Beginning with the 2018-2019 season, Herberger Theater Center will add three resident companies: Arizona Opera, Childsplay Theatre, and Arizona Broadway Theatre. They will join the current robust lineup of resident companies (Arizona Theatre Company, Center Dance Ensemble and iTheatre Collaborative) and will ensure that there is something for everybody who wishes to attend an event at Herberger Theater Center.
“We are excited and proud to welcome these wonderful organizations to join the amazing resident companies who call the Herberger Theater Center home,” said Mark Mettes, CFE, President and CEO of the Herberger Theater Center. “Each of these new companies have a long history of quality productions for audiences throughout the Valley, and I can’t wait to see their performances on our stages. Together, the diverse offerings of the resident companies of the Herberger Theater Center will entertain and inspire audiences of all ages, providing more reasons than ever to live, work, and play in downtown Phoenix.”
(L-R) Mark Mettes, CFE, President and CEO of the Herberger Theater Center; Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton; Gail Browne, Executive Director of the City of Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture
The addition of the resident companies will increase Herberger Theater Center’s events to more than 8oo annually and is expected to bring a 70% boost in overall attendance. “It is growth in a time when the performing arts don’t seem to be growing as fast as other industries.,” Mettes said.
Arizona Opera is entering an exciting new chapter of artistic vibrancy and community engagement. “With this program expansion, we are increasing our commitment to presenting an adventurous, gutsy, and compelling repertoire of diverse works to inspire new audiences, while continuing to meaningfully invest in the cherished traditional operas known and loved by so many,” said Joseph Specter, President and General Director of Arizona Opera.
Childsplay Theatre is returning back to Herberger Theater Center after spending the past decade in Tempe. “Childsplay is very happy to be performing at a more central Valley location and we are thrilled to be a member of the Herberger Theater Center’s outstanding family of resident companies,” said Steve Martin, Managing Director of Childsplay.
Looking to expand its brand of Broadway-style musicals to an ever-growing audience in the Valley of the Sun, Arizona Broadway Theatre (ABT) plans a continued partnership with the Herberger Theater Center. As founder of Arizona Broadway Theatre, I am thrilled the Herberger Theater Center’s Board of Directors has accepted ABT as one of its newest resident companies,” said Kiel Klaphake, CEO & Executive Producer of Arizona Broadway Theatre. “As we foster new relationships with the other resident companies, working together to offer audiences a variety of exciting productions, ABT is eager to advance the mission of the Herberger Theater–bringing the ‘art’ to the ‘audience.’”
These new companies will add to the vibrant offerings of performing arts in Phoenix, as the Herberger Theater Center fulfills its vision to provide and support significant and relevant experiences and to serve as a premier performance venue, “Where Audience Meets Art.”
