- [Narrator] This is a production of PBS Charlotte.

(bright music fades) - Just ahead on Carolina Impact.

- So, if there's no grocery store in your neighborhood, well, how about trees and shrubs that don't just look good, but also put food on your plate?

I'm Jeff Sonier, and we'll have details coming up on Mecklenburg's Edible Landscapes program.

- Plus, after nearly losing her life, a local woman teaches others how to save lives.

And a Charlotte Theater gets restored to its glory days.

Carolina Impact starts now.

(upbeat bright music) (upbeat bright music fades) Good evening, thanks so much for joining us.

I'm Amy Burkett.

March is the start of spring planting season here in the Carolinas.

It's time for gardeners to get those tender plants in the ground with fingers crossed that we won't have frost.

Before the buds start blooming.

So, go ahead and dig out your backyard gardening tools.

Carolina Impact's Jeff Sonier and videographer Russ Hunsinger show us a program here in Charlotte that's helping homeowners turn a little bit of landscaping into a lot of food.

- Yeah, everybody wants a nice yard, but you know, yard work can also be hard work.

So, why not have more to show for it?

Not just a yard that looks good, but also a yard that tastes good.

(bright music) The shrubs that they're planting, well, they aren't very big, but these bushes grow blueberries.

- [Member] And these blueberries that we're growing are definitely gonna be my favorite.

- [Jeff] And the shade trees are all figs.

- Those figs will grow, you know, they're about a foot now.

In five years, they'll be 10 to 15 feet, and they're gonna be loaded.

So, their production kind of goes nothing, nothing, nothing, explodes.

Blueberries, they're gonna get about six feet wide.

So, every year the production's just gonna increase, increase, increase.

- [Jeff] Steven Capobianco is the owner of Green Hand Gardens, (machine whirring) one of several partners in Mecklenburg County's Edible Landscapes Program, installing their 50th community garden since 2016, working side by side with volunteers here at The Meadows at Plato Price, a new Charlotte Habitat neighborhood just off Morris Field Drive.

- We are not just planting seeds and soil.

We are cultivating relationships, fostering community engagement, and promoting healthy living.

- And the idea came from working with communities to ensure that they would have access to their own food.

- Not only does it help address chronic disease, but it also gives people a source of self-respect and dignity in that they're not begging for anything, but they're producing for themselves.

- Okay, everyone ready?

All right, three, two, one, three.

- [Jeff] The volunteers take a quick break for group photos, and then... (machine whirring) It's time to start building these raised beds where neighbors at Plato Price will plant their own produce.

- [Lapri] Creams and cabbage and potatoes, and things like that.

- [Jeff] All right in your backyard, just about.

- Right in my backyard, right in my backyard.

I was not sure whether we had plans to do a garden, but I didn't think it was gonna be like this big of a garden.

- We're here now, and I can't wait to turn this key in the door and call it home.

- [Jeff] We first met Lapri Holmes back in 2023 when she became a first-time homeowner here at Plato Price.

- A half bath over here, and this is a closet.

- Do you like gardening?

- I do not.

(both laughing) And now Lapri's also becoming a first-time gardener.

- Like rough it up like it needs a bad hair day.

Because if you don't, those roots just keep on round and round and round.

- [Jeff] Getting her hands dirty alongside her new neighbors while also getting some expert advice.

On everything from prepping the plants before putting them into the ground.

- [Member 1] So, you push in, mark, mark.

- [Jeff] To measuring and framing these two-by-tens for a do-it-yourself planting project that the whole neighborhood can enjoy.

(machine whirring) - We've got one more on top, and then a... - [Jeff] The planting beds laid out just so.

- That way, they'll have a four-foot walkway in between this bed here.

They can access the tool shed.

- [Jeff] To help this new garden grow.

And once the beds are ready, the Edible Landscapes program even brings in this rich new black soil by the truckload to replace the old red clay that could delay their gardening success.

- And we wanna have a much quicker success to bring new soil in.

- [Jeff] For Edible Landscapes, success is defined as making food both attainable and sustainable.

Bringing fresh and free produce to neighborhoods where shopping for tonight's dinner or tomorrow's school lunch often means paying too much or driving too far.

- It's hard to find food in this area.

There's only like maybe two good grocery stores, Walmart and Food Lion in this area.

Other than that, we have to go pretty far out.

- [Jeff] Instead, gardens like this one here at Plato Price are teaching neighbors the skills to build their own and then to grow their own.

And every new garden is a learning experience for the Edible Landscapes program, too.

