Our 20th anniversary season has come to a close. To all of our members, supporters and patrons, thank you for making our 20th anniversary season a memorable year. Thanks to you, MPAC continues to be one of the most successful non-profit arts organizations in New Jersey, and we look forward to serving you again over the summer and during our 15-16 season.
Here are some highlights of the past year.
Concerts
- We had over 200 events on our stage, including headliners, emerging artists, school events and more.
- Over 200,000 people were served by MPAC programs, including ticketed events, outreach activities and education programs.
- Opening Night featured a performance by Brian Stokes Mitchell and Kelli O’Hara (who would go on to win a Tony in 2015).
- Over 70 performances sold out. Memorable performances included Steely Dan, John Fogerty, Alanis Morissette, Dancing with the Stars and Beauty and the Beast.
- The Nutcracker drew over 12,000 people across 14 performances during the holiday season.
- MPAC drew audiences from all 21 NJ counties, as well as New York, Pennsylvania and other surrounding states (even a few from Europe and Australia!).
- Our economic impact on the region was over $15 million.
20th Anniversary Celebration
- A ribbon-cutting ceremony on Sept. 29, 2014 – 20 years to the day the Theatre reopened – celebrated the completion of interior lobby renovations.
- Broadway composer Keith Hermann created an original song about our 20th anniversary, “It Feels Like Home,” performed by the Performing Arts Company
- Valery Gergiev returned to MPAC for the first time since Sept. 29, 1994 for our 20th anniversary concert on January 30, 2015. A pre-concert celebration honored our original founders.
Membership and Fundraising
- The 2014 Starlight Ball Gala honored John and Margaret Post and Drinker Biddle and drew over 350 attendees
- Overall membership climbed 20%, and Starlight Society reached a new high in membership
- The Legacy Society, a planned giving program, was introduced
- MPAC was an active participant in Giving Tuesday for the first time.
Education
- The Education’s Spring Musical Les Miserables, with a cast of 65, was performed to over 3,500 people over four performances, and was a rousing critical and popular success.
- Over 660 students participated in PAS programs
- The Performing Arts Company performed at over 30 events.
- Over 90 students were honored as Music Students of the Month
- The “PAS on the Road” Paterson School program expanded to over 40 students in 2015
- MPAC and the Morris School Districted completed a three-year residency program
- Over $7,000 was provided in PAS scholarships
- MPAC served as Region 4 host to the statewide Poetry Out Loud competition
Visual Arts and Outreach
- Over 200 New Jersey-based visual artists had their works displayed in our two galleries
- In partnership with Morris Arts, the free Music Beyond Borders program returned to the Morristown Green with four free performances.
- First ever Community Day event featured live performances on the MPAC plaza and an open house on the day of the Morristown Festival on the Green.
- MPAC continued to offer the Theatre at low cost to non-profit partners such as New Jersey Ballet, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Morristown Festival of Books, First Night Morris County and Morris Education Foundation’s Morristown’s Got Talent.
- Retained title of Major Presenting Organization by New Jersey State Council on the Arts
We hope that 2015-2016 will bring just as many incredible experiences to our patrons.
