Look inside the new $172M theater that’s like a bit of Broadway in N.J.

September 4, 2019
Ed Murray and Brianna Kudisch
Star-Ledger

Picture yourself seeing an energetic, live musical with bright lights, crisp sound, enormous sets, and room for a 465-seat audience in freshly-upholstered chairs. The newest theater planning for big, live shows isn’t on Broadway, it’s in New Brunswick — and the brand new $172 million venue is dressed to impress.

NJ Advance Media got a sneak peek of the space, which is officially opening Wednesday. It seats a total of 720 between its two theaters and plans to start its inaugural season in 2019. Not only does the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center span two theaters, rehearsal studios, and public parking, it also includes a 207-unit residential tower.

Walk into the main lobby of the performing arts building at 11 Livingston Avenue and you’ll see an open space with walls lined with mesh-like black panels, which light up and change color from behind. To your right is a glossy, full-service bar, with nearby standing tables.

Large video boards display the center’s logo and other multimedia elements, including a timelapse of the center’s construction. A donor wall highlights the project’s contributors, while a desk to the left welcomes visitors. All of the surfaces are covered in sleek, black stone.

Overseen by the New Brunswick Development Corporation, or Devco, the 450,000-square-foot project is located on the site of the former George Street Playhouse and Crossroads Theater on Livingston Avenue in downtown New Brunswick.

Touted as a public-private partnership between Devco, the City of New Brunswick, Rutgers University, Middlesex County, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, and many other organizations, the project broke ground in the fall of 2017.

In addition to the two theaters and rehearsal studios, the main performing arts building will also contain 30,000 feet of office space on the two floors above the theater, which will be owned by the County of Middlesex and intended to be used by arts organizations and potential private sector groups.

One of the studio spaces and the adjacent future donor lounge, which can also be converted into a rehearsal space, feature floor-to-ceiling windows that allow the light to soak the room. A wall in the empty rehearsal room is covered with ceramic tiles, which were created by the MudGirls Studio, an Atlantic City non-profit that empowers disadvantaged women through making art.

The 255-seat Arthur Laurents theater, a more intimate space designed for theatrical and smaller dance performances, will also be open to Rutgers University film students for their projects.

A crew was there Tuesday working on the technical equipment, preparing for the upcoming show “Paul Robeson,” which Crossroads Theatre Company is opening Thursday night.

“They’re like kids in a candy store,” Merissa Buczny, the executive director of the NBPAC, said of the technicians using the new equipment.

Next door is the 465-seat Elizabeth Ross Johnson theater, which features a double orchestra pit. Buczny said a typical pit includes space for about 20 musicians, but Rutgers requested a pit that would seat 60 people.

The orchestra pit also features a hydraulic lift, which allows the production company to lift the entire orchestra up and down, altering the space to fit the specific show’s needs. The theater’s stage features a staggering 75-foot height from the floor to the ceiling.

Buczny said the new rigging capabilities allow them to take an entire set and suspend it in the air above the curtain, or below the stage, so a different performance or activity can take place on stage for the night.

“It’s so much more flexible,” she said.

Updating the theater’s capabilities is a large reason behind the new development, according to Mark Sharp, the director of operations.

“They didn’t have any of the bells and whistles that the new theater has, which kind of restricted what the artistic companies were able to do,” he said. “This complex gives [the theaters] new opportunities to do bigger and broader productions.

The residential rental apartment tower, which is above the theater complex, includes 207 units. Owned and operated by Penrose LLC, the tower has affordable housing in 20 percent of its units.

The developers partnered with The Actors Fund to market the affordable units to actors, musicians, dancers, and theater employees. A two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment in a corner unit was immaculate and pleasantly decorated.

The apartment featured massive, floor-to-ceiling windows that flooded the space with natural light. Residents in the tower also have access to the building’s amenities, which are highlighted on the penthouse floor.

The outside deck on the penthouse will soon house a barbecue area and lounge seating. A long, three-and-a-half feet deep shimmering pool seats neatly on the elevated deck, and offers sweeping views of the city, and if you look hard enough, Manhattan. Go back inside and you’ll find a swanky bar and lounge area, created for residents’ enjoyment.

The public parking garage is located at 60 Baynard Street, but is not yet finished. Buczny said she expects it to be completed by Friday.

Development officials are celebrating Wednesday’s official opening, with a 6 p.m. reception and performances in the Elizabeth Ross Johnson Theater. Dozens of city and company officials will be present, including Mayor James M. Cahill, Robert L. Barchi, the president of Rutgers University, and Stephen Sweeney, the president of the New Jersey State Senate.

The city did not immediately respond to requests for comment on how much it contributed to the project.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony will celebrate the building’s official opening on Thursday, Sept. 5.