NYC's newest performance space, Perelman Performing Arts Center, officially opened September 13 with a grand opening ceremony. The downtown venue is the final public element of the World Trade Center site. See photos from the inauguration ceremony below.
PAC NYC hopes to become a cultural hub in downtown Manhattan. The innovative space is uniquely flexible, with the ability for multiple performance spaces to be configured in various setups, or even combined into a larger concert hall. Tony winners LaChanze, Ben Platt, and Brian Stokes Mitchell have set intimate concert dates at the new space, which will serve as the inaugural entries in the venue's Downtown Sessions series.
On hand to inaugurate the new space were Gavin Creel, Broadway designer David Rockwell (who designed the lobby and restaurant interiors), Governor Kathy Hochul, NYC Mayor Eric Adams, Michael R. Bloomberg, Executive Director Khady Kamara, Artistic Director Bill Rauch, Ronald O. Perelman, Paula Grant Berry, Joshua Ramus, Marcus Samuelsson, violinist Joshua Bell, soprano Larisa Martinez, and pianist Peter Dugan.
Gavin Creel
Joffrey Ballet School
Larisa Martinez
Joshua Ramus and Marcus Samuelsson
David Rockwell and Marcus Samuelsson
Kathy Hochul, Michael R. Bloomberg, and Khady Kamara
Michael R. Bloomberg
Kathy Hochul
Eric Adams
Kathy Hochul and Michael R. Bloomberg
Richard Cotton, Khady Kamara, Kathy Hochul, Ronald O. Perelman, Michael R. Bloomberg, Eric L. Adams, Paula Grant Berry, Holly Leicht, and Bill Rauch
The building includes three principal venues, the 450-seat John E. Zuccotti Theater, the 250-seat Mike Nicholas Theater, and the 99-seat Doris Duke Theater. The theatres have been designed so that they can be used independently or combined in a variety of configurations.
The theatre's very first offering will be Refuge: A Concert Series to Welcome the World, a five-evening grand opening event beginning September 19 that will bring musicians from around the world to NYC to perform works around the theme of refuge. All five concerts will be pay-what-you-wish, with the roster of artists including Shoshana Bean, Common, Laurie Anderson, The Klezmatics, Tanya Tagaq, and more.
Also planned for the venue's theatre offerings are 600 Highwaymen's The Following Evening, about a couple (Ellen Maddow and Paul Zimet) creating what might be their final performance together following a lifetime in experimental theatre, performing February 1–18, 2024; and the world premiere of Laurence Fishburne's solo play Like They Do in The Movies, performing March 10-31, 2024. A newly reimagined production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats, inspired by NYC's Ballroom scene, will play during Pride Month 2024.
Visit PACNYC.org.
