iList Paducah - Your Invitation to Everything

This feature celebrates the Carson Center! During the next several months, we'll showcase different aspects of this amazing performing arts center, along with recaps of the first five seasons. Read on for great tidbits and trivia! Have a question about the Carson Center? Email us and we'll bring you the answers!

November 26, 2008
Tickets Are Always the Right Size!
Trying to decide what to get that special person for Christmas? A gift certificate to the Carson Center is perfect! Gift certificates are available in any denomination and may be redeemed as payment for any ticketed event. To purchase, please contact the Box Office, 450.4444.

November 19, 2008
Doo Wop Yule Pop
Do you Doo Wop? What better time than the holidays! Get your tickets now for Doo Wop Yule Pop, 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, December 19, at the Carson Center! Tickets start at $35 (fees not included).

The nostalgic season meets the memorable hits in the new old-fashioned way!

The Contours
Featuring: Sylvester Potts
One of the first of the Motown groups, The Contours scored with the multimillion seller, a Berry Gordy Jr. composition, Do You Love Me, which was revived again in the hit movie, Dirty Dancing.

The Original Spaniels
Featuring: The Original Spaniels with a tribute to James "Pookie" Hudson. This group wrote and recorded what many believe to be the national anthem of Doo Wop: Goodnight Sweetheart, among other hits. They headlined the PBS record-breaking event, 50 Years of Doo-Wop.

The Reflections
A powerful group with one of those "oh wow" hits, taken from Shakespeare, no less, Just Like Romeo & Juliet, is too cool for school. Their lead singer sounds just like Jackie Wilson.

Kathy Young
Kathy sang with the Innocents band, famous for Honest I Do and Gee Whiz. She went on her own with the smash, A Thousand Stars, and wowed the PBS audience with what became known as The Dress.

The Magnificents
Featuring: Johnny Keyes
For any true connoisseur of Doo Wop, this is the group. Up On a Mountain is one of the most revered and collected songs of this genre.

November 11, 2008
Gala Celebration Playbill
This season marks the 5th anniversary of the beautiful Carson Center, which has hosted 275 performances, more than 1,000 events and more than 500,000 guests from 38 states!

To celebrate, the Carson Center will host a Gala Celebration in February 2009. A special Playbill will mark the event. Become part of the Carson Center's history by purchasing an advertisement:

Full page, full color: $900
4.625" Wide x 7.5" Tall

Half page, full color: $450
4.625" Wide x 3.625" Tall

Quarter page, full color: $225
2.25" Wide x 3.625" Tall

Reserve your space by December 15; completed art due January 15. For more info and the reservation form, email Lisa Lauck or call 443.9932.

November 5, 2008
Ever tried to purchase tickets to a popular show and couldn't get the seats you wanted? Become a Carson Center Member! Memberships start at $50 — and you can purchase tickets before they're available to the public.

Different membership levels offer benefits such as your name in the playbill, invitation to the Season Preview event and a 10 percent discount on a Carson Center fundraising event like the Distiller’s Dinner.

All memberships count as tax-deductible gifts to a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization. For more information about supporting your performing arts center, log onto thecarsoncenter.org or call 443.9932, x240 or x241.

October 29, 2008
Great turn out for the 4th Annual Distiller's Dinner at the Carson Center, held Saturday, October 18. The dinner featured Buffalo Trace bourbon from Master Distiller Harlen Wheatley along with a wonderful meal prepared by chef John Mangelos and the staff of Little Edibles and WKCTC culinary students. The stage was beautifully designed by Green Door Floral and Décor and Occasions Unlimited. Sponsored by Roof Brothers Wine & Spirits. View all the event photos, by Jessie Fox of Fox Fotography, here!

October 17, 2008

October 10, 2008
The Carson Center invites military personnel with valid I.D.: Enjoy a 10 percent discount to STOMP this weekend! Show times are Friday, October 10, at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday, October 11, at 4 and 8 p.m.! Just show your I.D. at the box office! Enjoy!

October 1, 2008
STOMP and Pre-Show Dinner: A Great Combination!

Have STOMP tickets for October 10 or October 11, and want a great dinner beforehand? Come early to the Carson Center's beautiful Myre River Room for a dinner catered by Little Edibles!

