The largest employer of artists in Arizona, The Phoenix Theatre Company recently announced their groundbreaking plans for the Central Phoenix campus development. With $28 million already raised towards building a new 500-seat state of the art theatre, the Company will break ground in the Summer 2023.
In addition to the theatre enlargement, the Phoenix City Council on December 13, 2022, voted to include nearly $6 million in long-needed funding that will support the building of ADA-compliant rehearsal spaces, offices, and educational facilities as part of the General Obligation Bond going in front of voters in November 2023.
The Phoenix Theatre Company provides community service programs with their Partners That Heal Program and Adventure Stage for children with disabilities. The public areas of the Theatre have been upgraded for ADA accessibility, however the backstage areas of this 1951 facility have basically remained untouched.
If the voters approve in the fall, the funding will be help children, artists and staff have easy to participate without barriers.
The Theatre plans to raise $45 million for this second phase of its campus development plan. The company hopes to continue developing new musicals and with the expanded facility it will expand additional opportunities and offer hundreds of local jobs to artists, technicians and creatives. Currently The Phoenix Theatre Company lacks the technical capabilities required to attract most pre-Broadway opportunities. The investment by the local philanthropic community and the City support will help put Phoenix as a natural desired destination for pre-Broadway productions.
With what began as the Phoenix Players over 100 years ago, with operations out of a horse barn, The Phoenix Theatre Company currently employs 130 full-time employees. Their $12 million annual operating budget lands them as the largest regional theatre in Arizona and also one of the largest in the southwest.
