Benjamin and Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center
Encyclopedia
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
and was built in 2003 to serve as Dayton's key performance arts center. This building hosts performances from local, national, and international performing arts groups. Built on the former site of Rike's department store, the building is home to the Dayton Opera
Dayton Opera
Dayton Opera is an American opera company based in Dayton, Ohio. The company makes its home at the Schuster Center in downtown Dayton where it annually produces three operas and an operatic concert and has an annual budget of approximately $2 million...
and Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra
Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra
The Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra is a fully professional musical group in Dayton, Ohio, formed in 1933. It is a member of the League of American Orchestras and the Regional Orchestra Players' Association , and presents programs mainly of classical music, but also occasionally performs world...
while showing many famous Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
hits such as Cats
Cats (musical)
Cats is a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot...
and The Phantom of the Opera
The Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical)
The Phantom of the Opera is a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the French novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux.The music was composed by Lloyd Webber, and most lyrics were written by Charles Hart, with additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. Alan Jay Lerner was an early collaborator,...
while still providing local shows such as the Dayton Ballet.
This building serves as more than an arts center, with such additional features as:
- Restaurants
- 15 Story Office Tower
- Condominiums
- Garden Center (the Winter Garden)
- A Penthouse
Architect Cesar Pelli created a world-class 2,300-seat theatre that has fiber optic lights in the dome ceiling that depict the Dayton sky as it appeared on the eve before the Wright brothers’ first flight, December 16, 1903.
The Winter Garden houses exotic palm trees and a cafe by a large glass-enclosed wall that overlooks downtown Dayton.