A few big names have started to pop up on historic Carolina Theatre’s concert schedule
As the event schedule for the newly restored Carolina Theatre in uptown Charlotte slowly, finally begins to take shape, there so far seems to be a definite emphasis on one thing: keeping it classy.
No official (or unofficial) grand-opening date yet has been established for the historic venue, which was originally built in 1927, closed in 1978, gifted to the nonprofit Foundation For The Carolinas by the City of Charlotte in 2013, and the focus of a $90 million renovation and restoration since 2018.
But the historic theater on the Belk Place campus at the corner of North Tryon and East Sixth Street could open for business as early as next week.
And there are two concerts already booked — one open to the public, and one technically private.
The one open to the public, as previously reported by The Charlotte Observer, is the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra’s “Spring Gala Concert”; set for Friday, March 28, it will feature classical singer Renée Fleming in a performance inspired by her album “Voice of Nature: The Anthropocene” (a 2023 Grammy Award winner for Best Classical Vocal Solo). The 66-year-old soprano was one of five recipients of the Kennedy Center Honors in 2023 and also was nominated for a Tony Award for her turn as Nettie Fowler in the 2018 Broadway revival of “Carousel.”
The other Carolina Theatre show, which is technically not open to the public, is one that represents the opener of private-concert club Music With Friends’ 19th season: “An Intimate Evening With David Foster and Katharine McPhee” on Tuesday, May 20.
Foster, 75, is a 16-time Grammy-winning composer and producer who has worked with Celine Dion, Michael Bublé, Whitney Houston, Barbra Streisand, Madonna, Andrea Bocelli, and many others. His wife McPhee, 40, originally came to fame as a contestant on “American Idol” in 2006 and has since become a TV actress (CBS drama “Scorpion”) and a Broadway star (the musical “Waitress”).
They’ve performed together in concert frequently since getting married in 2019, duetting on everything from Harold Arlen’s “Over the Rainbow” to Gretchen Wilson’s “Redneck Woman,” with him on piano and her on vocals.
In an emailed announcement about the show that was sent to members earlier this month, MWF — which in the past has hosted for its members legends including Tony Bennett and Aretha Franklin — stated: “This will be a landmark event and one of the most significant and carefully curated productions in our club history.
“It represents the single biggest investment we have made to date.”
Music With Friends had been holding its concerts in the Sandra Levine Theater at Queen’s University for the past three-plus years, following a long run at the now-closed McGlohon Theatre in Spirit Square.
Although Carolina Theatre has a capacity of just over 900, Music With Friends founder and director Larry Farber told The Charlotte Observer in December that he plans to limit club membership to about 650 — in order to continue to provide an intimate experience at shows.
Carolina Theatre officials have said the hope is that the venue annually will host 250 bookings, including a mix of community-engagement-focused events (sponsored by nonprofits, for instance), ticketed events, and corporate functions.
After its original 1927 opening, the theater went on to host theatrical runs of “Gone With the Wind” (in 1940) and “The Sound of Music” (1965); Broadway productions that included “The Corn Is Green” starring Ethel Barrymore (1943); and most famously, a then-21-year-old Elvis Presley, in 1956. Its doors closed on Nov. 27, 1978, following a screening of the Bruce Lee movie “The Fist.”
