The building opened on October 16, 1921, originally named the Hennepin Theater, its first performers included the Marx 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 as Jack Benny, George Burns, and Fanny Brice. It also hosted big bands including Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey and Count 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 six terra 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 of aluminum 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]
In 1988, the Orpheum was sold by Bob Dylan (who owned it from 1979 to 1988)[4] to the City of Minneapolis. 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 (now Live Nation) bought Jujamcyn Productions in 2000.[6] Live Nation sold most of its theatrical properties, including its Minneapolis operations, to Key Brand Entertainment in 2008.[7]
1993 Renovation and reopening
After being purchased by the Minneapolis Community Development Agency from Bob Dylan and his brother David Zimmerman in 1988, the Minneapolis City Council had an interest 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.
Phase 1
The first phase of renovation 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. Unexpected architectural discoveries made during the renovation of the lobby included 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 by Heart and in January 1994 with the Broadway production of Miss Saigon.
Change of plans
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.
Entertainment
Cheap Trick - November 23, 1983 (with Aldo Nova) played to a nearly empty house due to a heavy snowstorm
Phish - November 26, 1994 Highlights include what was at the time the longest ever version of David Bowie (clocking in at 37:27) and the version of Slave to the Traffic Light featured on "A Live One".
