After 47 years and $90 million renovation, new Carolina Theatre sets date for its debut
Welcome back, pretty baby.
While pretty is an understatement, the baby in question is the city’s revered and fully restored Carolina Theatre.
The historic uptown venue is reopening its doors on March 24, officials announced Wednesday, with a public celebration starting at 3 p.m. and a free open house ending at 7 p.m.
But the celebration doesn’t end there, especially not after waiting 47 years for the theater’s return.
The Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, alongside famed soprano Renée Fleming, will christen the new stage with a special performance March 28 starting at 7 p.m. The following day, Grammy Award-winning musicians Mark and Maggie O’Connor will take the stage in the theater’s first ticketed event since it closed in 1978.
It’s a celebratory three days fit for a long-awaited queen.
“This is Charlotte’s theater. Plain and simple,” Sean Seifert, the theater’s executive director, said in a news release.
Curtain’s rise, close and rise again
The Carolina Theatre opened its doors in 1927 with a screening of the silent comedy film “A Kiss in a Taxi” starring Bebe Daniels.
It was the premier venue for Broadway productions, such as “The Corn Is Green” starring Ethel Barrymore (1943); movies including “Gone With the Wind” (in 1940) and “The Sound of Music” (1965); and musical acts like a 21-year-old Elvis Presley in 1956.
But with a declining audience who had begun venturing to the suburbs to watch films, the theater closed on Nov. 27, 1978. The final film was Bruce Lee’s “The Fist.”
From there, it sat vacant and waning.
The city never demolished the building because of its architectural significance, according to a news release.
But in 2013, the city gifted the building to Foundation For The Carolinas, which began a $90 million renovation of the site in 2018. The project was funded by donors, the city of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. A planned high-rise hotel above it did not pan out.
The renovation transformed the space from horror show to opulent spectacle.
New digs and more events
The new digs boast 905 seats including banquette benches, love seats and living-room style chairs. There are 10 laser projectors, including one for 4K movies and a multimillion-dollar sound system.
The theater’s first event, with the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, is an ode to their long history together. The orchestra held its inaugural performance there on March 20, 1932.
Now, 93 years later, the orchestra will return to its birthplace for its “Spring Gala, A Homecoming.” The gala will spotlight Fleming’s Grammy Award-winning album, “Voice of Nature: The Anthropocene.”
Theater officials hope the venue will host 250 events annually, including a mix of community events, such as town halls and speaker series, as well as ticketed events and corporate functions. All tickets for any of these or future events can be purchased at www.thecarolina.com.
The plan is for the space to thrive once again for all Charlotteans to enjoy.
“As a community-first nonprofit theater, it’s important everyone — no matter who you are or where you come from — feels welcome at the Carolina Theatre from day one,” Seifert said in the release. “We’re deeply rooted in Charlotte’s history like few other places, and now we’re investing in our community’s future.”
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This story was originally published March 5, 2025 at 10:00 AM.
