Pete the Cat
January 26 - May 07, 2027
Performances for Students
Performances for Student Groups
A love of the arts starts with arts education! We offer opportunities for student groups to experience exceptional live theatre at the Arvada Center throughout our theatre season.
Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA): Engaging performances specifically designed for young audiences, 1 hour long and geared towards K-5th graders. Schedule your Winter/Spring 2027 field trips for our TYA production of Pete the Cat now!
Student Matinees: Specially scheduled performances of our season's shows, typically during school hours, to enable students to access full-scale theatrical productions. These regularly run over 2 hours and are generally geared for students in 6th grade and up.
Upcoming Events
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Theatre for Young Audiences
Bring a group to see our 2027 TYA Title: Pete the Cat!
Interested in bringing your class or group to see this play? To reserve your spot in Pete the Cat's Field Trip Request Queue for Winter/Spring of 2027, please fill out the form at the link below.
It runs January 26 - February 26 in the Main Stage Theatre, and April 16 - May 7 in the Black Box Theatre.
Denver Public Schools buses have been specially reserved to make it easier for DPS students to experience Pete the Cat, A Musical at the Arvada Center. District bus transportation is available for DPS schools attending performances on Wednesday, January 27, Tuesday, February 2, and Wednesday, February 10. Reserve your seats early; space is limited! To take advantage of this, please fill out the Theatre for Young Audiences Request Form above.
For any other show at the Arvada Center please fill out the Student Matinee Request Form - keep reading for more details.
Shakespeare for Students
Julius Caesar - November 3 at 10:30 AM
Presented in partnership with the Colorado Shakespeare Festival
An abridged 45-minute assembly style performance, recommended for grades 8 - 12
*This unique opportunity invites students to explore Shakespeare’s examination of leadership, power, rhetoric and civic engagement ON ELECTION DAY!*
The Colorado Shakespeare Festival’s touring program combines live performance and the latest school violence research. Students improve their literacy skills AND learn safe and effective intervention strategies they can use when they see mistreatment happening around them.
This abridged version of Shakespeare’s famous tragedy is followed by a talkback with members of the cast, and a 50-minute classroom workshop that helps students connect situations in the play to situations they face every day.
Full-priced tickets: $12 per student
Title I pricing: $9 per student
The Comedy of Errors - March 2 at 10:30 AM
Presented in partnership with the Colorado Shakespeare Festival
30-minute assembly style performance, recommended for grades 4 - 7
The Colorado Shakespeare Festival’s touring program combines live performance and the latest school violence research. Students improve their literacy skills AND learn safe and effective intervention strategies they can use when they see mistreatment happening around them.
This abridged version of Shakespeare’s comedy is followed by a talkback with members of the cast, and a 50-minute classroom workshop that helps students connect situations in the play to situations they face every day.
Full-priced tickets: $12 per student
Title I pricing: $9 per student
If interested in bringing your students to either performance, please fill out the student matinee request form below.
Student Matinee Field Trips
Special matinee performances specifically for students are held on Thursdays at 10:30 AM. The rate is $22 per student and non-staff chaperones for all shows.
For Title I schools, tickets are $16 per student and non-staff chaperones for all shows. School staff and teachers are free of charge. Each 10:30 AM Student Matinee performance includes a special Talk Back after the performance with members of the cast and/or creative team.
Please note that any performance that isn't specifically a 10:30 AM Student Matinee will not have a talkback after the show.
Teachers can add a hands-on arts workshop, drama class, or gallery visit to any theatre reservation for a full day of arts programming. A list of offerings per age group can be found at this page.
Please fill out the form below to connect with our School & Community Programs team to book a student matinee for your student group!
2026-2027 Theatre Season
We're excited to be offering student matinee performances for every production in our 26-27 Theatre Season! Read more about the titles and dates below.
Misery
Student matinee: Thurs, 10/1 at 10:30 am (Recommended for High School+)
After a roadside accident in Colorado, author Paul Sheldon wakes up incapacitated in the home of his “number one fan” — the attentive but menacing Annie Wilkes. Injured from the crash and at Annie’s mercy, Paul soon realizes that Annie’s adoration leans more toward obsession. Adapted from Stephen King’s best-selling novel, this tense psychological thriller explores power, control, and the complicated relationship between artists and their audience.
Barefoot in the Park
Student matinee: Thurs, 10/22 at 10:30 am (Recommended for Middle, High School+)
Widely considered the most successful American playwright of the 20th century, Neil Simon helped define American comedy on the Broadway stage. In his much beloved Barefoot in the Park, newlyweds Corie and Paul have barely returned from their honeymoon only to have their relationship put to the test by their problem-filled NYC apartment. Free-spirited Corie wants Paul to be more spontaneous and do things like run “barefoot in the park,” and Paul just wants to get a good night’s sleep. This heartfelt comedy highlights the ins and outs of two very different people learning to communicate, compromise, and meet each other where they are.
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Student matinee: Tuesday, 12/8 at 10:30 am (Recommended for Upper Elementary, Middle and High School)
When Joseph starts having vivid visions of the future, his jealous brothers turn against him. But when the rockstar Pharaoh hears of Joseph’s gift, he’s sent on a journey that celebrates imagination, perseverance, and the power of believing in one’s unique gifts. Created by musical theatre legends Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is an iconic and beloved musical hit, re-imagined for the Arvada Center’s 50th anniversary.
Doubt: A Parable
Student matinees: Thurs, 3/11 10:30 am (Recommended for High School+)
Set in St. Nicholas Church School in the Bronx, NY, 1964, this powerful drama follows Sister Aloysius, the school’s principal, as she begins to question Father Flynn’s relationship with a troubled young student. As the progressive priest and the traditional nun are drawn into a battle of wills, their escalating contention forces their community, and the audience, to wrestle with uncertainty, perception, and responsibility. Winner of the 2005 Pulitzer Prize, and Tony Award for Best Play, Doubt: A Parable is a gripping story that examines ethics, conviction, truth, and suspicion.
Dear Evan Hansen
Student matinee: Thurs, 4/1, 4/29 at 10:30 am (Recommended for High School, and mature Middle School students)
Have you ever felt invisible? Socially awkward teen Evan Hansen has always felt like an outsider looking in. When tragedy impacts his school, a sudden death and well-intentioned lie give him an unexpected opportunity, the chance to connect with others in a way he’s never been able to before. Dear Evan Hansen is a profoundly original coming-of-age story that dives into the need to belong in a modern world that’s both hyper-connected and disconnected all at once. Winner of six Tony Awards, this Broadway hit explores universal themes of mental health, truth, identity, and belonging.
