Arizona Broadway Theatre Opens 6000sf Encore Room

Arizona Broadway Theatre (ABT), Arizona's Leader in Musical Theatre and the Valley of the Sun's highest attended LIVE theatrical venue, cut the ribbon on the newly expanded Encore Room on March 23, 2018. The space went from a small 1,000sf meeting room to a 6,000sf hi-tech multi-media performance, banquet, and conference space. By more than doubling the existing footprint, ABT is able to offer Valley arts enthusiasts a more diverse and varied roster of shows, concerts, guest artists, and special events as well as provide much-needed banquet, conference, and seminar meeting space for West Valley businesses, associations, and organizations.

In the 12 years since opening its doors in the Phoenix market on November 5, 2005, ABT has grown to be a nationally recognized producer of Musical Theatre - drawing top talent to the Valley of The Sun from New York City and from the vast pool of exceptional talent here in Arizona. Through its Mainstage shows, Theatre for Young Audiences, and Academy for Young Performers programs, as well as through special events and banquet bookings, ABT has seen over 900 thousand patrons pass through its doors.

"Today was extremely special for all at ABT and for the entire ABT community, the city of Peoria, and the West Valley," said Brad York, ABT's director of marketing. "Perhaps most exciting are the opportunities this new space will provide. From much-needed banquet, conference and event space in the West Valley to an entirely new opportunity for a variety of programming at ABT, the new Encore Room is going to take what our patrons have come to call the 'ABT Experience' to a whole new level!"

The first ABT program to take advantage of the new space will be a concert and talkback with Tony Award-winning Broadway composer Jason Robert Brown on May 7. Jason's appearance at ABT will coincide with ABT's production of his 2013 Tony Award-winning Broadway hit, The Bridges of Madison County, on stage at the Theatre April 13 - May 13, 2018. The evening will include a performance of selections from Jason's extensive repertoire, performances by members of ABT's cast of The Bridges of Madison County, and a talk-back with the composer and audience moderated by the host of ABC15's Sonoran Living, Susan Casper.

For more information about this performance, please contact ABT's Box Office at 623-776-8400 x0. For information on rental of the Encore Room, please contact Diane Hetrick at 623-776-8400 x104 or diane@azbroadway.org.

(Photos Courtesy of Kat Barnes/ABT)