Orpheum Theatre

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The Orpheum is the main Broadway venue in the Twin Cities. The Orpheum Theatre originally opened in 1921 Billed as the largest vaudeville house in the country at the time. With the decline of vaudeville in the 1930’s-40’s the Orpheum became one of Minneapolis’ largest cinema houses. In 1959 the Orpheum was purchased by Tedd Mann who brought in various touring productions including My Fair Lady and Fiddler on the roof. In 1988, the Minneapolis Community Development Agency purchased the Orpheum from singer Bob Dylan and his brother, David Zimmerman, who owned the theatre. Restoration began in 1993 and, to accommodate elaborate Broadway productions, the Orpheum stage was extended almost 20 feet, with the back wall of the theatre painstakingly removed brick by brick. The chandelier in the main auditorium is the theatre centerpiece. It is 15 feet high and weighs 2,000 pounds. Following a $10 million restoration, the Orpheum re-opened in December 1993 with a concert by Heart and in January 1994 with the Broadway production of Miss Saigon. Productions that have originated at the Orpheum include Victor/Victoria, the pre-Broadway world premiere of Disney’s The Lion King and the national tour premiere of Elton John and Tim Rice’s AIDA. Since then the Orpheum has been the venue for the most popular Broadway shows and concerts to tour through Minneapolis. It has also hosted various special events including the Ryder Cup year out event which streamed a live episode of Feherty live from the theatre this past year.

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Mapped location of Orpheum Theatre