TCC ROPER PERFORMING ARTS CENTER CLOSES FOR UPCOMING STUDY
Tidewater Community College has proudly welcomed the community through the doors of the Jeanne and George Roper Performing Arts Center for decades to witness local and national arts attractions, including live music and theatre, and even celebrated TCC events and graduations.
Beginning December 2024, TCC will conduct a structural feasibility study of the Roper Theater to evaluate necessary renovations. During this time, the theater will be temporarily closed while we await the study’s results. TCC will honor all existing contracts for theater use through December 2024. Please note that this study will not impact classes currently taking place in the Roper Center.
Built in 1926, the state-owned center, in the heart of TCC’s Norfolk campus, was originally the Loews State Theater on Granby. The building was restored by TCC in 2001, with support from George W. Roper II, as a state-of-the-art performance venue. The Theatre, within the Roper Center, has provided TCC with an opportunity to support our community and the growth and exploration of the arts in Hampton Roads.
The playhouse was designed by acclaimed architect Thomas W. Lamb. Responsible for more than 400 designs worldwide, Lamb was likely the most prolific theater architect in history and arguably the progenitor of the Movie Palace architectural style. Reproductions of his firm’s original drawings—captivating works of art in their own right—are displayed in the Roper lobby. The nearly 100-year-old theater is a cultural landmark in the region, recognized by the Virginia Department of Historical Resources and the National Register of Historic Places, and is one of the few opulent 1920s theaters still operating nationwide.
Dubbed the city’s new “Million Dollar Dandy,” the Loew’s debuted on May 10, 1926, offering a lavish setting complete with gilded box seats, stained glass chandeliers, and an advanced air conditioning system that used electric fans to blow the humid ocean air over massive blocks of ice. At the time, Vaudeville—a variety show format featuring singers, comedians, acrobats, and other performers—reigned as the dominant form of American entertainment. For just 35 cents, audiences could catch the latest silent film, enjoy a variety of live Vaudeville acts, sing along with the “Mighty Wurlitzer” organ, and be serenaded by the theater’s own orchestra. But as the technology for adding music and dialog to Hollywood movies developed, America’s interest in Vaudeville waned, and eventually the spotlights were replaced by the Technicolor glow of the screen. As the decades rolled by, the elegant theater continued to entertain generations of moviegoers in high style but, like many American downtown districts, gradually fell into disrepair. After its projectors flickered for the last time in 1979, the theater remained dark for over 20 years.
In 1997, Tidewater Community College acquired the historic, though badly deteriorated, building as part of its new downtown Norfolk campus. After extensive restoration, the theater reopened in 2001 as the Jeanne and George Roper Performing Arts Center, earning praise from The Virginian-Pilot as “a cathedral to the past.” The center’s mission was to serve as both an elegant academic venue and a state-of-the-art theater presenting local, national, and international performing artists.
“We’ve had the honor of hosting numerous world-renowned performers on our stage,” said Paul Lasakow, director of the Roper Center. “Because of the theater’s extraordinary capabilities, it has been our honor to present artists that rarely appear in a market like Hampton Roads, let alone in such a small theater by modern standards. The Royal Shakespeare Company, Midori, Joshua Bell, Juga Wang, Art Garfunkel, Bonnie Raitt, Chick Corea, and the Emerson String Quartet have all performed here, to name just a few. But perhaps the most rewarding, and humbling, part of my job was to follow young performers, who honed their craft on the Roper’s stage, go on to star on Broadway, London’s East End, or in film and television.”
TCC will continue to update the community when additional information from the study becomes available.