Post by Bornthrilla on Sept 24, 2006 8:23:10 GMT -5
Article published Sep 24, 2006
N.C. A&T's Harrison Auditorium to reopen
By Jim Schlosser
Staff Writer
GREENSBORO -- The old auditorium is ready for Act 2 of its existence.
After a $4 million renovation, the first since the building opened in 1939 on the N.C. A&T campus, Harrison Auditorium will be rededicated at 6 p.m. today. The event will feature a performance by Sweet Honey in The Rock, a black repertory company from Washington.
The performance is free, but senior development officer Martina Chavis says all giveaway tickets are gone.
Those attending will enjoy elevators, previously lacking. The lifts will ease access for the disabled, as will wider seats.
Improvements to the 943-seat auditorium include a larger stage, better lighting, video and sound systems and better restrooms. A new lobby offers more space and beauty, and a new outdoor patio is for social events.
From outside, Harrison looks about the same, but inside "it's fabulous," Chavis said. "It again will be the centerpiece of campus culture. It will serve the next generation of students who come to A&T."
Richard Berry Harrison, the namesake, died before he could perform there. In 1929, A&T awarded him an honorary doctorate. In 1933, he returned to the city to play in the Pulitzer Prize-winning play "Green Pastures" at the old National Theatre downtown. A&T also has named its theater students the Richard B. Harrison Players.
Born in 1864 in Canada to parents who escaped slavery on the Underground Railroad, Harrison became one of America's great black actors.
He was educated in Detroit and later befriended A&T President James B. Dudley and his wife, Susan Dudley. In 1922, the president, no doubt pushed by his theater-loving wife, persuaded Harrison to start a summer theater program at A&T.
Susan Dudley actually founded theater at A&T. She wrote and directed its first play, "How Shall I Go Up to My Father," in 1898. She also composed the school song.
Harrison summered at A&T from 1922 to 1930, then returned north to do Shakespeare and works by friend and black poet Paul Dunbar.
His A&T ties ended after he became "de Lawd" in "Green Pastures," which ran for 16 months on Broadway starting in 1930, and then toured the country. Harrison's talent was said key to the play winning the Pulitzer Prize.
Harrison died in 1935 at 71, preparing for a performance.
Notables on stage at the auditorium through the years include Eleanor Roosevelt, singer Marian Anderson, educators Mary McLeon Bethune and Benjamin Mays, and baseball great Jackie Robinson.
The auditorium is in A&T's historical section, featuring large trees and old buildings along Dudley and Bluford streets.
"The rehabbed auditorium will add a whole new level in bringing the best of the arts'' says Mable Scott, assistant vice chancellor for university relations. The auditorium is large but would not have been large enough to hold its namesake's funeral. It is said 15,000 people came to his home to pay respects.
Contact Jim Schlosser at 373-7081 or jschlosser@news-record.com
N.C. A&T's Harrison Auditorium to reopen
By Jim Schlosser
Staff Writer
GREENSBORO -- The old auditorium is ready for Act 2 of its existence.
After a $4 million renovation, the first since the building opened in 1939 on the N.C. A&T campus, Harrison Auditorium will be rededicated at 6 p.m. today. The event will feature a performance by Sweet Honey in The Rock, a black repertory company from Washington.
The performance is free, but senior development officer Martina Chavis says all giveaway tickets are gone.
Those attending will enjoy elevators, previously lacking. The lifts will ease access for the disabled, as will wider seats.
Improvements to the 943-seat auditorium include a larger stage, better lighting, video and sound systems and better restrooms. A new lobby offers more space and beauty, and a new outdoor patio is for social events.
From outside, Harrison looks about the same, but inside "it's fabulous," Chavis said. "It again will be the centerpiece of campus culture. It will serve the next generation of students who come to A&T."
Richard Berry Harrison, the namesake, died before he could perform there. In 1929, A&T awarded him an honorary doctorate. In 1933, he returned to the city to play in the Pulitzer Prize-winning play "Green Pastures" at the old National Theatre downtown. A&T also has named its theater students the Richard B. Harrison Players.
Born in 1864 in Canada to parents who escaped slavery on the Underground Railroad, Harrison became one of America's great black actors.
He was educated in Detroit and later befriended A&T President James B. Dudley and his wife, Susan Dudley. In 1922, the president, no doubt pushed by his theater-loving wife, persuaded Harrison to start a summer theater program at A&T.
Susan Dudley actually founded theater at A&T. She wrote and directed its first play, "How Shall I Go Up to My Father," in 1898. She also composed the school song.
Harrison summered at A&T from 1922 to 1930, then returned north to do Shakespeare and works by friend and black poet Paul Dunbar.
His A&T ties ended after he became "de Lawd" in "Green Pastures," which ran for 16 months on Broadway starting in 1930, and then toured the country. Harrison's talent was said key to the play winning the Pulitzer Prize.
Harrison died in 1935 at 71, preparing for a performance.
Notables on stage at the auditorium through the years include Eleanor Roosevelt, singer Marian Anderson, educators Mary McLeon Bethune and Benjamin Mays, and baseball great Jackie Robinson.
The auditorium is in A&T's historical section, featuring large trees and old buildings along Dudley and Bluford streets.
"The rehabbed auditorium will add a whole new level in bringing the best of the arts'' says Mable Scott, assistant vice chancellor for university relations. The auditorium is large but would not have been large enough to hold its namesake's funeral. It is said 15,000 people came to his home to pay respects.
Contact Jim Schlosser at 373-7081 or jschlosser@news-record.com