- This one, I think, is better than all the ones we've done in the past, mainly because it brings everything together.

Mainly, this site was built to house this.

A lot of times, people go back, oh, I wanna put a garden here.

Oh, you've got trees that are shading it, no access to water.

This one was built to where we have the sun.

The water system was pre-thawed out, installed.

The beds are gonna be aligned with that to cut down on the maintenance drastic about upwards of 80%.

It's laid out nicely.

The community is really close by.

We'll have edible plants for anyone who just wants to walk by.

It's a really open, welcoming space.

- [Jeff] And one of 50 spaces across Charlotte and Mecklenburg County with real roots in the community, all from a program that year after year, season after season, is still growing, one garden at a time.

(bright music) - Now, Mecklenburg's Edible Landscapes program doesn't just choose any neighborhood for a garden like this.

In fact, it's also the neighborhoods that choose them.

And this particular garden at Plato Price, garden number 50, well, it turned out so well that now it may be the model for the county's next 50 gardens, Amy.

- Great skills to have to be able to grow your own food.

Thank you so much, Jeff.

To find out more about Mecklenburg County's Edible Landscapes program, including all 50 garden locations, head to our website at wtvi.org.

Well, our next story comes straight From the Heart, literally.

Research shows more than 430,000 people die each year in the U.S. from cardiac arrests.

Carolina Impact's Dara Khalid and videographer Marcellus Jones introduce us to a lucky woman who survived and now teaches others how they can help save lives.

- Charge at 200 joules.

Everyone clear.

- Clear.

(machine banging) - I got a pulse.

He's in sinus rhythm.

- [Dara] If you're a fan of medical shows like "Chicago Med," chances are you've seen something like this.

- Start dopamine at 10 and titrate to a systolic of 90.

- Yes, sir.

- Get a 12-lead EKG.

- [Dara] But Eric Schwabenlender wasn't watching TV when this happened.

- So, I walked over to the powder room and I looked in there, sorry.

(gentle poignant music) She was kind of on her knees, like looking under the toilet.

And I was like, I said, what are you doing?

What are you looking at?

And then she didn't respond.

- [Dara] He calls it the worst day of his life when his wife Karen had a sudden cardiac arrest, which is an electrical problem, not to be confused with a heart attack that's a circulation issue.

Every year in the U.S., there are over 350,000 incidents like Karen's.

Her husband remembers every detail of July 12th, 2023.

- I called 911, and they pulled her out here.

And of course, her hand was in the paint.

So, there was paint everywhere on the carpet and everything.

(siren wailing) And the worst things go through your mind.

And the fact that you can't do anything, you just, you have to rely on other people.

- [Dara] Karen can't remember anything about that day, but she does remember this.

- When family and friends and neighbors came to see me in the hospital, I just, I would just lose it emotionally because I thought, gosh, this happened to me.

- [Dara] Her two neighbors saved her life by doing CPR until EMTs got there.

According to the American Heart Association, if a bystander does CPR right away, it can double or even triple the chance of survival.

- Because if you don't go deep enough, all that blood's just gonna stay in the heart.

It's never gonna feed the brain and the other organs.

- [Dara] Which is why Karen started From the Heart CPR in 2015 and became a certified CPR instructor.

- You start to think, okay, well, why did I survive?

Why was I some of that 10%?

So, it's like I say in every class, my work wasn't done, and maybe that's why it happened.

So, that I can share the need to learn CPR with others.

- [Dara] Every week, you'll find her pushing on the chest of dummies at businesses and nonprofits, showing people what to do in emergencies.

- One thing she told us to do was lock it and pop it.

I won't ever forget.

- As she said, this could happen to anyone at any point.

We all depend on that electrical activity in our heart, and at any moment, that could just kind of go haywire.

- [Dara] And at the beginning of every class.

- They worked on me for about 20 minutes.

I ended up getting shot five times on scene.

- Karen takes the time to share her story of how she almost died to something that claims more lives than colorectal cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, the flu, pneumonia, car accidents, HIV, firearms, and house fires combined.

- Her own story is so memorable.

She's doing this From the Heart.

She's doing this because CPR saved her life.

And so, she really is paying it forward.

- She turned what could have been a horrific tragedy into something that was so meaningful for the community.

Many people don't do that.

And so, really just tells you what a special person she is.

- In addition to teaching CPR classes, Karen also donates defibrillators like these.

Now, it may look small, but experts say it's mighty when it comes to saving lives.

- The AED will recognize the arrhythmia associated with cardiac arrest and will shock people back in rhythm.