The pre-show dinner for the October 10 performance begins at 6 p.m. The pre-show dinner for the October 11 performance begins at 6:30 p.m.

The STOMP-themed gourmet menu includes:

Kentucky Limestone Salad
Skewered Cumin Spiced Pork with Pomegranate Molasses & Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
Persian Chicken Brochettes
Fingerling Potato Salad with Vidalias & Dijon
Haricot Vert Provencal
Baked Eggplant with Pesto Sauce
Grilled Flatbread
Orange Shortcake Biscuits with Mixed Berries & Honey Mascarpone Whipped Cream

So if you are looking for something different to do, call the box office, 450.4444, to reserve your seat. Dinner is $28.50 per person and includes soft drinks and coffee.

September 24, 2008
The Carson Center is now on Facebook and MySpace. Watch video clips of upcoming shows, receive ticket on-sale reminders and be among the first to hear when new shows are added! Plus, write your own reviews!

These two social networking sites make it easier for the Carson Center to stay in touch with patrons and friends, and vice versa!

September 17, 2008
Carson Center Five-Show Classic Broadway Series Ticket Giveaway
WPSD Local 6 and the Carson Center offer a chance to win two tickets for this season’s Broadway Series, featuring Mamma Mia!, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Oliver!, Sweeney Todd and Ain't Misbehavin'!

From now through October 9, sign up for a chance to win. One winner will be randomly chosen on October 9. Details, here!

August 27, 2008
Flashbacks!
Here are some funny tidbits from the Carson Center's history:

Piano, pre-angle iron

One week before the opening, the center's baby grand piano was delivered and put stage left. A contractor working on the grid above the stage (10 stories high) accidently dropped a six-foot steel angle iron. It fell directly on the piano — and destroyed it. No one is this lucky to have this kind of perfect aim.
When Pat Boone arrived to perform, he said: "I couldn't imagine that they built a beautiful facility like this in Paducah, Ky. I was afraid I would be playing in a tobacco barn out in a field."
The 2004-2005 Tony Stewart Benefit featured two surprise guests: Kid Rock and Diamond Rio. Kid Rock performed with Montgomery Gentry and Diamond Rio drove from Nashville to surprise Tony Stewart.
Merle Haggard requested that the stage be kept at a consistent 71 degrees or he would not play. He had a digital thermometer on his stool to make sure the temperature stayed the same.

August 20, 2008
A Look Back: Our Second Season
After an incredibly busy 2003-2004 season, the Carson Center slowed down and reduced the number of presenting events for its second season. Along with Broadway classics like Miss Saigon and Fiddler on the Roof, the Carson Center hosted several other unique events. The Tony Stewart Foundation Benefit, Debbie Reynolds and the Nashville Star were very popular.

Miss Saigon

Fiddler on the Roof

The Tony Stewart Foundation Benefit

Debbie Reynolds

August 13, 2008
Carson Center's 2008-09 Carson Series!
Subscriptions to the Carson Series are on sale now through September 5! Subscribe now and be guaranteed the same seats for all these great performances:

Sara Evans
October 17, 2008

United States Army Field Band
October 19, 2008

Neil Berg's 100 Years of Broadway
January 29, 2009

The Pink Floyd Experience
February 26, 2009

To purchase a subscription, contact the box office, 450.4444. For more information about subscriptions or the performances, please visit thecarsoncenter.org.

August 6, 2008
Carson Center's 2008-09 Broadway Series!
How does a season subscription to this year's Broadway Series sound? There's still time to reserve your seat to all the performances! Season subscriptions start at $155.

STOMP
October 10-11, 2008

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
December 5-6, 2008

Oliver!
January 17-18, 2009

Sweeney Todd
February 3-4, 2009

Mamma Mia!
March 3-4, 2009

Ain't Misbehavin' featuring Ruben Studdard
April 7-8, 2009

Riverdance: Farewell Performances!
May 12-13, 2009

To purchase a subscription, contact the box office, 450.4444. For more information about subscriptions or the performances, please visit thecarsoncenter.org.

July 30, 2008
Star-Studded Premiere Line Up

The Carson Center's 2003-04 season — the first in our brand-new performing arts center — started with some of the brightest stars and shows in the entertainment world. Here's a look at some of the center's highlights:

July 23, 2008
Unique Among Performing Arts Centers

The atrium's gold leaf finish will never tarnish or fade. Photo by J-Nash Photography.

