THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, June 7, 1996 TAG: 9606050100
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Ida Kay's Portsmouth
SOURCE: Ida Kay Jordan
LENGTH: 77 lines
The Air Combat Command Heritage of America Band from Langley Air Force Base again had a full house at Willett Hall last Friday night.
The ACC Band is only one of a number of military bands that periodically play at Willett, and I'm proud to say the free concerts are usually sponsored by The Virginian-Pilot.
But that's not why I'm writing about them.
The military bands are loaded with talent, and their concerts are excellent. Most of all, they attract hundreds of people from out of town to Portsmouth's outstanding concert hall.
While I see many Portsmouth people in the audience, I see just as many that are not from our city. I know it most of all because a lot of them don't speak to me, and Portsmouth people speak to each other.
But that's not the point of this column.
Since Ports Events took over management of the hall last year, things have picked up a lot. Unfortunately, some of the concerts scheduled this spring had to be canceled because of slow ticket sales.
Some of those events are as good as the military bands. Of course, they aren't free, either. But most of us can afford to spend a few dollars on good entertainment.
Some people I know go to Willett and truly enjoy it, but they have to be prodded to get there.
Why can't we all take it on ourselves to push Willett? Maybe we could invite our friends from other cities over for a special evening or simply call and ask them to buy tickets.
Willett is as good a hall as any in Hampton Roads. There isn't really a bad seat in the house, and it holds about as many people as Chrysler Hall or the Harrison Opera House.
If we could get people from elsewhere more in the habit of coming to Portsmouth for concerts and plays, there's a good chance we could get the Virginia Symphony and some other organizations to do some mini-series in our city.
Coming up this summer will be another group of free concerts by the Tidewater Winds. They do good programs and play well. Maybe that would be a time to ask friends from other cities to join us for the evening.
Willett Hall never was meant to be a high school auditorium. It has many amenities that other halls do not have. Also, under the management of Ports Events, the hall gradually is being spruced up again.
When George Hanbury was city manager, he persuaded City Council to spend money to refurbish the auditorium and enlarge the lobby. Two of the pieces of art purchased under the Percentage for the Arts program were placed at the hall - the sculpture of dancers out front and an inside piece on the wall facing the entrance.
As long as Hanbury was in Portsmouth, the hall was making headway under the Parks and Recreation Department and the guidance of Ebby Bell, the retired Naval officer who also once managed Scope.
Then both Hanbury and Bell left. Without someone to push it, the hall languished. All the gains that had been made were lost, and the auditorium was not properly maintained.
Last year, City Council decided to stop the downward spiral. The city made a management deal with Ports Events, and things have been looking up.
However, the news that concerts had to be canceled for lack of ticket sales was not encouraging. The slow sales coincided with the opening of the amphitheater in Virginia Beach, and that could account for some of the problems.
But that's not the real problem.
The real problem is Portsmouth people. They can afford to go to Norfolk and Virginia Beach for concerts and plays, even the opera, which is not cheap.
Somehow, we have to change the notion that Willett Hall is not as good as other halls. I would bet that there are people in Portsmouth who have not been to Willett Hall in recent years for one reason or another and who think of it as a high school auditorium - which is isn't.
The military bands are good, and they bring in a large audience. It's good to have that exposure for the hall, and I get real excited when I see it filled with people.
Now we have to figure out how to make that a paying audience.
Everybody in town has to take that responsibility. Ports Events can't do it alone. by CNB