The Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

, which opened in 1983, is owned by Kentucky Performing Arts and has tenants that include Kentucky Opera, Louisville Ballet, the

Louisville Orchestra The Louisville Orchestra is the primary orchestra in Louisville, Kentucky. It was founded in 1937 by Robert Whitney (1904–1986). The Louisville Orchestra employs salaried musicians, and offers a wide variety of concert series to the communit ...

, StageOne Family Theatre and

Broadway Across America Broadway Across America (BAA) is a presenter and producer of live theatrical events in the United States and Canada since 1982. It is currently owned by the John Gore Organization (formerly Key Brand Entertainment), which purchased it from Live ...

. Sculptural artwork at the site is by

Alexander Calder Alexander "Sandy" Calder (; July 22, 1898 – November 11, 1976) was an American sculptor known both for his innovative mobile (sculpture), mobiles (kinetic sculptures powered by motors or air currents) that embrace chance in their aesthetic, hi ...

Joan Miró Joan Miró i Ferrà ( , ; ; 20 April 1893 – 25 December 1983) was a Catalan Spanish painter, sculptor and Ceramic art, ceramist. A museum dedicated to his work, the Fundació Joan Miró, was established in his native city of Barcelona ...

, John Chamberlain,

Jean Dubuffet Jean Philippe Arthur Dubuffet (; 31 July 1901 – 12 May 1985) was a French Painting, painter and sculpture, sculptor of the School of Paris, École de Paris (School of Paris). His idealistic approach to aesthetics embraced so-called "low art" a ...

and others. The center was dedicated on November 19, 1983. Attendees included

Charlton Heston Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923 – April 5, 2008) was an American actor. He gained stardom for his leading man roles in numerous Cinema of the United States, Hollywood films including biblical epics, science-fiction f ...

Diane Sawyer Lila Diane Sawyer (; born December 22, 1945) is an American television broadcast journalist known for anchoring major programs on two networks including ''ABC World News Tonight'', ''Good Morning America'', ''20/20 (U.S. TV series), 20/20'', and ...

and

Lily Tomlin Mary Jean "Lily" Tomlin (born September 1, 1939) is an American actress, comedian, writer, singer, and producer. Tomlin started her career in stand-up comedy and sketch comedy before transitioning her career to acting across stage and screen. ...

. In 1984 the center hosted one of the

U.S. presidential election debates During United States presidential election, presidential election campaigns in the United States, it has become customary for the candidates to engage in one or more debates. The topics discussed in the debate are often the most controversial ...

between

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

and

Walter Mondale Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale (January 5, 1928April 19, 2021) was the 42nd vice president of the United States serving from 1977 to 1981 under President Jimmy Carter. He previously served as a U.S. senator from Minnesota from 1964 to 1976. ...

Performance spaces

The Kentucky Center has three performance spaces: *Robert S. Whitney Hall, with 2,406 seats, is the largest and named after the founding conductor of the

, Robert S. Whitney. *Moritz von Bomhard Theatre, with 619 seats is named for the founder of the Kentucky Opera, Moritz von Bomhard. The Moritz von Bomhard Theatre features a M1D Meyer Sound system for sound reinforcement. *Boyd Martin Theatre, with 139 seats is also known as "The MeX" . Named for a film and theater critic who wrote for the ''

Louisville Courier-Journal The ''Courier Journal'', also known as the ''Louisville Courier Journal'' (and informally ''The C-J'' or ''The Courier''), and called ''The Courier-Journal'' between November 8, 1868, and October 29, 2017, is a daily newspaper published in ...

:'' Boyd Martin.

