Opera House sets stage for second season

LACONIA — The stage is set for a defining summer of performances at the Lakeport Opera House. This year marks the first full summer calendar for the venue, which opened last June.

“Last season exceeded our expectations,” said Vice President Tim-James Everett, whose brother Scott was the developer for the theater. Everett is looking forward to the venue cementing and building on its success from last year. Nearly all of last season’s shows were sold out, according to Everett, and more than 1,000 tickets were sold in the first two weeks of sales for this year, which began on April 1.  

At the same time, the Opera House’s first year was not without its obstacles. When the Opera House opened, the pandemic outlook was bright: many restrictions had been eased, vaccination rates were on the rise and variants were not yet in sight. At the end of the summer season, with rising cases due to multiple variants, the Opera House decided to close down for the winter. 

Everett said the choice to close was the right one, as it allowed the venue to learn from some minor hitches it faced last season and polish its experience for this year. Some cosmetic changes were made to ensure that every seat has a clear and open view of the stage, a satellite bar was added in the upper level to manage bar overflow, and doors will open earlier to allow audience members more time to enjoy drinks and mingle before shows. The theater also added what Everett calls the “plumbing” for live streaming capabilities so that screening- and streaming-based events can be added to the calendar in the future.

To manage the high demand for tickets encountered last year, the Opera House added a membership program, where members get access to tickets before the general public, as well as a season ticket package for audience members to secure their favorite seat for every show. 

The schedule for this year includes crowd-favorites from 2021 as well as new shows. Tribute acts make up a large portion of the venue’s bookings, something that Everett said makes sense. 

“People just love tribute bands,” he said. “People love it when they know every word to every song and can sing and dance along.” Everett also commended the ability of tribute acts to embody iconic artists, from costume to sound to mannerisms, allowing them to deliver a complete experience and a healthy dose of nostalgia to their performances. Tributes to Michael Jackson, ABBA, Johnny Cash and Elvis will all make appearances this year. Tickets can be purchased at lakeportopera.com. 

Two shows by John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band will jump-start the season on Memorial Day weekend, and other famed names like Carla Cooke, the daughter of soul singer Sam Cooke, singer Taylor Dayne, and Clay Cook, the lead guitarist for the Zac Brown Band, also are booked during the summer.  

Everett said that it is the small size of the Opera House, only about 200 seats, along with its ability to attract well-known names make the venue unique. “In a venue this size, you get an intimate experience with the artist, and for people to get that with an artist like [Cafferty] is something we’re really excited to offer,” he said. 

The schedule also includes what Everett described as “an eclectic mix of entertainment,” that tries to cater to all types of audiences. Already on the schedule for this year are acrobats from China, comedians, magicians, and other family friendly performers, and medium Maureen Hancock, an unexpected hit for Everett from last year. “It was the only show I’ve ever been to where half the audience was crying, but they were all having a good time,” Everett said. 

The Opera House is not the only refurbished performance venue hitting its stride this season — the Colonial Theatre in downtown Laconia, which also opened its doors for the first time in decades and The CAKE, Recycled Percussion’s home stage, both opened in the last year. 

But Everett doesn’t view this as a competitive scenario. “Rising tides lift all boats,” he said regarding the growth of performance venues in the area. With each venue having a different atmosphere and size, all offer something different to audiences and contribute differently to the community. Everett said that Laconia could become a performance destination in addition to all that the region’s natural beauty offers visitors, “like an Austin- or a Nashville-North,” he said. 

The Opera House is the public-facing portion of development happening in Lakeport by Everett’s brother Scott. “It’s the tip of the spear” with regards to the revitalization of the neighborhood, Everett said. “It’s a kind of development that drives traffic, that has personality.”

For now, the Opera House’s goals for the year are to continue to establish its brand as a smaller venue with an intimate, dressed-up vibe, and to put on more private events and corporate parties outside of its normal performance schedule.