Venue: Hilberry Gateway
Address: 4715 Cass Avenue
Town: Detroit, US

The Hilberry Gateway is a performing arts center on the campus of Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. The complex is the home of theatre and jazz performances presented by the Maggie Allesee Department of Theatre and Dance, succeeding the Bonstelle Theatre and incorporating the renovated Hilberry Theatre. The project was in planning as early as 2010 and received funding in 2018. The theater opened with the Maggie Allesee Department of Theatre and Dance production of Cabaret in April 2023. The Hilberry Gateway succeeds two earlier performance venues in Midtown Detroit, the Bonstelle Theatre and the Hilberry Theatre. Both venues were built as houses of worship in the early 20th century and converted to theaters decades later. Scenic and costume shops were located in a separate facility, complicating the logistics of productions in both theaters. The university also highlighted the Hilberry Theatre's uncomfortable seating and climate controls in its planning for the new performance venues. Design work on the complex began in 2016. The university's Board of Governors approved $65 million in funding for the project in 2018 after over eight years of planning. The facility was initially expected to open in fall 2022. The 550-seat proscenium theater features a 3,200 ft2 (297 m2) stage, with a sprung floor for dance performances, and an orchestra lift for musicals. The theater opened in April 2023 with a production of Cabaret. The 250-seat, 50 by 60 ft (15 by 18 m) black box theater is the most flexible performance space in the complex. The space features a tension grid for flexibility in configuring overhead equipment. The Studio Theater opened in May 2023 with the Sarah Ruhl adaptation of Orlando. The Gretchen C. Valade Jazz Center is the oldest portion of the complex, as a major renovation of the existing Hilberry Theatre. The Valade Jazz Center will be a 350-seat performance hall, featuring revised acoustics, seating, and support spaces. The Valade Jazz Center i