F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts

A crown jewel of Public Square, the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts is a nonprofit theater located in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania that offers an array of quality culturally stimulating entertainment and arts programming to our communities. We host mainstream performers, emerging artists, comedy, Broadway, family orientated productions, arts education programs, as well as classic and modern films. The staff at the Kirby Center have curated our programming in an effort to make the arts as accessible as possible to those throughout our community!

Donate and Win!

Support the F.M. Kirby Center with a donation of $20 or more between 7am - 7pm on Friday, June 6th to be entered in to win a Kirby Center merchandise item of your choosing! -Only one entry per donor. Winner will be given a list of qualifying merchandise items. Winner will be chosen at random and notified by a Kirby staff member on Monday, June 9th. 

Laux Young People's Theater Series

Our Laux Young People's Theater Series allows us to host 8,000 students from 30+ different schools across 5 counties, free of charge, to educational and entertaining main stage productions. While music and arts continue to be eliminated from curriculum's due to budget constraints, these free performances include a study guide that gives teachers the opportunity to bring the lesson from the stage into the classroom.

Arts Education Programming

The Kirby Center is proud to offer free Master Class workshop opportunities for local music, theater, and dance students. Through this program, students are given the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to interact, perform, and learn from professional artists from national touring companies ahead of their performance at the Kirby. 

Signature Series Programming

Our Signature Series invites the community to enjoy culturally stimulating and enriching performances all at an accessible price! We bring the arts to the community and the community to the arts. 

Community Outreach

Through our Community Outreach program, each season we partner with local nonprofits and social service agencies to distribute thousands of free tickets to underserved groups and vulnerable members of our community. 

Historic Building Preservation

A crown jewel of Public Square, the theater we call home has served this valley for almost a century! Maintaining and preserving our beloved historic building is a heavy lift as we continue to grow and keep up with the demands of operating a performing arts center in these modern times. 

Who We Are

To foster the development and appreciation for the arts in the community by promoting, producing, and causing to be produced, theatrical productions, exhibits and other entertainment as deemed to have a beneficial impact upon the community.