Phoenix

Performing Arts

The performing arts are well represented in Phoenix and enhanced by the completion in 1989 of the downtown Herberger Theater Center, next door to the Phoenix Civic Plaza Convention Center. The complex houses the 820-seat Center Stage and the 330-seat Stage West. The Phoenix Symphony performs both classical and pops concerts at Symphony Hall, which seats 1,400. The Phoenix Little Theatre, the city's oldest theater company, was founded in 1920 and has operated continuously since that time. Theater groups that perform in the new theaters of the Herberger complex include the Arizona Theatre Company, Black Theater Troupe, Actors Theatre of Phoenix, Aurora Mime Theatre, and Musical Theater of Arizona. Phoenix is also home to the Centre Dance Ensemble and Opera Musical Theatre. The Arizona Opera also performs regularly in Phoenix, and a variety of touring artists appear at the Phoenix Desert Sky Pavilion, Celebrity Theatre, and Grammage Auditorium. The newly restored 1929 Spanish baroque-revival Orpheum Theatre is a showcase for the performing arts as well as civic events.