DPAC opening: Bright lights, overflow crowd mark new performing arts center

"A lot of people have come up to me tonight and said, you know, Raleigh was really stupid [to turn down a Plensa sculpture.] And I said, 'You damned right they were.'"

So spoke Capitol Broadcasting chief Jim Goodmon on Monday night at the dedication of the Jaume Plensa sculpture "Sleep No More," one of the signature moments at the Durham Performing Arts Center grand opening -- one that drew appreciative laughter and applause from the assembled crowd, which packed the DPAC's lobby and plaza for the free public debut of the center.

The powering up of the Plensa sculpture -- seen in the video clip below (that's fellow Durham blogger Michael Bacon making the quip about the light saber) -- was by no means the only major moment at last night's dedication.

A crowd gathered for the dedication that, once entirely ensconced inside the DPAC's multi-story lobby, filled the entirety of the space, suggesting a turnout near that of a sold-out, 2,800 person show.

Musical performances by the Durham Children's Choir, the Durham Symphony, the African American Dance Ensemble, Lois Deloatch and the John Brown Quintet, the Duke Pitchforks and more added life to the lobby of the center, though no more so than the crowds of Durhamites mingling and talking about the new space.

In comments some months back over at Gary's place, architect Phil Szostak remarked that one of his inspirations for the DPAC's design was his sense of Durham as a place where conversations happened loudly and publicly, and where residents weren't afraid to speak their mind. Anyone looking at the DPAC from the city center or Mangum Street last night would have seen exactly that -- a frenetic, passionate conversation.

And we here at BCR didn't hear any gripes or arguments during that conversation; instead, last night was one of those rare moments when residents really seemed excited about the outcome of the long design and construction process.

Even some of those we talked to who had quarrels with the initial Clear Channel plan for the DPAC, or who had wanted a black box performing space attached, were uniformly pleased with the outcome and talking about the role the DPAC plays in moving downtown forward.

To some extent, last night felt like a coming out party for the Bull City, a celebration of what's been accomplished in the past fifteen years downtown. As one wag pointed out, the controversial Durham Bulls Athletic Park really sparked the whole scene; without it, Jim Goodmon would likely have never become interested in the vacant American Tobacco factory, the alternative plans for which as a school administration building or bus terminal are hard to stomach. And without those two pieces in place, it's hard to imagine the Performing Arts Center taking the shape that it has on the downtown site.

A site whose neighbor is nicely cleaned up, with Goodmon officially proclaiming it Diamond View Park, with minor pyrotechnics to boot. The last of the old DATA maintenance depot is now a hilly park -- for a few years, at least, until the market rebounds enough for that green space and the current surface parking for the DPAC to become new-construction residential.

Over the past couple of weeks, though, I've been intrigued to see the amount of interest I've heard from friends and neighbors in all parts of the Triangle at wanting to come see a show at the DPAC. Some of these folks, I imagine, haven't been to downtown Durham in years; haven't felt they have had a reason to.

The DPAC gives a reason to do so, and a reason that -- if all goes well -- will bring them back to downtown restaurants, to Brightleaf Square, to a Bulls game, to a show at the Carolina Theatre.

Inside, the facility and the auditorium were everything I certainly hoped they would be. Getting sneak peeks over the past few months gave a sense of the sight lines and size of the place, but it was remarkable to see residents milling about and experiencing the DPAC for themselves.

The views are great, the seats are wide and comfortable with plenty of legroom, and the acoustics were terrific. Chuck Davis' African American Dance Ensemble performed on the orchestra level without amplification or a sound system and were easily and clearly audible throughout the space. And there really isn't a bad seat, or a bad view, in the house.

Some more from the big night:

Crowds await the kick-off of the event in the lower level box office area:

Upstairs, a crowd listens to the John Brown Quintet; at center, the city's Office of Workforce and Economic Development director Alan DeLisle, Downtown Durham Inc.'s Matthew Coppedge, and (with back to camera) Chuck Watts talk about the new facility.

Another look at the crowd milling about between lobby levels:

Durham Bull Pen has a great photostream with far better pic quality than I can manage on a camera phone; Barry has some photos and thoughts up, too. And more still from the Herald-Sun, N&O, WRAL, NBC 17, and ABC 11.

Comments

[Anna]

I was at the B.B. King concert and have to say I am totally unimpressed with DPAC. The outside is beautiful, and the acoustics were nice, and that's about it. The parking situation was a nightmare and not handled very well. The inside is unattractive. Once inside, the place has no character. It doesn't provide a good way to manage crowds inside.

I sat on the second level - the Grand Tier I think. The seats were 70.00 each. The view was terrible, and I was in the center of my row. The seats are roomy, but the leg room is not so great.

Great concert by B.B. King, but I'm not going out of my way to attend performances at this place.

[barry]

"The parking situation was a nightmare and not handled very well."

But, but, but, there's 3500 parking deck spaces within a 5 minute walk of the theater!

[red bottom heel]

Liked you on Facebook, too. =)