The Hilberry Gateway is a performing arts center on the campus of Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. The complex will be the home of theatre and jazz performances presented by the Maggie Allesee Department of Theatre and Dance, succeeding the Bonstelle Theatre and incorporating the renovated Hilberry Theatre. The project was in planning as early in 2010, and received funding in 2018. The first performance in the newly-constructed theatre is scheduled for April 2023. History The Hilberry Gateway succeeds two earlier performance venues in Midtown Detroit, the Bonstelle Theatre and the Hilberry Theatre. Both venues were built as houses of worship in the early 20th century, and converted to theaters decades later. Scenic and costume shops were located in a separate facility, complicating the logistics of productions in both theaters. The university also highlighted the Hilberry Theatre's uncomfortable seating and climate controls in its planning for the new performance venues. Design work on the complex began in 2016. The university's Board of Governors approved $65 million in funding for the project in 2018 after over eight years of planning. The facility was initially expected to open in fall 2022. Components Proscenium theater The 550-seat proscenium theater will feature a stage, with a sprung floor for dance performances, and an orchestra lift for musicals. It is expected to open in April 2023 with a production of Cabaret. Black box theater The 250-seat, black box theater will serve as the most flexible performance space in the complex. The space will feature a tension grid for flexibility in configuring overhead equipment. Gretchen C. Valade Jazz Center The Gretchen C. Valade Jazz Center is the oldest portion of the complex, as a major renovation of the existing Hilberry Theatre. The Valade Jazz Center will be a 350-seat performance hall, featuring revised acoustics, seating, and support spaces. The Valade Jazz Center is named after the late Gretchen C. Valade, longtime patron of the Detroit Jazz Festival, and major supporter of the Hilberry Gateway construction. The building was constructed as the First Church of Christ, Scientist in 1917 in the Roman Ionic style, and is a contributing property to the Wayne State University Buildings historic district. The building's life as a theatre began when the university purchased the building in 1961, reopening it in 1964 with a repertory season of four plays by William Shakespeare. The Hilberry closed in 2022, after 58 years, with a