A Beautiful Charleston Landmark With an Illustrious History and Lots of Good Events on Tap

This Charleston landmark originally seated nearly 2000 people. It was the largest of its kind in South Carolina to open to the public at the time. Its first showing was a silent film starring Norma Shearer. The South Carolina premiere of Gone with the Wind appeared at this venue, with members of the original cast in attendance, including Charleston native Alicia Rhett, who played India Wilkes in the film. It closed in 1975, not long after a showing of Sound of Music, and then purchased by the College of Charleston. Originally named the Gloria, it reopened in 1990 as the Sottile Theatre.

The Gloria was designed as a smaller version of the great movie palaces of the era and was lauded for the grandeur of its architecture and design. However, the theater's eye-catching wall paintings stole the show and became a source of mystery. Italian artists from New York executed their work on canvas, but the actual artists' names were left unmentioned. 

When the College of Charleston purchased the theater, acoustic tiles covered its walls. During renovations in 2011, the workers removed the tiles and discovered the two large-scale murals hiding beneath the tiles. Apparently, the College was unaware the famous murals were underneath. The south mural had to be removed temporarily due to severe damage. The north mural remained on display, despite having suffered damage and deterioration. Much of the restoration work would involve remediation of the many spots of tar used to attach the acoustic tiles to both murals decades ago. Renovations included the preservation of the theatre's illuminated blue dome and twinkling stars and restoring the south mural to its original location. The most recent large-scale renovation was completed in 2020.

The College of Charleston's historic Sottile Theatre serves as a performance and event venue for the College and the community, including operas, plays, musicals, ballets, concerts, and receptions and conferences. In addition to the 785-seat theatre, the facility offers several lobby areas, an outdoor balcony terrace, and a garden for reception venues.

My partner and I attended the Grande Serenata, a concert of operatic hits by the Charleston Opera Theater. It would be my first operatic concert, aside from an introductory hour-long opera performance we attended at the Charleston Library Society on King Street.

All performances were sung in a foreign language, so if you do not speak those languages, it is not about the words but the power with which they are sung and the music played by the accompanying orchestra. The high level of pitch the woman singers reach is almost glass-shattering, and there were a few of those moments. A screen above the stage displayed the translation, but you could tell what was going on by the body language and facial expressions, and you would miss that if you looked away. One segment was performed in English to honor the Irish festival celebrated that day.

The orchestra was superb. I am not an opera aficionado, so I will just say the featured singers were operatic. Two College of Charleston Artists in Residence, Abigail Erin Oldstrom and Halis Runk, were highlighted in a duet. The stage lighting was captivating and set the mood for each set. The theater was impressive and the seating was comfortable with plenty of leg room.

Grande Serenata was a suggested black-tie event but not required. It felt good to dress to impress, and I pulled out all the guns with a blue-black feather bow tie and brown Steve Madden shoes. I am for experiencing everything, so I can say I did it. So, I did the opera, and frankly, I enjoyed it. I just might do it again. The best part is I shared it with a special friend, and you can not beat that. The evening began with a dinner at Fast and French, making it a complete and satisfying outing. Hey, it's Charleston. So much to offer, so much to do.

The College of Charleston Sottille Theatre is a beautiful venue with an illustrious history and lots of good entertainment on schedule. Sophisticate yourself and check it out.

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44 George St, Charleston, SC

EVITA, now showing at South of Broadway Theatre, well worth your time to check out

My favorite all-time musical by Andrew Lloyd Weber is hands-down, no question about it, The Phantom of the Opera. The first time I had any exposure to the story of Eva Duarte was in the 1996 film release, where Madonna played the real-life, opportunistic lady of Argentina, using the designation "lady" loosely. According to the upper-class Argentinians of the day and the British royals, she was anything but ladylike. They had a few chosen words of the unflattering kind when referring to her. However, the definition of a lady can be subjective when you consider the behavior of some royals.

Evita the musical undeniably bears the mark of English composer Andrew Lloyd Weber with lyrics by Tim Rice. The stage production opened on June 21, 1978 at the Prince Edward Theatre in London with Elaine Paige in the title role and Joss Ackland as her formidable Juan Peron and then at the Broadway Theatre on September 25, 1979, where it had 1,567 performances. Harold Price was the director. It won an impressive seven 1980 Tony Awards including Best Book, Best Score and Best Musical of the year. In 1981, the Evita cast recording was awarded a Grammy Award.

Set in Buenos Aires between 1934-1952, the musical follows Eva Duarte on her journey from a poor, fatherless home, to an ambitious actress, to becoming the most powerful woman in Latin America. She left a trail of tears along the way, from dumping singer-songwriter Magaldi to giving Colonel Juan Peron's mistress the boot. In the meantime, Juan Peron was leaving a trail of bodies on his rise to power as depicted in a game of musical chairs, ending in an opponent's demise. Eva organizes rallies for the impoverished and gives them hope for a better future while Peron and his allies plot to dispose of anyone who stands in their way. For a short time, Argentina was hers, and the rest is history.

Director David McLaughlin, assisted by Chrissy Eliason, thoroughly prepared his well-chosen group of local actors for the task of winning over the audience. The large cast's finely tuned choreographed movements flowed as one, and when they sang all together, their vocals were harmonious and powerful.

Carlos Nieto was a dominant presence on the set as the antagonist Che, who seems to be a spokesman of the people. The character's attire was reminiscent of a Latin American revolutionary, and Carlos sings his words with the passion of a non-conforming rebel. He addressed the audience like they were a part of the play. His direct eye contact was engaging.

Elissa Horrell elegantly filled the role of the musical's protagonist, Eva, and shined in the play's signature piece "Don't Cry for Me Argentina." Elissa was paired with Steve Tarnow as the ambitious Juan Peron. Steve had command of his crisp vocals and strutted Peron's military-like demeanor.

Joshua Broome demonstrated his vocal abilities as Magaldi in his rendition of "On This Night of a Thousand Stars." As Peron's mistress, Olivia Gainey once again showed acting and singing are second nature for her as she performed "Another Suitcase in Another Hall."

The main characters did double duty in minor roles with talented supporting cast Sophie Marie Stanley, Savannah Cash, Andrea Catangay, Rusty Cooler, Michael James Daly, Anna Lin, Kenneth Mueller, Latanya Mueller, Dylan Rowe, Joseph Spiotta, and Robert Venne. Lighting handled by Ernie Eliason and set art by Robert Venne.

South of Broadway Theatre is a small venue and seating is very intimate. If you sit in the front row, you can literally reach out and touch the actors. In addition, you may experience temporary whiplash following the action from left to right. There were a couple of glitches with the sound, and a few times the spotlight was slightly off target, likely due to the quickly changing positions of the actors. However, I am sure with these minor mishaps addressed, Evita will be near perfect.

David McLaughlin's Evita is entertaining and compelling. The opening scene is dark and spellbinding, elevating your expectations for what will follow, and it does not let you down. Follow the progression of the characters closely, especially Eva, there are a few symbolisms for you to catch. If you are a fan of live theater, Evita is well worth your time to check out.

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