The shows at the old Randy Parton Theatre will go on, in some form or another. The city of Roanoke Rapids on Monday, July 23, officially transferred the Roanoke Rapids Theatre to new owners Thomas McLean and his wife Evon of Chocowinity. The McLeans are buying the 35,000-square foot, 1,500-seat facility for $3 million. City...
Journalists are criticized today for any number of things. They’re biased and even evil. They invent stories and propagate fake news, an allegation, by the way, that’s as dangerous as it is wrongheaded and ridiculous. That’s not what good journalists do. Period. Good journalists are vital purveyors of information and are indispensable in protecting the...
Ten years ago — July 26, 2007 — one of North Carolina’s most spectacular economic development boondoggles hosted its first performance. Dolly Parton’s brother Randy performed his first public show at the Roanoke Rapids theater that would bear his name. Parton had a contract to perform at the 35,000-square foot, 1,500-seat facility as well as manage...
RALEIGH — Former state-funded economic developer Rick Watson was the business manager for Randy Parton’s company at the same time he was recruiting Parton on behalf of North Carolina, according to documents obtained by Carolina Journal.
RALEIGH — Randy Parton says that for three years he dedicated his life to making the Roanoke Rapids theater a success, but after he signed the deal with the city Parton also tried to launch a clothing line and build a similar theater in Missouri.
RALEIGH — The Partons stretched the adage “wearing out your welcome” to new limits when ordering wardrobes with public money, according to Randy Parton Theatre documents obtained from North Carolina’s Northeast Commission.
RALEIGH — State Senate leader Marc Basnight, House Speaker Jim Black, and DOT Transportation Secretary Lyndo Tippett helped state economic developer Rick Watson launch the Randy Parton Theatre in Roanoke Rapids, according to documents obtained by Carolina Journal.
ROANOKE RAPIDS — The Sanford Holshouser law firm, founded by two former governors, is emerging as a key player in developments surrounding the Randy Parton Theatre in Roanoke Rapids. Adding to the political firepower attracted by the troubled project, the two leading Democratic candidates for governor have made the theater’s problems a campaign issue.
ROANOKE RAPIDS — A state-funded economic developer who recruited Randy Parton to headline a theater in northeast North Carolina owned a one-third interest in the company that managed the theater, documents show.
RALEIGH — Roanoke Rapids keeps no attendance records for the 1,500-seat publicly financed Randy Parton Theatre, nor does the city know whether Parton profits from the sale of concessions or merchandise at the theater, the city manager says.
RALEIGH — Roanoke Rapids City Manager Phyllis Lee refused Monday to release a Randy Parton Theatre quarterly financial statement that she had received from Randy Parton’s production company.
