The Boch Center (formerly Citi Performing Arts Center and Wang Center for the Performing Arts) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit performing arts organization located in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. It manages the historic

Wang Wang may refer to: Names * Wang (surname) Wang () is the pinyin romanization of Chinese, romanization of the common Chinese surname (''Wáng''). It has a mixture of various origin with uncertain lineage of family history, however it is c ...

and Shubert theatres on Tremont Street in the

Boston Theater District The Boston Theater District is the center of Boston's theater scene. Many of its theaters are on Washington Street, Tremont Street, Boylston Street, and Huntington Avenue. History Plays were banned in Boston by the Puritans until 1792. Bost ...

, where it offers theatre, opera, classical and popular music, comedy, dance, and Broadway musicals. The center also offers educational workshops and community activities. It maintains partnerships with numerous arts organizations in Boston, including the Celebrity Series of Boston, Fiddlehead Theatre Company, Express Yourself, and more.

History

When the Wang Theatre first opened in 1925, it was called the Metropolitan Theatre. After 30 years as the Metropolitan Theatre, the venue was called the Music Hall, then the Metropolitan Center. In 1983, An and Lorraine Wang donated the funds to renovate the theatre, and it became the Wang Center for the Performing Arts. The Wang Theatre is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

, and with 3,600+ seats, it is one of the five largest stages in the country. The Wang Center began managing and operating the Shubert Theatre in 1996 when it entered a 40-year lease agreement with the venue. In 2006, the Wang Center became the Citi Performing Arts Center after establishing a 10-year partnership with

Citigroup Citigroup Inc. or Citi (Style (visual arts), stylized as citi) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services company based in New York City. The company was formed in 1998 by the merger of Citicorp, t ...

. In 2016, the Citi Performing Arts Center became the Boch Center following the announcement of a long-term partnership with the Boch family. In the past, it also managed the booking and preservation of the Emerson Colonial Theatre and the Strand Theatre.

Programming

The Boch Center hosts a variety of performances and events at the Wang and Shubert Theatres, including theatre, dance, comedy, opera, classical and popular music concerts, and Broadway shows. The center maintains partnerships with other Boston arts nonprofits such as Fiddlehead Theatre Company, Handel and Haydn Society, A.R.T., Celebrity Series of Boston, Huntington Theatre Company, World Music, Dance Umbrellas, and Express Yourself. The Wang and Shubert Theatres also host special events, such as corporate conferences, award ceremonies, galas, weddings, and more. They are also used as locations for movie filming. Movies filmed at the Wang Theatre include ''

Ghostbusters ''Ghostbusters'' is a 1984 American supernatural comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Egon Spengler, three eccentric ...

'' (2016), ''

American Hustle ''American Hustle'' is a 2013 American black comedy crime film directed by David O. Russell. It was written by Eric Warren Singer and Russell and inspired by the FBI Abscam operation of the late 1970s and early 1980s. It stars Christian Ba ...

'', '' The Pink Panther 2'', ''

The Witches of Eastwick ''The Witches of Eastwick'' is a 1984 novel by American writer John Updike. A sequel, '' The Widows of Eastwick'', was published in 2008. Plot The story, set in the fictional Rhode Island town of Eastwick in the early 1970s, follows the witc ...

'', and '' The Great Debaters''.

Nonprofit Work

In 1988, the Education Department at the Boch Center was founded, and the following year the Walter Suskind Memorial Education Fund was established. The nonprofit arts education initiatives at the center include the City Spotlights Leadership Program, Teen Council, Target Arts, Interactive Readings Stories Alive, and Ticket Access. City Spotlights Leadership Program is a seven-week summer employment program for teens in the Boston area. In 2016, the program reached 61 students from 30 different high schools and 13 Boston and Everett neighborhoods. The program includes arts and leadership training, community advocacy, and performance. Teen Leadership Council brings together a smaller group of teens from greater Boston for year-round programming where teens create original performance pieces, facilitate workshops, advocate for social change, and volunteer in the community. Founded in 2009 in partnership with

Boston Public Schools Boston Public Schools (BPS) is a school district serving the city of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest public school district in the state of Massachusetts. Leadership The district is led by a superintendent, hired by t ...

, the Target Arts Program is an artist residency program funded by

Target Corporation Target Corporation is an American retail corporation that operates a chain of discount department stores and hypermarkets, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the seventh-largest retailer in the United States, and a component of th ...

. It provides an in-depth arts residency at four different Boston schools each year. The Interactive Reading: Stories Alive program provides interactive storytelling to children in various Boston neighborhoods. The center's Ticket Access program provides tickets to roughly 3,000 community organizations and schools in Greater Boston each year. ArtWeek Boston is another nonprofit initiative produced by the Boch Center. This bi-annual, 10-day creative festival features more than 150 unique and creative experiences that are hands-on, interactive or offer behind-the-scenes access to artists or the creative process. It is presented by Highland Street Foundation.

Theatres

* Wang Theatre * Shubert Theatre

External links

Boch Center website

References