Tag Archive for: #mcgregorhall

TownTalk: The Manhattans Taking the Stage at McGregor Hall Sept. 13th

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The Manhattans are coming to McGregor Hall on Sept. 13, and it’ll be another homecoming for Henderson’s Gerald Alston. It’s not the first time he’s performed in Henderson – not even the first time he’s performed at McGregor Hall.

This concert, however, is coming at the end of a Henderson Institute reunion weekend.

And Henderson Institute is where Alston got his start, after all, at a talent show when he was a teenager.

Alston reminisced with WIZS’s Steve Lewis on Tuesday’s TownTalk, and he said he remembers vividly that day when he was called to the principal’s office.

“Mr. Sanford Williams was the principal,” Alston said. “He was no-nonsense.”

But that trip to the office wasn’t for anything bad. In fact, it turned out to be something good. Very good.

He got permission to leave school an hour early to he could practice for the upcoming talent show that was going to be held at Henderson Institute.

Alston said he sang Sam Cooke’s “Tennessee Waltz” in that talent show, which got him a standing ovation and the audience calling out, “We want more!”

And that’s just what Alston’s been doing with the Manhattans since 1970 – giving audiences more.

“My career started right there in Henderson,” Alston said, referring to that talent show, which led to the formation of Gerald Alston and the New Imperials. The band toured across the Carolinas while Alston was still in high school.

When he was a student at Kittrell College, the Manhattans came to play and Alston agreed to let the group use some of his band’s equipment.

Long story short, Alston said they asked him to open the show for them. The Manhattans liked what they heard and after the show, they took Alston’s name and address and said they’d be in touch.

“That was a Thursday, and Monday I was flying to Dallas, Texas.”

He joined the group in 1970 and since then, there have been hit songs and albums, Grammys and fame. Well-loved songs like “Shining Star” and “Kiss and Say Goodbye,” just to name a couple.

Alston and the Manhattans first came to Henderson’s McGregor Hall shortly after his 2015 induction into the N.C. Music Hall of Fame. Then-Mayor Eddie Ellington proclaimed “Gerald Alston Day” and presented Alston with a key to the city on stage in June 2016.

With roughly six decades in the music business, Alston said one of the most noticeable changes he’s observed is the use of live musicians in album production.

“Nobody is recording much with live musicians,” he said, adding that records are being produced with the use of auto tunes, and now, AI.

“Some of the songs I’ve heard on AI are great songs, they sound nice,” he said. “But they’re not real ‘cause you don’t hear the feeling. They can mimic your voice … but the feeling is missing,” Alston said.

It’s the same with instruments. Sure, a keyboard can produce the sound of drums, bass guitars and rhythm sections, but it’s the individual musician who provides the feeling to the music.

The Manhattans featuring Gerald Alston are bringing their signature sound – including live musicians and a trio of talented vocalists – to McGregor Hall. Alston is hoping for a sold-out show.

Get tickets for the 3 p.m. show at https://www.mcgregorhall.org/ and learn more about the legendary musical group at

https://letsjustkissandsaygoodbye.com/

Listen to the whole interview at www.wizs.com.

 

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(This post and the audio are not a paid ad. However, McGregor Hall is an advertising partner of WIZS and presently there is a paid ad airing on WIZS about purchasing tickets to this same event.)

TownTalk: McGregor Live! Series Cranks Up With Sept. 13 Performance By The Manhattans Featuring Henderson’s Own Gerald Alston

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The silky smooth rhythm and blues sound of the Manhattans kicks off the 2026-27 McGregor Live! series with a performance on Sunday, Sept. 13 at 3 p.m.

It’ll be the third time that the group – featuring Henderson’s own Gerald Alston – has performed at the Henderson performing arts venue, but it’s the first time being included in the McGregor Live! series, said Mark Hopper, McGregor Hall’s executive and artistic director.

“We’re real excited that they’re kicking off things,” Hopper said.

The concert marks a culmination of weekend activities for Henderson Institute’s 50th reunion, he said on Monday’s TownTalk. “We’ve had a good time working with them closely and being partners with them on this.”

Following on the heels of the Manhattans is a strong lineup that includes theater, movie adaptions brought to the stage, ballet and tributes to a couple of pop music icons.

“I am more proud of this series than anything we have ever done,” Hopper said. “I will go out on a limb and say this is the best bargain in North Carolina for live entertainment…We’re super proud of this series.” And tickets for all five shows between September 2026 and March 2027 are a bargain at $140 each.

Auditions for the Broadway musical Frozen are coming up on Aug. 8 and 10 for the production that will take the stage for four performances on consecutive weekends Nov. 7-8 and Nov. 14-15.

