The Emerald Theatre is a live multi-use entertainment and concert venue located in downtown

Mt. Clemens Mount Clemens is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 16,314 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is the county seat, seat of government of Macomb County, Michigan, Macomb County. History Mount Clemens was first s ...

, Michigan.

The venue

The 23,000 square foot venue contains a theater with a general admission capacity of 1,640 on three levels, with cabaret-style terraced seating and a dance floor that both convert to theater-style seating. The mezzanine level contains permanent theater seating and a standing room third floor grand balcony. The venue hosts a variety of local and national concert, comedy, corporate, weddings and entertainment events.

History

Opened in 1921 as a grand

movie palace A movie palace (or picture palace in the United Kingdom) is any of the large, elaborately decorated movie theaters built between the 1910s and the 1940s. The late 1920s saw the peak of the movie palace, with hundreds opening every year between 192 ...

and

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

live performance venue, the theater was known as the Macomb Theatre until 1987, when it went through a series of name, use and ownership changes. The theatre was designed by noted theater architect,

C. Howard Crane Charles Howard Crane (August 13, 1885 – August 14, 1952) was an American architect who was primarily active in Detroit, Michigan. His designs include Detroit's Fox Theatre and Olympia Stadium, as well as LeVeque Tower in Columbus, Ohio, whic ...

, who also designed Detroit's Orchestra Hall and Fox Theatre. One of the first grand movie palaces in the metropolitan Detroit area, the historic theater is the largest venue of its type in

Macomb County Macomb County ( ) is a county located in the eastern portion of the U.S. state of Michigan, bordering Lake St. Clair, and is part of northern Metro Detroit. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 881,217, making it the third-most populous co ...

. From 2000 to 2012, the venue was known as the Emerald Theatre, and although one of metropolitan Detroit's most successful concert venues during that time, in July 2012, the theater was padlocked in foreclosure by Talmer Bank and Trust, closing the venue. On November 5, 2012, the theater was purchased and renovations began on the historic property at an anticipated cost in excess of $2 million. Under new ownership, it was renamed the Macomb Music Theatre. The newly renovated venue opened its doors on April 13, 2013, with a sold out jazz concert featuring Grammy award winners and nominees

Gerald Albright Gerald Albright is an American jazz saxophonist. He earned Grammys for 24/7 in 2012 and Slam Dunk in 2014 and has been nominated for New Beginnings in 2008 and for Sax for Stax in 2009. Biography Born in Los Angeles, Albright grew up in its ...

, Norman Brown and

Alex Bugnon Alex Bugnon (born October 10, 1958) is a jazz pianist and composer from Montreux, Switzerland. He is a nephew of Donald Byrd. Bugnon studied at the Paris Conservatory and the Mozart Academy in Salzburg. At age nineteen, he moved to the U.S. and ...

, followed by the Grammy award-winning comedy duo

Cheech & Chong Cheech & Chong are a comedy duo consisting of Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong. The duo found commercial and cultural success in the 1970s and 1980s with their stand-up routines, studio recordings, and feature films, which were based on the hippie a ...

on April 21, 2013, but it closed after a short run in 2014 as a result of a falling out between the partners. New owners purchased the property in February 2016, and after further restoration and repairs including a new marquee, redesigned Rock Room bar, and a revival of the Emerald Theatre name, the venue reopened in December 2016, once again hosting live concerts, corporate, wedding and other private and entertainment events. In 2017, a group of the same name on the virtual platform ''

Roblox ''Roblox'' () is an online game platform and game creation system developed by Roblox Corporation that allows users to program games and play games created by other users. Created by David Baszucki and Erik Cassel in 2004 and released in 20 ...

'' was created. The group has amassed over 130,000 users and the theatre game has been played over 6.4 million times.

Productions

Notable live events at the venue include the taping of VH1's "Kid Rock Christmas", featuring

Kid Rock Robert James Ritchie (born January 17, 1971), known professionally as Kid Rock (also known as Bobby Shazam), is an American singer, songwriter and rapper. His style alternates between rock, hip hop, country, and metal. A self-taught musician, ...

and

Carmen Electra Tara Leigh Patrick (born April 20, 1972), known professionally as Carmen Electra, is an American actress, model, singer, and media personality. She began her career as a singer after moving to Minneapolis, where she met Prince, who produced h ...

, and the

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

Super Bowl XL Party in 2006. Other artist performances at the venue include, among others,

Uncle Kracker Matthew Shafer (born June 6, 1974), also known by his stage name Uncle Kracker, is an American singer and musician. He was previously a turntablist for Kid Rock's backing group Twisted Brown Trucker and since 1999 has recorded as a solo artist. ...

Funkadelic Funkadelic was an American funk rock band formed in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1968 and active until 1982. The band and its sister act Parliament, both led by George Clinton, pioneered the funk music culture of the 1970s.John, Bush. Funkadeli ...

Vince Neil Vincent Neil Wharton (born February 8, 1961), best known by the stage name Vince Neil, is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist and occasional rhythm guitarist of heavy metal band Mötley Crüe, which he fronted from their 1981 forma ...

Mike Posner Michael Robert Henrion Posner ( ; born February 12, 1988) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer.For Posner's full name, see He released his debut album, '' 31 Minutes to Takeoff'', in 2010. The album includes the US ''Billboa ...

The Cult The Cult are an English rock band formed in 1983 in Bradford, West Yorkshire. Before settling on their current name in January 1984, the band performed under the name Death Cult, which was an evolution of the name of lead singer Ian Astbury's ...

The Insane Clown Posse Insane Clown Posse, often abbreviated as ICP, is an American hip hop duo. Formed in Detroit in 1989 as a gangsta rap group, ICP's best known lineup consists of rappers Violent J (Joseph Bruce) and Shaggy 2 Dope (originally 2 Dope; Joseph Utsler ...

Styx In Greek mythology, Styx (; grc, Στύξ ) is a river that forms the boundary between Earth (Gaia) and the Underworld. The rivers Acheron, Cocytus, Lethe, Phlegethon, and Styx all converge at the centre of the underworld on a great marsh, whic ...

The Psychedelic Furs The Psychedelic Furs are a post-punk band founded in London in February 1977. Led by lead vocalist Richard Butler and his brother Tim Butler on bass guitar, the Psychedelic Furs are one of the many acts spawned from the British post-punk scene ...

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a precu ...

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, guita ...

, and

Michael Bolton Michael Bolotin
, The Jewish Historical Society of New Haven, 1998. (born February 26, 1953), known professio ...

References

{{Authority control Movie palaces Cinemas and movie theaters in Michigan Concert halls in Michigan Performing arts centers in Michigan Music venues in Michigan Theatres completed in 1921 Event venues established in 1921 Beaux-Arts architecture in Michigan Buildings and structures in Macomb County, Michigan Tourist attractions in Macomb County, Michigan