Kim Isenberg introduced our speaker, Becky Hancock, Executive Director of the Tennessee Theater.
Becky began with some history.
- The theater is 96 years old, opened 01-01-1928.
- In the old days, they would run two movies a week, one Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and one Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, with no movie on Sundays.
- Before TV took over, people came to the theater to watch football.(1950s and 1960s.)
- They would get news reels.
- In 1977, the theater closed, but was bought by Mr. James Dick, and re-opened in 1982.
- The opera (1983) and symphony (1985) soon called the Tennessee Theater home.
- In 1996, the theater became a non-profit corp. and eventually launched a 19 month, 36 million dollar campaign to renovate the beautiful theater we have today. They tried to keep much original/historical décor as they could while creating a “wow” space for visitors to enjoy.
- Then Broadway came to town, and the crowds with them. Scheduling all the different seasons of the performance arts is a giant undertaking.
Then, a little talk of the future…..
- The Theater Foundation bought neighboring building and are doing a 36,000 ft. expansion, with completion expected in fall 2025.
- The Theater is scheduling well into the future, including The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, The Knoxville Opera, Broadway productions, other concerts and shows.
The Tennessee Theater is now getting ready for 2028 and celebrating 100 years.