And there will be an event for children to come have tea with Elsa and Anna, too, before the Nov. 14 show. Stay tuned for details about tickets for this special treat.

Bringing “Frozen” to McGregor Hall is a pretty big deal, and Hopper said it’s one of the first two amateur theaters around to present the full Broadway original version of the wildly popular Disney musical that includes princesses, magic and humor to create a timeless story of sisterhood, acceptance and the real meaning of true love.

“This is a big one,” Hopper exclaimed, adding that the cast will include ultra-talented people from the region who are drawn to McGregor Hall for its growing reputation for quality productions.

Before you know it, the holiday season will be on our doorstep – and on McGregor Hall’s, too. Ballet North Carolina brings its production of The Nutcracker to Henderson for a Sunday afternoon performance on Dec. 6.

Get into the holiday spirit without having to drive to Raleigh, “This is the big one that’s done at  Memorial Auditorium in Raleigh every year. This is huge, huge,” Hopper said.

Students at the local Ballet Arts studio will play the roles of mice, joining professional dancers on stage to recreate the beloved holiday story.

“We’ll be able to give those students a chance to interact with some professionals in the field,” he said, and the 3 p.m. show makes it perfect for families.

The Tony-winning play “Dear Evan Hansen” is next up in the lineup with four performances in February. The opening night is Feb. 13 at 7:30 p.m. and includes an optional add-on Valentine’s Day dinner before the show. The other performances are at 3 p.m. on Feb. 14, 20 and 21.

Originally a play that opened on Broadway in 2016, “Dear Evan Hansen” deals with some heavy topics but manages to infuse a good dose of humor into the story of title character who comes from a single-parent household who is struggling and wants to go to college and, as Hopper puts it, “gets himself into a big, big pickle.”

“We’re going to be the first amateur theater in the state to present this,” he said, adding that McGregor Hall has developed quite a reputation among regional theaters for its productions and professionalism – some cast members travel from a couple of hours away to the nightly rehearsals, he said.
“We have become the destination for people who want to do really first class theater, musical theater, especially…We’ve established ourselves as the name in the Triangle. Nobody is doing theater at the level, at the scale, that we do it.”

The final show in the series is a tribute show called “52nd St. & Captain Fantastic,” and will feature the music of legends Billy Joel and Elton John.

“It’s a show where you get to hear all your favorites from two artists in the same night,” Hopper said. There will be top-shelf pianists, a live band – not to mention out-of-this-world costumes, Hopper said.

The show is set for Sunday, Mar. 14 at 3 p.m.

“We’re very proud of what we’re able to do, and the people that we’re able to bring to Henderson because of it,” he said.

Buy tickets online at www.mcgregorhall.org or call or stop by the box office. The box office is open Monday – Friday from 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and is located at 201 Breckenridge St. The number is 252.598.0662

 

 

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TownTalk: Shenandoah Concert Aug. 15 At McGregor Hall

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Everybody wins when a good plan comes together, and an upcoming concert at McGregor Hall is proof of what happens when persistence is mixed in with just a bit of kismet.

The country music group Shenandoah is performing one show on Saturday, Aug. 15 – it’s the only stop in North Carolina on the group’s current tour, said Mark Hopper, McGregor Hall’s executive and artistic director.

“We’re pretty proud to have made this happen,” Hopper said on Wednesday’s TownTalk. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. Persistence just comes with the territory when it comes to booking shows and scheduling performances, but the kismet part of the story is that the band’s agent happens to live in Raleigh.

With Grammy, CMA and ACM awards to their credit, Shenandoah is known for songs that tell stories like “Two Dozen Roses” and “Church on Cumberland Road,” just to name a couple.

For Hopper, “Sunday in the South” is a particular favorite from the Shenandoah playlist.

As the son of a pastor growing up in rural western North Carolina, this song resonates.

Although trained as a classical musician, Hopper listened to country music growing up. “I grew up with it…most people would never know that about me,” he said.

He remembers sitting in the family’s den, listening to the radio tuned in to a Greenville, SC station and then hearing a different kind of music on Sundays at church.

The song, he said, describes how he lived “every single week growing up in western North Carolina…Our entire world rotated around Sunday and church.”

Church was a place – besides school – where he could socialize with other kids. And folks would bring casseroles and desserts to the parsonage for absolutely no reason except to take care of the pastor and his family, he recalled.

“There’s real comfort in that tradition,” Hopper said. “It’s where values are born.”

Whether you’ve listened to Shenandoah since the band came on the scene in 1989 or whether you’re curious to hear more from a group that was part of a return to the country-western style of music, the concert is sure to please.

