Orpheum Theatre - Mn Tickets

Orpheum Theatre mn
Those who have visited the downtown area of Minneapolis, Minnesota vow for its theatrical scene. And one venue that shines the brightest in the host of downtown attraction is historic Orpheum Theatre that symbolizes the past, present and future of American Theater Scene.

It brings the best and most entertaining theatrical gems and live shows to the city. It also attracts a lot of visitors because of its architectural beauty and old-world charm.

The Historic Orpheum Theatre is situated on the Hennepin Avenue. It is one of the three resorted theaters of the Hennepin Theatre District along with the Pantages Theatre and the State Theater. The theatre is owned and run by Hennepin Theatre Trust, a non-profit organization dedicated to enrich the cultural atmosphere of the Twin Cities by preserving, maintaining and improving the three theatres.

As soon as you see the vibrant marquee of the Orpheum Theatre on Hennepin Avenue, you are surrounded by a certain charm that remains with you even long after your visit. Today, it is difficult for anyone to think about the hard times the theater have had in the past. But it had witnessed some negligence in the past only to rose back with a bang.

Originally opened in 1921, Orpheum Theatre MN is among those theaters that were restored to their original glory in order to acknowledge the golden era of American theater. It was first opened on Oct 16, 1921 as the Hennepin Theater. With a total capacity of 2,600 patrons, it used to serve as a vaudeville and live presentation venue.

Designed by Milwaukee firm of Kirchoff & Rose with a cost of $1 million, the wonderful theatre grabbed the attention of the locals from the first go. The attendance of 70,000 guests on the Marx Brothers show in the opening week is a clear proof of theatre"s initial success.

In the years that followed, Orpheum Theatre became a major outlet for top-notch vaudeville entertainers. Artists like Jack Benny, Burns & Allen and Fanny Brice performed there and audiences enjoyed each and every show at this venue. But the era of vaudeville declined very soon and the theatre was converted into a cinema houses in 1927.

Like that of its vaudeville heyday, Orpheum successfully served as a major cinema house in Minneapolis featuring many first-run movies and Hollywood blockbusters. The highlight was Gone With The Wind that premiered here in 1940 and became a great box office success, running sold out for first three weeks here at Orpheum.

However, the citizens of Minneapolis greatly missed the charm that it used to hold as a live venue. One of the early efforts to bring back Orpheum as a live venue came in 1959 when Ted Mann purchased it and showcased some Broadway touring productions. However, this time it did not garnered same response as before. Famous singer Bob Dylan and his brother also remained the owner of the theatre for four years until it was bought by Minneapolis Community Development Agency in 1988 for $1.4 million.

After owning the theatre, the real task was to restore it to its original glory. Work began on this purpose in 1993 with main focus on both architectural restoration of the theatre. The art deco marquee was reinstalled in the theatre while Victorian colors were used in order to match the original design.

Stage was also extended in order to accommodate new style Broadway productions. The Orpheum re-opened on December 1993 following this $10 million renovation.

After this renovation, Orpheum Theatre has never looked back to its dark times. It again became the most happening venue of the city and stood proud along with other two theaters of the Hennepin Avenue. While Hear became the opening act of the resorted Orpheum, Miss Saigon became the first Broadway production that graced its stage.

This was followed by many hit productions like Victor/Victoria, AIDA and Beauty & the Beast. Another phase in Orpheum Theatre"s renovation occurred recently in 2007-08, when $1.5 million up gradation was done to make the venue as par modern standards. Beverage service stations were added to the lobby flat screen televisions were also added to comfort of theatergoers.

Today, Orpheum Theatre present a good mix of old world charm and new-age facilitations with improved lighting, heating and air conditioning systems. It has approximately 1500 seats on the main floor and 1100 seats in the three level balcony that contains a perfect view of the stage.

The Orpheum Theatre is certainly the best place in the region to watch musicals. It holds a privilege of hosting the pre-Broadway premiere of Disney's The Lion King that later became a rage in the country. It also became a stop of Elton John during his national tour. Quite recently, the Tony Award Winner highly acclaimed musical Jersey Boys staged here and became the talk of the town.

In times to come, Orpheum Theatre is expected to showcase a good mix of music, dance, comedy and other sort of live entertainment.

Watch out for A Chorus Line, Rent, Mary Poppins, Seal and other great shows coming your way through this magnificent theater. So visit the Orpheum Theatre MN and enjoy good theatrical times!