SPOKANE, Wash. — As Spokane continues to boom, the city is becoming a bigger player in the entertainment touring industry.
Already this year the city has played host to the launch of Sir Paul McCartney’s latest tour and is currently hosting the musical Hamilton. Justin Kobluk is President of the ‘Best of Broadway’ series and said it's no coincidence that Spokane is getting bigger shows.
“The shows and the tours, they want to come here,” Kobluk said. So, they’ll seek me out. We will be talking to them years in advance. Instead of trying to pull teeth to get them to come here, we have a great relationship with the tours that come to Spokane.”
Those tours include Hamilton, which is currently at the First Interstate Center for the Arts, and future shows including Hadestown, Come From Away, Hairspray, Ain’t Too Proud, Dear Evan Hansen, and Aladdin.
“I’ve got shows on hold to come to this market in 2025, right now. So, we usually are two to three years out when we are looking to route a major tour like this to Spokane,” Kobluk said.
The ‘Best of Broadway’ has been in Spokane for 35 years and its success keeps the shows coming back according to Kobluk.
“We have a great track record of selling shows, of embracing shows, of embracing these tours,” he said.
Another big selling point in Spokane is the First Interstate Center for the Arts.
“We love having this facility. It gets so much praise, not only from the people coming to watch shows, but the tours themselves,” Kobluk said. “It has a ton of space, has a lot of amenities backstage, a lot more than there used to.”
Kobluk is constantly working to schedule out the next big shows and says Spokane’s run of success means better and newer musicals much sooner for local fans.
“We get those shows probably years before we really deserve them because of the success we’ve had over the years, and because of this facility,” he said.
WATCH MORE: 'Hamilton' in Spokane: Need to Know