Art is near the heart of each city in Hampton Roads—literally. Resplendent in glass and steel, these modern temples to the performing arts lure the best in Broadway, opera, ballet and nationally touring musical acts to the lively town centers. Whether planners are searching for a truly magnificent off-site reception space or booking group tickets for a Virginia Symphony Orchestra performance, the following venues are top options.
Sandler Center for the Performing Arts has been Virginia Beach’s stage for big-name shows since 2007. The ultra-modern, glass-walled center has won awards for its unique design. Equipped with cutting-edge audiovisual capabilities, the center offers a 1,300-seat performance hall and a 2,200-square-foot rehearsal space as well as the elegant, intimate Wood Founders Room, with 900 square feet of space. Its striking lobbies are perfect for receptions, and there are also two classrooms.
The towering chandeliers of Chrysler Hall, located in downtown Norfolk next to Norfolk Scope Arena, blaze through its glass facade and shine up out of a reflecting pool. One of the premier performing arts centers of the Hampton Roads region, the hall can seat 2,500. The grand lobby offers an opulent reception space for 450 or banquet venue for 250 beneath those resplendent chandeliers. The center, built in 1972, also offers 10 meeting rooms. Chrysler Hall is located in downtown Norfolk next to Norfolk Scope Arena.
Ferguson Center for the Arts opened on the campus of Christopher Newport University in Newport News in 2005. Centrally located in the city, this performing arts complex comprises a 1,725-seat concert hall engineered for perfect acoustics, a 453-seat music and theater hall and a 200-seat studio theater as well as the school’s theater, music and art departments. The center’s sweeping colonnade and high glass walls make it a distinctive landmark in the area.