About Us

The Hackensack Performing Arts Center

Welcome to HACPAC — the new centerpiece for the City of Hackensack.

The new Hackensack Meridian Health Theater is a home that nurtures new artists: playwrights, musicians, directors, choreographers and visual artists. It is also home to professional theater companies and arts organizations. We will showcase premier performers, including Broadway and Hollywood stars, as well as Grammy-winning artists. We will continue to bring top-quality entertainment for all ages, across all arts disciplines.

The City’s legacy

Historically, the City of Hackensack has been in the vanguard of arts and culture in Bergen County and New Jersey. Our proximity to New York City makes us an ideal home for artists, spanning numerous arts and performing disciplines. The City has nurtured and influenced such jazz greats as Thelonious Monk, rock & roll icons like Jimi Hendrix and Joe Lynn Turner, and R&B stars like James. “J.T.” Taylor from Kool and the Gang. We have also cultivated many theater companies, dance organizations, comedy troupes, and musicians. Now come and welcome the next generation of great artists and performers to our new Performing Arts Center.

Now, located in the downtown area of Hackensack, transformed from an old Masonic Temple, the City of Hackensack is home to a state-of-the-art Performing Arts Center. The new HACPAC will be a home that nurtures new artists in the form of playwrights, musicians, directors, choreographers and visual artists. It will also be the home for professional theater companies and arts organizations. We will also showcase premier entertainers, which would include Broadway and Hollywood stars, as well as Grammy Award-winning artists. We will continue to bring top quality entertainment for all ages, across all arts disciplines. Our downtown location, combined with our convenient public parking, makes it the perfect stop for a day or weekend of shows, shopping, and dining.

The Mayor and City Council

Mayor John Labrosse

A Hackensack resident for nearly four decades, John Labrosse was first elected to the City Council in 2009 and has...

Deputy Mayor Kathleen Canestrino

Kathy Canestrino retired from Honeywell International as an Aerospace Engineer and was first elected to the City Council in 2013....

Deputy Mayor Dave Sims

A lifelong local resident and a member of the City Council since 2013, Dave Sims works as a Paraprofessional at...

Councilman Leonardo Battaglia

A native of Ecuador, Leonardo Battaglia is a retired local business owner and a longtime local resident who has served...

Councilwoman Stephanie Von Rudenborg

An Education Consultant and former Special Education teacher who also holds a law degree, Stephanie Von Rudenborg served on the...

Department of Cultural Arts

Gregory Liosi

Artistic Director
Gregory is a NJ ACT Perry Award Winning Director and a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Rose Frontignano

Arts Coordinator
Rose Frontignano has been working in the theater both on stage and behind the scenes locally and in New York City for over twenty years.

Frank Borrelli

Arts Coordinator
Frank Borrelli is an Arts Coordinator for the City of Hackensack and the founder of Defining Moments Theatre Company.

Cultural Arts Advisory Board

Edward Decker
Caseen Gaines
Ryan Huban
Toney Jackson
Ruth Bauer Neustadter
Shatanya Shaw
Bob Suede

Message from the Artistic Director:

Pride, honor, joy, and bliss. These are only some of the words to describe the pleasure I feel in being the Artistic Director for this beautiful theater. When we opened the Hackensack Cultural Arts Center at 39 Broadway, I strove to create a home for all levels of theater and arts organizations. During our 17 years in that theater, we had more than 2,500 performances of plays, musicals, cabaret nights, poetry nights, comedy, concerts and art exhibits.

What overwhelming anticipation I feel to bring similar, amazing programming to this new and beautiful theater! What you are about to experience is nothing short of spectacular—all in your own backyard. You will see the best of the best, as well as the up-and-coming, many of whom call this area home. As a grandson of immigrants who settled in Hackensack, a child of educators in our school system and a graduate of that school system, I don’t take lightly the job of giving back to the community. I want to give the next generation the ability to call this PAC their home and nurture their talents in the same way that Hackensack High School and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts did for me.