Marshall Performing Arts Center celebrates golden anniversary – Duluth News Tribune

DULUTH — For 50 years, the Marshall Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Minnesota Duluth has helped educate and inspire countless students. On Saturday, 50 years of alumni, staff and faculty reunited to reminisce about their lives and time on stage.

Approximately 250 alumni returned for a reunion to celebrate MPAC’s 50th anniversary. Over the past 50 years, MPAC has been home to more than 350 productions, more than 800 theater majors and more than 500,000 patrons, according to Mark Harvey, chair of the theater department at UMD. Harvey will soon retire after 41 years.

Organizers said Harvey asked the alumni committee not to hold the event for his retirement, but that didn’t stop students and colleagues from paying their respects. UMD theater professor Rebecca Katz Harwood will take over as chair of the theater department after Harvey retires.

During the welcoming event, David and Sue Spencer of Duluth were recognized. David Spencer is the grandson of Julia Marshall and the grandson of Caroline Marshall and Jessica Marshall Spencer, each of whom donated the building.

“I was here for the dedication ceremony 50 years ago when I was 17 years old,” said David Spencer. “I remember it very clearly sitting in that theater. It kind of came full circle. To come back here 50 years later and see all those people and what it turned out to be, that’s pretty special.”

Saturday’s celebration featured a variety of activities, including a welcome event with speakers, tours, a slide show, an hors d’oeuvres and drinks soiree at the Tweed Art Museum, and a visit to the theater department’s musical Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812. and a late-night cabaret performance featuring planned and impromptu performances by alumni.

According to the UMD website, in addition to the Marshall family, Marjorie Congdon Dudley also donated and was honored on behalf of the Dudley Experimental Theater (within MPAC).

For more information on the Marshall Performing Arts Center’s 50th anniversary, visit mpac50th.com.

Dan Williamson joined the Duluth News Tribune in June 2021, where he handles digital content such as video, photos and podcasts, as well as breaking news. He previously worked in broadcast television as a sports director/anchor at WDIO-TV in Duluth, a sports director/anchor in Bismarck, North Dakota, a news and sports anchor at KSAX-TV in Alexandria, and a reporter/photographer/editor on the syndicated show “Life to the Max” in Eden Prairie. He was also director of development for the Salvation Army of Duluth. Williamson grew up in Alexandria, graduated from St. Cloud State University and has lived in Duluth since 2012.