Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre is a

performing arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which involve the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. P ...

venue A venue is the location at which an event takes place. It may refer to: Locations * Venue (law), the place a case is heard * Financial trading venue, a place or system where financial transactions can occur * Music venue, place used for a conce ...

located in the

Cumberland/Galleria Cumberland is an edge city in Cobb County located in an unincorporated area of the northwest Atlanta metropolitan area, Georgia, United States. It is situated northwest of downtown Atlanta. With approximately 122,000 workers and 103,000 reside ...

edge city An edge city is a concentration of business, shopping, and entertainment outside a traditional downtown or central business district, in what had previously been a suburban, residential or rural area. The term was popularized by the 1991 boo ...

, in northwest

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The $145 million facility celebrated its

grand opening An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly constructed location or the start of an event.

September 15, 2007, with a

concert A concert, often known informally as a gig or show, is a live performance of music in front of an audience. The performance may be carried by a single musician, in which case it is sometimes called a recital, or by a musical ensemble such as an ...

Michael Feinstein Michael Jay Feinstein (born September 7, 1956) is an American singer, pianist, and music Revivalist artist, revivalist. He is an archivist and interpreter for the repertoire known as the Great American Songbook. In 1988, he won a Drama Desk Spec ...

and

Linda Eder Linda Eder (; born February 3, 1961) is an American singer and actress. She originated the role of Lucy Harris in the Broadway musical '' Jekyll & Hyde'', for which she was nominated for the Drama Desk Award. Biography Eder was born in Tucso ...

. Located in

Cobb County Cobb County is a county in the U.S. state of Georgia, and is a core county of the Atlanta metropolitan area in the north-central portion of the state. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 766,149. It is the state's third most populous cou ...

near Vinings, the venue is owned and operated by the Cobb- Marietta Coliseum & Exhibit Hall Authority, and took over two years to build. The

naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization where a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event (most often sports venues), typical ...

for the facility were acquired for $20 million by Cobb Energy Management Corp. Real estate developer John A. Williams' personal donation of $10 million led to the theater itself being named in his honor.

Design and construction

Cobb Energy Centre is located at the east corner of Akers Mill Road and

Cobb Galleria Cobb Galleria is a large office park with six skyscrapers located in the Cumberland/ Vinings district of Cobb County in the U.S. state of Georgia. Its location is sandwiched between Marietta, Smyrna, Sandy Springs and the City of Atlanta. It i ...

Parkway, overlooking

I-75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes and Southeastern United States, Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end ...

just south of the I-285 highway interchange (the Cobb Cloverleaf). It was designed by

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

s Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart & Associates, and built by

general contractor A contractor (North American English) or builder (British English), is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and the communication of information to all involved parties throughout the c ...

Hardin Construction. The asymmetrical top of the building rises above the multi-story glass facade that allows views of the grand

alabaster Alabaster is a mineral and a soft Rock (geology), rock used for carvings and as a source of plaster powder. Archaeologists, geologists, and the stone industry have different definitions for the word ''alabaster''. In archaeology, the term ''alab ...

staircase and lobbies beyond when lit at night. The rising waves were meant to soften the transition to the

fly tower A fly system, or theatrical rigging system, is a system of ropes, pulleys, counterweights and related devices within a theater (structure), theater that enables a stage crew to fly (hoist) quickly, quietly and safely components such as curtains, ...

required over the stage. Just inside the entrance, visitors are greeted by the commissioned

mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...

''The Nine Muses'' by Jimmy O'Neal. The chandeliers in the main lobby and those in the ballroom are the Nastro designed by Tobia Scarpa and made b
Andromedamurano
The interior throughout the Centre makes extensive use of traditional theater colors such red and gold as well as dark wood finishes. The Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre was completed within schedule and budget.

Performance and other venues

John A. Williams Theatre

This 2,750-seat theater at the core of the centre was designed to accommodate both acoustic and amplified performances with the specific intent of attracting touring companies of Broadway shows. Within the theatre itself, seating is distributed on three levels —

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

mezzanine A mezzanine (; or in Italian, a ''mezzanino'') is an intermediate floor in a building which is partly open to the double-height ceilinged floor below, or which does not extend over the whole floorspace of the building, a loft with non-sloped ...

and grand tier — and fourteen

balcony A balcony (from , "scaffold") is a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade, usually above the ground floor. They are commonly found on multi-level houses, apartme ...

