When the curtain rises at Tupelo Music Hall Salisbury for Saturday's already sold-out Little River Band performance, it signifies something new on Salisbury Beach: a year-round schedule of live entertainment.
In its heyday as a seasonal seaside tourist resort in the mid-20th century, Salisbury Beach attracted the best live entertainment the nation had to offer. The big bands in the '30s and '40s; Patti Page, Liberace and The Platters in the '50s and '60s; Andy Williams, Johnny Mathis and The Drifters in the '60s and '70s, and more dazzled audiences from around the region.
But as Salisbury Beach's center faded, so did its reputation and draw as a live performance venue, ultimately ending when the last of the concert halls, the Frolics, fell victim to the wrecking ball.
Salisbury Beach development leader Wayne Capolupo says Tupelo is one piece in putting an end to the downward slide of the area. Although some are skeptical Salisbury Beach can pull off what other New England seasonal resorts don't bother trying, Capolupo believes an intimate venue for quality live entertainment will survive and prosper year-round.
And he is willing to put a sizable amount of money where his mouth is. He spent millions rebuilding the old Pavilion into a year-round oceanfront restaurant, function hall and entertainment center.
Why tackle something so rare among New England resort communities? Simple, he said: to resurrect Salisbury Beach, a place he loved as a kid and loves even more as an adult and successful businessman.
Capolupo believes there's a market of people who will travel 12 months of the year to eat at his two restaurants — the Capri and Seaglass — hold their weddings and meetings and see great talent and ultimately live there, in a residential community he also hopes to build.
Capolupo and his entertainment manager, Scott Hayward of Tupelo Music Hall Londonderry, N.H., believe that if they build it, people will come.
"We have to create and prove the model that this is a vibrant year-round business center and the heart of a thriving year-round community," Capolupo says. "Eventually, this will bring people to the beach to live year-round and create a vibrant residential community."
The Tupelo experience
Capolupo's marketing plan predicts that not only will people travel to meet and eat at Salisbury Beach if the experience is pleasant enough, but that throngs of 30- to 60-year-olds will be reintroduced to the area through music and comedy. The draw: quality, age-appropriate entertainers in a performance venue that puts no one more than 50 feet from performers.
In a small theater that seats about 600, on three tiers of cabaret seating, audiences can enjoy established and rising entertainers. With doors opening 90 minutes before show time, they can also enjoy good food and drink, says Capolupo's marketing director, Kathy Aiello. The menu includes soups, salads, appetizers and sandwiches, priced at a maximum of about $15 per serving.
"There'll be 22 items on the menu," she says. "They can order a Caesar salad, nachos, chili, a great clam chowder or a pulled pork sandwich. The food will be prepared at Seaglass with a service kitchen (in the theater) where it will be plated. And there'll be table service."
Also open for non-entertainment events, the theater can be made smaller or larger by a movable wall for functions, like the upcoming business exposition planned by the Salisbury Chamber of Commerce, Aiello says.
Hayward will book and manage the acts he's known for accessing at the Londonderry Tupelo Music Hall. Paula Cole, "American Idol" contestant Bo Bice, Richie Havens and Joe Piscopo's Night with Sinatra are among the shows booked through March and beyond. A Tupelo Night of Comedy is set for Nov. 21, and a New England Winter Blues Festival is planned for February.
"When we first started looking into a performance venue, we started asking around," Aiello says. "And everyone we spoke with told us, 'You know, you really should talk to Scott Hayward about this."
Hayward can't imagine a better place to put a music hall than right beside one of the biggest draws in the world: the Atlantic Ocean. He says seats are selling already for winter performances. Ticket prices average between $30 and $40.
"We already had a guy from New Jersey who bought tickets for four different shows because a lot of people can't see shows like this in less than 1,000- to 1,500-seat venues," Hayward says. "And I love the beach in the winter. I think this makes perfect sense."
The demographic they want to attract is 30- to 60-somethings, living within a 90-minute radius of Salisbury, from Portland, Maine, to Boston to Nashua, N.H., concentrating on Merrimack Valley residents who have always loved Salisbury Beach, Aiello says.
"Now we're giving people a reason to come here other than a hot, sunny day in the summer," Capolupo adds.
Opening acts
Tonight's VIP, invitation-only reception will feature the Evan Goodraw Band with Charlie Farren, as well as a video retrospective of Salisbury Beach's history as a summer entertainment center.
Saturday's official opening-night show with the Little River Band is sold out. Upcoming acts include:
Sunday: Squirrel Nut Zippers, 7 p.m.
Nov. 13: Paula Cole, 8 p.m.
Nov. 14: The Machine, Pink Floyd experience, 8 p.m.
Nov,. 17: Kenny Wayne Shepherd, 8 p.m.
Nov. 20: Shawn Colvin, 8 p.m.
Nov. 21: Tupelo Night of Comedy, 8 p.m.
Nov. 27: Gallagher, 8 p.m.
Tupelo Music Hall in Salisbury is located at 4 Oceanfront North at Salisbury Beach. The box office is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call 603-437-5100 or visit www.tupelohall.com.
