Boasting a grand lobby reminiscent of a Louis XIV palace, the Wang Center for the Performing Arts was hailed as 'The Wonder Theater of the World' when it opened in 1925. Known then as the Metropolitan Theatre, the 3,700-seat performance hall was decked in finery from top to bottom. Encompassing seven floors under an expansive domed ceiling, the decór featured Italian marble columns, crystal chandeliers, gold leaf detail, and ornate murals.
Created by architect Clarence T. Blackall and developer Max Shoolman, the Metropolitan Theatre quickly gained a reputation as 'the people's palace for vaudeville and film' where patrons from all walks of life flocked to performances - movies, ballet, symphony, and vaudeville - where they paid an admission fee of just three dollars a head. Re-named the Music Hall in the 1940s, the theater continued to enjoy widespread popularity into the 1970s when its owner - New England Medical Center - arranged for its management as a not-for-profit organization called The Metropolitan Center. Following a period of renovation that cost more than $7.5 million, the Metropolitan Center re-opened in 1980 as the preferred Boston venue for touring Broadway productions - a status it enjoyed until a ceiling collapse in 1982 threatened to shut the historic theater down.
That's when Wang Laboratories founder Dr. An Wang road to the historic structure's rescue with a $1 million donation and a challenge to the Boston community to raise another $3 million to repair and re-open the grand theater. Renamed The Wang Center for Performing Arts in recognition of Dr. Wang's generous contribution, the theater re-opened in December 1983. Although theater repairs paved the way for performances to resume, the structure was not fully restored until almost a decade later following the completion of an extensive multi-million dollar restoration and modernization project.
Recognized today as one of the top cultural venues in the United States, the Wang Center for the Performing Arts encompasses both the original Metropolitan Theatre and its neighbor across Tremont Street - The Shubert Theatre. Dating to 1910, the smaller Shubert Theatre was designed by architect Thomas James. It's associated with the Wang Center for Performing Arts under the terms of a 1996 40-year lease and management agreement. Both theaters serve as performance venues and learning space for Young at Arts, a nationally-recognized educational outreach program designed to introduce students at community schools to performance art.
Don't miss a performance of the Boston Ballet on its home turf at the Wang Center for the Performing Arts. The company claims its version of The Nutcracker is the most well attended production in the world. They also feature classic, contemporary, modern, and avant-garde dance, as well as a variety of events and galas throughout the year. The international troupe of dancers represents over a dozen countries.
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