Tony Bennett reopens the Township

Arts and Culture 2011

Amy Holtcamp

SOUTH CAROLINA INSIDER

Insider Nav: My Profile; Blog; Stories; Photos; Videos; Q&A

Recent Updates

Township Auditorium grand reopening

After a $12 million renovation, the Township reopened on June 10th with a concert by Tony Bennett. The newly remodeled theater now boasts state of the art sound, improved backstage facilities and comfortable public spaces for patrons.
Tony Bennett at the Township

Legend Tony Bennett christened the newly remodeled Township Auditorium after its $12 million renovation.

Posted 6/23/2010 10:43:00 AM

Tony Bennett was the perfect entertainer to reopen the Township Auditorium last week after its $12 million renovation. He and the Township have a lot in common.

Bennett, a superstar in the Rat-Pack era, found his career taking a downturn with the advent of rock and roll. It seemed to him that people no longer wanted to hear his kind of music. However, in the 1980s, his career got an overhaul. Without changing his classic and classy music or his elegant suit-and-tie style, he sought out younger audiences by appearing on MTV and recording his famous “Duets” albums with contemporary singers. His career thrived and he was still wonderfully, essentially Tony Bennett.

The Township has been down a similar path. In the 1930s through the 1960s, the Township Auditorium was the major entertainment venue in Columbia. Elvis, Duke Ellington, Eartha Kitt, Bruce Springsteen, James Brown and Martin Luther King Jr. all appeared on its stage. But by the 1980s Columbia had built other better-equipped, modern venues. Touring shows favored the state-of-the-art Koger Center, Carolina Coliseum or the Colonial Life Arena. The Township fell into disrepair.

However, just like Bennett, the Township has been given an overhaul and is now better than ever.

The renovation has improved the backstage facilities; a new sound system, dressing rooms, loading dock and storage rooms were added in the hopes of attracting top-quality entertainers like Bennett. The public spaces are now cleaner and more comfortable. (I saw one woman actually do a dance when she saw the new ladies room.) Efforts also have been made to preserve the Georgian Revival façade.

The newly remodeled Township is beautiful, but once the lights went down on Thursday night, the spotlight belonged to Tony Bennett. His voice is so incredible expressive and strong that it’s impossible to believe it is the voice of an octogenarian. However, he infuses each song with the life experience and emotion that only a man of his age could have earned. Bennett sings standards – mostly love songs - but they are anything but standard. He sings old songs in a way that makes you feel as if you are hearing them for the first time.

Before wrapping up the concert, Bennett took a moment to honor this historic night for at the Township. Looking up at the theater’s balconies, he said, “They don’t make ‘em like this anymore.”

No they don’t; and they don’t make them like Tony Bennett anymore, either. What a thrill to get a chance to experience both in one night.