Issue link: http://maconmagazine.uberflip.com/i/1536125
June/July 2025 | maconmagazine.com 83 6 New Year's Day, 2025. Implosion! I was invited to a rooftop party on Coleman Hill to watch the implosion of the former downtown hotel on Walnut Street behind The Grand – A bizarre, exciting, and probably once-in-a-lifetime experience! Clearing away something unused to make room for something new somehow seemed like a good start to the year. 7 Live Theatre – downtown, on the north side, and on campus In addition to the wonderful productions at Mercer and Wesleyan College, and the great shows coming to The Grand and The Douglass, we are so fortunate to have two terrific community/semi- professional theatres in Macon. Macon Little Theatre on Forsyth Rd. and Theatre Macon on Cherry St. will blow you away with the professionalism and variety of their shows. 8 Rose Hill and Riverside Historical Cemeteries Walking in these intentionally park-like cemeteries is a lovely experience, whether you sign up for a guided tour (Rose Hill Ramble or Spirits in October at Riverside) or just wander. 9 Live Opera every season in Macon Opera sometimes gets a reputation as stiff and formal, but if it's done well, it is great music theatre that makes you belly-laugh or weep. Mercer University Opera's productions range from concerts and Broadway scenes to children's shows and our annual full opera and musical productions with orchestra. We're also lucky that The Douglass Theatre offers a great introduction to opera (and a treat for opera fans) with "The Met: Live," sponsored by the Central Georgia Opera Guild. These are real-time broadcasts each month from the great Metropolitan Opera in New York with the lyrics in supertitles, and live interviews with stars during intermission. With the camera up close, you catch every detail. 10 My Neighborhood, Vine-Ingle/ Ingleside Village I've lived on my little street of 1950s cottages since 1995, and I still know lots of my neighbors. People are friendly, the neighborhood is still great, and I know one man who has renovated at least 4 houses in disrepair – he's had a huge positive impact on his block. The Village is a wonderful place to eat, shop, and hear music! I love it. Find the "The Met: Live" schedule and other great programs at douglasstheatre.org This spring, Malone directed a sci-fi inspired "Rinaldo" for Mercer Opera. Photo by Jessica Whitley for Mercer University. BELOW Malone takes a bow with vocal students. Photo courtesy of Martha Malone. Singing at the Townsend faculty gala. Photo by Christopher Ian Smith for Mercer University.