ARDMORE, Okla. (KXII) – For executive director Nick Gelona, the grand opening of the Jerome Westheimer Performing Arts Center has been worth the wait.

“We’ve had former students come in and campaigned for the existence of this place, knowing that they were never going to be able to perform on this stage, and one of the cool things in this grand opening is we actually have three of them coming back to get to be able to perform in it,” Gelona said.

The three-level multipurpose facility will be the new home for Ardmore’s performing arts students, and can host a variety of events ranging from theatre, dance, and music.

“They’ll get to be exposed to all the different kinds of art forms that come through here, and our hope is that for the next school year we’ll be able to start a technical theatre class. And in that technical theatre class those students will be able to help load in those shows, help load out, help tech the show as well,” Gelona stated.

Gelona says the center will provide endless possibilities for students.

“We can bring somebody who has Broadway credits in to play a role in a show, and fill out the rest of the roles with high school students, they would be able to do a full length musical before they even graduated high school,” Gelona added.

The grand opening is set for Sunday, where multiple Broadway performers and musicians will be taking the stage with Ardmore students and alumni.

“We have the University of Oklahoma Jazz band that’s coming in to do a set as well, we have a couple members of the Ardmore High School orchestra, that are going to be playing a song,” Gelona said.

To make sure you have a seat reserved for Sunday’s grand opening, you can purchase your tickets here or by calling the box office at 580-221-3080.

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