The Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts in Raleigh, North Carolina area, is not to be missed by any culture vulture. The Kennedy Theatre, A.J. Fletcher Opera Theater, Meymandi Concert Hall, and Raleigh Memorial Auditorium are the four separate performing venues found inside the complex.The Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts is the permanent home when not on tour for the Carolina Ballet, North Carolina Opera, North Carolina Symphony, North Carolina Theatre, and PineCone. The Martin Marietta Center is a cultural hub in downtown Raleigh, with over 600 events and over 400,000 people per year.At present, the arena’s naming rights are held by Martin Marietta. Previous tenants include Progress Energy (now Duke Energy) and Business Telecom, Inc. (now EarthLink). Other parts of the complex include the Meymandi Concert Hall (opened in 2001), the Kennedy Theatre (opened in 2001), the A. J. Fletcher Opera Theater (opened in 2001), and Lichtin Plaza (opened in 2001). Raleigh Memorial Auditorium was built in 1932 and renovated in 1990.Raleigh Memorial Auditorium opened in 1931 after the fire that destroyed the first Raleigh City Auditorium (1912) the year before. The name of the theater was chosen to commemorate the citizens of Raleigh who gave their lives serving their country in World War I.The North Carolina State Capitol is located a short distance away from the Greek Revival architecture at the southern end of Fayetteville Street.The Raleigh Memorial Auditorium is the crown jewel of North Carolina’s flourishing performing arts community. Over the years, this landmark theater has hosted a diverse range of talented artists. Frank Sinatra, Jerry Seinfeld, Norah Jones, Alice in Chains, Chris Tucker, and Shreya Ghoshal are just a few of the famous performers who have graced its stage. Broadway classics like Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera, Disney’s The Lion King, Jersey Boys, Miss Saigon, and Rent have all been performed at this theater.Extensive renovations in 1975, 1990, 2001, and 2016 have made it feasible to integrate state-of-the-art facilities with time-honored theater traditions.It’s easy to see why the North Carolina Symphony calls the Meymandi Concert Hall on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill home. The lack of a proscenium and the combination of its 65-foot ceiling, odd shoebox shape, short sides, and shallow balconies offer the ideal acoustic atmosphere for an audience to enjoy a show. The Meymandi Concert Hall has hosted performances by such notable artists as Dave Chapelle, the Backstreet Boys, Merle Haggard, Carlos Mencia, Bryan Adams, and Aziz Ansari. The late Dr. Assad Meymandi’s mother was a prominent Raleigh physician and philanthropist, and the venue bears her name in honor of her legacy of service.The Fletcher Opera Theater seats 600 people and has a stage that is less than 70 feet from the farthest balcony seat, making it perfect for ballet, opera, concerts, and comedy. This one-of-a-kind theater is located on the Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts’s eastern side, and it frequently hosts performances by the Carolina Ballet. Performers and guests as varied as Boney James, Post Modern Jukebox, Richa Sharma, Hannibal Buress, and Vice President Kamala Harris have all graced the stage.The Kennedy Theatre is a unique theater because it combines the small and the large, the intimate and the public. Many different arts groups use the Kennedy Theatre as a rehearsal and performance space. The theater has launched the careers of both touring companies and Broadway performers, such as Ariana Debose. The room’s blank walls make it ideal for business lunches, presentations, and commercials.Lichtin Plaza, the expansive front lawn of the Martin Marietta Performing Arts Center, spans an area of around 2 acres (8,100 square meters). Tented festivals, public and private gatherings, and other events are commonplace. The plaza was named after Harold Lichtin, a prominent local businessman and entrepreneur.
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