The Berger is a non-profit theater that has hosted private and public events and seats 496 people. For 35 years, the venue has featured magic shows, school ceremonies, Irish Celtic bands and musical theatre productions.
Saguaro City Music Theatre, an arts cultural and educational hub, has worked with blind, deaf, visually impaired and hard-of-hearing actors at the Berger for the past four years. Now, the theater's future is secure—at least for the next year.
Saguaro City and ASDB have reached a one-year agreement allowing the organization to manage the Berger beginning July 1.
“It's really fantastic because it's not going to be closed, not even for one day,” said Saguaro City Director Dena DiGiacinto.
Built in 1991 and opened to the public in 1992, the Berger has always had an operator. DiGiacinto said Saguaro City's new role will include managing day-to-day operations and maintaining the building and surrounding property.
The organization is also seeking additional community partners and renters to host events in the space.For Berger manager Ruben Rosthenhausler, who has worked at the venue for 26 years, the campus closure was surprising but not unexpected.
“I knew it was coming,” he said. “It was an inevitability for the agency that it couldn't sustain its finances with the lack of population that was coming. It was still a shock to me.”
Rosthenhausler said preserving the theater became a priority as plans for the campus transition moved forward. DiGiacinto credited him with helping start conversations that ultimately led to the agreement.
Saguaro City Music Theatre Board President Ray Frieders said the venue remains a “cultural landmark” for Tucson.
“I think we turned what was at first shocking into an opportunity to be creative and look at what was possible instead of what wasn't impossible,” Frieders said.
Kate Scally Howell, a former ASDB music teacher, said she is excited to continue using the venue through her Sentinel Players program.
“It's a great performing venue,” Scally Howell said. “It’s very popular for graduations and small community groups. It's a really great space acoustically and visually.”
According to DiGiacinto, much of the venue's schedule has already been reserved under the new agreement, including Sentinel Players productions in spring 2027.
Before the transition begins, the Studio Arts Presents summer camp, a three-week musical theater program for Tucson students ages 7 to 17, will stage "The Addams Family" June 26-28. The production will be the final show presented under ASDB's sole management before the new agreement takes effect July 1.
Actors are currently rehearsing at the University of Arizona's Tornabene Theatre and will move into Berger on June 20 for technical and dress rehearsals.
For more information, visit Saguaro City Music Theatre.
