80 years in Charlotte? Give them a hand

Longevity. Not a virtue that holds much currency in Charlotte.

I've been at the Observer four years, and I'm already sounding like a relic of some earlier civilization: When did that go up? Where'd you come from? Who moved my (pimento) cheese?

But even here, in the gleaming, would-be capital of the New South, we occasionally give props to the old. This weekend, Theatre Charlotte -- the city's most venerable arts organization -- celebrates its 80th year with a black-tie gala.

Yes, newcomers, there was a city here in 1928. And it had a little theater.

Amateur stages sprang to life all over the country in the years following the Great War. The Charlotte branch of the American Association of University Women decided to raise the curtain here, hosting a reading of the play "Outward Bound" in the Carnegie Library downtown. Since then: more than 2,600 performances of some 420 productions featuring thousands of volunteers. The troupe opened its current home, at 501 Queens Road, in 1941. 1941! By local standards, that's practically Etruscan.

Go to www.theatrecharlotte.org/80years.htm, and click through a collection of archival photographs posted there. The productions look polished. They look charming. And yes, they look old. That's worth some applause.

So are efforts by Theatre Charlotte's current leader, Ron Law, to embrace the new. Next season's lineup features the musical "The Full Monty," among other bold choices. The good ladies of the Association of University Women would have loved that, am I right?

It's not too late to join the party, 7 p.m. Saturday at Grand Central. Call 704-376-3777 for details.