Eastern Carolina Showcase Theater
1309 Arendell Street,
Morehead City,
NC
28557
1309 Arendell Street,
Morehead City,
NC
28557
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The former Morehead Theater that was operated by Carmike Cinemas is now a live entertainment theater named the Eastern Carolina Showcase Theater.
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This is a 2/17/2003 article about this theater.
“Morehead City, N.C., Couple to Open Live Theater in Former Movie Palace.
The Daily News, Jacksonville, N.C.
By Jannette Pippin
Feb. 17—MOREHEAD CITY, N.C.—The movie screens and seats at the old Morehead Theatre have been pulled out but the entertainment will return soon.
Interior renovations are under way at the building, which has been vacant for two years, and its new owners plan to reopen the theater by Memorial Day for live entertainment. It will be known as the Eastern Carolina Showcase Theater.
Ed and Judy Grafton, the owners of Capt. Ed’s Restaurant on N.C. 58 in Cape Carteret, purchased the theater, located at 1309 Arendell St., from Carmike Cinemas, out of a desire to give families something they can do together.
“We want family entertainment that everyone, whether they are five years old or 90 years old can enjoy,” said Scott Grafton, who has been helping his parents with the project.
The family-oriented shows similar to those in places like Myrtle Beach, S.C. will appeal to locals and tourists, featuring musicians, dancers and singers performing a variety of music, including gospel, country, bluegrass and oldies. In addition to the performance by the regular cast, there will be a pre-show where local talent may also be featured. A Christmas show is also planned for the holiday season.
Grafton said they also hope to bring in some well-known performers to the 550-seat theater, with names like Ronnie Milsap and Lee Greenwood being mentioned as possibilities.
A lot will depend on what the people want.
“Outside of our show, we hope to bring some people in to perform,” Grafton said. “—It’s whatever the community wants; jazz, country, opera.”
The Graftons said the entertainment could also come from outside groups.
“We also want to open the theater up to groups who would like to bring their own production here,” he said.
The theater will also be available to the community for meetings and private events.
For the Graftons, who operate other businesses such as a car wash and mini-storage facility, the Eastern Carolina Showcase Theater is a business venture of a different sort for them. And so they’ve called in the help of those who do know the entertainment business.
“This is totally different for us,” Grafton said. “So we’ve surrounded ourselves with people who are going to run the show and know what we want.”
Richard Lawton, a producer with more than 30 years in the music business, will be at the helm of the live show.
“This is a show that will stand on its own two feet,” he said in a news release. “It is something you will be proud to take your grandmother to, and at the same time, something the whole family can enjoy.”
Auditions are under way for vocalists and musicians as well as dancers, comedians, and technicians.
Plans are to hold shows as many as six nights a week during the prime summer season.
The Graftons have received support in their endeavor from the Carteret County Economic Development Council and the Downtown Morehead City Revitalization Association.
The EDC office helped facilitate the purchase by bringing together all the parties involved in making the theater a reality.
“A lot of what we do is put the people together who make the projects happen,” said Shirley Powell, assistant director of the EDC. “We’re going to continue to work with them the help make it a success”.
The Morehead Theatre opened in 1954. In 1982 it was twinned. Stewart & Everett were the operators until Carmike in 1986, Carmike closed the theatre in 2000. Seating for the twin was listed at 540.
This is a photo of the City Theater in Morehead, circa 1965. It doesn’t look much like the map photo, unless there was some drastic remodeling when the theater was twinned. The current building looks more like a bank.
http://tinyurl.com/yc8gg3d
The Morehead Theatre and the City Theatre were two different theatres in Morehead City. They were not one in the same and that could be why they don’t look alive.
The City Theastre is not listed on CT.
This theatre is now known as the Morehead Center for Performing Arts and Events, with address listed as 1311 Arendell Street.
Carmike called this theater the Morehead Twin. The former Morehead (Twin) Theater loooks nearly identical to the Town & Country theater in Aberdeen, which was opened in 1966. Both the Morehead and the Town & Country were built by Stewart & Everett, so the Morehead (Twin) Theater was most likely built in the mid-1960s as a single-screen. I have seen a photo taken in the mid-1950s of the old Belk store on the 700 block of Arendell Street (I forgot where I saw it); next to Belk’s was a movie theater named the Morehead. This may have been the 1954 theater; it looked nearly identical to the Wilrik theater in Sanford (which was also S&E).