If you can get the AED on quickly, that's the best thing to do.

- [Dara] AEDs or automated external defibrillators can be found in public places like airports, schools, and malls.

Experts estimate that in the U.S., about 1,700 lives are saved every year by bystanders using them.

Dr. Sherry Saxonhouse from Atrium Health showed us how they work.

- One goes on the chest and one goes on the side, and then you turn it on, and it tells you exactly what to do.

- [Dara] For some like Karen, there aren't any symptoms, just a random incident.

For others, there are warning signs like shortness of breath, heart palpitations, chest pain, and passing out.

- There you go.

Yeah!

- Nice.

- Did you catch that mid-air?

- Good girl.

- Good girl!

- [Dara] It's been 11 years since Karen's life stopped, but she isn't letting the trauma stop her.

- Just find a way to make a little mark in the world.

(Karen sobbing) - [Dara] From showing love that comes straight From the Heart.

For Carolina Impact, I'm Dara Khalid.

- Thank you so much, Dara.

Karen has taught close to 400 classes across the region and donated nearly 30 AEDs to non-profits.

The historic Carolina Theater stands as a silent witness to nearly a century of change.

Originally opened in 1929, its grand architecture was once a beacon of entertainment in the city's cultural scene.

But by 1978, the theater had fallen silent as newer venues emerged.

Carolina Impact's Chris Clark unveils how a visionary restoration effort has breathed new life into this landmark.

(upbeat music) - [Chris] Renown novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald once mused that there are no great second acts.

Despite his words, the Foundation for the Carolinas believes he may have been mistaken, especially when it comes to the newly restored Carolina Theater.

- Restoring this gem, this thing that means so much to our community for 100 years, it's a really big mission.

- [Chris] When the Carolina Theater first opened its doors in 1927, the grand structure itself was as captivating as the silent film "A Kiss and a Taxi" that drew crowds inside.

Its design and ornate details rivaled the allure of the cinematic experience unfolding on the screen.

People eagerly paid not just to watch the film, but to immerse themselves in the marvel that was the theater itself.

- Everything was just beautiful.

Chandeliers from Spain, curtains from France.

It was probably the most exciting thing to happen in uptown Charlotte in 1927.

- [Chris] The theater played host to cinematic treasures like "Gone with the Wind.'

- Sir, you are no gentleman.

- And you, Miss, are no lady.

- [Chris] And "The Sound of Music."

♪ The hills are alive ♪ - [Chris] But perhaps the most unforgettable moment came in 1956.

(bright music) When a singer from Tupelo, Mississippi took the stage and left the audience breathless.

- He was 21 at the time.

The newspaper identified him as folksinger comes to Charlotte.

- [Chris] Before he was king, Elvis Presley electrified the crowd, leaving more than 1,000 fans heartbroken as they had to be turned away.

But like so many historic theaters of its time, the Carolina Theater's grandeur slowly faded.

The final curtain fell on November 27, 1978, after a last bittersweet screening of "The Fist" starring Bruce Lee.

- Uptown was just a place where people came to work and then went home.

As technology grew also, people wanted movie theaters that were near their home, that had parking.

- [Chris] The grand old palace stood abandoned for almost four decades.

Its splendor ravaged by the passage of time, the forces of nature, and at the hands of vandals.

Numerous restoration attempts came and went, each one falling short.

Yet in 2012, the city entrusted the property to the Foundation for the Carolinas.

Leaders vowed to breathe new life into the beloved landmark and knew they were in for a struggle from the moment they laid eyes on it.

- It was one of the most terrifying sites I've ever looked at in the real estate world.

You wouldn't know it now, but Mayor Gant and Mr. McCall and I looked at each other.

I looked at Michael Marsicano and said, "This is crazy."

Once we got started, the destination, the outcome, the complete restoration was never in doubt.

- [Chris] In 2017, the work began again.

Restoring the theater demanded an eye for detail.

It's a delicate dance between tradition and progress, requiring not just heavy construction workers, but artists and engineers who could weave together time-honored techniques with cutting-edge methods to revive the theater's grandeur.

- We only have a few black and white pictures that showed some of the original plaster work.

So, through that process, those artisans carved new pieces of plaster.

What you see is actual plaster, done the same way it was back in 1927.

- [Chris] The chairs were larger and more comfy, but the ironwork still ornate, along with the molding, the carpet, and of course, the ceiling.

- We had a scaffolding in this space so they could access the ceiling.

That scaffolding was up for two years.

- They are meticulous, and they are perfectionists.

The purists will love this.

- [Chris] So will the tech people.