boxes. The most distant seat in the upper level (Grand Tier) is only from the stage. Metallic-mesh triangular screens undulate across the ceiling to hide

catwalk A fashion show is an event put on by a fashion designer to showcase their upcoming line of clothing and/or accessories during a fashion week. Fashion shows debut every season, particularly the spring/summer and fall/winter seasons. This is where ...

s. The stage features a

hydraulic Hydraulics () is a technology and applied science using engineering, chemistry, and other sciences involving the mechanical properties and use of liquids. At a very basic level, hydraulics is the liquid counterpart of pneumatics, which concer ...

lift for the 30-foot (9 m) deep

orchestra pit An orchestra pit is an area in a theatre (usually located in a lowered area in front of the stage) in which musicians perform. The orchestra plays mostly out of sight in the pit, rather than on the stage as for a concert, when providing music fo ...

large enough for 84 musicians. The theatre is surrounded by a thick

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...

wall on the perimeter for acoustic isolation. The centre's first resident company is the Atlanta Opera, which relocated from the cavernous

Atlanta Civic Center The Atlanta Civic Center is a theater (building), theater located in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The theater, which seats 4,600, regularly hosted touring productions of Broadway musicals, concerts, seminars, comedy acts, and high s ...

downtown Atlanta Downtown Atlanta is the central business district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The largest of the city's three commercial districts (Midtown Atlanta, Midtown and Buckhead being the others), it is the location of many corporate and region ...

. The Opera's first production in the new facility was

Puccini Giacomo Puccini (22 December 1858 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long line of composers, s ...

's ''

Turandot ''Turandot'' ( ; see #Origin and pronunciation of the name, below) is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni. Puccini left the opera unfinished at the time of his death in 1924; it ...

''.

Ballroom

The facility includes a

ballroom A ballroom or ballhall is a large room inside a building, the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called ''balls''. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions and palaces, especially histori ...

available for event rental.

Other facilities

The adjoining

parking deck A multistorey car park (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) or parking garage (American English), also called a multistorey, parking building, parking structure, parkade (Canadian English, Canadian), parking ramp, ...

has 1,000 spaces. It also has access to Cobb Community Transit, which may move its Cumberland Transfer Station over I-75 adjacent to the center if the Northwest Corridor HOV/BRT is built. (Currently there is just

HOV A high-occupancy vehicle lane (also known as an HOV lane, carpool lane, diamond lane, 2+ lane, and transit lane or T2 or T3 lanes) is a restricted traffic lane reserved for the exclusive use of vehicles with a driver and at least one passenger, ...

-only half-access at this point, for Akers Mill Road to 75 southbound and from 75 northbound.) The parking deck for the " bus rapid transit"

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

would be next to the centre.

Events

The centre is home to the ArtsBridge Foundation, The Atlanta Opera and Atlanta Ballet. In addition, the venue has hosted numerous other concerts and events, including

Kraftwerk Kraftwerk (, ) is a Germany, German Electronic music, electronic band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk was among the first successful a ...

Fifth Harmony Fifth Harmony, often shortened to 5H, is an American girl group based in Miami, composed of Ally Brooke, Normani, Dinah Jane, Lauren Jauregui, and formerly Camila Cabello until her departure from the group in December 2016. The group signed a ...

Tori Amos Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos; August 22, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She is a classically trained musician with a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Having already begun composing instrumental pieces on piano, Amos won a full ...

Demi Lovato Demetria Devonne "Demi" Lovato ( ; born August 20, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. After appearing on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), she starred in the Disney Channel short series ...

Alice Cooper Vincent Damon Furnier (born February 4, 1948), known by his stage name Alice Cooper, is an American rock singer and songwriter whose career spans sixty years. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusion ...

ABBA ABBA ( ) were a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. They are one of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time, and are one of the List ...

Incognito Incognito is an English adjective meaning "in disguise", "having taken steps to conceal one's identity". Incognito may also refer to: Film and television Film * ''Incognito'', a 1915 film featuring Rae Berger * ''Incognito'' (1937 film), a Dan ...

Melissa Etheridge Melissa Lou Etheridge (born May 29, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and guitarist. Her Melissa Etheridge (album), eponymous debut album was released in 1988 and became an underground success. It peaked at No. 22 on the Billbo ...

Bill Maher William MaherStated on ''Finding Your Roots'', January 12, 2016, PBS; on a series that lists "Jr." and "Sr." distinctions, Bill Maher's birth name was listed simply as William Maher, while his father was William Aloysius Maher Jr., and his pa ...

