Tulsa Performing Arts Center

The Tulsa Performing Arts Center, or Tulsa PAC, is a performing arts venue in the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma. It houses four main theatres, a studio space, an art gallery and a sizeable reception hall. Its largest theater is the 2,365-seat Chapman Music Hall. The Center regularly hosts events by 14 local performance groups. Tulsa Ballet, Tulsa Opera, Tulsa Symphony, and Celebrity Attractions (Broadway series) are among the Tulsa PAC's major clients. Tulsa Town Hall, Chamber Music Tulsa, Theatre Tulsa, American Theatre Company, Theatre Pops, Playhouse Tulsa, Theatre North, and the PAC Trust also fill the PAC calendar.

Numerous headliners such as Michael Bublé, Kelly Clarkson, Steve Martin and Anthony Bourdain have appeared at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center. The complex was built with a combination of public and private funds and opened in 1977. The building is home to a permanent collection of 76 works of art.

The Tulsa Performing Arts Center launched a regional ticketing company, run by the Tulsa PAC, in 2006. MyTicketOffice.com handles the ticketing for 12 performance arts venues in Oklahoma and Texas.

The Tulsa PAC opened March 19, 1977, and was built with a combination of public and private funds. Minoru Yamasaki (who designed the former World Trade Center Towers) was the architect for the project. The Center is owned and operated by the City of Tulsa and guided by the TPAC Trust, of which the Mayor of Tulsa is a member. Its first Managing Director was Robert D'Angelo. The PAC's current director, Mark Frie, became director in June 2017.

The forerunner of the Tulsa Performing Arts Center was the Tulsa Municipal Theatre, now known as the Brady Theatre. When, in the early 1970s, it was determined that a new, updated theatre was needed, the Theatre Advisory Committee, headed by Charles E. Norman, was formed. Many different scenarios were studied, including the restoration of the Tulsa Municipal Theatre (built in 1914), and the Akdar Shrine theatre (vintage 1925). The committee became aware that John H. Williams, president of The Williams Companies, had purchased a nine-block area of land that he intended to develop. Williams’ original plan was to build a new headquarters for his company, which would consist of two 30-story buildings flanking Boston Avenue at 3rd Street. The scheme was reconfigured to make Williams’ headquarters one tall tower instead of two smaller buildings, and locate it in the middle of Boston Avenue at Second Street. The land between 2nd and 3rd Streets on Cincinnati, occupied by a vacant Hotel Tulsa, was then made available and was given to the City by Williams for a performing arts venue. In May 1973, Williams and community philanthropist Leta Chapman made an offer to the citizens of Tulsa: If Tulsa citizens would vote to fund half of a performing arts center, Williams and Chapman would raise the other half. A bond campaign was launched, giving the proposed PAC the slogan “Everyone’s Place. The bond election, held in August 1973, was passed by 69%. The new Tulsa PAC was funded at $14 million.

Prior to construction, a private corporation, PACI, was formed to take over the ownership of the construction project and then return the PAC property back to the City of Tulsa after building completion. This allowed for construction to move ahead at greater speed ahead of the rampant inflation. A committee was formed to procure art for the building. One percent of all construction costs of public buildings in Tulsa must be spent on art for the building being constructed to comply with an ordinance adopted by the City of Tulsa in 1969. A combination of local, national and international art, including a large representation of Native American art, was purchased. The works of artists such as Alexandre Hogue, Wolf Kahn, Barbara Hepworth, Louise Nevelson and Woody Crumbo were among the original collection. The initial plan for the Tulsa PAC was for one large performance hall seating almost 2,400 and a smaller proscenium theater seating approximately 430. During the initial construction phase, two more studio theaters were added to the plans. The acoustics for the facility were the work of Bolt, Berenek and Newman, the firm responsible for the acoustics at Lincoln Center in New York City. Ultimately, the cost of building the Tulsa PAC was approximately $19 million. Additional revenue sources were found to fund the difference.

The facility underwent a major retrofit in the early 1990s to help the PAC become more accessible to people with disabilities. In 2000, the PAC completed a major expansion that included an additional studio theater, a large reception hall and a large suite of restrooms. This was the second addition of restrooms since the building opened in 1977.

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8336 S Lewis Ave #1203 Tulsa, OK 74137

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