Randy Parton Theatre opens

Randy Parton can rest easy if comments from the opening night fans are any indication. Praises for the first public show titled "Little bit of life," were all positive.
Fans were ready for the show. They have been hearing about it for more than two years. Their enthusiasm for the project grew after the ground breaking in November of 2005. By the time they arrived at the theatre on Thursday they were anxious to see its namesake. When the show did not kick off exactly at 7:30 p.m. one audience member yelled out – "Lets go," this was accompanied by applause. Within a couple of minutes Randy Parton walked on stage and the waiting was over.
In the time it took for Randy to make the short walk from the left side of the stage to the center stage a new era was inaugurated in the Roanoke Valley. When the Observer asked him after the show what he felt like the moment he walked on stage he replied, "Very, very nervous." His nervousness did not show, from the moment he came on stage he looked relaxed and acted like he was performing for family and friends.
Randy mixed stories about growing up with his 11 brothers and sisters with state of the art videos and sound tracks. People heard Randy’s famous sister, Dolly, would be there for the opening night. She was not there in person, but through modern technology Randy sang a duet with her that was perfect.
When Dolly’s voice started lightly in the background people were looking at both sides of the stage to see if she was coming out. Instead they saw a drop down screen with her oversize picture. Movies of her and the family played on another drop down screen. By the time the audience realized she was not there in person, Randy had everyone focused on him. He was showing everyone that he was the performer everyone wanted to see.
From that point on Randy told a story through words, song and dance about the history of his famous family and the tie-ins to Roanoke Rapids. While he was the headline, the show included many Carolina and local performers. According to Parton about 80 percent of the people working in the show on stage or at the theatre are from North Carolina.
From the opening scene loosely depicting the dining area of a well-weathered cabin they used every facet of their high tech modern day stage. In addition to the drop down viewing screens, there were videos, home movies of the Parton family and friends and vignettes of various family members providing background scenes throughout the show.
The lighting was used to enhance every scene for every song. In this state of the art theatre they were able to provide excellent audio that allowed Randy to sing duets with his sisters. When they combined everything the audience could envision the entire Parton family on stage.
The various instrumental solos added to the show. When Hopkins soloed with her fiddle there were heads bobbin, hands clappin and toes tappin. Throughout the entire show the audience was urged to get into the feeling of the music and they responded. The music was a combination of blue grass, country, country rock, and various styles of R&B.
Performing solos and also as back up singers were Heidi Lou Parton, Randy’s daughter; Pattie Hopkins from Greenville, N.C., who played the fiddle and sang; Lauren Grantham from Goldsboro, N.C. a singer she has an Aunt and Uncle in Roanoke Rapids; and Indy Ortiz a singer from New York.
When Randy sang Copper Road a movie staring Randy in a chase scene with a Barney Fife type cop chasing him was playing out in the background. This was totally PG and quite comical. The audience was able to get into the feel of the high speed chase as the movie played out on the stage screen and road side scenery was flying by on the side walls of the theatre.
The highlight of the show for local audience member Dawn Rossi, from Roanoke Rapids, was when Randy brought her up on stage and sang, "You don’t have to shave your legs for me" to her. They brought out a small living room set complete with TV and a well worn lazy chair. Randy explained that his wife couldn’t be with them so he needed a wife for the night.
Rossi played her limited roll like she was made for it. The truth is she drove up from Myrtle Beach the day of the show when her boyfriend told her he had front row seats. A comical touch to the end of the song was when she went back to her seat Randy gave her a bag of dirty clothes.
You didn’t have to wait for the show to finish before you knew how the fans felt. At the intermission you could here people commenting that they were surprised at how luxurious the theatre was. One audience member stated "who would have thought something like this would be in our area." Another first nighter stated he was amazed at the state of the art stage, sound and lighting.
Jim Howell, from Lake Gaston, told the Observer that this is absolutely the best. A long time show enthusiast, Howell said they’d be back. He said it was better than the American Jamboree in Selma, N.C. This is better than Chicago, Branson, Dollywood and Myrtle Beach one attendee was heard stating during the intermission.
After the intermission the second half of the show started with the Southeast Halifax Drum Corps dancers backing up Heidi Parton in a dance routine that mixed hip-hop, with break dancing and robo dancing. Their routine was lively and added something different to the show.
When Randy sang the closing song "In God we still trust," most of the 1,500 audience members stood up, cheered for our country and gave him a standing ovation.
As people made there way out of the theatre, as they say in Hollywood, the buzz was good. When 12 year old Andrew Belleville from Florence, S.C., was asked after the show what he thought of the show, he said he liked it. He said he especially liked that train song and movie. Andrew was vacationing at Lake Gaston with his mom and dad. As one audience member walked by she stated "…this was different, very much like reality. He kept the family in it and made it good."
Jack and Faye Mullins from Ringgold, Ga., were at the opening show to keep a promise they made to Randy when he first started talking about the show. According to Jack they are friends with the entire Parton family and have been following Randy’s career since 1974. On a scale of 1-5 Jack said this was a 5A show.
If the comments from the audience are any indication, the Randy Parton Theatre will be a good destination place for the Carolina Crossroads complex, Roanoke Rapids and Halifax County.