The Lyric Theatre Blog

The fall series is past and gone.  What a great series it was!  Romeo and Juliet, Cowboy Junkies, Mark Nizer, and Cadillac Sky. There was entertainment for everyone.  I help work backstage helping with the technical stuff and am still amazed, after 4 years of volunteering and 4 years of getting paid, how the Lyric pulls these things off.

First, Betsy and Susan choose what acts they think are viable and available at an affordable price.  They  chase after and eventually get them  booked.  Even when all seems set, things go wrong - a band cancels, a performer dies, other things beyond control pop up.  Then comes the “what are you going to need and can we get the stuff at a reasonable price and still keep ticket prices low?” part.  It does no good to have a great act if no one can afford the tickets!

Show time!  The theatre is prepped, screen raised, movie speakers moved, floor swept, sound equipment, if it is being used, brought out and set up.  We use Midway Sound sometimes and John and Eric do a fantastic job getting a backline together and teaching the ignorant part time tech guys (Matt Ford and me) how stuff needs to go.  They are very fussy, and rightly so, about how our equipment and theirs is treated.  This ensures that when they are  not part of the show, the tech staff knows how and what to do to keep the show running.

Load in.  The act arrives.  Flavio and Betsy have made parking arrangements.  The van/bus/trailer/car whatever is unloaded and the performer’s stuff is brought in to the theatre and melded with the theatre’s equipment.  Tech people make sure things work as they are supposed to and rehearsals and sound checks take place.

The show goes on!

The tech crews tear down while volunteers and the Front of House clean the theatre.  The act’s equipment is loaded back into their vehicles, the Lyric sound equipment is put to bed and Midway hauls their extra gear back to Midway.  The stage is cleaned and the screen is lowered and put in place and the Lyric is once again a movie theatre.

You gotta love this place.  In my eight years working with the Lyric I have seen top national music acts, opera, plays, puppet shows, student recitals, panel discussions, political debates, weddings, and yes, even movies.  What a magical place!

As we rest up a little and get ready for the December 4th Holiday Parade (The Lyric Theatre All Volunteer Anti-lyrics Kazoo Marching Band will highlight the parade!), it has been good to reflect on whaat a great fall season we’ve had and the many people who have attended.  It is the audience, you see, that makes the magic. The music filling an empty space drifts into nothingness, but with a full theatre, the music and all lives on in a collective memory.  ”Remember Sam Bush/Tony Rice/Romeo and Juliet when they were here?  Remebmer that great gospel set by Cadillac Sky?”  The performances are still alive!

What a great fall season we  had at the Lyric.  And what a great spring season we have coming to Live @ The Lyric.  The Lyric Theatre - The Heart of Downtown Blacksburg!

Somehow all the comments have disappeared!  I don’t know if it was me or Qwerty the Computer God or what but all the comments have disappeared.  Please keep responding and hopefully the comments won’t disappear again, although this has happened before.  I welcome any and all comments.

Is the Lyric Theatre still a relevant part of Blacksburg and the New River Valley?  After ten years, does it still make sense as a part of, even centerpiece for, Downtown Blacksburg?  With art galleries, new music venues such as The Lantern and Gillies, the new black box theatre going up across the street, Awful Arthurs, the various Squires venues, The Regal in Cburg,  and the availability of Netflix bringing movies in to your home has he Lyric Theatre become an anachronism? 

One of the ways people dealt with the Great Depression was by going to the movies.  Some great “B” movies and serials were produced and it was a time when movies helped one escape from the dreary economy.

SURPRISE! The economy is dreary again!  And guess what?  Movies can help you escape the bad news on television.  Check out what has been, what is and what will be playing at the Lyric Theatre.  The Lyric has been running a series of Academy Award winning and nominated movies for over a month now and the list keeps growing.  Slumdog Millionaire, Doubt, Frost/Nixon, The Reader, Revolutionary Road, The Wrestler and next month Gran Torino!  Where else can you go to see such great movies at a “less than mall movie cost?”

Well, it only gets better!  The surround sound is alive and working!  Yes!  Besides seeing movies on the big screen, the sound has been improved!  The big Voice of the Theater speakers still send out their soound but the entire experience is now enhanced by surround sound!