“Shenandoah was a bit of a return to country roots,” Hopper explained. In the 1970’s artists like Charley Pride and George Jones were embracing a “wall of sound” concept, using orchestras instead of steel guitars and fiddles to complement their songs.

When Shenandoah came on the scene, the pendulum was swinging back to that original western country music sound – getting back to its roots, he said.

Get tickets for Shenandoah online at www.mcgregorhall.org or call or stop by the box office, located at 201 Breckenridge St. Monday-Friday 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. The phone number is 252.598.0662.

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TownTalk: McGregor Hall’s Summer Lineup Sizzles With Wide Range Of Performances, Concerts

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Country Music’s Shenandoah Coming to Henderson, NC and McGregor Hall

Activity at McGregor Hall is brisk these days, with recent and upcoming commencement exercises, not to mention dance competitions – both of which bring in plenty of folks from near and far to the 1,000-seat performing arts venue.

And McGregor Hall’s executive director and artistic director, Mark Hopper, is no stranger to the hard work that goes along with making sure patrons and performers alike have a positive experience when they’re here.

“We’re going non-stop right now,” Hopper said. But he’s confident that it’s going to pay off – the upcoming lineup features a couple of big-name musical groups, following on the heels of the annual theatrical productions.

Hopper told WIZS Monday he’s thrilled to welcome two musical groups to perform later this summer: the hit country band Shenandoah will perform on Saturday, Aug. 15 beginning at 7:30 p.m. And then, on Sunday, Sept. 13 at 3 p.m., Henderson welcomes back one of its own, Gerald Alston and his group The Manhattans.

Hopper was fairly giddy at the prospect of having both groups booked.

“Gerald Henderson – and I’m not being hyperbolic,” Hopper said on Monday’s TownTalk “is one of the finest men I have ever met in my life.” He called Alston “a proud ambassador” for Henderson who “desperately wants his hometown to succeed.”

The Manhattans concert is presented in partnership with the Henderson Institute Alumni Association’s 50th anniversary reunion and is just one of numerous events that will take place in the area over that weekend.

And he’d been in negotiations for about a year to get Shenandoah booked. As luck would have it, the group’s agent lives in Raleigh. This is the group’s only appearance in North Carolina, Hopper said. And tickets are selling fast.

“This is the biggest act we’ve had in our 10 years,” Hopper said, adding that “it’s a band that anybody who cares anything about country music will know well.”

By the time Shenandoah takes the stage, however, two of the three scheduled theatrical shows will have taken place, and Hopper and the more than 300 volunteers that support McGregor Hall are already busy preparing.

Coming up on June 26 is “Anastasia – The Musical,” which is the culmination of the children’s theatre camp. Under the direction of Jo Ellen Nowell, a group of about 50 young people – rising 3rd graders through rising 11 graders – will tell the story about the fall of Russia’s czar.

“It’s going to be a great performance,” Hopper said, noting that the audience will be dazzled by the beautiful sets, music, costumes and the actors themselves. “We have some remarkably talented young people,” he said.

Rehearsals begin June 1 for “Hello, Dolly!” one of Broadway’s most popular productions that featured Carol Channing as Dolly Levi.

“Hello, Dolly!” runs for two weekends in July – July 18-19 and July 25-26.

With a cast of 76 and a full orchestra, this classic musical brings together relative newcomers and actors with professional experience for four performances.

Novices are on stage with people “who literally have been on Broadway and have been professional touring actors,” Hopper said. It’s important to foster interest in the arts in the community, especially with young people, he said. They try to find roles for everyone who comes out to audition.

“It’s our way of giving access to the stage,” he said. “It’s hard to know that you’re passionate about something or that you have talent for if you don’t know it exists. So we work hard to give access to the stage.”

The choreographer has worked for years with the Miss North Carolina pageant and Ira David Wood’s perennial favorite “A Christmas Carol” in Raleigh.

“This is going to be first rate,” Hopper said.

The Henderson Rec Players are mixing it up a bit with the August performance of “the Complete History of America (Abridged).

“This one is a scream,” Hopper said, noting that it’s a tongue-in-cheek satirical look “that crams about 500 years of history into an hour and forty-five minutes.”

It’s also going to be presented as theater-in-the-round, which will have the audience in raised seating on the stage with the cast.  There are three performances planned Aug. 28-30 and is in partnership with the Vance County American 250 committee, he said.

Visit www.mcgregorhall.org to find a complete listing of dates and times for the upcoming performances. Purchase tickets online or visit the box office Monday-Friday between 1:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.

