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Wharton Center Milestones

  • 1958: Discussions begin for the creation of a performing arts center at MSU.
  • 1971: MSU trustees authorize planning for a performing arts center to begin.
  • 1974: Site selected
  • April 19, 1975: Fundraising kickoff concert featuring Tony Bennett and Lena Horne.
  • July 19, 1979: Groundbreaking ceremony
  • 1981: Ken Beachler becomes Wharton Center’s first Executive Director and served until his retirement in 1992.
  • April 1982: The facility is officially named the Clifton and Dolores Wharton Center for Performing Arts
  • July 19, 1982: Hard-hat preview concert featuring The Young Americans.
  • Sept. 25, 1982: Opening night with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and soprano Birgit Nilsson.
  • Sept. 26, 1982: Official dedication ceremony
  • Oct. 12-13, 1982: Barnum becomes the first Broadway tour to appear at Wharton Center.
  • Spring 1984: Wharton’s toll-free number, 1-800-WHARTON, was installed.
  • March 1985: Wharton Center gift shop opens.
  • October 1986: Dreamgirls becomes the first Broadway show to play a full week at Wharton Center.
  • November 1986: ACT ONE Family Series begins
  • May 1987: New ticketing system purchased for the box office.
  • Oct. 20-25, 1987: Cats comes to Wharton Center for the first of many visits.
  • Dec. 31, 1987: Diamonds & Pearls, a New Year’s Eve gala featuring Pearl Bailey, honors 75 years of performing arts at MSU.
  • April 11-16, 1989: First U.S. University to host Les Miserables.
  • 1992: William Wright becomes Wharton Center’s second Executive Director and served for 11 years. Wright started the commissioning program, where artists are hired to create original works to debut on one of Wharton Center’s stages.
  • Oct. 19, 1992: Hosted 1992’s third presidential debate, featuring President George W. Bush, Gov. Bill Clinton and businessman H. Ross Perot.
  • Fall 1993: Wharton Partners program established, a new initiative in Wharton Center’s arts education outreach. The program paired university-level student artists with school classrooms.
  • 1995: Wharton Center website debuts
  • April 13–June 1, 1996: Second U.S. university to host The Phantom of the Opera. During its 7½-week run, ticket sales were higher than any other Broadway theater in the country. More than 138,000 people saw the 60 performances. Ticket revenue exceeded $7.5 million.
  • Fall 1996: The Young Playwrights Festival debuts. There are 30 submissions.
  • September 1997: The parking ramp gains 400 new spots and an additional entrance on Shaw Lane.
  • September 1997: Shirley Pasant’s $1 million gift renames the Festival Stage as the Shirley K. and Athanase J. Pasant Theatre.
  • October 1997: The first donor appreciation concert is presented, featuring soprano and comedienne B.J. Ward.
  • April 28–May 24, 1998: Miss Saigon booked for an extended run, celebrating Wharton Center’s 15th anniversary.
  • April 2000: Wharton Center introduces online ticketing
  • Oct. 27, 2000: First Wharton Center world premiere jazz commission, Urban Griot by Dr. Billy Taylor.
  • Fall 2001: World View Lecture Series begins, featuring speakers Richard Holbrook, Molly Ivins and Spike Lee.
  • April 26, 2002: New York composer Jonathan Dawe debuts his world premiere commission, Wharton Center Concerto, celebrating the center’s 20th anniversary
  • 2003: Michael Brand hired as the Center’s third Executive Director and served until his retirement in 2022. Brand helped solidify its national reputation as a premier performing arts facility. 
  • 2006: Seats 4 Kids scholarship ticket fund distributes more than 400 tickets through local community service agencies enabling economically disadvantaged children to attend performances.
  • July 11-22 2007: Wicked debuts at Wharton Center, selling out its two-week run
  • April, 2008: MSU Federal Credit Union endows Institute for Arts & Creativity at Wharton Center.
  • March 17–April 19, 2009: The Lion King comes to Wharton Center, necessitating the removal of seats to create aisles for the animals to enter for the opening number.
  • May-October, 2009: Wharton Center completes facelift and 24,000 square foot. expansion, adding space backstage for major Broadway productions and room for larger dance and classical companies, as well as increased patron amenities.
  • Oct. 10, 2013: NextGen@Wharton young professionals outreach program debuts with an event for Flashdance.
  • 2014: Wharton Center Institute for Arts & Creativity launches a collaboration with MSU’s College of Arts and Letters’ Department of Theatre: ĭmáGen, in which high school and college actors perform alongside professionals to workshop a Broadway-bound musical
  • October, 2016: Wharton hosts its first Sensory-Friendly Performance at the ĭmáGen performance of Temple.
  • 2017-2018 Season: Wharton Center launches a new brand with ART at the Center and a goal to inspire the minds and move the souls of patrons, students, staff, volunteers and the community.
  • 2019: The July 2019 issue of Venues Today ranks Michigan State University’s Wharton Center for Performing Arts at number ten internationally for venues with a capacity of 2,001 to 5,000 seats. The ranking is based on mid-year gross figures from November 2018 through May 2019. 
  • 2019: Pollstar magazine’s mid-year issue ranks Wharton Center at #51 in the top 200 theatre venues in the world, regardless of size. This ranking is based on ticket sales. 
  • 2022: Eric Olmscheid appointed Wharton Center’s fourth Executive Director.