Kentucky Center for the Arts: the heart of Louisville’s arts
Whether you’re looking for music, dance or drama, the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts is the venue for the finest in the arts.
Hosting the performances of the Louisville Ballet, the Louisville Orchestra, Stage One and Music Theatre Louisville, the Kentucky Center for the Arts goes further still. The Joffrey Ballet, Mstislav Rostropovich, the Moscow Philharmonic, the Bolshoi Ballet, Leontine Price, Jerry Lewis, Elie Wiesel, Marilyn Horne, Philip Glass, Isaac Stern, Itzhak Perlman, the Paul Taylor Dance Company, Lily Tomlin, Bill Cosby, James Taylor and many, many more artists have performed at the Kentucky Center over the years. In 1984, it was the site of one of the presidential debates between Ronald Reagan and Walter Mondale.
The Kentucky Center, located in downtown Louisville, also is the site of the PNC Broadway Across America productions, which has included such Broadway faves as Wicked, Cats, Chicago, Rent and The 39 Steps. The newly revised KentuckyShow! also calls the Kentucky Center home.
The Kentucky Center has three performance spaces: the 2,406-seat Whitney Hall, where the Louisville Orchestra plays its classical concerts; the 619-seat Moritz von Bomhard Theatre, where Stage One now performs; and the 139-seat Boyd Martin Theatre, known as “The MeX.”
You can check for upcoming shows through the center’s
Calendar. Tickets are available
online or by calling (502) 584–7777 or toll-free at (800) 775–7777. You can also visit the Kentucky Center Box Office from Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, from noon to 5 p.m.
Through its education program, the Kentucky Center oversees the Governor's School for the Arts, where more than 200 of the Bluegrass State's most gifted teen-aged artists come together for three weeks of art and interaction.
The Kentucky Center offers wheelchair access on every seating and parking level. With three weeks’ notice, sign interpretation is available for patrons who are deaf or hard of hearing.
The Kentucky Center isn't only about the performing arts; it has a collection of sculptures, too. For decades, Faribolus and Perceval, sculpted by French artist Jean Dubuffet, have greeted visitors to the Kentucky Center. A sculpture by Alexander Calder, The Red Feather, donated by the late Mary and Barry Bingham Sr., stands guard in front of the building. The center also boasts works by Joan Miró, Louise Nevelson and John Chamberlain.
Kentucky Center facilities are also available for rental, whether it’s a business function, a wedding, a seminar, a luncheon, a party or a performance of your own. The center has its own caterer and full-time event coordinators and the center garage can accommodate more than 2,000 cars. Click here or call (502) 562–0177 for more information.
- by Ivonne Rovira, Louisville Reporter for HelloMetro
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Ivonne RoviraA graduate of the prestigious Columbia University School of Journalism in New York City, Ivonne Rovira worked as a reporter for the Miami News, The Miami Herald and The Associated Press. She has written articles for The National Catholic Reporter and The Courier-Journal. For more than 15 years, Ivonne wrote and edited articles aimed at middle-school children.