It was state of the art in 1927 when it opened, and it's state of the art 100 years later.

- We have 10 laser projectors.

Six of them are used for projection mapping, and that's where we can project on all the walls inside the theater from floor to ceiling.

We have a full big screen, movie, projector, and screen.

- There is probably not a theater on the East Coast, maybe all the way to the Mississippi, that has this level of technological advancement.

- [Chris] The total cost of restoring the Carolina Theater is projected to reach roughly 90 million.

That's a hefty price tag that has raised some concerns.

Originally, the plan was to build a hotel atop the theater, creating a symbiotic relationship.

However, with the hotel plans currently on hold, some have questioned whether the theater can succeed on its own.

Despite these concerns, the Foundation for the Carolinas is confident the Carolina Theater has the strength and cultural value to stand and flourish independent of the hotel.

- That's why the programming will be focused 50% at a minimum on community civic engagement, emerging organizations, and supporting our emerging arts and culture.

We will have 50% of the theater programming that provides economic return.

Pages and pages of projections show it to be possible for the theater to be economically viable on its own.

- [Chris] After more than four decades of silence, the grand doors of the Carolina Theater are set to once again open to the public, beckoning a new generation to experience the splendor of a bygone era.

This historic institution now stands proudly as a symbol of resilience, ready to once again dazzle audiences and celebrate the spirit of the past while looking forward to the future.

For Carolina Impact, I'm Chris Clark.

(upbeat music) - Thank you, Chris.

The inaugural performance will be a showcase by the Charlotte Symphony.

The event promises to be a celebration of both history and artistry, setting the stage for many memorable performances to come.

Well, that's not the only theater in town making a comeback.

As we close tonight, when you think of theater in Charlotte, chances are the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center is the first place that comes to mind with traveling shows coming and going all the time.

But did you know that Charlotte is the largest U.S. city currently without a full-time professional theater?

Carolina Impact's Jason Terzis joins us with the story of one local volunteer theater that's beginning a new resurrection.

- Well, you've got cities like New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Washington, D.C., and Houston.

Just some of the U.S. cities known for their vibrant local theater scenes with local professional actors.

Here in the Carolinas, we have Theater Charlotte, which has been around for decades but is an all-volunteer group.

There's also the Children's Theater, Matthew's Playhouse, the Davidson Community Players.

They're all volunteer organizations.

But as of February 27th, there's another theater group in town, and this one is returning after a decade-long hiatus.

- Do you miss them?

Then pick up the phone.

- I can't.

- Why not?

- It's too hard.

- Harder than death.

You lost a whole family.

- [Jason] Actresses Zoe Matney and Cynthia Farbman-Harris rehearsed their lines for "Alabaster."

Last week when we were talking on the phone, you told me about the accident.

- Accident.

When you say accident, I think maybe we're talking about a fender bender on the bypass.

- [Jason] It's the story of a small Alabama town ravaged by a tornado, with only Matney's character June living to tell the tale.

- Do they all have scars like me?

- [Jason] When a prominent photographer visits to take pictures of June's scars from the tornado, both women are forced to reconcile the pain of loss and recovery.

- That's what's happening to all the characters in the play.

They've all suffered a different kind of a death, whether it's an emotional death or a physical death, and eventually, they work their way through redemption and through forgiveness.

- They reveal themselves as the play moves forward.

- [Jason] The production of "Alabaster" is being produced by CAST, the Carolina Actors Studio Theater.

- The amazing thing about CAST is that we spend so much time preparing for productions.

- We've talked about it being sort of a rebirth, which is really fitting for the rebirth of CAST.

- [Jason] Once prominent on the local theater scene, this is CAST's first production in over a decade.

- It is so wonderful, I can't tell you.

(light music) I get emotional actually because it's been a long time since I've been able to work like this.

- [Jason] The theater company's roots trace back to the early 1990s through the merger of multiple entities.

The independent nonprofit theater was noted for its large-scale productions.

(swords clanging) - They all have their place in my heart.

I think building a 4,000-gallon pool on our theater on Clement Avenue and having actors swim underneath a seven-foot-long by three-foot-wide tunnel and appear before the audience, and then they all drown and they disappear, and the audience never sees them again.

- [Narrator] Metamorphoses, a modern telling of ancient myths in, around, and often underwater.

I thought that was one of our high marks.

- [Narrator 1] The 2009 MTA Theater of the Year, Carolina Actors Studio Theater presents "Marat Sade."

- [Jason] Throughout its initial run, CAST garnered multiple accolades, individually and as a company, with managing artistic director, Michael Simmons, leading the way.

