THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, May 16, 1996 TAG: 9605160388
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM HOLDEN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Long : 137 lines
The inaugural concert at the Virginia Beach Amphitheater kicked off Wednesday evening under drizzling gray skies that soaked the ground but not the enthusiasm for Bruce Hornsby's opening show.
An estimated 8,000 people helped celebrate the start of a new era in the city's cultural life, one that promises a greater range of musical talent than has previously visited the city.
That rain came on the first night was almost fitting. Throughout construction of the $18.5 million facility, snow and rain caused so many delays that more than 30 days were lost in the work schedule.
Even early Wednesday, a full month after the amphitheater was supposed to have been completed, work crews were busy cleaning the grounds and attending to last-minute details as the city and its private partner, Cellar Door of Virginia, hosted an opening night party.
If rain was on everyone's mind, it hardly seemed to bother Alice M. Rosazza, a 40-year-old Norfolk resident who sat on the lawn huddled under a blue plastic tarp that framed her wet face.
``It think it's just great,'' she said, water dropping off her forehead. ``They said there wasn't going to be a bad seat in the house, and they were right. But I don't know about this rain.''
Rosazza, who came with her friend, Sherry O'Neal, seemed completely indifferent to the weather, and both already were thinking of summer shows. They have tickets for a Saturday performance by country stars Vince Gill and Patty Loveless.
A few steps away, under another blue plastic tarp, hunched Kathy Kemp, a 44-year-old surgical assistant at Virginia Beach General Hospital. She, too, was wet but content.
``They said the shows would run, rain or shine, and they were right. The locals have to support this place, so that's one of the reasons I'm here,'' she said.
For many locals, the opening of the amphitheater was a source of immense pride, and it showed in their comments.
``It was about time, and now it is time,'' said Wayne Smith, a Virginia Beach restaurant owner. ``And we're going to have two grand openings all in one year - that's really something for this city.''
He explained that the second grand opening - the Virginia Marine Science Museum expansion - is just one month away.
Croatan residents Donna Salasky and her husband, Martin, were equally impressed.
``It's about time Virginia Beach did something smart,'' Donna Salasky said.
Martin Salasky said he was impressed with the parking arrangements, especially the pre-pay idea in which all ticket-holders are charged $1.50 for parking. It cuts down on the wait, he said.
Salasky explained that he has been to concerts in Richmond and Raleigh where you had to stop and pay for parking in the lots. He liked the Virginia Beach system better.
The city-sponsored party before the show brought out all manner of socialites, politicians, community leaders and professional networkers who sipped wine, ate finger foods and laughed into the evening.
The site of the teal green building, accented in bright red, set imaginations working overtime about what other kinds of shows could be staged at the amphitheater.
Bill Foster, who books shows for New Source, a Washington, D.C., talent company, hoped there would be open dates for nonrock acts. He said he would love to bring more classical performances to the city and now has plans to bring the Moscow State Ballet to Willet Hall in Portsmouth in November. He wondered if such a show could be put on in Virginia Beach.
Juanita Felton, a member of the Virginia Arts and Humanities Commission, said the amphitheater would need a ``broad mix of attractions'' if it is to succeed. Both Felton and Foster said opera tenor Luciano Pavarotti would make a nice choice.
Past the trees, four-tenths of a mile away, neighbors at the Salem Lakes development, who'd long feared that the amphitheater would disturb their neighborhood tranquillity, were relieved at how little they could hear.
``If it never gets any worse than that,'' said Dennis Borgerding, the Salem Lakes Civic League president, ``then we won't have much of a problem.''
Neighbors Dave Purkiss and Douglas Deberry nodded in assent as they stood at the end of Joppa Lane, two groves of trees and one large, open field away from the sound stage. A dull roar of crowd noise could be heard when Hornsby took the stage, but little music.
The needle on a hand-held sound meter Borgerding was using to measure the volume never flipped past 50 decibels, far below the 60 db limit the city promised. A bird chirping in the dusk in a nearby tree occasionally flicked the needle up to 54db.
Borgerding chuckled.
``That's not so bad,'' Purkiss said, turning his head toward the dull throbbing in the distance. ``All in all it's better than having a prison back there. Or an oil refinery.''
Pam Catindig said she probably could have heard some of the concert from her nearby home but opted to attend the opening night instead with her sons Troy and Steve, and daughter Taylor.
The Catindigs live in Landstown Meadows, about a mile from the amphitheater.
Catindig said she could hear the sound tests that were performed Tuesday night.
``We can hear this from where we live,'' she said. ``I'm sure we can hear Rod Stewart (on Friday).'' MEMO: Staff writers Dave Addis, Mal Vincent, Bill Reed and Karen Weintraub
contributed to this report.
ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
CANDICE D. CUSIC, The Virginian-Pilot
The Fraziers of Virginia Beach fend off rain Wednesday night at the
Virginia Beach Amphitheater. From left are Nona, daughter Whitney,
son Kyle and husband Steve.
Color photo
D. KEVIN ELLIOTT, The Virginian-Pilot
Williamsburg native Bruce Hornsby was a crowd-pleaser for the
estimated 8,000 who attended the showplace's opening night.
Photos
STEVE EARLEY, The Virginian-Pilot
Concert-goers start spreading out their blankets on the grass at 7
p.m. Wednesday at the Virginia Beach Amphitheater. The light rain
didn't turn away listeners for Bruce Hornsby's show.
D. KEVIN ELLIOTT/The Virginian-Pilot
It was a little drizzly out at the Virginia Beach Amphitheater
Wednesday, but Bruce Hornsby's opening night performance was more
than enough umbrella for the modest but enthusiastic crowd that
attended the grand opening. ``I think it's just great,'' said one
fan Alice Rosazza, who sat in the rain, water dripping off her
forehead. Most didn't sweat the rain: They sat dry under the huge
metal canopy through a 2 1/2-hour show that had three encores.
Hampton Roads has had a front-row seat as Hornsby's career has
evolved, so it was fitting that Williamsburg's native son
christened the new venue.
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA BEACH AMPHITHEATER OPENING by CNB