Read the Daily Record’s feature story on MPAC’s 25th Anniversary season, which kicks off with Katharine McPhee performing at Opening Night Friday, September 13th!
Daily Record: “MPAC 25th Anniversary: Still Growing As It Eyes Future Expansion”
by William Westhoven
The brick-and-mortar phase of expansion at Mayo Performing Arts Center is complete. But as the Morristown nonprofit arts organization launches its 25th anniversary season, its mission continues to grow.
“Our outreach has extended beyond the traditional walls of the theater, and for the past few years, we’ve really focused on community outreach,” said MPAC President and CEO Allison Larena, who will roll out the red carpet Friday for a 2019-2020 season-opening performance by Katherine McPhee.
Five years ago, MPAC was completing the lobby, restroom and facility expansions at the end of a four-year, $7 million capital campaign. Those renovations followed a 1994 grassroots revival of the 1,300-seat former Walter Reade movie theater that had been shuttered for years.
“We all remember the mushrooms growing in the aisles, and paint peeling form the walls,” Larena said.
Twenty-five-years later, MPAC hosts about 250 performances annually, pumping an estimated $15 million of revenue into the local economy, according to Larena.
Situated near the center of town on South Street, a short walk from the Morristown Green, the circa-1937 former Community Theatre also houses an art gallery and a growing performing-arts academy.
As the organization looks to the next 25 years, Larena said growth and expansion are still part of the mission. Those plans may include a new, separate space for the education program.
“Our performing-arts school hosted over 600 children last year, and we had over 150 more on our waiting list,” Larena said.
Outside space was rented for classes to be held in non-traditional settings the last two years, Larena said. In the future, the center may designate a space for education and outreach that will serve as an education center, with a smaller performing arts space attached to it. “We’ll be unveiling some plans for that,” Larena said.
MPAC also has expanded its community outreach by hosting 14 free performance events over the past season. Next up is a free concert Sept. 27 that will feature the popular Bruce Springsteen tribute group the B Street Band.
“Kind-of a thank-you to our community,” Larena said. “Tickets are free and we hope everyone comes.”
Highlights of the upcoming season include Broadway and jukebox musicals starting with “A Night with Janis Joplin” (Sept. 19). Other theatrical performances include the “Rent 20th Anniversary Tour” (Feb. 8).
Musical highlights include Tony, Emmy and Grammy-winner Audra McDonald (Jan. 18), “An intimate Evening of Songs and Stories with Graham Nash (Sept. 20), Joan Jett (Oct. 21) and Sara Evans (Nov. 8).
Dance, comedy and family-friendly shows are also a part of the 2019-2020 season, as is the return of the New Jersey Ballet’s annual holiday run of “Nutcracker” featuring music from the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (Dec. 13-27).
