The Carolina Theatre: Serving Community Members from All Walks of Life

From schoolkids to movie-buffs, the Carolina Theatre serves as a magical place where members of our community can experience and enjoy art.

“Before our Durham children enter Fletcher Hall for a daytime show, before they get comfortable in their very own blue velvet seat for the first time or happily return to a favorite place, before they have the inspiring experience of live music, dance, or theater curated for their ages, the Carolina Theatre orchestrates everything seamlessly to make it possible for them to be there.  

The theater offers teachers the rare and exciting opportunity to treat their students to enriching excursions without the common concern that not all students will be able to afford the fees. The central location is a quick and easy drive from most of our Durham schools, and parking is reserved on Morgan Street close to the entry. Durham police officers greet us to watch, direct, and protect until kind ushers join to escort each class through the lobby, whisking us to our reserved seats. As a kindergarten instructional assistant with Durham Public Schools, I have had the delight of joining many children on their first trip to the theater. They always enjoy the show on the stage and are noticeably amazed to be in the beautiful auditorium. You can see the “wow” in their eyes and smiles.  

Students and teachers are treated like VIPs on these trips to the Carolina Theater. I wish that everyone could understand how efficient, gracious, inspiring, and special these performances are for our students. Bravo Carolina Theatre! Bravo Durham!”  –Julie Maxwell, Instructional Assistant, Easley Elementary   

“We are Ruth and Darrin Sutherland and we are high school sweethearts with a shared love of film and live shows. We got our Bachelor’s Degrees where we grew up in Virginia and took classes together when possible including Film History. We then got our Master’s Degrees in Ohio where Darrin studied Mass Communications including topics in film, television, and production. We later lived for a while in California where we toured many of the studios in Hollywood and we visited many filming locations for favorite movies and television shows. 

We were lucky to find the Carolina Theatre shortly after moving to North Carolina more than 25 years ago and have made the magical theater a second home ever since. While we haven’t always had extra money to spare, we have always tried to support the Carolina Theatre whenever possible and are Star Members. The campaign to purchase new seats for the Carolina Theatre Cinemas was one of the first Kickstarter campaigns we ever pledged and we have sponsored many film screenings over the years.  

We love the Retro Film Series including RetroNoir, RetroGothic, Alfred Hitchcock, Studio Ghibli, Fantastic Realm, and more. Being fans of Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd, we are thrilled about the upcoming Retro Silents Film Series and hope it is successful. Film festivals are another highlight for us, and we’ve happily spent many weekends at the Carolina Theatre celebrating Ray Harryhausen, Akira Kurosawa, Universal Monsters, James Bond, and more. Not surprisingly, the vast majority of movies we see in the cinema each year are at the Carolina Theatre.  We greatly appreciate Jim Carl’s excellent film introductions and that he is available to talk to Retro fans before many of the films. Jim is awesome! 

We have seen many wonderful live shows over the years including concerts from Johnny Clegg, Bruce Hornsby, Lady Smith Black Mambozo, Three Dog Night, AJ Croce, and Tao as well as comedy shows including The Capitol Steps, Paul Reiser, Steven Wright, Paula Poundstone, Patton Oswalt, Tig Notaro, and John Cleese along with excellent special interest shows with guests like wildlife expert Jack Hanna and the Sounds of Suspense with Alan Howarth. 

We’re always happy to make the drive to Durham because the Carolina Theatre offers so much of what we love. The staff and volunteers are always friendly and welcoming and have a smile on their faces and we’ve been fortunate to get to know a few over the years including Alexis who is both professional and friendly. And, of course, we have to mention that the Carolina Theatre has the best popcorn around! 

We wish the Carolina Theatre the happiest of birthdays and we thank everyone involved with this extraordinary theater. We look forward to visiting for many years to come!” –Darrin and Ruth Sutherland

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