Phi Beta Kappa Hall

Phi Beta Kappa Memorial Hall is William & Mary’s theatre and dance complex in Williamsburg, Virginia. Completed in 1957, it replaced the earlier hall damaged by fire in 1953 and subsequently rebuilt as Ewell Hall. The present building reopened after expansion and renovation in 2023 as part of the university’s Arts Quarter. It contains teaching spaces, production workshops and performance venues, including the Glenn Close Theatre. Its main stage has hosted university ceremonies and visiting artists, as well as the 1976 presidential debate between Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter. The oldest academic honour society in the United States was founded at the College of William & Mary in 1776, and the hall that commemorates it is the college's principal theatre. It carries the society's name and the college's performing life together: drama, dance, student recitals, orchestral concerts and the touring productions that reach Williamsburg. Opera has been staged there, Verdi's Macbeth among the works presented.