Hilberry Theatre

01 / The story of this place

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The building at 4743 Cass Avenue started life in 1917 as a Christian Science church before Wayne State University acquired it and opened it in 1964 as the Hilberry Theatre, the university's professional graduate repertory company. Over nearly six decades the Hilberry staged more than six hundred productions and trained generations of actors, including a young Jeffrey Tambor, later known for "Arrested Development" and "Transparent," who studied there in the 1960s. Wayne State closed the Hilberry as a theater company on November 20, 2022, after a final performance of Shakespeare's "The Merry Wives of Windsor," ending its run as a training ground for actors. The university then converted the historic building into the Gretchen C. Valade Jazz Center, which opened to the public on August 29, 2024, alongside a new adjacent theater, the Hilberry Gateway, that opened in February 2023 to carry on Wayne State's theater and dance programs.

1. Built in 1917 as a Christian Science church; became Wayne State's Hilberry Theatre in 1964
2. Actor Jeffrey Tambor trained here in the 1960s
3. Closed as a theater company on November 20, 2022, after 58 years
4. Reopened August 29, 2024, as the Gretchen C. Valade Jazz Center