Newport Performing Arts Center

We have seen dances, symphonies, opera live from the MET, movies, plays, and more at this wonderful theater. It is a perfect place to enjoy an afternoon or evening with the family and I’m grateful Newport has such a diverse arts community! Thank you to all the people who work so hard to keep the PAC a vibrant part of our town!

There are a lot of really wonderful theaters and performance spaces in Oregon. I’m guessing it’s related to being so far west — and so far from major metropolitan areas. With the Oregon Shakespeare Festival down the intersatate in Ashland, and 2 major universities feeding the population both of actors/​performers/​artists, and a culture that goes to the theater and gets involved in art — it’s a natural thing that theaters, concert spaces, and museums/​galleries are so common.
And Newport’s Performing Arts Center is a good example of this kind of local venue. It sits high up on the rocks just north of the entrance to Yaquina Bay — less than 500 yards from the ocean’s edge.
The theater itself is a procenium stage with a single-​level auditorium that appears to seat about 200 – 250. While there are stairs and a mezzanine level up from the orchestra level, it appears to be used mostly for lighting; and the center back of the seating area has been transformed into a sound/​lighting and media control center.
Which is good — since a lot of this theater’s life is spent on live broadcasts of opera (and probably dance or concert, though I didn’t look that close at the schedule of events.) It also means that local/​regional productions can take advantage of the multi-​media extras offered with so many current productions.
We saw the current production of Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein musical here, and they utilized the projection capabilities of the theater to feature the musical’s logo, and some of the projections.
The local production was as good as any non-​professional show we’ve seen — and much better than most. There were musicians in the pit providing the familiar Brooks-​musical score. The leads managed some funny and daunting lyrical gymnastics with glee — The timing of some of the jokes and throw-​away lines was a little off — and the chorus was not mic’d very well and so were a little hard to hear/​understand at times — but over all, the cast and theater crew was up to the task. A couple of the leads and several of the chorus were surprisingly good — making the show a real pleasure to watch, from the yodeling love songs to the tap dancing creature with his Rockettes-​like backup dancers. It was a fun day/​evening at the theater!
What more could you want for a holiday show?

Went to see Flamenco show. Main theater not used— we were in «The Black Box» theater —a small curtained off area seating for 50 or so people.
Floor is flat and chairs laid out in rows so no one except the front row could see the seated singer, guitarist or below the waist of the one dancer performing. The feet of a Flamenco dancer are where a lot of the action is — it was like watching a «tap dancer» from the waist up !
The singer did the usual Spanish passion BUT with the aid of a microphone that was so loud it ruined the evening for me and my wife and although an audience member early on asked for the mike to be adjusted, it wasn’t. Some people were seen with hands over their ears throughout the performance.
I blame the PAC for all these failings. You should have done a better job.
Disgraceful !
ps…The performers were quite good.

This is a great little local theater and definitely as good as it gets for the genre. The coast for New Year’s is an ongoing tradition in my family, and each year we happily search what’s playing at the PAC as part of our celebration. Over the years we’ve seen Misty River and some Riverdancing in the main theater, a production of Picasso at the Lapin Agile in the small theater, eaten a catered meal in the decorated lobby before one performance, the list goes on. During each visit we’ve felt welcomed, and pleasantly surprised at both the local talent as well as the national acts that are brought in.
The theater itself is quite large, and the foyer includes some breathtaking views of the visual art overlooking the Pacific. It feels light and airy inside, part of the architect’s vision and suitable for the coast. Definitely worth a stop for any show. I’ve not been disappointed.

Came here for Laughs for Lighthouses, saw a comedy show. A small venue, decent sized for the town it’s meant to service. I had a great time at the event.