ballroom at Vestavia’s City Hall.

“Our Son,” directed and co-written by Birmingham’s Bill Oliver and starring BIlly Porter and Luke Evans, has earned a GLAAD Media Awards nomination for Outstanding Film – Limited Theatrical Release.