‘We’re going to be OK’: Renowned Charlotte theater rebuilds after tragic fire, COVID

Joe Marusak
·3 min read

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Despite a devastating fire, a 93-year-old Charlotte theater has managed to offer performances elsewhere and looks forward to the day its leaders say it will return to its longtime stage.

“The last 14 months have been challenging, but because of outstanding support from our community, Theatre Charlotte is still here!” theater officials proclaimed in a recent newsletter, referring to the COVID-19 pandemic and a Dec. 28 blaze that erupted in their Queens Road auditorium.

Demolition crews have cleaned and cleared the interior, and Chris Timmons, the theater’s acting executive director, told The Charlotte Observer on Friday he’s optimistic that actors will perform there again by fall 2022.

“We’re going to be OK,” he said.

Community support

The Dec. 28 fire damaged the seats, flooring and ceiling of the theater in Myers Park, and most of the lighting and sound equipment was a total loss, theater officials said at the time.

“We’ve been hit pretty hard by 2020, but physical damage to our physical home is something we simply could not have expected,” theater leaders said in a statement immediately after the fire.

Theatre Charlotte is the longest-running community theater in North Carolina, according to its leaders. The theater has been in the Queens Road building since 1941.

The auditorium sustained far more loss than the $50,000 fire officials estimated, according to the theater.

Charlotte Theatre sustained far more loss in Monday’s electrical fire than the $50,000 fire officials estimated, its leaders said.
Charlotte Theatre sustained far more loss in Monday’s electrical fire than the $50,000 fire officials estimated, its leaders said.

After the fire, supporters donated at least $100,000, and hundreds offered their time to help the theater continue to offer performances, officials said.

Theatre Charlotte has produced two shows since the fire: A virtual, live-streamed performance of “Unarmed and Dangerous,” and an outdoor staging of the murder mystery “Covered Tracks.”

“Unarmed and Dangerous” was the first installment of the theater’s “This is Charlotte” series featuring local artists and diverse cultures. The performance was its most-viewed virtual, ticketed event to date, officials said.

Camp North End, the Duke Mansion and the Van Landingham Estate hosted performances of “Covered Tracks.” Ten of the 12 performances sold out, and so many people want more shows that the theater plans to incorporate some in its 2021-2022 lineup.

Rehearsals have begun for Theatre Charlotte’s final production of the 2020-2021 season, Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” adapted and directed by local artist Andrea King.

The show is scheduled to be performed outdoors May 21-June 6, including at the Carolina Raptor Center on Mountain Island Lake in Huntersville and the Mint Museum Randolph in Charlotte.

Theatre Charlotte, which has staged performances for 92 years, received lots of community support after a fire in December extensively damaged its auditorium on Queens Road.
Theatre Charlotte, which has staged performances for 92 years, received lots of community support after a fire in December extensively damaged its auditorium on Queens Road.

Restoration work

Timmons said he has been working “around-the-clock” trying to find locations for the 2021-22 season. The theater hopes to stage five productions during the season.

Meanwhile, Charlotte-based Roby Commercial has been hired to restore the theater — work that is expected to take eight months to a year, theater officials said,

Timmons anticipates work beginning in June, but that depends on how long the city of Charlotte takes to issue the permits, he said.