As a theater student at the University of Southern Maine in the 1970s, Tony Shalhoub says he had to struggle to find a rehearsal space that didn’t “echo like a gymnasium.”

So he was understandably awed Friday morning when he toured the university’s new $63 million Crewe Center for the Arts in Portland, just before a ribbon-cutting attended by several hundred people. He saw studios, performance and rehearsal spaces, and 26 Steinway pianos, which themselves cost a total of $2.8 million.

He said he wasn’t sure what his younger self would have thought of such a facility, but he’s certain of what it will mean to USM students in the future.

“I think it would have been daunting for me to have all this. I might have thought I wasn’t qualified to take advantage of it. But it probably would have been game changing, too,” said Shalhoub, a 1977 USM graduate. “When I see the quality they’ve put into this, the perfect acoustics, I know it’s going to inspire students and attract more talent here.”

The Emmy- and Tony-winning actor lent his name and fame to the center in 2023 when he agreed to become honorary chair of the fundraising campaign. Shalhoub, who lives in New York, flew into Portland Friday morning for the event and was scheduled to fly out Friday afternoon.

Besides his role as honorary chair, he donated $150,000 to the center, citing repeatedly how important USM and its teachers were to nurturing his love of acting and convincing him to pursue it as a career. He said Friday he’s donated money to other institutions and causes, including the Yale School of Drama, which he attended after USM. But he said working with the Crewe Center was the first time he’s taken such a visible and active role in a cause.

“This is where it all started for me. The passion my teachers had was contagious,” said Shalhoub, 71.

The Crewe Center includes the Osher School of Music, the Kate Cheney Chappell Center for Book Arts, a 200-seat performance hall, the Great Hall Gallery for visual arts, art, dance, theater and music studio space, and a rehearsal hall. It opened for use at the beginning of the school year. The ribbon-cutting took place on an outdoor performance space called the Tony Shalhoub ’77 Performance Plaza.

The center’s name comes from the Maine-based Crewe Foundation, which donated $6 million to the cost of the building and another $1 million specifically for the Steinways.

The Crewe Foundation was created by brothers Dan and Bob Crewe to provide grants to arts and music groups and other efforts. Bob Crewe, who died in 2014, was best known for his work as a producer and songwriter for 1960s hitmakers Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. Dan Crewe, a longtime music business veteran who lives in Maine, was chair of the fundraising campaign and was at the event Friday. He cut the ribbon.

Everyone who spoke at the event sang Crewe’s praises — literally, in Gov. Janet Mills’ case. When talking about Crewe’s commitment to USM and his passion for the project, she broke out into her own altered version of Frankie Valli’s 1967 hit “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” which was co-written by Bob Crewe and featured in the hit musical “Jersey Boys.”

“You’re just too good to be true, we can’t take our eyes off of you … thank God you’re alive, we want to thank you so much,” she sang, getting what might have been the biggest applause of the morning.

A native of Green Bay, Wisconsin, Shalhoub first came to USM as an exchange student in the mid-1970s, while he was enrolled at the University of Wisconsin at Green Bay. But he liked the school, especially its theater program, and decided to transfer. After graduating, he acted around Portland, including at Profile Theatre (now Portland Stage) and the Children’s Theatre of Maine.

Shalhoub won three Emmy Awards for lead actor in a comedy series between 2003 and 2006, playing the neurotic lead character in the detective show “Monk.” In 2019, he won a supporting actor Emmy for playing the title character’s bumbling father in the Prime series “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” Some of his other roles have included the Italian cab driver in the NBC sitcom “Wings” in the 1990s, an Italian chef in the film “Big Night” and a space alien in the “Men in Black” films.

Shalhoub continues to work steadily. He can be seen in a new heist movie “Play Dirty” with Mark Wahlberg, streaming on Prime. He’s also the star and host of a new CNN travel show called “Breaking Bread,” which premieres Sunday. He’s looking forward to getting back to theater work and will be in a play at the Public Theater in New York next year called “Antigone (This Play I Read in High School).”

He said he hopes to come back to the Crewe Center at some point as his schedule allows.

“Portland is still a very special place to me, so I definitely would like to see some theater performances here,” Shalhoub said.