New management coming to RR Theatre?

By Maurice Emery
Editor

For the third time in less than a year, an outsider will manage the RR Theatre.  Instead of coming into the area with promises for success, they come in under a caution flag.  If all goes according the proposed agreement the owners and operators of the renowned Carolina Opry of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina will take over the operation of and production of the Roanoke Rapids Theatre (Formerly The Randy Parton Theatre).

Calvin Gilmore, founder, award-winning producer, and performer at The Carolina Opry, and Chairman of Gilmore Entertainment, stated, “We have been quite open with city officials about the fact that given all those things, this is still a tough nut to crack. We don’t have any silver bullets, but we are willing to step up and try to help them get it rolling.”

The Letter of Intent specifies that the new company, which will be operating as Roanoke Rapids Theatre Operations, LLC (“RRT”), shall be allowed to use language in their press releases explaining how difficult it will be to make the Theatre profitable…and that there are no guarantees that of success.

RRT still has positive thoughts about their ability to make the venture profitable. They have enough confidence in themselves that they ask for a right to purchase the theatre.  If the agreement contains the same language as the letter they will be able to purchase the theatre for a price between $14.1 million to no more than $16 million.   Gilmore does have a certain empathy for the City and the citizens of the area.

He expressed the following in their official press release, “This development came from a group of good citizens who wanted to create jobs for the young people in their region. But creating an audience for a theater so far from any urban area or other major tourist attractions is not something that can happen overnight. At Gilmore Entertainment we have the production and administrative infrastructure, the marketing experience, and the motor coach relationships to move the project in the right direction. I believe that our sterling reputation and our presence will have a positive impact on the entire 1000-acre Carolina Crossroads project. We are uniquely positioned to create some momentum for the theater.”

Momentum is something the theatre has lacked in it s first year of trying to become the must be stop for people traveling north and south on I-95.  The 1500-seat theatre anchors Carolina Crossroads, a planned entertainment, shopping, and hotel development has been challenged since its inception with low attendance and the lack of an experienced theater management team.

In announcing the decision to bring a new team to the theatre City of Roanoke Rapids Mayor Drewery Beale stated “The City is pleased to be working with Calvin Gilmore and Gilmore Entertainment.  We are excited about the possibilities that an organization such as Gilmore Entertainment brings to our project.  Their expertise and experience are well known throughout the entertainment industry.”

Carolina Crossroads seems to be encouraged by the possibility that a new long standing entertainment company can make the Theatre the draw everyone had hoped it would be  According to the Roanoke Rapids City Manager Phyllis Lee  crossroads developers Michael Dunlow and George Ragsdale agreeing to pay half of the $500,000 yearly management fee it will cost for RRT.

Lee told the observer that if Dunlow and Ragsdale did not have confidence in this new arrangement they would have not agreed to be part of it.

According to their press release Gilmore Entertainment, which owns and operates the renowned Carolina Opry and has an unblemished 23-year record of success?  The Opry is the first live variety show on the Grand Strand in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and continues to be the gold standard in entertainment. Calvin Gilmore, owner and producer of The Carolina Opry, opened the theater in 1986 kicking off an entertainment boom along the Grand Strand. The Carolina Opry is the only show in Myrtle Beach to be awarded the Governor’s Cup and Most Outstanding Attraction by the State of South Carolina.  Gilmore has made numerous appearances on the Grand Ole Opry. His awards include the prestigious IGCITA which he received in Las Vegas for the quality of his productions; he also brought the first nationally televised TV series to Myrtle Beach in 1989, Country Music Spotlight, which aired on the Family Channel Television Network.

Right now everything is still on paper, but if all goes the way all the parties hope it will there could be a new, entertainment experienced management company at the RR Theatre by the unofficial date of July 1.