There's no doubt that our Carson Center stands out among performing arts centers across the country. Here are a few features that make the center different:

Lobby: The floor is genuine Terrazzo flooring. The elliptical walls are hand-textured plaster covered in gold leaf. Gold leaf will never tarnish or fade. Due to its elliptical shape, it has a six-second echo of sounds created from its center. The lobby is unique for modern construction in that it has two grand staircases and the mezzanine level looks over the lobby. The glass wall honors the original donors to the Carson Center for Construction, Endowment and Building for the Arts. The glass is the architectural glass from building the center. It was shipped to a firm in British Columbia where it was etched and painted.

The Carson Center's innovative stage can be customized to fit a variety of orchestra and audience sizes. Photo by Fox Fotography.

Stage: The stage stands 3'6"off the ground and two lifts can be raised or lowered. Center staff can create three different sizes of orchestra pits or have an additional 124 seats. The lifts are chain driven. The extra 124 seats go down into the pit and then underneath the other seating. The floor of the stage is a sprung wood floor painted black and it is conducive to dancing.

Backstage: There are nine dressing rooms, 44 lockers, two washers and dryers and two irons and ironing boards. The Green Room provides a space for performers to relax and have a meal. The walls in the visiting company office were first signed by the cast of FAME. Due to lack of printed materials for the cast members to sign, they signed the wall and began a unique Carson Center tradition! There are three large loading docks with one being big enough to drive a car through.

The Honor Wall of Donors recognizes the people and organizations who helped make the Carson Center dream a reality. Photo by Fox Fotography.

Memberships: Supporters who contribute $100 or more to the Carson Center's annual funding are added to the invitation list for Members-Only tours of the center and backstage, hosted by a staff member.

Hunka Hunka country singer Vince Gill was the first entertainer to christen the Carson Center stage. His February 27, 2004 show attracted 1,739 fans.

July 16, 2008
Let's Do the Numbers:

13 counties passed and sent resolutions to the Commonwealth of Kentucky in support of the construction of the Carson Center as a regional asset: Fulton, Hickman, Carlisle, Graves, Ballard, McCracken, Calloway, Marshall, Livingston, Crittenden, Caldwell, Christian and Lyon.
More than $9 million was raised to establish an Endowment Fund to help sustain the Carson Center for generations to come.

And Here Are Some Fun Firsts:

First Subscribers: Mr. & Mrs. Jeffrey Nash
First Name-A-Seat: Dr. & Mrs. Andrew Morton were in the first group
First Show in the Carson Center: Vince Gill
First Broadway Performance: FAME on March 25, 2004
First Ticket Sold: Ann Harp on May 27, 2003
First Paducah Symphony Orchestra Performance: March 6, 2004
First High School Graduation: Heath High School on May 28, 2004
First Community Fundraising Event: Tony Stewart Foundation with Diamond Rio on October 6, 2004
First Chairman of the Board of Directors: Dr. Ted Borodofsky

The Paxton Family Foundation funded the main lobby of the Carson Center. Artist Christina Ziegler designed the mural. Local artists sketched and painted it.

Dr. & Mrs. Andrew Morton were in the first group to name a Carson Center seat.

Remember when it looked like this? The Carson Center's Stage house is 10 stories tall!

July 9, 2008
In The Beginning
How fabulous is it to announce that the Carson Center is entering its fifth season in its beautiful riverfront building! What started as a dream of local community members came to fruition in February 2004 with the official opening of the Luther F. Carson Four Rivers Center.

Do you remember the first performance and where it was held? The Carson Center's season actually started before the building was ready. Therefore, the first show presented was the "From Belle to Broadway" variety show, and was held at Paducah Tilghman in September 2003.

It definitely took a lot of spark to bring the center to life!

Now for some Fun Facts:

It took more than 27 months of construction.
Total square footage is 97,750 and the Stage house is 10 stories tall.
Prior to opening, an event called "The Royal Flush" was staged to test the plumbing throughout the building.
There are 1,806 seats in the theatre and 73 porcelain seats.
More than 4,000 people attended the Grand Opening in February 2004.

The lobby, in its early stages.

Last step: landscaping!