2023 VenuesNow All-Star Theater / PAC
DPAC
Durham, North Carolina
DPAC, ranked No. 1 in VenuesNow’s Q3 Top Stops chart for venues 2,001 to 5,000 capacity, celebrates its 15th season in more ways than one. Operated by Nederlander and Professional Facilities Management, the 2,700-seat theater hosts a multitude of shows, with everything from speaking engagements like John Oliver, Bluey’s Big Play, RuPaul’s Drag Race, comedian Taylor Tomlinson and “Beetlejuice The Musical.”
“Every day we wake up with two goals in mind,” said Brad Saks, DPAC programming director. “To be as aggressive and competitive as possible so that the biggest shows in the world that play theaters, come to DPAC.” The second and equal goal, adds general manager Bob Klaus, “is to have the very best guest experience possible, both for the artists on stage and for the fans coming in the front door.”
DPAC has delivered on those goals and the results are clear — even if it’s a lot of work.
“Our biggest challenge is frankly our calendar,” Saks says. “It’s a great challenge to have, as last season was our biggest ever with 250 performances. We cannot thank enough our promoter partners and all of the agents we work with, who help bring so many great shows to our stage.”
Saks says North Carolina as a whole is booming and DPAC is ready to meet the market’s demand for live entertainment. He says he hopes to continue the trend of multiple-night stands at DPAC.
“We’re a great place to sit down for multiple night engagements and would like to do more,” Saks said. “We’ve had tremendous success the past few years with multiple performance sellouts with Brandi Carlile, Chris Rock, Harry Connick, Jr., Jason Isbell, Jim Gaffigan, Lauren Daigle, Sylvan Esso, Sebastian Maniscalco, Taylor Tomlinson, Trevor Noah and Widespread Panic.”
