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T h e R e b i R T h o f M i s s i s s i p p i s G R a n d o p e R a h o u s e

by Amanda Brandon

The Past i s p R e s e n TA treasured Southern landmark has returned to Meridian, Miss., with the recent restoration of the

1889 Marks Rothenberg Grand Opera House and Department Store. The Mississippi State University Riley Center for Education and Performing Arts now encompasses the grandeur that set turn-of-the 20th Century Meridian apart. The first season of the new Riley Center (opened in 2006) drew 24,000 patrons from all over the South back to this old railroad city, to experience its rich arts heritage.

Grand HistoryIn the late 1800s, Meridian was on the

verge of becoming a cosmopolitan city with its location on the train route from New Orleans to Chicago. Half-brothers I. Marks and Levi Rothenberg saw the potential of the city, and built the Grand Opera House and the Marks Rothenberg department store in the center of down-town.

Interested in expanding Meridians arts and cultural appeal, the brothers saw this theatre and store project as a wise in-vestment. The Grand Opera House was named for the program guides of the time period. This was also a designation given to theatres that met certain archi-tectural standards.

The name Grand Opera House can be misleading to modern folks. More than operas were held in the theatre. The grand theatre was home to some of

the most popular traveling shows of the time, which included vaudeville shows, minstrels and even some of the first silent movies.

Curtains Closed

With the introduction of the new motion picture theaters and a lack of interest in the live theatres, the Marks Rothenberg families had to close the Grand Opera House doors in 1927. The structure was tied up in lawsuits for de-cades, so the theatre portion of the build-ing remained closed for more than half a century (it was used as a department store warehouse for decades).

The department store stayed in oper-ation under various owners and concepts until 1990. During the 1960s, the outside of the Marks Rothenberg building was covered with metal siding in order to modernize it.

In the 1980s, a piece of the siding was removed unveiling the original windows, brick and mortar. This discov-ery gave the Meridian community a push to begin a campaign to save the Grand Opera House and refurbish the Marks Rothenberg building.

renaissanCe BeGinsFor the next two decades, support for

the project grew among community lead-ers. In January 2000, the Riley Founda-tion gave a $10 million contribution to restore the Marks Rothenberg building. A stipulation of the grant was that Mis-sissippi State University own and operate the center.

A campaign for donations from local, state and federal agencies commenced with the Riley grant. A total of $25 mil-lion was raised and funneled into the res-toration project. Formal planning began

in 2002, and by the spring of 2003, the renovation was in full force.

When the renovation project began, historic preservationists found the theatre mostly intact. Some of their findings in-cluded exquisite woodwork, wainscoting, remnants of over 60 different wall cover-ings and the original lambrequin hanging above the stage.

openinG niGHtThe 140,000-square-foot MSU Ri-

ley Center for Education and Perform-ing Arts opened in the fall of 2006 with a fully restored theatre and over 30,000 feet of conference center space.

The first full season of 33 perform-ing arts shows, which included blues, folk, jazz, gospel and bluegrass musical perfor-mances alongside dance, theatre, comedy and world cultural shows, ended in May 2007, with right at 24,000 patrons travel-

ing to Meridian. The shows consistently attracted visitors from a 100-mile plus radius.

Performances by singer/songwriters Lyle Lovett, John Hiatt, Guy Clark and Joe Ely in February 007, sold out to 1,800 people. Over half those in attendance traveled more than 100 miles. Seven out of the 10 last shows of the season sold out. First-Class proGramminG

The Riley Center formed partner-ships with the nations elite arts organiza-tions to present first-class programming during the first season. The Riley Center was one of only three performing arts center in the country inducted into the Kennedy Center Partners in Education, with Meridian and Lauderdale County (Miss.) schools.

Riley Center officials partnered with the Lincoln Center to bring in jazz pro-gramming for adult and educational per-formances earlier this year. The center was also selected as a national kick-off location for the Smithsonian Institutes traveling exhibit, New Harmonies: Celebrat-ing American Roots Music.

rave reviewsThe center has received accolades

from numerous publications for its first year. A radio and TV series produced by Mississippi Public Broadcasting inside the center will air throughout Mississippi this year. Headlining its achievements was winning the Mississippi Tourism Associations Tourism Achievement of the Year (2007).

Performer Hal Holbrook described the Riley Center as one of the top two theatres he has ever performed in. Oth-er celebrities including Wynton Marsalis, Kathy Mattea, Bo Diddley, Sandi Patty and many others gave the center rave reviews by describing it as a true gem with enviable acoustics and astonish-ing beauty.

Future plansPenny Kemp, marketing director for

the Riley Center, shares some exciting changes that are on the horizon with the 2007-08 season, opening Sept. 8 with a performance by country music star Tri-sha Yearwood.

One of the biggest changes for this season is the move to more weekend per-formances. Twenty-eight of the 32 per-

formances will be presented on a weekend day, versus 20 of 33 falling on a weekend day in the first season. This bodes very well for our ability to attract even more tourists in for weekend shows, Kemps says.

Another change is the emphasis on more educational performances and spe-cial offerings, such as residency programs and workshops for college students and members of the public.

This provides more opportunities for the center to create connections through-out the community, and to reach this areas young people through the arts, explains Kemp.

seCond seasonThe 2007-08 lineup includes a presen-

tation of silent short films, an ensemble of gypsy jazz musicians and a six-show run of a dinner theater featuring a New York-based cast. Emerging artists are also a showcase of the upcoming season. Family programming and world cultural shows round out the schedule.

Dennis Sankovich, executive direc-tor of the Riley Center, says the aim of the selected performances is to show-case the amazing qualities of our theater from the extraordinary acoustics to the rich, intimate environment.

Youll find everything from a fully-staged Gilbert and Sullivan opera and a full symphony orchestra performing with two choirs, to performances by the powerhouse duo of Chick Corea and Bela Fleck, to an all-strings trio, Time for Three, Sankovich says. All of this serves to create a one-of-a-kind experi-ence that sticks with people well after they leave. We feel its important to offer people in our area access to artists and art forms that perhaps, they are not famil-iar with or havent had the opportunity to experience in a market our size. This holds true for our students, as well as our adult patrons. It is all about exposing a broad community of people to quality performances that are both entertaining and inspiring.

tiCket inFormationSeason packages are now onsale for

the 2007-08 season. Individual show tick-ets go on sale Aug. 13. For more informa-tion on the MSU Riley Center, visit ww.msurileycenter.com, or call 601-696-2200.

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2007 YALL 31 30 YALL THE MAGAZINE OF SOUTHERN PEOPLE

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