On March 8, the smart and sensitive play Alabama Story opens at  Theatre Jacksonville, bringing to life a Civil Rights-era tale about thorny racial issues, inspired by true events in 1959 Montgomery, Alabama. Alabama Story provides a clever juxtaposition of thought-provoking material — the potential banning of a children’s book about the marriage between a black and a white rabbit contrasted with the story of a childhood friendship between a Black man and a woman of White privilege.

“We knew we had to bring this amazing play to Jacksonville to provide a cautionary tale that these same issues – documented here from the late 1950s – are sadly still plaguing us today,” said Theatre Jacksonville Executive Director Sarah Boone, who remembers reading the very same children’s book as a child. “The topics of book banning and race relations are still making headlines and causing divisions. It is our ultimate hope that theater can bring people together to examine what divides us and help us recognize those things that we all have in common – the best of humanity.”

Directed by Amy Love, Alabama Story will run from Friday, March 8 through Sunday, March 24. All evening shows will be at 7:30 p.m., and there will be two Sunday matinees on March 17 and 24 at 2 p.m. Tickets are included with Gold All-Access Season Membership and Silver Season Subscription packages. Bronze single tickets are $31.

Following Alabama Story, the final two productions of the Mainstage 104th season will include:

¨     Picasso at the Lapin Agile, opening April 19 – In this absurdist comedy written by Steve Martin (yes, THAT Steve Martin), Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso meet in a Parisian café in 1904, just before the Theory of Relativity and Cubism transformed the science and art worlds, respectively. With ridiculously engaging merriment, the two spar with each other and café regulars about art, science, inspiration, love and the promise of the 20th century (even including a visitor time-warped in from a later era).

¨     SHOUT! The Mod Musical, opening June 7 – With its irresistible blend of hip-swiveling hits, far-out fashions and fab dance moves, this groovy musical takes audiences back to the music style and freedom of the 1960s through five gals coming of age during the dawning liberation of women and glorious days that made England swing. With such international favorites as “To Sir With Love,” “Downtown,” “Son of a Preacher Man” and “Goldfinger,” this smash hit is entertaining and downright fun.

The season will also include quarterly presentations of Stories on Stage. The next offering in the series will be Sunday, March 3.

For more information about the 104th season lineup, ticket packages, Alabama Story or Stories on Stage, visit www.theatrejax.com.