MONROE, N.C. — The Dowd Center Theatre, recently renovated and reopened in the heart of downtown Monroe, will hold one of its first musicals this weekend.

A youth production of "The Wizard of Oz" will take the stage at 2:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday.

What You Need To Know

  • The Dowd Center Theatre reopened earlier this year

  • The old movie theater went under a multimillion-dollar renovation from the city of Monroe and private donors

  • "The Wizard of Oz" is one of first musicals to be performed at renovated theater

The old movie theater, which was closed in 1991, reopened officially this year after a multimillion-dollar renovation by the city and private donors. Now, the revamped performing space is set to host concerts, musical performances, comedy shows, plays, musicals and other events. 

“The kids came in and they were like speechless. I mean, so were we — it was so exciting," said Lindsey Bennett, a teacher at Lanti Performing Arts, which is in Union County. "I grew up here and so I remember driving down the street and it was just an old, empty movie theater that nobody was doing anything with."

She says she's not the only one excited. 

"One of our parent volunteers got teary-eyed because she was like, ‘I was in here 40 years ago,’" Bennett said. "So, it’s really exciting."

Sarah Lantigua, the co-owner of Lanti, said she was also excited to use the space with her students.

"But it is so beautiful, and it’s a great space. So, we’re very proud to be here."“They’ve kept the original brick and so we’re using that in our show for the yellow brick road. And, we’re doing some fun things with that, so we want to keep the authenticity of what’s happening here," Lantigua said. "But it is so beautiful, and it’s a great space. So, we’re very proud to be here."

“We’re thrilled to be using it, yeah” Bennett added.

Lantigua’s 57 students, ages 7 to 18, will take the stage to perform some well-known "Wizard of Oz" numbers, as well as some new ones. The students have been rehearsing since September, and Lantigua said this is one of the biggest venues they've performed in.

“It started with smaller stages when we were just at our studio, and then we started finding some churches to do it in and other places,” Lantigua said. 

Tickets are available online and at the box office. Organizers say a portion of the proceeds will go to a good cause.

Lantigua’s foundation, the Lanti Foundation, provides scholarships for students in need to attend classes of all types at her performing arts center. 

“Kids are involved in a lot of activities and sometimes parents are not able to send their children to do these things, because of finances or whatever is their case,” Lantigua explained. “So, we help provide some piano lessons, or guitar lessons, or theater classes.” 

So far, the Lanti Foundation has helped more than 100 students, according to Lantigua.

The Dowd Center Theatre is in the 100 block of South Main Street in downtown Monroe.