The theater eventually reached an out of court settlement with an accounting firm, according to a 2017 Durham Herald Sun report. Towards the end of 2015, it stared bankruptcy in the face due to a $1.7 million dollar deficit in part because of poor accounting practices. The theater has not always been the thriving venue it is today. Newton helped increase the number of children who visit the downtown landmark for student programming from 10,000 kids a year to 15,000. The theater also landed the two largest development grants in history totaling $188,000. Newton released her first solo album Blue Shirt this summer.Ĭarolina Theatre saw consistent and significant growth in many dimensions of programming under her leadership. A talented instrumentalist and singer, she led the popular band Rebecca & the Hi-Tones for 30 years, all while maintaining a tech career in online safety. Rebecca Newton is well known among many in Durham due to her long local music career. The theater has had a substantial amount of administrative turnover in the last decade and would benefit from stability with a president and CEO who can stay put the position for “at least five years,” Reckhow said. But at this stage of her career, she is not that person, she explained.Įllen Reckhow, a member of the board of trustees at CTD as well as a Durham County Commissioner for over 30 years, is adamant that there is no animosity between Newton and the theater’s trustees. The theater needs a long term person, someone who can be out on stage giving every curtain speech. “I’m not the right person to take it to the next level,” Newton said of her departure in an interview at her office. In her two plus years in the position, she led the theater through one of its most successful periods in the 93 years since its conception, according to a board of trustees statement. The theater’s board of trustees announced last month that Newton will retire as president and CEO of the nonprofit that runs the theater in June 2020. Lift the profile, raise a substantial amount of money and get more of the community involved,” Newton said. As Rebecca Newton prepares to end her short tenure leading the Carolina Theatre of Durham, she is satisfied with what she accomplished for the downtown landmark.
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