Wharton Center, renowned facility for the performing arts, hosts not just productions but lectures and classes, all thanks to the efforts of the Whartons.

Wharton Center was opened in September 1982.

The center is named after MSU’s 14th president, Clifton R. Wharton and his wife Dolores, whose vision for a state-of-the art facility made Wharton Center a possibility.

Venues

Visitors to Wharton Center can take in a play, musical, orchestral performance, ballet or comedy hour in one of Wharton Center’s two unique settings:

The Pasant Theatre seats 600 guests which surround the stage on three sides.

Cobb Great Hall seats more than 2,400 guests and is home to Wharton’s larger touring productions.

For ticket information, contact the box office at (517) 432-2000 or toll free at 1-800-WHARTON.

Wharton Facts

The Wharton Inner Circle was founded in May of 1982 and now has more than 300 members.

The first performance was held on September 25, 1982, when the Chicago Symphony Orchestra performed with soprano Birgit Nilsson.

Peter Pan, starring Karyn Cole as Peter and Rip Taylor as Captain Hook, was the center’s first Broadway performance in April 1983.

The musical Dreamgirls, which opened at Wharton Center in October 1986, was the first Broadway production to run for an entire week.

CATS came to Wharton Center in October 1987.

Les Miserables opened at Wharton Center during the 1988-1989 season and has returned regularly ever since.

Wharton Center hosted the 1992 presidential debates between President George Bush, Governor Bill Clinton and Ross Perot.

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera debuted at Wharton Center in 1996.

The E-Club, Wharton’s online membership organization, was introduced in 2000 and now has 50,000 members.