Carpentry crews are putting finishing touches on the venue and excitement is building less than a week before the grand opening of the only stage in the world named for the quintessential American playwright, Arthur Miller.

The grand opening of the Arthur Miller Theatre will take place with a private invitational performance March 29 of “Playing for Time,” based on a harrowing World War II biographical account of a part-Jewish French cabaret singer.

For his teleplay adaptation of the story, Miller won an Emmy in 1980 for Outstanding Writing in a Limited Series or Special. Public performances of “Playing for Time” run March 30-April 8. All performances are sold out.

The Arthur Miller Theatre is located within the Charles R. Walgreen, Jr. Drama Center on North Campus, home to the School of Music, Theatre & Dance, School of Art & Design, and the School of Architecture.

It seats 270 in straight proscenium configuration with the option of a three-quarter thrust arrangement. The lobby features a three-story glass atrium with a central staircase that connects the theatre to the academic wing.

“Opening the doors of the theatre is both a symbol and invitation for students, the University community and the public to join a discourse about values, morality and the promise of how the arts can broaden our horizons,” says President Mary Sue Coleman.

Drawing on Miller’s inspiration and providing first-rate facilities, the theater is a laboratory whereby students can explore the emotional dimensions along with the not-so-easy-to-confront truths of human nature.

Additional events surrounding the opening include “The Global Miller Symposium” March 29-31, which features an impressive list of internationally acclaimed Miller scholars. The discussion of Miller’s influence on American theatre and his impact on shaping the moral responsibilities of 20th century artists will be among the topics explored in the symposium. Department of English Professor Enoch Brater will be the moderator for the event.

Brater is a renowned expert on Samuel Beckett and is the editor of two books on Miller, “Arthur Miller’s America: Theatre and Culture in a Time of Change” (U-M Press) and “The Stages of Miller” (Thames and Hudson, London).

All grand opening events are sponsored by Arts on Earth, a new campuswide initiative that explores topics such as science, technology and the arts; art and commerce; art and conscience; the intrinsic value of the arts; and the socio-cultural reach of the arts.

For more on Miller Theatre grand opening events visit www.music.umich.edu. For additional information on Arts on Earth go to www.artsonearth.org.