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TownTalk: Chairmen Of The Board’s Ken Knox On Feb. 13 McGregor Hall Performance

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When you hear the word “Detroit,” a couple of things surely come to mind: cars and music. If you’re a music lover, you’ve got to give props to the “Motor City” for being the place where the Motown sound was born.

In 1979, a couple of guys who’d left Detroit and headed South formed Surfside Records in Charlotte in 1979. It didn’t take long for the label to incorporate that brand of rhythm and blues into the beach music scene, singing “You’ve Got Me Dangling On A String” and “Carolina Girls” among other hits for going on 50 years.

And while Ken Knox is the only original band member still performing, the Chairmen of the Board continues to perform its brand of beach music, mixing the old standards with some of the more modern tunes to reach multiple generations of listeners.

The Chairmen of the Board is bringing its signature sound to McGregor Hall for a 7:30 p.m. performance on Friday, Feb. 13.  Tickets available at the door.

Knox said this is the first time the band has performed in Henderson, but he was quick to bring up that he knows Henderson is where fellow musician Gerald Alston is from. Like Alston, Knox and the Chairmen of the Board are members of the N.C. Music Hall of Fame in Kannapolis.

“I owe it all to General Johnson and Danny Woods,” Knox said in an interview on TownTalk Wednesday.

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General Norman Johnson, the longtime “front man” of the group, died in 2010. Woods died in 2018, leaving Knox to keep the band going.

These days, he’s more of the front man for the group, and he shares the stage with Patrick McGuire and Thomas Hunter and their top-notch band The Executives.

“I’ve never wanted to be the lead guy,” Knox said. “I always wanted to be the guy on the sidelines.”

But, when Johnson’s health was failing, Knox said Johnson told him “’to go out and give the people what you know.’ And that was the music, the showmanship. And how to treat people,” Knox recalled.

“I made a promise to those guys to stay strong.”

He calls himself “everyday people,” someone who enjoys this time of year when indoor concert venues allow the band to be up close and personal with friends and fans they’re playing for.

What’s his favorite song?

Well, that’s like asking who’s your favorite child, he said. But if he had to choose a couple, he’d say “Patches” and “Give Me Just A Little More Time.”

You can bet they’ll be on Saturday’s set list.

Winter Weather Forces Jan. 31 Performance Of “Wizard Of Oz On Ice” To Be Rescheduled For April

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The anticipated “Wizard of Oz on Ice” performance scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 31 at McGregor Hall has been rescheduled for Wednesday. Apr. 29 at 7 p.m.

When McGregor Hall Executive Director Mark Hopper spoke with WIZS back in the fall to talk about the upcoming McGregor Live! Series, he said a California-based company on a national tour was going to make a stop in Henderson to share its version of the classic story about a girl from Kansas who found her way to the Emerald City.

“We worked out a deal with them to come and do their technical rehearsals here, and in exchange we’re going to get to enjoy a show that otherwise would be way, way, way beyond our reach,” Hopper noted during the interview back in October 2025.

“This is a really high-end professionally done show with all the characters you know and love – this will be a great, great family show,” Hopper said.

Vance County Arts Council Presents ‘Tidings Of Comfort And Joy’ At McGregor Hall Nov. 29

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Get into the Christmas spirit on Saturday, Nov. 29 at “Tidings of Comfort and Joy,” a free event for the community sponsored by the Vance County Arts Council.

Join family and friends at McGregor Hall Performing Arts Center, 200 Breckenridge St., sit back and enjoy performances by more than a half dozen soloists and groups of musicians and dancers.

The doors open at 3:30 p.m. and the show begins at 4 p.m.

Performers include:

  • Arianna Long
  • Clearview Church Praise Team
  • Davida Lewis
  • Evelyn C. Couch
  • St. Mary’s Praise Dancers
  • Sequoia Epps
  • The Royal Holiday Pageant
  • The Brotherhood
  • Jimmy and the Sound Barriers
  • Tia “Catillia” Cheek
  • Eugene Taylor & Jimmy Williamson

Visit https://vanceartscouncil.com/ to learn how to become a sponsor for this event.

McGregor Hall 2025 Live Series Lineup!

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This year’s McGregor Live! series includes something for everyone – from a revenge-seeking barber to a performing dog troupe, with some Christmas tunes, beach music and the Wizard of Oz thrown in for good measure.

The McGregor Live! series package is $135, which Mark Hopper said represents a 25 percent discount from the single-ticket prices.

The season kicks off on Saturday, Nov. 1 with a four-show run of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

This Stephen Sondheim classic won multiple Tony awards in 1979, Hopper said. “This one has a thriller of a story,” he said.