And that’s not the only great thing about movies at the Lyric.  Seven dollars gets you a large, two person special.  No, you don’t get two large people.  You get a large popcorn and two large drinks.  That means if you come to the Lyric on a Tuesday evening and are a Lyric Member, you and a significant other can see the movie and have popcorn and large drinks for $14.00!!  Add some concession candy and you only add $2.50!  And get one of the few remaining “bottomless” poopcorn containers and your popcorn is FREE FOR LIFE!  (It is bottomless in that you have unlimited free refills, not in that it has no bottom, of course!)

Why wait for a stimulus check that may never arrive?  Why worry about your 401k and retirement?  Come to the Lyric Theatre and escape the bad news for less than a trip to the mall.

AND THAT’S NOT ALL!  On March 28th, watch The Express and participate in the Chinese Auction benefitting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  On March 29th, sample the artistic talents of women artists in many different genres of art. MUSE, a celebration of women in the arts, will have performance and other arts at the Lyric benefitting both the Lyric Theatre and the Community Arts Office and Information Center.  April 7th see Jonatha Brooke and on April 24 the Lyric brings Opera to the New River Valley.

There’s just too much going on at the Lyric Theatre for you to sit home and watch the stock market.  Come on down & see great movies and live special events!  Chek out the Lyric website: thelyric.com for further details!

We are partnered by a link with the Collegiate Times movie reviewers, Bryce and Phillip.  These guys know their movies and you don’t have to read the review - they do it by video.  If you want to know about what’s playing, check out their link and watch their combined information. 

Want to know what to rent?  Check their reviews of past movies and learn what you might have missed so your trip to the DVD rental place will not be in vain.  

Collegiate Times - more than a college newspaper.  It is a community newspaper that is relevant on both sides of College Avenue!

When is the last time you explored the Lyric Theatre website?  When you have a few minutes, go to thelyric.com and check out what all you can find: the community calendar of Lyric events, what’s coming up on Live @ the Lyric, videos about Blacksbug done by local videographers, who are those strange people in the black shirts?, how can you help support the Lyric through volunteering and donations, and lots more.  

Check us out & see why the Lyric is the Heart of Downtown Blacksburg!

Do you like live music?  Fun family entertainment?  Classy classical moments?  Do you want to see more stars and continue seeing great live shows at the Lyric Theatre?  Consider underwriting!  

We need your support to ensure great live entertainment remains a staple at the Lyric.  Individuals, businesses, corporate entities, even anonymous benefactors can help keep Live @ the Lyric alive and diverse.  Help by underwriting Live @ the Lyric.  Underwriting one event: $200, two events: $375, three events:$425 or four events: $500.  As an underwriter, you get the following benefits: acknowledgment on the title page of the event program, one quarter page ad in the program, a slide in the pre-movie slide show prior to each movie during the Spring 2009 season, and onstage recognition prior to the event!  

We need your support to keep the best in live events coming to the Heart of Downtown Blacksburg: the Lyric Theatre.  To learn more, about becoming a Lyric Underwriter, contact Susan Mattingly at 540-951-4771 or email execdirector@thelyric.com.

Get your tickets now!!!  That’s right, tickets are available for the big New Year’s Eve Bash at the Lyric Theatre on, you guessed it, New Year’s Eve!  Three bands: The Littles, The Bob Peckman Jazz band and Scott Fore and his Hillbilly Hot Club will be persorming and we’ll watch the Times Square ball drop on the Big Screen!  Don’t miss out.  Celebrate locally with us and then go home and nap until the Orange Bowl!

Peter Velz, from the Collegiate Times, called me a few weeks back and asked if he and fellow reporter Bryce Stucki would be able to check out the films at the Lyric and review them for a series hosted by the Collegiate Times.  And thus, At the Lyric was born!

Peter and Bryce’s reviews are highly entertaining and insightful; check out their work on the last three films, Brick Lane, Brideshead Revisited, and Gonzo and make sure to keep up with their future film reviews.

You can find Peter and Bryce’s reviews here at the Collegiate Times website.  In the future, you’ll be able to find this link in the (aptly named) “Links” section on the right-hand side of this page.