McGregor Hall is reopening -- gradually

David Irvine, Henderson (N.C.) Daily Dispatch
·3 min read

Jun. 15—HENDERSON — McGregor Hall Performing Arts Center is emerging from its COVID-19 pandemic shutdown to move toward normal operation.

But it's not quite there yet.

Mark Hopper, operations director and board chairman for McGregor Hall and the Embassy Cultural Center Foundation, said the auditorium hosted three local events this spring, rescheduled two major shows and began rehearsals for a local musical production.

Serving the community as a venue for local events as well as a destination for Broadway musical roadshows, McGregor Hall has shown its versatility in its five years of operation.

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization also demonstrated its resilience.

McGregor Hall stirred from its pandemic hiatus last month as Vance Charter School and Oxford Prep held their graduation ceremonies and Ballet Arts presented its annual recital in the 1,000-seat auditorium.

Each of the events — with pandemic-related restrictions — went "absolutely beautifully," Hopper said.

Two gospel groups are scheduled for Sept. 11. The Kingsmen and The Perrys were twice postponed because of the pandemic. The audience will now have an opportunity to hear The Kingsmen perform classics such as "Old Ship of Zion' and "Excuses."

The Perrys will continue the program with some of their best-known numbers such as "I Wish I Could Have Been There" and "If You Know Him,"

The program will begin at 2 p.m.

For more information on performances and tickets, contact McGregor Hall. The telephone number is 252-598-0662. Box office hours are 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Tickets can also be purchased online at https://www.etix.com/ticket/v/11557/mcgregor-hall-performing-arts-center.

Technical Director Matt Nowell said they are reanalyzing U.S. Centers for Disease Control recommendations related to the virus to determine the requirements for seating, masks and social distancing.

Henderson Rec Players will return to the stage at the end of July with a presentation of "Godspell." The 2012 revision of the classic musical has already been cast, Hopper said, and rehearsals began last week.

There will be six performances: July 30 and 31, and Aug. 1, 6, 7 and 8.

Hopper said the staff took advantage of the pandemic-imposed hiatus to make some changes in the auditorium, changes that "we otherwise wouldn't have time for."

The orchestra pit was lowered to a "more standard level," and retractable acoustical curtains were installed. The improvements were funded by Vance Family Medicine, he said.

A pictorial history of the Henderson Rec Players was created during the shutdown using the back hall wall of the auditorium, Hopper said. He and Jo Ellen Nowell mounted programs and posters of "every single season" of Rec Players from 1972 to the present.

"Quite a little museum," he said.

A Rec Player reunion — still in the planning stages — will be held when the Rec Players tribute wall is dedicated, Hopper added.

McGregor Hall Performing Arts Center is a full-service performance facility with state-of-the-art lighting, sound, video and film projection technology serving the Vance County community and the surrounding area.