Marcus Center for the Performing Arts

NOW IN ITS 35th SEASON, the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts remains the focal point for Milwaukee’s growing artistic community.

“We’re proud to have nurtured many of the city’s leading companies as they have grown into world-class organizations,” stresses Paul Matthews, president the Marcus Center. “Most have stayed with us and others, such as the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, have developed substantial venues of their own.”

Initially proposed in 1944 as a memorial to men and women who gave their lives in the armed services, the Performing Arts Center did not become a reality until 1966 when ground was broken at 929 N. Water St. in the heart of downtown. Built at a cost of $12.7million as a private-public partnership and opened in 1969, the center was designed by Harry Weese & Associates of Chicago and won the honor award for excellence in architectural design in 1970 from the American Institute of Architects.

By the 1990s, a combination of Milwaukee’s tough winter weather and the growing needs of patrons and performing groups forced a five-year, $26.5-million exterior and interior renovation.

Renamed the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts in 1995 in recognition of philanthropists Ben and Ceil Marcus, the center now features state-of-the-art acoustics and lighting in the 2,300-seat Uihlein Hall, home of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the Milwaukee Ballet Company, the Forentine Opera Company and the Broadway Series, which began bringing touring shows to Milwaukee 10 years ago.

The center’s Todd Wehr Theater, the first performance venue for the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, today is home to First Stage Children’s Theater. Vogel Hall, with its separate entrance on State Street, is an active venue for single-date events and six-eight week runs of touring and locally produced shows.

Non-performance areas frequently are booked by business and civic organizations for receptions and meetings. The center also is the site of the Wisconsin Entertainers Hall of Fame, which celebrates stage, screen and television performers who were born in the state..

“Because we continue to be a public-private partnership, we must utilize a creative business model,” stresses Heidi Lofy, director of marketing and public relations. “We’re especially attentive to customer service, which must be top-notch since we serve as the public face of all our tenants and groups using our meeting rooms.”

While theater seasons have traditionally run from fall to spring in Wisconsin, the Marcus Center has taken a leadership role in year-round productions. “Live at the Center,” an outside summer series featuring popular musical groups on a stage along with Milwaukee River just south of the center, now includes indoor components. And the popular “Morning Glory Craft Fair” annually brings artists from throughout the state and nation to the grounds of the center and Red Arrow Park directly across Water Street.

January’s center calendar is typically full in 2005:

• “Les Miserables,” one of the most successful musicals in theatre history, returns to Uihlein Hall Jan. 4-9 as part of the Broadway Series.
  
  
• “Forbidden Broadway,” which skewers the modern Broadway musical and celebrities, plays in Vogel Hall Jan. 11-Feb. 27.
  
  
• The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra opens 2005 with Northern Lights, featuring the works of Grieg and Sibelius and accompanied by pianist Jorge Federico Osorio, Jan 14-15.
  
  
• The Symphony presents “Let’s Dance!” Ravel’s vibrant suite, Jan. 21-23.
  
  
• First Stage performs “The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle,” which gives girls a chance to see a female shine in an adventure story, Jan. 21-30 in the Todd Wehr Theater.
  
  
• Even the city of Milwaukee’s 159th birthday will be celebrated at a public gathering from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Jan. 27 at the Marcus Center. For tickets to this event, call 588-9571.

Tickets to events at the Marcus Center can be purchased at the box office, online at Ticketmaster.com or by calling 414-273-7206. The Box Office is open from 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Mon.-Fri. and from noon-9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.