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TheMarcus Performing Arts Center is aperforming arts center inMilwaukee,Wisconsin, United States. Managed by a non-profit organization, it is marketed as Milwaukee's premier presenter of the performing arts. It is located at 929 North Water Street, at the intersection of State Street in downtown Milwaukee, and is a dedicated War Memorial.
Several local companies are resident partners of the Marcus Performing Arts Center, including theFlorentine Opera,Milwaukee Ballet,First Stage Children's Theater, Black Arts MKE, and other local arts organizations, and it was also the home of theMilwaukee Symphony Orchestra from 1969 until 2020. The venue is also the presenter of the Johnson Financial Group Broadway at the Marcus Center series throughBroadway Across America.
The Marcus Center was designed in theBrutalist style by noted Chicago architectHarry Weese.[1] Plans began as early as 1945 for a war memorial to provide for "art, music, drama, public discussion, and social assembly." Construction began on June 27, 1966. Plans called for a major music hall, a thrust stage auditorium for live theater, and a recital hall. Milwaukee County agreed to established two parks in conjunction with the new Center, Red Arrow to the east and Pere Marquette to the west. The boat landing on the Milwaukee River was the precursor to the currentMilwaukee RiverWalk. The Performing Arts Center officially opened September 17, 1969. The gala opening included the Milwaukee Symphony, Donizetti’s operaLucia di Lammermoor and guest appearances by stars of theAmerican Ballet Theatre. Touring acts during the first month of operation included theNew York Philharmonic,Duke Ellington,National Ballet of Canada,Hildegarde, andLouis Armstrong.[2]
The Center was bestowed the prestigious Honor Award for Excellence in Architectural Design from theAmerican Institute of Architects in 1970.
After a donation from theMarcus Corporation in honor of its founder Ben Marcus and his wife Ceil, the venue's name was changed in 1994.
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The Center contains four major theater venues and a variety of other spaces:[3]
In addition, the Center's grounds feature several public artworks including Seymour Lipton'sLaureate and Allen Ditson'sTrigon.
On July 11, 1974,The Marshall Tucker Band recorded their set at the venue. Four songs from the performance were included on their 1974 album,Where We All Belong, and one song was included on the band's 1975 album,Searchin' for a Rainbow.
Ray Charles performed at the PAC on September 11, 1973.
Jazz legend Ella Fitzgerald joined pianist Oscar Peterson and guitarist Joe Pass in concert at the Pablo Jazz Festival in the Performing Arts Center's Uihlein Hall on Nov. 24, 1976.
Folk singer Joan Baez performed in Uihlein Hall at the Performing Arts Center on July 10, 1979.
Country legends Johnny Cash and his wife, June Carter Cash, shared the stage at the Performing Arts Center on Oct. 1, 1981, in a benefit for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Friends of Music.
Violinist Itzhak Perlman performs a recital at the PAC on March 5, 1984.
The very first Broadway at the Marcus Center season was in 1994 withGrease (November 29 – December 4, 1994),Hello Dolly!,Damn Yankees,Cats,Tommy, andThe Phantom of the Opera.
Illumination of the building began on April 16, 2008. Some of the “light paintings” are modeled afterGeorgia O’Keefe paintings.[5]
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43°2′34″N87°54′41″W / 43.04278°N 87.91139°W /43.04278; -87.91139