The local production features a 22-member professional orchestra and a cast and crew of about 60.

Performances are at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 1 and Nov. 8, with Sunday matinees on Nov. 2 and Nov. 9.

The stage welcomes ‘Plaid Tidings’ for performances on Friday, Dec. 19 and Saturday, Dec.  20.

This show tells the story of four young men who form an a capella “doo wop” group that performs all your Christmas favorites, Hopper said. With an air of nostalgia, the show makes lots of references to bygone days when celebrities like Ed Sullivan and Perry Como entertained families with TV specials and radio tunes.

The Wizard of Oz On Ice is an interesting addition and came to be because the team at McGregor Hall is thinking outside the box. The performance is Saturday, Jan. 31 at 3 p.m.

“There is no way we could afford this as a one-off, meaning a single performance,” Hopper explained. Plus, there’s the whole issue of “ice.”

A California-based company is going on a national tour of the production, which is a reimagined production of the classic story about the girl from Kansas who found her way to the Emerald City.

“We worked out a deal with them to come and do their technical rehearsals here, and in exchange we’re going to get to enjoy a show that otherwise would be way, way, way beyond our reach. This is a really high-end professionally done show with all the characters you know and love – this will be a great, great family show,” Hopper said.

Then, on Feb. 15, the Chairmen of the Board will come to Henderson, bringing with them that toe tappin’ sound that makes you want to get up and dance. Most of the band members are not original members, but Hopper said they all knew the great General Norman Johnson. The band’s current vocalists and band members are real stewards of the band and the music it’s known for, from “You’ve Got Me Dangling On A String” to “Carolina Girls” and more.

The series finale features a man and his mutts – Johnny Peers & the Muttville Comix, to be precise.

Join the fun on Sunday, Apr. 26 at 3 p.m. as Peers puts his pups through a series of challenging and hilarious tricks. This group has performed its slapstick comedy routine at Ringling Brothers & Barnam and Bailey Circus and on the David Letterman show. You won’t want to miss it!

Find out more at https://www.mcgregorhall.org/shows-events.

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The Local Skinny! Triangle’s Got Talent at McGregor Hall

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Where in the world can you see performances by cloggers and Bollywood dancers, Gospel choirs and more?

Right here in Henderson, on Saturday night at McGregor Hall, of course!

The 2025 edition of ‘Triangle’s Got Talent’ comes to Henderson for an evening that’s sure to entertain. It’s a fundraiser for Henderson-based Hubzone Technology Initiative, which takes donated laptops and converts them to Chromebooks to be distributed to students and others who need them.

Ron Taylor, operations director at Hubzone Technology Initiative, said this year’s top prize is $1,000. There are 17 acts that will be vying for bragging rights – and the case prize.

A silent auction is underway now through Saturday, when all the items will be on display. One of the auction items is a couple of tickets to the McGregor Live! series, Taylor said on Thursday’s segment of The Local Skinny!

The doors open at 5:30 p.m. to give folks a chance to view and bid on the silent auction items. Then the show begins at 6:30 p.m.

Tickets are available at the McGregor Hall box office, online at hubzonetech.org/tgt or at the door on Saturday.

Adult tickets are $30 and $16 for children 13 and under.

This is the first year the event has been held in Henderson, and Taylor said the folks at McGregor Hall couldn’t have been more accommodating, the way staff has worked with contestants, and making sure all the lighting, audio/visual equipment and more is ready for the big event. People have gone “above and beyond” to make sure everything’s in place for the talent competition.

“We’re a grassroots organization based in Henderson,” Taylor said, and much of the work HTI does benefits people in Henderson and the surrounding areas, so it’s fitting that the competition take place where so much of the work happens.

HTI plows the proceeds from Triangle’s Got Talent back into donating those converted laptops to people in households, enabling them to thrive and have accessibility to further their careers or education advancement, he said.

“We want to be able to bridge that Digital Divide and give people no barriers to access,” Taylor said.

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Chamber Members, Join The Aug. 19 “Cheer Line” To Welcome School Staffs To Convocation Kick-Off At McGregor Hall

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The Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce invites Chamber members to turn out on Tuesday, Aug. 19 to help welcome back teachers and staff at the Vance County Schools Convocation Kick-Off at McGregor Hall Performing Arts Center.

Chamber President Sandra Wilkerson says to be in place by 8 a.m. with pompoms, company signs and your business mascot to “show loud hometown spirit” in support of educators as they embark on another school year.

Buses will begin dropping off teachers between 8:15 a.m. and 8:50 a.m. It’d be great to have them walk through a cheer line of local business leaders and other community-minded citizens as they enter McGregor Hall to begin the convocation!