Hennepin Theater | |
 The Orpheum Theatre in 2025 | |
 Interactive map of Orpheum Theatre | |
| Address | 910Hennepin Avenue Minneapolis,Minnesota United States |
|---|---|
| Owner | Hennepin Arts |
| Operator | Historic Theatre Group |
| Capacity | 2,579 |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1921 |
| Reopened | 1993 |
| Website | |
| hennepinarts | |
Hennepin Theatre | |
| Coordinates | 44°58′35″N93°16′39″W / 44.97639°N 93.27750°W /44.97639; -93.27750 |
| Built | 1921 |
| Architect | Kirchhoff & Rose |
| Architectural style | Beaux-Arts |
| NRHP reference No. | 95001548[1] |
| Added to NRHP | January 19, 1996 |
TheOrpheum Theatre is an historic theater located indowntownMinneapolis. It is one of four restored theaters onHennepin Avenue, along with theState Theatre,[2] thePantages Theatre, and theShubert Theatre (now The Cowles Center).
The building opened on October 16, 1921, originally named theHennepin Theater. Its first performers included theMarx Brothers with more than 70,000 guests attending the opening week run. Billed as the largest vaudeville house in the country when it opened, the Orpheum became a major outlet for such entertainers asJack Benny,George Burns, andFanny Brice. It also hosted big bands includingBenny Goodman,Tommy Dorsey andCount Basie.[3] The theater consists of two separate structures: a long, fingerlike lobby that extends back from a narrow facade along Hennepin Avenue, and the auditorium, which is set back and parallels Hawthorne Avenue. The restored lobby includes sixterra cottabas relief sculptures. The auditorium is intricately plastered, with several garlands, swags, medallions, and other decorations. The ceiling has a dome with 30,000 squares ofaluminum leaf.[2]
The theater currently seats 2,579 guests with 1,500 on the main floor and 1,100 on the three-level balcony, making it the largest of the three Hennepin Avenue theaters.[3]
Productions that have originated at the Orpheum includedVictor/Victoria andThe 101 Dalmatians Musical, the pre-Broadway world premiere ofThe Lion King and the national tour premiere ofElton John and Tim Rice's Aida.
In 1988, Bob Dylan (who owned the Orpheum from 1979 to 1988) sold it to the City of Minneapolis.[4] Following a $10 million restoration, the Orpheum re-opened in December 1993. In 2005, the city transferred ownership of its theaters to the Hennepin Theatre Trust (now known as Hennepin Arts).[5]
Historic Theatre Group's original partner was Jujamcyn Productions. SFX (nowLive Nation) bought Jujamcyn Productions in 2000.[6] Live Nation sold most of its theatrical properties, including its Minneapolis operations, toKey Brand Entertainment in 2008.[7]
After being purchased by the Minneapolis Community Development Agency fromBob Dylan and his brother David Zimmerman in 1988, theMinneapolis City Council was interested in revitalizing Hennepin Avenue as an entertainment street.[8] The nearby State Theatre had been renovated and reopened in 1991, but the Orpheum had a deeper stage that would allow larger sets needed for shows such as Miss Saigon, which was scheduled to open on January 14, 1994. The city agreed to finance the renovation, issuing bonds to be paid back with a $2 surcharge on tickets for the Orpheum and State.
The first renovation phase began in 1993 and, to accommodate elaborateBroadway productions, the Orpheum stage was extended almost 20 feet, with the back wall of the theatre painstakingly removed brick by brick. Unexpected architectural discoveries were made during the lobby renovation, including six Pompeiian friezes previously hidden under velour curtains, fake window grids, and a false wall. Following a $10 million restoration, the Orpheum re-opened in December 1993 with a concert byHeart and in January 1994 with the Broadway production ofMiss Saigon.
Aesthetic improvements (cleaning the facade; and restoring the lobby) were planned to be made in a second phase, but during phase 1, a terra cotta wall was found behind a plain wall in the vestibule, 85 percent intact. A laborer knocked through a layer of plain plaster and found plaster sculptural reliefs of griffins and urns.
Comedy
Musicals
Media related toOrpheum Theater, Minneapolis at Wikimedia CommonsAuthority control databases: Geographic |
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