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New York City · Venue

Union County Performing Arts Center

A restored 1928 Rahway movie palace with a 1,334-seat Main Stage and a working theatre organ.

Upcoming shows
30
Address
1601 Irving Street, Rahway, NJ 07065
Phone
(732) 499-8226
Next show
Thu, 8 Oct 2026
Official siteDirections
Union County Performing Arts Center in New York City

About Union County Performing Arts Center

Union County Performing Arts Center’s Main Stage in Rahway, New Jersey, is a 1,334-seat concert and performing-arts house in the former Rahway Theatre. Its strongest calling card remains in the room: the original Wurlitzer theatre organ, installed for silent films and now restored as a 500-pipe instrument designed for this auditorium. The result is a full-scale proscenium setting that carries the architectural scale of a 1920s movie palace into contemporary concerts.

A movie palace, reclaimed for the stage

New York architect David M. Oltarsch designed the classical-revival Rahway Theater, constructed in 1927–1928 as a movie and vaudeville house. Its Wurlitzer accompanied silent films, giving today’s Main Stage a surviving piece of its original musical machinery instead of a period-style substitute.

A local preservation campaign shifted the building’s course in the 1980s: the Rahway Theatre officially became the Union County Arts Center in October 1985. A 1992 New Jersey Historic Preservation Bond Program grant then funded work on the brick exterior, windows, roof, auditorium plaster, entrances, and seating, aiming to return the house to its 1928 appearance.

The later UCPAC organization broadened the campus in September 2012 with Hamilton Stage, a 199-seat space for smaller productions. That split lets the historic Main Stage retain its grand-scale presentation while the newer room handles intimate theatre, dance, music, and film.

The room and the calendar

UCPAC presents concerts, comedy, dance, theatre, movies, family programming, and multicultural events, while its rental program also accommodates live concerts, film and television shoots, ceremonies, corporate meetings, and galas. Music programming spans country, hip-hop, R&B, pop, classical, rock, Latin, and folk. Main Stage seating rises through Orchestra, Loge, and Mezzanine levels; the design has no overhanging balconies. A lobby café bar serves cocktails, beer, wine, soft drinks, and snacks, making this a seated theatre night with intermission-friendly amenities.

Sources

  1. History of UCPAC — Union County Performing Arts Center
  2. Rahway Theater — New Jersey Historic Trust
  3. Venue Rentals — Union County Performing Arts Center
  4. Events in Rahway, NJ at UCPAC — Union County Performing Arts Center

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