When I began writing this article, I would casually mention the University of Tennessee’s Carousel Theatre to Knoxville natives, many of whom immediately shared their memories of it, recalling it as their first live theatre experience. One described how studying fairy tales in school and then seeing them performed felt like magic. The construction site manager for Blaine, who was very helpful in securing site photos, also remembered visiting the Carousel for his first plays in elementary school.
I was not alone in hearing these stories.
Ken Martin, Artistic Director of the Clarence Brown Theatre and Head of the University of Tennessee Theatre program, told me that when he first moved to Knoxville, he would be asked where he worked. When he told them his connection to UT Theatre, Martin told me “they would all tell me stories about seeing their first play when they were 8, 10, 12 years old…and it was this musical or it was that musical. I heard this story so many times…I wanted to write down everybody’s version of it. The idea is such a community treasure.”
I rarely ask for comments on a story, but I would genuinely love to hear more of these stories from readers as a record of the building’s legacy.
During our interview, Martin shared how this legacy will continue and gave me a look ahead of the new Jenny Boyd Carousel Theatre as it prepares to open for students this year and patrons in 2026.
The Need for a New Theatre
The new Carousel Theatre has been a long time in the making. The project’s origins preceded Martin’s time at the University of Tennessee. He said, “depending on who you talk to, it started as long as 15 years ago with a plan that was hatched by Cal MacLean who was then Artistic Director and the head of the theatre program and Tom Cervone and some others… Liz Stowers came on as the person to lead the charge for the fundraising. It took a long time, but they got some of it in place. Then the Boyd family gave the naming gift, so it will be the Jenny Boyd Carousel Theatre. Since then we’ve raised quite a lot of money, and the university has been very generous to us as well.”
Martin told me that the need came about for many reasons. First, the “old Carousel was a wonderful place. Everybody loved it. It was never meant to be an indoor building. It was supposed to be an open air summer theatre. Maybe a little bit of fall. Maybe a little bit of spring, but it was never meant to be what it became. And, it was in rough shape.”
Prior to his arrival at UT, Martin had discussed the Carousel with a friend who had worked there and described the building as a love-hate relationship. Maintenance was a regular challenge, and working space was limited. Martin emphasized that “it wasn’t built as a modern theatre. In order for us to be the “teaching hospital” that we are, if I can use that term, we need spaces and equipment that is modern. It just couldn’t be retrofitted to do what we should be doing here.” Martin speaks from experience as he was a 17 year old apprentice at the Melody Top Theatre in Milwaukee, WI, a larger version of this type of theatre.
Costs, Construction and the Original Building
The building’s cost is estimated at $21 million, with total expenses ranging from $23 to $25 million. A pleasant surprise was that supply chain issues during Covid eased after initial cost estimates, allowing the theatre to get more out of the budget. Fundraising for the final $1.6 to $1.9 million continues, covering the building and some lighting and projection equipment. Martin expects the keys in October, 2025, with the first show in February, 2026, though he’s keeping the production details under wraps. Construction has stayed on schedule.
Martin also added that “the building itself, the beam structure, will be headed to a new life, so it was not just headed to the trash.” The Clyde Austin 4-H Training Center in Greeneville, TN will receive the original building as a new space at camp.
A Bright Future in a Cutting Edge Space
The new Carousel theatre will approximate the volume and shape of the original while expanding amenities for theatre-goers and options for actors. The theatre volume will rise through three levels, two for seating with a third technical level. Site plans indicate a total of 7,182 sq ft within the theatre volume.
The theatre is built into a sloping site with an existing, preserved grove of trees. One of two entrances leads to a lower level lobby and box office, connecting with pathways to the Art and Architecture and Music buildings as well as the Humanities Plaza. The other entrance leads to an atrium lobby at the theatre plaza level with stairs or an elevator to the box office. Martin mentioned this will be the first time patrons can enter directly from a parking lot into the theatre space on a single level, making the process easier for anyone with ADA or or any mobility issues. After check-in, theatre-goers can use stairs or elevators to access the facility.
Theatre space will host traditional seating as well as theatre in the round. Martin told me that “it has a balcony. The initial look will be a three quarters thrust, but it’s a flexible space. We can go in the round. We can go straight on with a sort of a false proscenium kind of situation. Depending on which configuration we use, it can be up to 350 seats. 331 was the original estimate, but we think we can squeeze in a few more. I imagine that we are going to start out likely…in the round. The Carousel was such a beloved space, but even the Carousel was used mostly as a thrust configuration over the years.” Both levels will feature dedicated seating for theatre-goers in wheelchairs.
The new space will feature “cutting edge, not bleeding edge” technology. Martin believed that this will be the first theatre in Knoxville to feature all LED lighting with no dimmer room, and state of art sound and projection systems will be installed. Martin said that this new technology is the “future of theatre. You don’t go to Broadway and see gels in the lighting instruments any more.”
Martin added that it will be “a very intimate space. It will be a very comfortable space. It will have bathrooms, which the Carousel did not. It will have dressing rooms and showers…it will be a space that meets the needs of the modern actor.” According to site plans, space around the stage level will contain a green room, multiple dressing rooms, restroom/shower spaces, a small prop shop, laundry/makeup and a loading dock behind the stage. These back of house spaces will service the productions.
Martin explained that there will be no classroom space due to site limitations. The Theatre Department prioritized stage and seating space on the Carousel’s .98 acre site. Exceeding one acre would have required building upwards, raising costs.
A couple of small offices will support programs. On the plaza level, a patron lounge, which Martin characterized as “not huge, but…lovely”, will be next to the atrium lobby. Patrons will have a space for receptions, and the lounge will provide needed meeting space. A warming kitchen may allow for concessions, and Martin noted that a bar cart will be available with “cocktails, wine and beer, similar to what we have at [the Clarence Brown Theatre].”
The two theatres will share production space. Smaller shows, such as classic or lesser-known productions, will move to the Carousel, while larger productions like A Christmas Carol will be at Clarence Brown’s main stage. Martin expects three productions at the Carousel and two at the main stage of Clarence Brown yearly. The Clarence Brown shop is on the same level as the Carousel’s production area, allowing quick transfer of props and materials.
Martin also mentioned a garden between the theatres. This area had languished over the years but will be updated as a reflective space with benches and plants from the original donor, a set designer for CBT.
Theatre Not Just for the Campus
Martin told me that this mission of bringing theatre to Knoxville will continue in these spaces, sharing that “We still do the Season for Youth. We had 4,000 students come to see A Christmas Carol. We have 1,600 coming to see Inherit the Wind. So we’ll seat a solid 5,000 – 6,000 students every year. I wish it could be more, but ultimately, we can’t take our students out of class all the time.”
When I asked Martin for a final reflection, he said, “What it’s going to do is give us the opportunity train to students on cutting edge equipment in a space that remains as intimate as the Carousel was…We’re hoping that the community uses it in the same way that the Carousel got used, that the dance academy will do shows there, that the Word Players and all these other small theatre companies…we want the community to use this space. It’s not ours; it’s the community’s. Yeah, we’re the primary tenant, but I’m hopeful that we can continue to serve Knoxville, not serve the Clarence Brown Theatre Company alone.”
Martin added, “I just like it when kids like theatre. I was a theatre nerd when I was that age. I like seeing it.”
Additional Renderings and Photo Gallery
