Savannah Theatre
[ Savannah, Georgia ]
At the heart of Savannah’s downtown historic district on Chippewa Square lies the Historic Savannah Theatre. Opened in 1818, it is one of the oldest continuously operating theater sites in the country.
The theater’s owners and principal cast moved from a small theater in Michigan to the historic theater with the hope of creating their own brand of lasting entertainment. After renovating the Savannah Theatre, an Art Deco theater that had survived hurricanes and two fires, they debuted a Branson-style revue show in 2002.
“We decided that we could do entertainment better than the people we were working for, so we decided to go looking for a city to do it in,” said co-owner and performer Michael Zaller.
A five-piece live band supports up to 10 singers and dancers during the popular “Savannah Live” variety show. The two-hour musical performance features hit pop, Broadway, Motown, and rock ’n’ roll favorites.
Dazzling costumes appear center stage during the “Jukebox!” show, which highlights choreography and music from the 1940s through the 1980s. Church groups can also select “Broadway on Bull Street” or “A Christmas Tradition” for their evening’s musical entertainment.
Carolina Opry
[ Myrtle Beach, South Carolina ]
When the song “Let it Go” from “Frozen” became popular, Calvin Gilmore had no problem fitting it into the musical numbers in “Carolina Opry.” Gilmore, the show’s owner and producer, never stops tweaking the acclaimed musical performance, which has run for 29 seasons.
“We keep things fresh,” said Jordan Gilmore Watkins, director of marketing. “We change things throughout the year, which sometimes happens when a new song becomes popular or a cast member gets an idea.”
Calvin Gilmore introduced Myrtle Beach to the “Carolina Opry” show in 1986. The musical production remained the only show in the area for seven years. Since then, “Carolina Opry” boasts close to 8,000 performances and a run longer than any show in Broadway history.
Groups going to see “Carolina Opry” will enjoy two hours of high-energy singing and dancing in genres such as gospel, country and rock ’n’ roll. Another program, “The Good Vibrations Show,” features music from the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s.
The crew dramatically transforms the Calvin Gilmore Theater for the “Carolina Opry Christmas Special” with a 30-foot lobby tree, five miles of tree-lighting wire and mounds of snow during November and December.
“Our Christmas show is one of the most popular times of the year for us,” said Watkins. “We shut the theater down for a week to transform it into a winter wonderland. It’s really a magical place. The building itself is a show to see.”
Throughout the year, the theater also offers a number of student master classes and educational sessions, as well as other customizable group experiences.