Boston's Great Theaters: The Shubert and the Wang

Boston's great theaters, the Shubert and the Wang, together tell much of the long story of theater in Boston, MA The two sites have hosted most of the best performers and presentations to ever come to Boston. Today they exist as two parts of the Citi Performing Arts Center. Each offers a unique venue for performances with the Shubert often called "the Little Princess " of Boston Theater, while the much larger Wang Theater sometimes being referred to as "the Grand Dame". This season they will once again offer Bostonians and New Englanders great theater going options in downtown Boston.

The Shubert. Boston's Shubert Theater opened its doors for the first time in 1910 and from the beginning was standout because of its size and the artistry of its design. The first performance was "the Taming of the Shrew" but Shakespeare was not to dominate this theater. For many decades the Shubert was the site of many pre Broadway tryouts for many memorable shows like Camelot and the King and I. If this theater could talk it would tell wondrous tales of about the stellar performances of actors like Sir Laurence Olivier, Richard Burton, Mary Martin and Julie Andrews. In more current times the Shubert has also been where Bostonians went to see Les Miserables, Cats and RENT rather than make the trip to New York .

In 1996 the Shubert was taken over by the Wang Center for the Performing Arts and agreed to do some extensive remodeling to the Shubert. Today the theater continues to seat a rather intimate 1600 people making it a perfect setting for smaller scale or local performing arts presentations. This October 1, tickets will go on sale for performances of "La Boheme " from November 2-13. Ticket prices range from a modest $33 to a less modest $181.Performances will be given by Boston's own Lyric Opera. From November 30- Dec 2 dance enthusiasts can get their fill by attending the Shubert's offering by the Paul Taylor Dance Company part of the Celebrity Series of Boston. Additional performances by the Boston Lyric Opera are already scheduled for March and April.