These 8 Theatres In Arizona Will Give You An Unforgettable Viewing Experience

This theatre originally opened in 1930 to a raucous crowd and it enjoyed a life as a movie house until its closure in 1974. It sat abandoned for 25 years until restoration began and it reopened in 2013 as a performance venue.

We recently reviewed this building but in case you missed that post, Gammage was originally intended to be an opera house in Iraq. We’re glad it found a home on the ASU Tempe campus though as it makes a stunning setting for musicals, concerts, and graduations.

The last existing drive-in theatre in Arizona, this is a great place to enjoy a retro pastime. What makes this location unique--and probably contributes to its long-time status--is the public market that operates here during the day.

One of the prime locations in Phoenix for viewing plays and other performances, the Herberger Theatre was one of the key elements that helped reinvigorate downtown.

Here is a look at Stage West.

Even the waiting areas are lovely.

A Flagstaff staple for over a century, this theater operated as a movie house off and on until it closed in 1999. It reopened in 2002 as a music performance venue.

The more well-known Orpheum Theatre in the state, the theatre originally opened in 1929 for vaudeville performances. After going through several different ownerships, it was eventually purchased by the city and underwent more than a decade of renovations before reopening in 1997.

It looks so beautiful inside.

Since 1948, the Saguaro Theatre has been entertaining audiences in Wickenburg and has gone through several ownerships since its opening as one of the first Harkins theatres in the state. Just two years ago, the theatre was under threat of closing due to the overwhelming financial costs of switching their projections to digital formatting.

One of the longest-operating movie theatres in the state, Harkins Valley Art is still a great place to see movies as though you were in a luxurious small town theatre. The exterior has remained the same since its 1940 opening but the interior has undergone some renovations that make it more palatable to modern audiences. With only two screens, it typically shows independent and foreign films geared towards smaller audiences.

This is what the theatre looked like in 1941.