TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — The impending closure of the Edward Berger Performing Arts Center on the Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind’s Tucson campus is raising concerns among local theater groups and arts advocates who say the loss would leave a significant gap in the region’s cultural and educational landscape.
ASDB announced this week that the Berger Performing Arts Center will close effective June 30, 2026, citing a lack of state funding to continue operating the venue, which has served the community for 25 years. The announcement comes as ASDB prepares to relocate its Tucson campus, a move that has already left parents and students uncertain about the future.
For Saguaro City Music Theatre, a nonprofit company that regularly uses the Berger, the closure would be especially damaging. Managing Director Dena Digiacinto said the organization was recently informed that its time at the venue is nearly over.
“Along with the campus, ASDB campus closing and the school itself closing at the end of this school year, the Berger performing arts center will also be closing its doors at the end of the summer,” Digiacinto said. “So for us that is quite devastating if it no longer is accessible to us.”
Beyond performances, Saguaro City has partnered with ASDB to provide educational programming for students on campus. Digiacinto said the theater has played a key role in after-school instruction.
“There we’ve been able to use the space as part of an after school program, which has been really great, too, allowing to work with some of the deaf and blind students that attend,” she said.
Local theater critic Zach Wetzel of BroadwayWorld said the impact of losing the Berger would extend well beyond a single company. He described the venue as uniquely suited for inclusive and educational uses.
“They’re a very large and inclusive space which is why Saguaro City likes to use them,” Wetzel said. “And they’re perfect for education as well, because there are other schools and camps that come and use them.”
ASDB officials said the closure is unavoidable without new funding. As a state agency, ASDB said it cannot fundraise, borrow money or issue bonds to offset operating costs, and repeated requests for additional state funding over the past three years were unsuccessful. The school expressed hope that a local organization or historical foundation might step in to support and preserve the venue.
Digiacinto said community awareness is critical as the future of the Berger remains uncertain. “I think it’s definitely important for anyone who cares about the arts in Tucson to know, this performing arts center is at risk of closing its doors,” she said.
As of this week, ASDB has not announced whether a new operator will assume control of the theater.
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Eddie Celaya is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9. Born in Tucson and raised in the Phoenix area, Eddie is a life-long Arizonan and graduate of the University of Arizona who loves the desert and mountains and hates the cold. Previously, Eddie worked in print media at the Arizona Daily Star. Share your story ideas with Eddie at edward.celaya@kgun9.com, or by connecting on Facebook or Instagram.
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