Kentucky Performing Arts

The Kentucky Center is one of three venues owned by Kentucky Performing Arts: * Brown Theatre, with 1,400 seats, is named for industrialist James Graham Brown, and is located eight blocks away on Broadway, between Third and Fourth Streets. The Brown was completed in 1925, and is modeled on the

Music Box Theatre The Music Box Theatre is a Broadway theatre, Broadway theater at 239 West 45th Street (George Abbott Way) in the Theater District, Manhattan, Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1921, the Music Box ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. *Paristown Hall opened in July 2019 and is located in the Paristown Pointe neighborhood east of downtown. It is a standing-only venue with a capacity of 2,000, and features a patio, balcony area, and bars. Its stages are only a part of what the Kentucky Performing Arts does throughout

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

. For example, the center has an education department, with programs for children and adults that travel into all corners of Kentucky. Programs include: *ArtsReach: Collaborates with community centers in

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

Hopkinsville Hopkinsville is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Christian County, Kentucky, United States. The population at the 2020 census was 31,180. History Early years The area of present-day Hopkinsville was initially claimed in 1796 ...

, Ashland, Mt. Sterling, Cadiz, Lexington, Owensboro, and

Paducah Paducah ( ) is a home rule-class city in the Upland South, and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky, United States. The most populous city in the Jackson Purchase region, it is located in the Southeastern United States at the confluence ...

to provide arts programs, with a strong emphasis on hands-on experiences. * Governor's School for the Arts: Over 200 of Kentucky's most promising young artists come together for three weeks of interaction, training, and artistic exploration each summer. *Gheens Great Expectations Project: This partnership with the Gheens Foundation and the Fund for the Arts presents young classical musicians in concert and in community residencies. Kentucky Performing Arts also administers programs that assist and teach teachers in bringing the arts into the classroom, such as: *Arts Academies: The Kentucky Center provides one-week Arts Academies for Kentucky's public school teachers at six sites across the Commonwealth each summer. *Kentucky Institute for Arts in Education: This two-week professional development seminar involves teachers in creative writing, dance, drama, music, and visual arts. *Arts Education Showcase: At a showcase held as part of the Kentucky Teaching and Learning Conference, educators and members of the public can see prescreened artists and performers whose arts education programs are available for students. Kentucky Performing Arts also provides access services that make the theater experience possible for patrons with disabilities. Kentucky Performing Arts also provides consultancy services to many of the performing arts centers across Kentucky, including: *

Actors Theatre of Louisville Actors Theatre of Louisville is a non-profit performing arts theater located in downtown Louisville, Kentucky. Actors Theatre was founded in 1964 following the merging of two local companies, Actors, Inc. and Theatre Louisville, operated by Louis ...

( Jefferson County) *Plaza Theatre (

Barren County Barren County is a county located in the south-central portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 44,485. Its county seat is Glasgow. The county was founded on December 20, 1798, from parts of Warren and ...

) *

Paramount Arts Center The Paramount Arts Center is a historic theater located in Ashland, Kentucky, in the United States. Listed as the Paramount Theatre on the National Register of Historic Places, this theater is an important part of theater in Kentucky. Histor ...

( Boyd County) *Alhambra Theatre (

Christian County Christian County is the name of several counties in the United States: * Christian County, Illinois * Christian County, Kentucky * Christian County, Missouri Christian County is located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Missouri. ...

) *RiverPark Center ( Daviess County) *Hardin County Playhouse ( Hardin County) * Singletary Center for the Arts at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

( Fayette County) *Four Rivers Arts Center ( McCracken County) *Capitol Arts Center ( Warren County) *

Jenny Wiley Theatre Jenny Wiley Theatre was a non-profit organization that operated in Pikeville, Kentucky, Pikeville and Prestonsburg, Kentucky. After the theatre company's formation in the spring of 1964, the theatre group produced many performances, including come ...

( Floyd County) *Lake Cumberland Center for the Arts ( Pulaski County)

References

External links

The Kentucky Center official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kentucky Center Performing arts centers in Kentucky Arts venues in Louisville, Kentucky Event venues established in 1983 Theatres completed in 1983 1983 establishments in Kentucky

Performance spaces

Kentucky Performing Arts

See also

References

External links