Six productions by local performing groups are booked into the old Grissom High School auditorium on Bailey Cove Road between November 19 and December 20. The lineup includes a musical, two concerts, a Christmas variety show, and two different productions of The Nutcracker about two weeks apart. Every one of them is put on by a Huntsville-area company, school, or ensemble. When the city rebuilt the auditorium, it made the space a home stage for local groups, and this winter is the first time the calendar shows what that looks like.
The building is now the David A. Chan Theatre, inside the Sandra Moon Performing Arts Center, which is part of the Sandra Moon Community Complex at 7901 Bailey Cove Rd. If you live in South Huntsville, a good part of this year's local holiday stage calendar is close to home.
A campus finished one piece at a time
The complex didn't open all at once. The South Huntsville Public Library came first, along with a children's playground and outdoor recreation areas. The library marked its fifth birthday on September 26, 2026. On September 15, 2026, the City of Huntsville held the ribbon-cutting to mark the end of the four-phase project.
The name comes from Sandra Moon, who served on the Huntsville City Council from 1998 to 2010 and was its first female Council president. After her time on the Council, she chaired the committee that drew up plans for how the former Grissom campus could serve the community. The Council named the future complex for her in 2017. So the plan for this site was in the works for years before anyone could walk into the finished theatre.
The city put $32.4 million into the renovation. Most of the campus serves everyday recreation. The auditorium is the part built around a specific need.
A stage built for the city's own companies
The city's announcement of the theatre's name says plainly what the 611-seat venue is for: "meeting the venue needs of Huntsville's rapidly growing local arts scene." The city designed and paid for the space, and Arts Huntsville runs it day to day.
The equipment list shows that this is more than a school auditorium with fresh paint. The old Grissom room now has:
- New theatre seating
- A manual and motorized rigging system
- Full audio and lighting systems
- Custom acoustic tiling and an orchestra shell
- Full video projection
- New dressing rooms and backstage areas
Community ballets and musicals often get squeezed for these things in borrowed spaces: room to fly scenery, space for a cast to change backstage, and an orchestra shell so a youth orchestra sounds full in the house. The theatre is named for David A. Chan, a longtime supporter of the arts. In the same city release he talked about watching the room take shape:
"The City of Huntsville and Arts Huntsville have crafted an extraordinary venue where local talent can shine."
The release also says Arts Huntsville's private fundraising campaign for equipment, furnishings, and upgrades will continue through the theatre's first season.
The holiday run, date by date
Here's what the local groups have posted for the Chan Theatre from mid-November through December 2026. Two dates still differ between listings, and the table marks them.
| Dates | Production | Presented by |
|---|---|---|
| Nov. 19 to 22 | Come From Away | Independent Musical Productions |
| Dec. 4 and 5, per Dance Elan; Dec. 5 and 6, per Arts Huntsville | The Rocket City Nutcracker | Dance Elan |
| Dec. 7 per one event listing; confirm with the orchestra | Holiday Concert | Huntsville Youth Orchestra |
| Dec. 10 | "Sing Unto the Holidays" | Huntsville Community Chorus Association |
| Dec. 11 | "Christmas Time with The Beasley Brothers" | The Beasley Brothers |
| Dec. 18 to 20 | The Nutcracker | Rocket City Ballet |
Come From Away runs four days. Independent Musical Productions lists 7:30 p.m. shows on Thursday, November 19, and Friday, November 20, then 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 21, and a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday, November 22. The same company's Dear Evan Hansen is also on the theatre's fall lineup. Arts Huntsville's Sandra Moon Performing Arts Center page is the place to check for its dates.
The concert week starts Monday, December 7, when a Huntsville Youth Orchestra listing shows a 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. holiday concert at the Sandra Moon auditorium. The Arts Huntsville calendar shows Tuesday, December 8 instead, with a time that looks like a display error, so check with the orchestra before you plan your evening. The Huntsville Community Chorus Association performs "Sing Unto the Holidays" at 7 p.m. on Thursday, December 10. The Beasley Brothers take the stage at 7 p.m. the next night, Friday, December 11.
Two Nutcrackers, two weeks apart, one stage
The most unusual thing on this calendar is two separate Nutcracker productions in the same new hall within about two weeks. They are different shows.
Dance Elan calls The Rocket City Nutcracker an original production. Its cast includes community artists, students of V Dance Academy, and professional guest artist educators, and the company bills it as the first Nutcracker staged at the David A. Chan Theatre. The Dance Elan ticket store lists public performances at 7 p.m. on Friday, December 4, and at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturday, December 5, with tickets at $20. Dance Elan also offers a free community night and separate enrichment performances, each with its own reservation page. Arts Huntsville's calendar lists this production on December 5 and 6. Go by the dates on the company's own ticket store, and check them again before you go.
Rocket City Ballet closes out the season with The Nutcracker on December 18 to 20 at the Sandra Moon Performing Arts Center. The company describes it as the story that moves from a holiday party through dancing snowflakes into the Land of Sweets, and its tickets are sold through BookTix. Individual showtimes are on the ticketing page.
If you've only ever seen one version of the ballet, this is the first year you can see two in the same room and compare the staging, the casts, and how each company uses the new rigging and backstage space.
The rest of the building on an ordinary weeknight
The theatre gets most of the attention in December, but the rest of the complex keeps regular hours all season. The city lists them as 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, and 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
- Gymnasiums. Grissom's main gym and auxiliary gym have both been restored and refreshed. They're set up for basketball, volleyball, and pickleball.
- Fitness area and indoor walking track. The project added a larger fitness area and an indoor track, which is useful on the cold, wet days that come with November.
- Multimedia center. Parks & Recreation Director James Gossett said the center gives teens and adults gaming stations, recording stations, and space for technology and creative work.
- Adaptive recreation spaces. These rooms serve residents of all ages with special needs. The city's June 2026 construction update describes a sensory room, an accessible changing room, and programs designed for that community. In the city's opening announcement, Gossett called the space "unlike anything else in a City facility."
- Event hall. It seats more than 200 people.
- Arts Huntsville offices. Arts Huntsville now has office and rehearsal space on the campus, so the group running the theatre works in the same building.
The city's Sandra Moon Community Complex page doesn't list membership requirements or fees for the gyms, track, or fitness center. Call Parks & Recreation before your first visit to find out what applies.
Together, this is what the campus offers this winter. You can walk the indoor track on a weekday morning, pick up a book at a library that just turned five, and come back on a Friday night in December for a Nutcracker in what used to be Grissom High's auditorium. Huntsville Botanical Garden's Galaxy of Lights runs November 13 through December 31, 2026, and this year adds the Winter's Edge and Crystal Glade areas, so a December weekend can easily include both.
Being close to places like the Sandra Moon Community Complex shapes everyday life in South Huntsville as much as anything in a listing does. If you're thinking about a move within Huntsville and want to talk through which parts of the city put you near the places you actually use, Alice Battle is glad to help, with no pressure and no rush. Schedule a consultation whenever it suits you.
