The Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and the Blind campus will keep the lights on at the Berger Performing Arts Center following a one-year lease agreement with Saguaro City Music Theatre.
ASDB announced in January that Berger would close June 30, citing a lack of state funding to continue operating. The announcement came shortly after the school shared it would move its Tucson campus on West Speedway to the closed Copper Creek Elementary School in Oro Valley for the fall semester.
ASDB, however, said in a news release Tuesday that a new agreement with Saguaro City would keep the performing arts center open from July 1 to June 30, 2027.
Saguaro City will cover utilities, and ASDB will handle major mechanical and plumbing issues, said Albert Duff, director of operations at ASDB.
While the agreement is a short-term solution, Duff said that ASDB is exploring more permanent solutions to keep the performing arts center open for the long run.
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Saguaro City Music Theatre signed a one-year lease for the Berger Performing Arts Center, where it mounts its performances, including “Million Dollar Quartet” in 2024.
"We're in the early stages of working with that, specifically with the Arizona Department of Administration," Duff said.
He said one idea that's been floated around has been to separate the performing arts center from the rest of the property and sell it completely separate.
"So essentially, (we'd) offer that as a standalone so that way it can be maintained and in the long term still be a performing arts center," Duff said.
No decisions have been made, Duff said. The ASDB board would weigh the proposal with many other options when it comes to figuring out what to do with the property, he said.
"Tucson doesn't have a lot of additional performing arts centers around it, especially ones that would be accessible to individuals who are deaf (or) blind," Duff said. "It was built primarily to bridge the larger community of Tucson into the world of the school for deaf and blind ... and it did that for its entire life here, and in many ways it's still going to continue to do that because Saguaro City has had such a strong connection with our students and programs throughout its many years working with us."
Saguaro City will handle all future rentals of the performing arts center to organizations for hosting events or performances, according to Drew Humphrey, Saguaro City Music Theatre CEO and producing artistic director.
A lease with Saguaro City Music Theatre will keep shows going at Berger Center for the Performing Arts, 1200 W. Speedway, for at least another year.
"As an organization, we can utilize the space for about four shows a year," Humphrey said. "There's a number of organizations that rely on Berger, so we want to make sure, in the spirit of that, that we keep those doors open and available to organizations that have used it last 20 years or so."
Saguaro City has used the theater consistently for the last four years, he said. When ASDB announced its campus closure in January, he said it sent the theater company into an "existential crossroads."
"We are a theater company. We need a theater to produce our shows," he said. "I performed on that stage when I was a teenager before I left for New York with dreams of performing, so it took me back to my childhood performing on that stage and how much I loved it."
He said while the news was heartbreaking at first, he's proud of how quickly Saguaro City and ASDB found and worked out a solution.
"I think it's a testament to how much ASDB recognizes the importance of the Berger to the Tucson community," Humphrey said. "There is not another space in town where our organization could serve and thrive in this community. We would have to pivot a lot of what we do."
About 24 arts organizations reached out to the Arizona Commission of Arts asking them and ASDB to find a way to keep the performing arts center open, Duff said. Saguaro City was the first to submit an offer.
The deal also will continue to benefit ASDB, as it gives them more room for larger events and performances. While ASDB's new campus in Oro Valley has a multipurpose room big enough for some meetings, "it's not what you would call the same comparison as the Berger Performing Arts Center," Duff said.
"We'll have to be cost considerate, but if there's a need for a larger venue, then we would be working with Saguaro City on using the Berger," he said.
Saguaro City will present "The Adams Family" at the Berger from June 26-28 before the new lease begins. Visit saguarocity.org for more information on the show and theater company.
