The article was paywalled for me, but this is a longstanding rivalry I think. The Soul of a New Machine - Wikipedia has a great tale about the rivalry between Raleigh- and Boston-based teams of Data General.
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Theater Files for Bankruptcy…The North Carolina Theatre has been Raleigh’s largest professional theatre company producing live musical theatre for 40 years. With profound sadness, the NCT Board of Directors announces that it must implement a financial restructuring by seeking protection under Chapter 11 and suspending the remainder of its 2024 season. As a beloved theatre company housed within the Martin Marietta Performing Arts Center in downtown Raleigh, NCT has been recognized throughout the nation as a beacon of professional performing arts in North Carolina. The financial restructuring is a necessary step toward rebuilding and revitalizing The North Carolina Theatre for the future.
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This is so sad. I worked for NCT for years and loved every second of it. The people are wonderful. I hope they’re able to find a way through this and continue on!
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Sad to see. Seems like it’s been pretty badly managed. I know post pandemic is weird for all venues, but $4.3m in expenses on $3.5m in revenue is rough. Pre-pandemic in 2019 wasn’t better: $5.2m in expenses on $4.5m revenue.
I’m not an econonist, but it looks like they needed more revenue. If only there was a way to increase revenue when you set the price of admission… 
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Let’s compare Martin Marietta’s finances with DPAC. I rarely, if ever, want to see a show/concert in DTR. It seems to have been in a death spiral for years now.
It’s marvelous for ballet and the symphony. Different kind of thing. Never seen a theater performance there.
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NCT is a theater company that produces shows. The Marietta Center is a venue. NCT is the one going bankrupt, not Marietta. NCT just rents space there a few weeks out of the year for their shows (and they have an office down in the basement).
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I’m pretty sure Martin Marietta is solid financially. Local theater companies everywhere including NYC are struggling. NC Theatre was outstanding and produced high quality shows. I do hope they return. I think a lot of people go just to DPAC but Memorial Auditorium is still an excellent venue. I will always stand by the city’s decision to renovate it and add onto it as opposed to tearing it down and building a new DPAC-like building. People complain about “Raleigh” tearing down historical buildings but then complain about one of the biggest historical buildings that they saved…and they did an outstanding job of saving it, renovating it and adding onto it. The large theater is, in fact, nicer, fresher, roomier and more pleasant than any broadway theater that I’ve ever visited. I do think that younger people don’t really enjoy theater any more unless it’s a blockbuster style show. It’s unfortunate but it seems to be a trend.
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I did some work with the Theatre Development Fund in NYC and this is true. The industry separates plays and musicals, and the play is deeply struggling. Most people under 40 can’t even name a play (outside of Shakespeare), much less want to see one.
It was funny, we’d hold focus groups, explicitly define and ask about plays (NOT musicals) and they’d still just talk about Wicked or maybe Sunday in the Park with George if they were a bit more highbrow.
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any way some type of restaraunt dsiscounts nearby for ticket holders might give incentive? if it isnt already done?
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Direct result of DPAC & Raleigh leaders not having the balls to be aggressive on counter maneuvers….just like with the sports stadium.
Seeing a pattern with Raleigh leadership…….or lack thereof??
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Been ringing that bell for ages.
Raleigh gave away theater in the name of regionalism and cooperation. Durham would never do that.
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I hope the new city hall will eventually foster a better, more organized city government.
The City of Raleigh doesn’t book the Performing Arts Center. That said, I am aware that instead of focusing on booking touring productions (which has become the focus of DPAC), our Performing Arts Center has prioritized several residence companies, including NC Theater which is incredibly well respected nationwide. If you want to see Broadway actors, that is the place to do it. NC Theater merges local talent and Broadway talent for their productions, which are produced in house. I’ve seen so many Broadway actors I love at NC Theater because they’re able to come down here for 1-2 weeks for the show and then fly back. Absolutely nothing against the shows that play at DPAC, but those are touring productions of shows that also happen to be on Broadway too, not the current Broadway casts. They take the shows to multiple cities. NC Theater produces locally and brings in Broadway talent.
NC Theater is a huge asset for our city, and I hope they emerge from this restructuring even stronger. I do agree we can all do a better job supporting them; on the City side, we will finally have digital signs at the performing arts venues (Convention center, Performing Arts Centers, Red Hat) better advertising what shows are happening.
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Can we issue citations for noise for overly loud cars cruising through downtown next?
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I can’t celebrate this enough! No judgement to those caught as I’m sure we’re all guilty to some extent, but this demonstration of enforcement goes well beyond the act and finally shows the importance of safety traversing DTR. I hope this happens more frequently to continue that demonstration and raise awareness. Thank you RPD!
Snippet:
“Three drivers were charged with no operator’s license. Top speeds of 68 mph in a 35 mph zone and 70 mph in a 45 mph zone were documented,” officers said in the news release.
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