There is a particular kind of electricity that runs through a room right before the first downbeat: a shared hush, a thousand tiny adjustments in posture, the feeling that a community is about to watch something together instead of separately. Willingboro Township is chasing that feeling on Saturday, when its new Willingboro Performing Arts Center officially opens its doors with an inaugural concert by R&B legends Atlantic Starr.
The venue, tucked inside the John F. Kennedy Recreation Center, is a 570-seat space that has been reimagined from its earlier life as an auditorium into something meant to read, sound, and glow like a theater.
From auditorium to theater
Venue manager Bobby Duckett describes the transformation as a deliberate shift in mood. The goal was to move away from an open, brightly lit multipurpose room and toward a space that invites focus. As he put it: “What we wanted to do was be able to take it from that auditorium feel, which is just bright and wide. That’s when we added the legs to give you the proscenium look of a theater, the lighting that we use up in the ceiling to make it feel dark and make it feel more intimate.”
Those choices are meant to help center attention on what is happening onstage, whether that is a concert, a play, or a podcast recording.
What the venue includes
The Performing Arts Center opens with state-of-the-art lighting and sound systems, a video wall on stage, and dressing rooms. Together, the upgrades give the room the tools to support a wide range of productions.
Duckett’s wider plan is to keep the calendar as varied as the community itself. Alongside national names, he wants the room to welcome local and regional artists too, spanning plays, concerts, and podcasts.
Early bookings
Opening night sets a tone of classic R&B with Atlantic Starr, and more familiar names are already queued up. The Manhattans are slated to appear in the coming weeks, along with Latin percussionist Tito Puente Jr.
Duckett says a speaker series is being considered for next year. He also points to an inaugural film festival planned to take place throughout the building “in conjunction with the high school.”
Training the next generation
Duckett has spent more than 40 years in the entertainment industry, and he is framing the center as a place where young people can learn what it takes to make shows happen. “I can sit here and help nurture talent and grow talent, put them in a place where they’re learning it at a high level,” he said.
He added that renowned lighting directors and sound engineers will be coming in to work in the space. “If you want to be in this business, you’re going to be taught by the best,” Duckett said.
Nearly $2 million investment
Township officials say the center cost nearly $2 million to construct, with Willingboro Township and the state splitting the cost.
In a statement, Mayor Samantha Whitfield said she hopes the Kennedy Center becomes “a catalyst for economic development-bringing new activity, new businesses, new investments, and new opportunities into our community.”
She also emphasized the social value, adding: “Just as importantly, I hope it becomes a place that brings Willingboro together. A place for performances and celebrations. A place for our young people to discover and showcase their talents. A place for our seniors, families, artists, organizations, and neighbors to gather. A place where new memories are made.”
Fifteen years in the making
For some residents, this opening is not the start of a story, but the return of one. Amy Dean, executive director of Faith In Action Ministries, says the venue has been 15 years in the making. She remembers the previous incarnation of the space from her own student days, and later from her work organizing township events.
“We brought in people like Jill Scott, Pieces of the Dream, Ramsey Lewis, Dr. Bertice Berry, etc.,” Dean said. “It’s been part of my life since I’ve been in Willingboro.”
Faith In Action Ministries also helped give the new room its first real test drive. Over the summer, the organization’s performing arts summer camp used the space for a show, functioning as a soft opening. Dean’s reaction to the revived venue is simple and direct: “I think it’s incredible. I think that the township is definitely much better because of this space. And I feel like it’s going to make another mark in Willingboro.”
What comes next
With its opening night headliner and a slate of upcoming bookings, the Performing Arts Center is stepping into a role Duckett describes in broad terms: art, entertainment, and education under one roof. For township leaders, it is also meant to be a place where residents gather, celebrate, and make new memories together.
