The company, originally the Atlanta Municipal Theatre, staged its first production (King Arthur) at the Alliance in 1968.

Within a decade, the company had grown tremendously and staged the world premiere of Tennessee Williams' Tiger Tail and was casting such well-known actors as Richard Dreyfuss, Morgan Freeman, Jane Alexander, Paul Winfield, Robert Foxworth, Jo Van Fleet and Cybill Shepherd.

Leon's work attracted a larger African-American audience by staging a more diverse selection of productions.

During Leon's tenure, the company staged premieres of Pearl Cleage's Blues for an Alabama Sky, Alfred Uhry's The Last Night of Ballyhoo, and Elton John and Tim Rice's musical Aida which went on to Broadway and won the Tony award for Best Original Musical Score.

In June 2022, the venue staged the premiere of "Trading Places: The Musical!"