I wonder if such a group as TSO would play in such a small venue?
We went to see them when they were in Orlando a couple of years ago....(where the magics basketball team play).

This looks great! Very classy in TVs. So glad to see the Morse family continue to keep improving one of the best towns in the world!

I have no objection to their lineup. For the venue size, it is okay. What I object to is the prices. They are too high for the talent offered.

Personally, I would love to see the Miami Ballet over the Moscow Festival. Our philharmonic rather than one from northern Poland. Some blues men. John Mayall plays small venues and is still pretty darn good. Most jazz players play small venues. Some great caberet singers. I think most performers would rather play in something like the The Sharon rather than a supper club where they have to compete with dish clattering.

Some performers that come to my mind that probably would play here would be Diana Shur, Lou Reed, Cowboy Junkies, Indigo Girls, Weslia Whitfield, John Mayall. We're not going to see the likes of The Stones, Mannheim, ABT, Philadelphia Philharmonic, BB King. So, who is on your list of performers who would truly play in such a small venue (please try to be realistic).

Recently attended a Lucinda Williams, a multiple Grammy winning artist, concert at the Plaza in Orlando. It's a 1,000 seat venue and rather old and seems like a dump compared to what the Sharon looks like. Here's a link to an article describing it and it gives you an a list of the performers who have performed there. So it's possible to get some good talent to such a small venue.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pla...eatre_(Orlando)

Plaza LIVE Orlando | The Plaza LIVE Orlando is a live music concert venue in Orlando, Florida.

But that begs the question of what Villagers want to see or hear. The Temptations tribute band coming to the Sharon is the same old stuff. Local group the Dorrells and Johnny Alston, play plenty of Temptation music and doubt Villagers could tell difference between the groups. So why pay $50 for a ticket to hear the same old stuff at the Sharon? We need more variety besides Doo Wop and never ending 50's rock music.

A friend of mine plays in The Fab Four which is the finest Beatles tribute band that I've ever heard and seen. They play in venues of about this size. I'd love to book them here as opposed to the mediocre Beatles tributes that I've seen around here.

And I'd rather never see any tribute band. There are too many good performers that are original. Leave the Oldies to the squares, please.

We all have our tastes, but the Fab Four and many other tribute bands sell out venues of this size. That's my point. That's what we're going to get. If they do intend to bring in top of the line acts, ticket prices are going to have to be astronomical.

Tirbute band like the Fab Four ticket prices usually run $25-$40. That's between $25,000 and $40,000 total revenue. To get even a national touring tribute band like the Fab Four is going to cost somewhere around $25,000 once you pay for their travel, room and board. Many of them also require that you provide a back line of equipment etc along with whatever els may be on their rider.

To bring in someone like James Taylor, Eric Clapton or someone at that level, it will cost a hundred thousand or more. Just do the math. The venue is too small to bring in top of the line entertainment and make it affordable. Tickets would have to be priced at at least $100 and that wouldn't cover the expenses of the venue.

And nothing against Lucinda Williams or any of the other artists mentioned, but she is playing in 1,000 seat venues because that's all she can draw. She just can't get 5,000 people to cough up $50 to come and see her.

The good thing about The Villages is that most of the acts that people in our age group are interested in are the old washed up stars of our youth. You can usually book many these kind of acts for not too much money. But you're not going to get Clapton, Paul McCartney, James Taylor, the Rolling Stones or The
Who in a 1,000 seat venue.

As the good doctor stated, we all have out taste in music. I tend to agree it will be difficult to book top name current artists, in a relatively small venue but I can hope. :smiley:

People will go and see what they want, at the prices they want. Let's give a chance to people, that book the acts, that appeal, to the masses.

My idea is to see what performers are booked and their various prices.

If people don't like the prices or performers, they will not go, period.

I find it hard to believe the Sharon will be booked 365 days a year, but that's me.

Very interesting thread here. It certainly seems that people are opposed or disappointed in the "Sharon" for several reasons.

Let's see:
1. Parking/ not enough
2. Too few seats in the "Sharon"
3. Ticket prices too high

We all have our own opinions and certainly our own taste in entertainment, as well as our own "price cap". They will never make everyone happy. PERIOD!!