Harry Connick Jr. Joseph Harry Fowler Connick Jr. (born September 11, 1967) is an American singer, pianist, composer, actor, and former television host. As of 2019, he has sold over 30 million records worldwide. Connick is ranked among the top60 best-selling ma ...

B.A.P Bang & Jung & Yoo & Moon () is a South Korean boy band under MA Entertainment. The group, originally consisting of Bang Yong-guk, Yongguk, Himchan, Jung Dae-hyun, Daehyun, Yoo Young-jae, Youngjae, Moon Jong-up, Jong-up, and Zelo is best known ...

Norah Jones Norah Jones ( ; born Geethali Shankar; March 30, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She has won several awards for her music and, , has sold more than 53 million records worldwide. '' Billboard'' named her the top jazz artist of ...

Dave Koz David Stephen Koz (born March 27, 1963) is an American saxophonist, composer, record producer, and radio personality based in Los Angeles, California. Early life Dave Koz was born in Encino, California, to Jewish parents: Norman, a dermatologis ...

Eddie Izzard Suzy Eddie Izzard ( ; born Edward John Izzard, 7 February 1962) is a British stand-up comedian, actor and activist. Her comedic style takes the form of what appears to the audience as rambling whimsical monologues and self-referential pantomi ...

, Ebi,

Taeyang Dong Young-bae (; born May 18, 1988), better known by his stage name Taeyang () or SOL, is a South Korean singer. He made his debut in 2006 as a member of the South Korean boy band BigBang. Following the release of several albums and extended ...

Monsta X Monsta X (; stylized as MONSTA X) is a South Korean boy group formed through the reality survival program ''No.Mercy'' under Starship Entertainment. The group is currently composed of six members: Shownu, Minhyuk, Kihyun, Hyungwon, Jooho ...

, and

(G)I-dle I-dle (; stylized in all lowercase), formerly known as (G)I-dle (), is a South Korean girl group formed by Cube Entertainment in 2018. The group consists of five members: Miyeon, Minnie (singer), Minnie, Soyeon, Yuqi, and Shuhua. Originally a se ...

. The building also appeared in the first-season finale of the television show '' The Walking Dead'', its exterior being used to represent the

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the National public health institutes, national public health agency of the United States. It is a Federal agencies of the United States, United States federal agency under the United S ...

. The Cobb Energy Centre is also the perennial host of the SMITE World Championship. The most recent edition was played January 7–11, 2016 and included 10 teams from around the world competing for a US$1,000,000 grand prize. The upcoming edition, packaged as part of the new Hi-Rez Studios Expo, is scheduled for January 5–8, 2017, and will be held alongside the SMITE Xbox World Championship and the Paladins 150K Invitational. Cobb Center hosted the

ELeague Season 1 ''ELEAGUE Season 1'' was the inaugural season of the ELEAGUE '' Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'' league, running from May 24, 2016, to July 30, 2016. This was the first CS:GO league to be broadcast on cable television in the United States, airin ...

semi-finals and finals on July 29–30, 2016.

In popular culture

The centre was used as the conference center for the KEN talk in the 2014 film ''

Dumb and Dumber To ''Dumb and Dumber To'' is a 2014 American buddy comedy film produced, co-written and directed by the Farrelly brothers. It is the third film in the ''Dumb and Dumber'' franchise, and serves as a sequel to the 1994 film '' Dumb and Dumber''. T ...

''. It was also used as the

Center for Disease Control The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and is headquartered in Atlanta, ...

AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** ...

's '' The Walking Dead''. It was mentioned as a location that the Barden Bella's had performed at, in

Pitch Perfect ''Pitch Perfect'' is a 2012 American musical comedy film directed by Jason Moore and written by Kay Cannon. It features an ensemble cast, including Anna Kendrick, Skylar Astin, Rebel Wilson, Adam DeVine, Anna Camp, Brittany Snow, Hana M ...

Scenes were filmed in the theatre for the 2012 film '' Parental Guidance''. Scenes were filmed there for the film '' Dumplin''' on Netflix.

Gallery

File:CEPAC-Courtyard.JPG File:CEPAC-WilliamsTheatre.jpg File:CEPAC-WilliamsCeiling.jpg File:CEPAC-LobbyAtrium.jpg

References

External links

Official site
{{Authority control Performing arts centers in Georgia (U.S. state) Music venues in Atlanta Buildings and structures in Cobb County, Georgia 2007 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Tourist attractions in Cobb County, Georgia Esports venues in Georgia (U.S. state) Atlanta Reign Cumberland, Georgia