- I liken it to the golden age of theater.

For us, it was the golden age because when we look back on it with nostalgia, how hard we worked, how many times we spent in the theater after rehearsal saying, okay, now I've got an idea, no, I've got an idea.

Well, let's try this, well, let's improve that.

And then it's two o'clock in the morning, and your wife's wanting to know where you really been, so.

- [Jason] Everyone involved with CAST Productions was all in, which may or may not have always been a good thing.

- We had 10 shows a year.

We had two theaters and a dance studio running all at the same time, and I don't believe they thought that that was sustainable, and it required a lot of fundraising, and that wasn't always a big success.

- [Jason] In 2014, after 64 productions, CAST's board of directors, citing sporadic attendance and financial pressures, announced the theater would be no more.

- It was more than disappointing.

It was heartbreaking.

- It was devastating.

- It was really gut-wrenching, actually.

You know, I think I really took it for granted when it was here before, and then when it was gone, there was a real hole.

- And even though there's a lot of wonderful theater that is local theater here, it still doesn't replace the void that was left with CAST leaving.

- And it's only gotten worse because unfortunately, theater companies, many of them have gone under, and then COVID was sort of the final nail in the coffin.

- [Jason] For the next decade, Simmons distanced himself from the theatrical world, focusing his attention on his job as an airline pilot.

- I think flying gives you a whole different perspective on life.

You can see in a 3D version, and you get the big, big picture, and I think that's like directing, too.

You're sitting back here, and you look at everything, and all the moving parts down there, and you've got a little map, and you say, okay, turn right 15 degrees.

- [Jason] But not all that long ago, actress Cynthia Farbman Harris and her husband visited Simmons at his farm in Lancaster, South Carolina, catching up with an old friend.

- And we started talking about theater, reminiscing about CAST, and we said, "Well, what if we do something?"

And when my husband and I left that night, we sort of decided, maybe we should do this.

Maybe we should produce something with CAST.

- [Jason] Seed was planted, and the next call made was to original CAST co-founder, Dee Abdullah.

- He said, "We have this idea on the table.

I want you to be a part of it.

We want CAST."

And so I said, "Okay."

- So, I'm the happiest that I can be when I get to do this work.

- [Jason] Together, they set in motion the process of bringing CAST back and deciding on Alabaster as their premiere production.

- It feels really, really, really amazing, but I told my cousin Michael, you know I'm too old to go through this way we did it before.

- We kind of died, but now we're coming back, and we're gonna redeem ourselves and show us that everything that we did we did in the past was worthwhile.

- She told me you were looking for women.

- Ah, you must have found my ad online.

- I don't do online.

I'm dumb, and I have a dumb phone, and I like it that way.

- I mean, it's great to have these shows come in from Broadway and whatnot, but there are so many talented local artists here who need a chance to do what they do.

- [Jason] Unlike CAST's original run, where they always had a set home-based theater, this time around they're rehearsing at a house and renting the 174-seat circular Van Avery Theater at the Mint for performances.

- So, it feels more intimate than a lot of the other productions I've done.

- You know, it looks like I'm calm on the outside, but on the inside, I'm like, oh my God, we got a tech today.

Oh no, that lights in the, what?

Tomorrow we gotta, you know, but it's fun.

- Okay, as I understand, there's not much time to catch this production.

- This is gonna be a quick production.

It's gonna be in and out really quick.

All right, the production is lasting only two and a half weeks, running from February 27th through March 16th, and it's taking place at the Van Avery Theater at the Mint Museum Randolph location.

Ticket prices range from $23 up to $37, depending where you wanna sit.

And also, CAST already has plans in the works for another show in the fall.

Details on that forthcoming, but they're hoping to really get this thing going again, and they really wanna do it the right way.

But again, all volunteer group, these aren't professionals, and they're not getting paid for it.

- Sounds like an amazing group, and thanks so much for shining the spotlight on them.

So, we can learn a little bit more.

Well, before we head out this evening, we always like to know your story ideas.

Do you know of anything great in our area that we should cover here on Carolina Impact?

Send us your ideas to stories@wtvi.org.

Well, before we leave this evening, I wanna say thank you to the amazing students from Arrows Alliance, a great homeschooling group in the Steel Creek area.

They were fantastic today.

Well, thanks so much for joining us.

We always appreciate your time, and look forward to seeing you back here again next time on Carolina Impact.

Good night, my friends.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) - [Narrator] This is a production of PBS Charlotte.

(upbeat music fades)