Totally dark and sleeping on most dates except for a few local gospel concerts and dance recitals, the Wadsworth Auditorium awakes annually for its most glamorous and culturally exciting event. It will happen this year on Saturday, April 21 when the annual Wadsworth and Friends Concert comes to town. The brightly lighted stage will be filled with musicians of exceptional quality and a full house audience will dissolve the darkness.
Spokesperson Gina Snider noted that concert tickets at the auditorium are limited and that, in view of last year’s attendance, early ticket purchases are recommended.
Constructed in the early 1930s and opened in 1939, Newnan’s Municipal Building and its public auditorium remain as a testimonial to the architectural style of a bygone era, the Municipal building no longer serves all of its originally intended purposes, but its Art Deco designed auditorium remains. It serves as an outstanding, historical landmark and now stands as one of Georgia’s finest auditoriums. Thanks to many, it has well withstood the test of time, Snider said.
Renamed the Charles Wadsworth Auditorium in 1998, Newnan’s City Auditorium was resurrected from years of demise by a few preservationists who appreciated the value and beauty of what the auditorium was once and, refurbished, what it could again become. Their enthusiasm and a series of Charles Wadsworth and Friends Concerts along with help from the Newnan City Council, transformed the project from a concept into a reality. And with a limited capacity of 627 seats, tickets are always in high demand.
Snider said Robert McDuffie and the 24-piece McDuffie String Ensemble will be joined by soprano Jeanine De Bique and baritone Christòpheren Nomura when Charles Wadsworth hosts the 20th Annual Wadsworth & Friends Concert and presents the Newnan and Coweta County audience with an exceptional Wadsworth Auditorium evening.
A spokesman from the Newnan Cultural Arts Commission stated, “Many of the concert seats will be garnered by patrons who truly appreciate and support the event. There is also a limited number of $20 General Admission tickets available. I hope the general public realizes what a value this is for a concert of this quality. The Wadsworth and Friends Concert has become a ‘sell-out’ both for patrons and general admission tickets.”
General admission tickets for the concert are budget priced at $20 and are available at Scott’s Book Store and at Let Them Eat Toffee on the Courthouse Square, at Morgan Jewelers in Ashley Mall, or at the Bank of Coweta at Thomas Crossroads. Patron tickets for the event, including a post concert reception, are also available. Patron inquiries are invited and information is available from concert Chair John White 770-253-1959.
