All Marilyn Carter Photos: Alan Mercer
Marilyn Carter has owned The Texas Opry in Weatherford for 25 years, but it was originally a church built in the 1920’s. Then in 1946 they built an auditorium where they held church services for 30 more years until in the late 70’s when the church outgrew the building and moved to a bigger location. In its days as a church it was home to a dozen different denominations.
The building was purchased in the middle 80’s by a couple who originally started The Texas Opry, but the building was run down and in disrepair. Marilyn Carter’s husband Jerry and his business partner ended up purchasing the building after Jerry, a performer himself, started helping with and performing on the basic Opry style shows with lots of local talent.
The new owners wanted to put a theater on one side of the building and put the business offices for their other ventures on the other side. Ultimately, they gutted the place, replaced everything and added a lobby, concession stand and box office. They created a spacious backstage area and a beautiful stage. It holds 475 people with no bad seat. It's
AM: Marilyn, is this a non-profit business?
MC: Yes, it is. We started out as a for profit business but we couldn’t get any cooperation from the city or any retail merchants because there was no benefit for them as far as sponsorships.
AM: I can understand that.
MC: My purpose more than anything else has always been to promote tourism into Weatherford. Sixty percent of all the audiences are from out of town. When they come into town they stay in our hotels and if they are within driving distance and don’t need a hotel they still all eat in the local restaurants. They also come into town early to shop at the boutiques and retail stores. Antique shopping is very popular. The Texas Opry is the only entertainment destination in Weatherford. There isn’t anything else.
AM: Your theater is my favorite size of venue.
MC: It’s very intimate but it does require the right promotion and so few people really know how to do that. There is a big difference between marketing and promotion. For instance, the Chamber of Commerce is promoting Weatherford with a new web site called ‘Experience Weatherford’ and I can post about upcoming concerts there, but no one really knows how to promote the shows.
AM: Are you from here?
MC: My husband Jerry is from here. I’ve lived here since 1990 except for a time when we ran another business and had to move to Granbury. Also, now my husband Jerry had to have eye surgery to try and save his sight. Our attorney told us to file bankruptcy for him to get the health care he needed. We were told the Texas Opry building was paid for so it would be safe but that turned out not be true.
AM: Oh no!
MC: When the trustee found out about it, he tried to sell it for 5 years but he couldn’t sell it. Finally, he got tired of messing with it and abandoned it back to us in 2010. So, we reopened it and started doing shows and we’ve been going ever since.
AM: That is so awesome!
MC: We’ve been going strong for the past seven years. My husband Jerry is blind now so I have been running this all by myself.
AM: How much time does it take to run this business?
MC: I do have one helper who lives on the property. The past year Jerry has been in a rehab facility for dialysis three times a week. He’s under 24/7 care so he’s better off there.
AM: Do you work in Country music because it’s in your heart?
MC: I did grow up with it. I was born in 1951 so I grew up as a child of the 60’s with the Beatles and Elvis Presley. I fought my parents tooth and nail because they only listened to Country music and they acted like a lot of the parents acted when Elvis and Rock n Roll got started. As I got older Rock music changed into music I didn’t like so I grew into being able to appreciate classic, traditional Country music.
AM: Who are some of your favorite Country music entertainers?
MC: My favorite is Gene Watson and I also like Mo Bandy, Don Williams, Alan Jackson and George Strait.
AM: You’ve had some of your favorites perform here.
MC: We’ve had nearly all the older performers like Ray Price, who we hosted several times, and Don Williams, Hank Thompson and Connie Smith, Jody Miller, Johnny Rodriguez and Jean Shepperd. We tried booking Porter Wagoner but he was too sick to make it here.
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AM: You have a variety of Elvis Tribute Artist that perform here. What do you think keeps people interested in seeing these acts? Is it just a love of Elvis or theater?
MC: The real thing is not available and Elvis was theatrical, but it’s the love of Elvis that keeps the audiences coming back for more. It’s not just the older generation either. I’ve seen young women and children go wild at some of our shows. These kids don’t know anything about any of the performers from their parents and grandparents’ era KNOW Elvis.
AM: That’s because Elvis has never gone away.
MC: And Elvis never will go away. There is a whole ETA (Elvis Tribute Artist)movement going on. If you’ve ever been to Memphis in August, you’ve seen the thousands of ETA’s for the annual contest.
AM: I’ve never been there, but now I must go!
MC: Also, Elvis Presley Enterprises endorses some of the ETA’s like Joseph Hall, who is coming here in May and Donny Edwards who will be here in August. Donny looks so much like Elvis, in a natural way and he has traced his ancestry back to Elvis’s mother. That may be where some of his looks and talent come from. Then we have Doug Church and the Blackwood Quartet who are doing the Gospel Side of Elvis in December.
AM: What other tribute artists are playing there this year?
MC: We’ve got Tribute Artists for Frankie Valle, The Eagles, George Strait, Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn with Conway’s grandson and Loretta’s granddaughter and Mel Torme’s son will be here with his tribute to his father. You can see all these shows on the web site.
AM: What was the first show you did?
MC: We opened our first show on July 11, 1992 and it was an Amateur Show with local talent. Back then, there were a bunch of Oprys operating in North Texas. The good amateur performers would work the circuit. They were all so good. We even got to see Leanne Rimes. She was thirteen years old and got started with Johnny High, even Miranda Lambert got started with Johnny High. Most of these performers would come and perform for nothing except a little gas money sometimes.
AM: You don’t plan on quitting anytime soon do you?
MC: I’m going to keep it going if I can. I do wish the city would take over when I can’t do it any longer. We have a legacy now. I have a mailing list of over 4000 people. Lots of people tell me they hope I never retire!
To learn more about the Texas Opry Theater visit their web site http://texasoprytheater.com/