Welcome!

Dear Friends,

Much has changed in the ten years since we opened The Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts on March 14, 2008, both inside and outside the building.

Internally, we’ve grown from a start-up nonprofit with a seven-person staff to a cultural anchor in our region with 40 full and part-time staff and more than 250 volunteers. In the last several years, we have been consistently ranked by the international ratings agency, Pollstar, among the top theatre venues worldwide for attendance. The scale, quality and prominence of the shows and artists appearing on our stage continues to grow.

Outside the building, the change is even more dramatic. The nearly two million visitors who have come through our doors have helped to transform Worcester. What ten years ago was a deserted downtown that visitors feared to visit after business hours now boasts a slew of restaurants and creative businesses. Where once was a failing outlets mall now stands an upscale residential development and a four-star hotel. More change is on the way with several restaurants, a comedy club, a threeseason beer garden with an outdoor stage, an art gallery and more. The theatre’s success has been credited with catalyzing not just development downtown, but a new optimism in Worcester.

At this important milestone, we’ve undertaken what we call the “Share Your Story” initiative to capture some of the most memorable moments of the past ten years. We hope that you’ll take the time to share your story with us. To find out more please visit TheHanoverTheatre.org/contests.

Even as we look back at ten years of growth and success, we are truly focused on the road ahead:

• New partnerships will serve to bring us consistently high caliber productions, maintaining a robust and diverse range of national tours and performances.

• Our conservatory, now more than 280 students strong after only 18 months, will continue to grow in reach and diversity of classes and training opportunties.

• Southbridge Street will be re-routed this coming year to create a pedestrian plaza on the theatre’s doorstep. That plaza will change the way visitors experience the theatre and will give us an opportunity to engage a broader population, both on show days and otherwise.

• A 300-seat flexible theatre space in development at 20 Franklin Street, around the corner from the theatre, will host performances by other cultural organizations and our own conservatory students, and we will partner with a regional theatre company to bring a season of plays to Worcester.

• A new restaurant in the 551 Main Street building will make it easier for visitors to park once for “dinner and a show.”

We challenge ourselves continually to reach higher and to extend our impact across ever-increasing numbers of visitors, theatre lovers and young people. Thank you especially to those of you who have been with us since the beginning and have taken this ten year journey with us. We hope to continue to make you proud of us in the years ahead.

With appreciation,

Dr. Marianne Felice Chair of the Board

Troy Siebels President & CEO

OUR MISSION is to foster a love and appreciation for the performing arts in audiences of today and tomorrow.OUR VISION is to be the finest performing arts center in New England.