It's show time at new performing arts center

Tonight marks a major milestone for the City of Bradenton, one years in the making and worthy of a major celebration. The Manatee Performing Arts Center debuts tonight with a blockbuster complete with special effects that will show off the city’s new downtown gem.

Figuratively and literally, “Miss Saigon” will light up the spacious new main stage, Stone Hall, as the award-winning Manatee Players finally inhabit a theater worthy of their artistic skills.

The aging and cramped but beloved Riverfront Theatre in the heart of downtown Bradenton will now be a fond memory for the troupe and thousands of theater-goers.

The $15 million state-of-the-art theater is truly a communitywide achievement thanks to donations large and small over more than eight years of fund-raising.

This story was originally published March 28, 2013 at 7:45 PM with the headline "It's show time at new performing arts center."