The North Carolina Theatre, the largest professional theater in the state, reminisced Friday as it celebrated its 30th anniversary.
The theater staged its first production of “Camelot” on May 24, 1984. According to Lisa Grele Barrie, the president and CEO of the NC Theatre, this show was a result of the work of founder De Ann Jones, a “committed” and “engaged” founding board and financial support from the City of Raleigh.
A history of change and success
“It definitely got our attention in the sense that for many, many years, Raleigh Little Theatre and probably Theatre in the Park were, ‘the only act in town,’ so to speak, when it came to theater,” said Linda Bamford, the first managing director of RLT from 1983-1991. “And so, with the inception of the North Carolina Theatre, obviously another player came to be, and that added what I would consider a very healthy competition.”
One of the goals for the theater involved creating a market for Broadway entertainment in Downtown Raleigh, according to Barrie.
“I’ve heard folks say that you could throw a bowling ball down Fayetteville Street on a Friday night because nobody was downtown,” Barrie said. “You could say that NC Theatre played an early role in building out Raleigh’s vibrant arts and culture scene.”
The theater also transformed the area economically, Barrie said.
“When North Carolina Theatre became an anchor at Memorial Auditorium and started doing big-name musicals that people were eager to see, then it brought lots and lots of more people to Downtown Raleigh,” Bamford said. “This, I would say, really, seriously contributed to the revitalization of Downtown Raleigh and, as a result of there being theater downtown in the evenings, then restaurants began to spring up and of course we have so much now in Downtown Raleigh.”
The theater reached a “pinnacle of success” in 1998 with the touring production of “Phantom of the Opera” when the number of subscribers (people who buy season tickets instead of single tickets) increased by 14,000, according to Barrie.
“Times have changed considerably in 15 years, so we are now adjusting our success measures,” Barrie said. “We’ve refined our business model and are employing best practices in sales and marketing with a sharp focus on patron loyalty.”
In 2004, the NC Theatre Conservatory was launched to train youth for the theater business and stage life, according to Barrie.
“The Conservatory creates the artists and audiences of tomorrow because they grow up with a deep appreciation for theater and performing,” Barrie said. “In addition, they learn the important 21st century learning skills like communication, creativity, collaboration and critical thinking.”
Two years later, contributions to the theater from patrons, corporations, foundations and government support topped $1 million, according to Barrie.
The celebration
With a long history of success, including the upcoming awarding of the 2014 Raleigh Medal of Arts to Terrence Mann, who played King Arthur in the theater’s first show, NC Theatre chose to celebrate through a public relations campaign, sharing stories on social media and “engaging the entire NC Theatre community in celebrating the past and envisioning the future,” according to Barrie.
According to NC Theatre Producer Carolee Baxter, one of her favorite moments at the theater occurred during the opening of “High School Musical.”
“The audience started cheering and clapping when the house lights went to half, and I could see 2,300 people there,” Baxter said. “To know that you are about to make that many people happy is quite an ego boost.”
Barrie said every show the theater puts on “inspires” her, and because of the anniversary, she said she can put things into perspective and see what the future may hold for the theater, such as a push to create new titles that people can enjoy instead of relying solely on well-known musicals. For example, in 2013, the theater produced “Nerds,” a pre-Broadway engagement that told the story of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates.
“We really took a risk to produce a show that was a brand new title,” Baxter said. “We pulled it off so seamlessly that we are now setting a new bar for ourselves.
NC Theatre also sets the bar high for other theater companies.
“It has given us the ability to see the quality of the professional shows that they do down there and aspire to that,” said John McIlwee, director of University Theatre. “I think it has been one of the premier arts venues and organizations of the Triangle. We use their successes as goals for our success.”
With a number of theaters spread out across the area, McIlwee said he felt lucky each one could contribute something unique to the arts, whether it’s NC Theatre’s professional musicals or a University Theatre modern drama.
“I think all of the producing theater companies in town wish them another successful 30 years,” McIlwee said.
