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Thursday, 10 February 2011 20:43

Theater retreat 3: Corlew on venue


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David Corlew talks about the theater. David Corlew talks about the theater.

David Corlew spoke no malice toward Randy Parton, the former headliner of what is now the Roanoke Rapids Theatre.

“Mr. Parton had a vision for what he wanted to do,” said Corlew, who has been in the music business for 40 years, 38 of them as Charlie Daniels’ manager.

What concerns Corlew, he told city council today at a retreat on the theater, is the overage of equipment. “There’s a lot of equipment. You have to make sure you have everything that provides an act the necessary equipment. Most B and C acts need a basic sound and lighting system.”

The theater, Corlew noted, has 32 moving lights. “I don’t believe Reba McIntire has 32 lights.”

Corlew is going to help the city sell equipment which is not needed. “I see a lot of theatrical equipment not many facilities have. I feel strongly there’s a market for that equipment. The first decision is to have my associate evaluate to maintain this better than nice facility. You have an excessive amount of equipment.”

Corlew told council he believes there has to be activity in the theater. “If you leave a house vacant for too long it drops its market value. You want to keep the doors open. You want it to continue to look good.”

Corlew said he knows one person interested in buying the venue. “The only way to sell it is to put it out there. The person I know interested would want to see it operational. The venue has broad appeal. It would not make sense to lock the doors.”

It will take Corlew 30 to 60 days to identify equipment brokers, he said. “This is the time to make a move. I would have to get a ballpark dollar figure of what you have here. You don’t want to appear desperate to get rid of it. You might want to take some of that money to put a positive spin on this facility. The music business and entertainment business needs this facility.”

Corlew said it will take 10 days to two weeks to put together a plan.

Corlew believes the theater should be used for anything imaginable — weddings, Bah Mitzvahs and funerals. “A car is going to sell better when it is polished and washed. There is a lot of wasted space here. There is an opportunity to generate enough income to pay the overhead. Locking the doors and closing the windows is not the way. There’s too much here.”

 

 

Lance Martin

Lance Martin

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comments  

 
+1 #5 Selling Equip2 2011-02-13 00:21
I think that was the point in the first comment Maureen. Rather than just having music acts, they should book musicals, etc that could make use out that equipment. Selling any equipment is a bad idea I think.
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0 #4 Maureen 2011-02-12 16:52
If you were trying to sell a house, would you start ripping out the washing machine, sinks and lighting fixtures, even if you thought there was too many of them? Maybe they did put in more equipment than was needed, but leave that up to the buyer to decide.
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+6 #3 Jason 2011-02-10 22:20
Its not hard to book acts that are modern headliners that will sell out in a small venue like this. The Norva in Va beach, The National in Richmond, Orange Peel in Asheville all hold around 1000 people and sell out the big acts all the time, all genres of music. Check out their websites youll see what I mean, use them to pattern the theater after and fill some seats.

I just dont see what the problem is here, why cant our leaders get the ball rolling on this potential money maker. Think outside of the box for once, book some acts "everyone" will spend money on.
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+6 #2 Michael 2011-02-10 21:08
You want to see a recipe for success, look at DPAC. Why hasn't their management been approached to advise or take over operations? They obviously know what they're doing, based on the number of shows they put on.
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-2 #1 Selling Equipment 2011-02-10 20:51
Why not book theatrical acts instead selling the theatrical equipment? To be sure there is some interest in seeing a braodway show such as Billy Elliot?
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