The McConnell Arts Center lives in a building that started out as Worthington High School more than a century ago. After years of planning, it opened as an arts center in 2009. Around Worthington it goes by the MAC.
A small theater
The auditorium holds 213 seats. With a room that size, the stage is right there, and the center's own director likes to say there is no bad seat in the house. Performers sometimes come out to the lobby after the show to meet the audience, which is the kind of thing that only happens in rooms like this.
The MAC puts artists who live and work in Ohio at the center of its programming, alongside touring acts. Expect concerts (including crooner and holiday shows), film screenings, and exhibitions rather than a club calendar. The jazz and blues calendar is a good place to watch for its kind of show.
More than a stage
The building holds about 20,000 square feet in all, with galleries, classrooms and a ceramics studio alongside the theater. Viewing the exhibitions is free, and the main gallery keeps daytime hours most days of the week. Classes cover visual art, ceramics, dance, writing and more, for kids and adults.
Skipping the downtown drive
The MAC is on Evening Street in Old Worthington, straight up High Street from campus. The pitch from the people who run it is simple. You get a full show night without driving downtown or paying downtown parking prices.
The shops and restaurants around the Village Green on High Street are close enough to walk before or after a show, which makes it easy to turn a concert into dinner and a stroll.
Nearby rooms
Natalie's started on North High Street in Worthington before moving its music to Natalie's Grandview on King Avenue. For another suburban arts center with a bigger stage, see the McCoy Center for the Arts in New Albany.