NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — For decades, it was the biggest name in Halloween for middle Tennessee. What they had was stunning. Going there each year was tradition. It underwent some name adjustments over the years, but most remember the brick-and-mortar store as Performance Studios.
I assembled a few people to talk about it. That included Teekae Kelly, the costume director for Carbondale Community High School in Illinois, owner of Devil's Dungeon haunted house Patrick Warner, and Steven Raimo who performs as Veronika Electronika.
Really, the story starts with Gary Broadrick. Broadrick had worked as a choreographer and DJ when he set up a four-by-eight table inside a lighting store on Nashville's Church Street. Broadrick was going to sell professional make-up.
By 1989, Broadrick was able to have a full business there on Church Street. A few key things happened. What was then-called the Tennessee Repertory Theatre offered Broadrick some old costumes, and that became the start of a costume inventory. The timing was perfect. The 80s had seen the arrival to Nashville of a lot programs in the arts and music video production. A place for costumes and make-up was just in demand. Then there was Halloween.
"For Halloween, it was a mecca," Kelly said. "That just blew my mind!"
Kelly ended up working there.
"I would confidently guess we were the first ones selling gallons of blood that we made ourselves," Kelly laughed.
"They had hundreds, if not thousands of options to rent costumes," Raimo said.
"It was a hometown business," said Warner. "We purchased most of our makeup and prosthetics there back in the day. You definitely see the same people year after year."
That included employees like Anita Martin who played store mascot Spike.
"Gary and his curly mullet, if he changed his look, how would people know it was the same person?!" Kelly laughed. "When I was there, we had a lot of drag queens and kings, theater companies, school plays. We costumed about 50 school plays a year. In the summer, we had a lot of vacation Bible schools come in cause they're putting on productions too."
"It was country music singers, people from TPAC, from the opera, from the ballet," Raimo added. "It's for everybody."
"It was a huge intersection of people from all different walks of life, working together, shopping together," Kelly continued. "It was the magic of the place."
Over the years, Performance Studios moved to Thompson Lane and then out to Antioch. It was there 2020 hit.
By that point, Broadrick and co-owner Glenn Alexander had sold the business to Kelly. The COVID lockdowns meant Performance was struggling. Kelly sold a lot of the costumes to Bravo Creative Arts Center and closed the brick-and-mortar store.
"It was a really hard decision, and it was probably the hardest thing I've ever had to do," Kelly nodded. "It means a lot to me. It meant a lot to me. It always did, and it still does."
The story's not finished. Someone made sure of that.
Raimo bought the Performance Studios company and sells the cosmetics through an online store.
That brings me to why I decided to tell this story now. I have for years met people who are creatives in some way who have told me they got started doing what they love because of Performance Studios.
Broadrick says he is retired from the public eye. Still, I wanted him to see how what he started on a four-by-eight table in 1987 is still inspiring a bunch of creative people who love Halloween.
"Everyone was boosted by this dream of Gary's," Kelly said. "He was so successful with that, and I'm so grateful."
"I think what he built is something people are going to remember for a long time," Warner added. "The name is still there in our minds and hearts. It helped build a lot of middle Tennessee's performance arts, especially the Halloween industry."
"Gary, that vision that you had 40 years ago was monumental in the growth of a certain aspect of the entertainment business," Raimo said. "I'm so glad he was inspired. I would only say I'm hoping I'm doing that legacy justice."
Raimo sells the Performance Studios cosmetics online here.
Do you have a positive, good news story? You can email me at forrest.sanders@newschannel5.com.
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