  Hawthorne Member Username: Hawthorne Post Number: 21 Registered: 12-2006 |
I was part of the lighting crew for two productions at the Music Hall on Madison Ave. in 1972 and 1973. Michigan Opera Theatre performed Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" and the operas "Tosca", "The Medium", "Cosi Fan Tutte" and "La Rondine" in what was then only a minimally-refurbished theatre. They eventually left the Music Hall and moved to the Detroit Opera House. Were there any readers involved in these productions? Has someone done research into the history of that theatre? | ||
Quinn Member Username: Quinn Post Number: 1384 Registered: 01-2005 |
Sorry, not me. I do remember going to see Erasure in 1992 or so for "Tank, Swan and the Balloon." It was under construction, but useable (the proscenium was all fukachta and seats were a mess). The show was great though...and someone left a side stage door open and we heard them warm up. A truly memorable evening that has always made me think fondly of the Music Hall. Sorry to drone and get off-topic so soon. | ||
Bpjeff Member Username: Bpjeff Post Number: 82 Registered: 01-2006 |
Hey Quinn, Erasure will be back at the Music Hall on July 31st. Time to relive memories? | ||
Pam Member Username: Pam Post Number: 1914 Registered: 11-2005 |
http://www.musichall.org/histo ry_performers.htm | ||
Iddude313 Member Username: Iddude313 Post Number: 90 Registered: 07-2005 |
Anyone seen the new Music Hall red neon above the building? really catches your eye coming down Gratiot or up Madison. I like it. | ||
Dannaroo Member Username: Dannaroo Post Number: 74 Registered: 05-2006 |
I caught the sign last night coming out of The Gem Theatre. Its really a pretty cool retro-style light. I like it too! | ||
Docmo Member Username: Docmo Post Number: 272 Registered: 10-2005 |
I drive home via Madison off I-375 everyday. I noticed the Music Hall sign maybe two weeks ago. At first, I wasn't sure that it hadn't been there all along. I totally missed the construction crew. Coming into downtown off Madison is pretty cool. It will be real impressive if they every get around to rehabbing the Broderick. I am growing tired of looking up and seeing the "Can you here me now?" guy. I usually try to avert my attention to the Music Hall, the Gem and the DAC instead of watching the latest Broderick ad. | ||
Gistok Member Username: Gistok Post Number: 4636 Registered: 08-2004 |
Music Hall opened in 1928 as the 1,778 seat Wilson Theatre, a legitimate theatre, not a movie palace. It was built by Matilda Dodge Wilson, and the architects were Smith, Hinchman & Grylls, today known as The Smith Group, Michigan's oldest architectural firm. The exterior of the theatre is done up in an interesting Art Deco design with (IIRC) Corrado Parducci sculptures (I need this verified). There is a shallow office block at the front of the theatre. Like most downtown Detroit theatres of the 1920's, there is no large window or other architectural statement saying that this is a theatre. Only a marquee gives one a clue to the purpose of the building (the Michigan Theatre was the only 20's theatre that was an exception to this rule). The exterior of the theatre gives one no clue as to the interior decorations, which was labeled Spanish Colonial. There were stenciled beams on the ceiling of the theatre, done up in dozens of rich colors. In a way it is very similar to 19th century legitimate theatres, in that it had a 2nd balcony (and no mezzanine level). Within a few years after opening it reverted to showing movies, and in 1939 when Gone With The Wind was released Matilda Dodge Wilson was mad that the United Artists Theatre would get the Detroit premier of GWTW. So she called studio chain head Adolph Zukor in Hollywood, and Detroit became the only city in America that had a premier in 2 movie houses (UA and Wilson). In the 40's the Detroit Symphony briefly moved to this theatre, and it was renamed Music Hall (its name ever since). Then in 1953 Cinerama came to town, and Music Hall was used for this purpose. The opera side boxes were removed for the wider screen, and the very colorful stenciled ceiling was painted black because their colorfulness interfered with the Cinerama effect. Music Hall was one of the most successful Cinerama theatres in the country. Later in the 1970's (as has been stated) Michigan Opera Theatre (under a different name back then, but still headed by Dr. David DiChiera) used Music Hall for all their productions. This in essence saved Music Hall from the wreckers ball, as the 1960's and 1970's were the low point of the movie palace era. Since the 1970's Music Hall has been owned by a private non-profit group that has slowly brought it back to its' former glory. The side opera boxes were restored, and the wonderfully painted stenciled ceiling beams (plaster, not wood) were restored to their rich colors. Thank God for MOT Director Dr. David DiChiera! He not only (indirectly) saved Music Hall from destruction, but 20 years later he brought the Capitol Theatre back to life (from certain death) as the gloriously restored Detroit Opera House! (Message edited by Gistok on June 22, 2007) | ||
Hawthorne Member Username: Hawthorne Post Number: 22 Registered: 12-2006 |
Thank you, Gistok. BTW, the previous name of Michigan Opera Theatre was "Overture To Opera". I had the privelege of performing with them back in 1969. | ||
Crew Member Username: Crew Post Number: 1299 Registered: 02-2004 |
Hawthorne, Was Overture to Opera affiliated with Oakland University at the time or was David DiChiera's simply on the faculty back then? | ||
Hawthorne Member Username: Hawthorne Post Number: 24 Registered: 12-2006 |
Crew, I don't think O2O was officially affiliated with them, but since Dr. DiChiera was, at that time, chairman of the Music Department at OU, they were able to use their facilities for some auditions and rehearsals. I know that the OU Audio-Visual department supplied equipment and labor to playback the pre-recorded sounds of the Globolinks when O2O performed Menotti's "Help! Help! The Globolinks". | ||
Kathleen Member Username: Kathleen Post Number: 2360 Registered: 10-2003 |
Just want to set the record straight about "Gone With The Wind"...while it was highly unusual for "Gone With The Wind" to premiere at two theatres simultaneously, we weren't the only city with that privilege. On December 19, 1939, GWTW premiered at both the Capitol and the Astor. | ||
56packman Member Username: 56packman Post Number: 1455 Registered: 12-2005 |
In New York (Manhattan) Kathleen? | ||
56packman Member Username: 56packman Post Number: 1456 Registered: 12-2005 |
 The Wilson theatre, as originally built | ||
Kathleen Member Username: Kathleen Post Number: 2362 Registered: 10-2003 |
Sorry for forgetting to include the city... Yes, 56packman, New York City hosted the dual premiere of GWTW on December 19, 1939 at the Capitol and Astor theatres. Both theatres have since been razed. BTW...we will be visiting the National Packard Museum in Warren, OH in a couple weeks during our family road trip! | ||
56packman Member Username: 56packman Post Number: 1459 Registered: 12-2005 |
Kathleen--have a good trip. Check the Warren summer schedule and see if the Packard band is playing a concert in the band shell of the J.W.Packard music hall, on the same grounds as the museum. It's a time-warp thing, a company (now Delphi) brass band (with 16 pc. "Big band" break-out group) that works together and plays together. In 1999 we had the 100th anniversary of Packard blow-out there. Around 1,000 Packards in a small town, many significant cars from the company's 59 year history. The museum there is OK. There is a better museum in Dayton located in an original Packard (Albert Kahn designed) dealership building. | ||
Quinn Member Username: Quinn Post Number: 1387 Registered: 01-2005 |
Hey sorry for the delay, but hells-yeah we're going to see Erasure. |