My own thoughts:
1. I love the 1,000 seat size, a more intimate venue with excellent acoustics. No nosebleed seats with lousy sound quality found in a basket ball arena.

2. First class venue. I personally felt that the Savannah Center was an embarrassment.
We have seen good shows there. But the folding chairs and jammed rows were shocking to us.

3. This is not a venue that "everyone" will use, or want to use. Many people prefer to go to free entertainment, watch movies when released for home viewing, or are not interested in theatre, symphony or headline acts.

The "Sharon" will prove to be an asset to The Villages. A higher caliber entertainment option than what is available now. That is a good thing.

"Katie Belle's" and "The Cattle Baron" did not meet everyone's dining and entertainment needs. If they did, they would not be losing $$ and under going renovation. Neither will the "Sharon". Those who go will love it and those who don't will find fault.

Nothing new, same thing we see with all human nature.

In case you might be interested. Patti Lupone on 4/30 at TV Sharon theatre, $150 per pop. Less than 2 weeks earlier, same show at the Patchogue theatre in Patchogue NY, Ticket prices from $45 to $75. The lady is 65 years old and was a star 20-30 years ago. Wanna bet it ain't like it used to be?

I would like to see some of the performances that they have at the Savanah Center held at the Sharon. I have stayed away from Savanah because the seating was not great. The floor seats were hard to see from if you are a short person and the balcony was too far away and not comfortable. Hoping the Sharon has solved those problems. I will pay a little more to be comfortable.

I remember a couple years ago, everyone on here was clamoring for a Performing Arts Center. If memory serves, a complete study was performed and it was determined that a PAC might not be successful here.

Well, the Developer [and family] have built one themselves, which adds to The Villages.

Now, lots of folks on here are trashing the PAC [and the Developer] for parking and ticket prices, before it even opens.

When [and if] The Villages are ever turned over to the residents, that'll be the day I list my home for sale.

Here's one such thread from 2010:

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...ter-now-27033/

:agree:

Damned if you do, or damned if you don't, comes to my mind.

Let's let it open and run for awhile before the bashing continues.

:popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn:

The Villages IS their family business and I don't think they will ever let someone come along and screw that up. All we own are the houses and the land on which they are built.

[



Now, lots of folks on here are trashing the PAC [and the Developer]
When [and if] The Villages are ever turned over to the residents, that'll be the day I list my home for sale.



I also fear the rule of the inmates, I have seen it too often in community assns and condos

The Sharon will not bring in big name shows unless they find a large subsidy(sponsorships). That being said it is a wonderful venue for entertainment and other functions for the Villages and surrounds. The Developer paid for it, without contributions from Villagers fees of any kind. Sounds to me like we got a windfall.

Thank you to the Morse family for another beautiful addition to TV's!

Redwitch-Lou Reed died in 2013.

I guess he will not be playing The Villages....

Ummm, maybe someone can tell me why the parking problem will become so bad as the result of replacing the 950 seat Church on the Square with the 1,028 seat Sharon?

Just asking.

Because we need something to rant and rave about. :crap2:

Um, Gatherer, I'd forgotten that. Glad I didn't mention Phoebe Snow, one of my top ten. Was just tossing out names that I thought would enjoy a venue of this size. They are out there and many are quite good. We'll never get the name acts and that's okay. We can get some truly good acts but the ticket prices need to reflect the talent. Please understand I'm not knocking this season's lineup (except the Broadway shows and they're a serious disappointment to me), just some of the prices for the acts offered.

I so agree.

That is an excellent point you shared. The expansion did include partial removal of the rear parking lot. I don't know how many spots are lost - insignificant is my guess.

I guess the ticket prices are not scaring many folks away since the only seats left for the Millionaire Quartet have an obstructed view, and only a handful of those are available.

I was at the square last evening parked in the lot behind The Sharon. No parking problems. This includes the loss of spaces temporarily in front of Katie Belle's due to the remodel. I admit I was concerned about the parking until Villages Kahuna pointed out the seating capacity was only changing a small amount. Thanks Mr. K for posting a fact based message.

deleted

Oh---that's what happened. I heard he was taking a walk on the wildwood side and was hoping he might do a show.

do ta doo,