City officials mum after Parton forced to leave

After a tumultuous week in which Randy Parton, for whom the Randy Parton Theatre was named, was apparently sacked, Roanoke Rapids officials are being tight-lipped about what the future of the facility might hold.

Officials with the theatre are not saying anything, either.

Parton was escorted from the theatre last week, on Dec. 5, after city officials deemed he was not able to perform. Published reports quoted Roanoke Rapids Mayor Drewery Beale as saying he felt that Parton was “under the influence of alcohol.”

Beale refused to answer questions about the incident when questioned by the Littleton Observer.

Last week’s events came on the heels of the city finally releasing financial records of the theatre, after months of stonewalling media groups that had requested the information. City officials said they were concerned that some of the $2.4 the city turned over to Parton and his company, Moonlight Bandit Productions  Ltd., may have been spent on things other than getting the theatre operation up and running.

Roanoke Rapids took managing control of the theatre away from Parton last month. That move came after weeks of speculation and closed door meetings in the wake of poor financial performances by the theater. Managed by Parton and Moonlight Bandit, the theatre had been making its monthly debt service payments to the city for the building, but had been drawing on a $3 million reserve fund to do so. That fund had dropped to slightly more than $700,000 by the time the city asserted control.

The theatre has been plagued by generally lower than anticipated attendance, although city officials have generally expressed positive views regarding the theatre.

At that time, Parton hosted a nightly show, but when the city assumed control his show was reduced to a maximum of 36 performances a year, although the city agreed to continue paying him $250,000 a year for five years.

After last week’s events, it is not clear where that agreement stands. Beale told other media outlets he did not believe Parton would ever again perform at the theatre, and he said the city would have to review the contract. He refused to answer Observer questions regarding the financial records.

After taking management away from Parton, the city announced it had hired

UNICCO Integrated Facilities Services, a Boston-based facilities management company, to operate the theatre.

That firm, in turn, announced last week it had hired Rick Reno as general manager of the facility. Reno was chief executive officer of the Crown Center in Fayetteville at the time of his appointment by UNICCO, a post he has since resigned to take on the job in Roanoke Rapids.

Although the theatre has announced several shows in the upcoming weeks (see page ???) , Beale would not comment on the long-term future of the facility. Roanoke Rapids City Manager Phyllis Lee did not return a message left for her, and officials at the Randy Parton Theatre did not return messages left there.