Drive past the Promenade on the Peninsula on a weeknight and you will notice the fountain, the movie marquee, maybe the line outside Sugo Social. The Norris Theatre sits behind Norris Center Drive, with a season schedule running from a December Carpenters tribute through a multi-week production in late spring.
The Norris is a 450-seat professional venue with a season calendar that includes touring performers and a box office with listed hours.
A Community-Built Theater
The Norris did not arrive as a developer amenity. In 1973, Joan Moe decided the Peninsula needed an actual theater. Four years later she and Agnes Moss brought together twenty local residents to form the nonprofit that would build it, with Moss serving as board president and naming Moe to chair the theater's management board. Ernie Hahn and Ron Florence, the men developing the Promenade next door, donated the land and the building shell outright. The Ken and Eileen Norris Foundation put up a million dollars to get fundraising moving. The theater opened in 1983 and has run as a community-owned nonprofit since.
The theater has continued to book performances for more than four decades.
The complex also includes the Harlyne J. Norris Pavilion, a 14,000-square-foot event space a short walk away on Indian Peak Road, and a Conservatory next door that runs youth arts education. These facilities add event and youth arts offerings to the Promenade area.
What's Actually Booked This Fall and Winter
The 2026-27 season includes recognizable performers and other events, with dates extending into next spring.
- December 5, 2026 — A Carpenters tribute concert featuring Debbie Taylor, built around the duo's best-known material and timed for the holiday stretch.
- February 13, 2027 — Daniel Emmet, an America's Got Talent finalist, brings a Valentine's weekend show built around love songs spanning decades, from classic standards through pop and classical crossover.
- Later in the run, Ruben Studdard, the American Idol winner known for his baritone, performs a tribute to Luther Vandross.
- The Canine Stars Stunt Dog Show returns after selling out its prior run, a family show built around rescue dogs performing agility courses and dock diving.
- A family matinee production of The Cat in the Hat rounds out the kid-friendly programming.
Beyond those named shows, the theater's own schedule already lists more than half a dozen additional dates through late May 2027, including one production that runs across more than a week in mid-April, longer than the theater's typical single-weekend booking.
Ticket Availability and Box Office Hours
The Norris seats 450 people, a relatively small room for a performance featuring an American Idol winner or an AGT finalist. Checking availability in advance can help with planning.
The box office schedule is another practical detail to note. It is open Tuesday through Thursday, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., and closed Monday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The one exception is showtime itself, when the box office reopens an hour before curtain and closes half an hour after. A Saturday walk-up visit therefore needs to coincide with that performance window.
| Topic | Norris Theatre details |
|---|---|
| Venue | It's a 450-seat professional venue booking touring names like an American Idol winner and an AGT finalist |
| Ticket access | The box office is open three weekday afternoons a week, plus the hour before curtain |
| Season schedule | Nine-plus dates are already on the books through late May 2027 |
Secondary ticket platforms have shown resale prices for Norris shows starting around $149.
Those resale listings are separate from the theater's own box office, so check the posted hours when planning an in-person purchase.
Getting In, Parking, and Making a Night of It
The venue sits inside the same complex as the Promenade, with on-site parking. Because Sugo Social sits in the same Deep Valley Drive complex, a dinner reservation before curtain is a genuinely short walk rather than a separate outing requiring its own parking spot.
To plan a visit, buy ahead online through the theater's own site, call during the Tuesday-through-Thursday afternoon window, or buy same-day during the hour before a specific show. Check availability for the performance you want to see before making plans.
The Norris Theatre as a Local Amenity
Rolling Hills Estates has a theater established through local efforts and operated by a nonprofit. Its 2026-27 schedule includes multiple performances through late spring. The Norris Theatre is one of the cultural amenities available on the Peninsula.
Local knowledge shapes most of what we do at Mackenbach Group. We have spent our careers on this Peninsula because we live here too, and we think the practical details, like the box office's posted hours, are worth knowing whether you are buying a ticket or a house. If you are ever curious what other amenities the Peninsula offers, or you are thinking about your own next move here, reach out and request a private consultation.
