Royal Oak Music Theatre is a

music venue A music venue is any location used for a concert or musical performance. Music venues range in size and location, from a small coffeehouse for folk music shows, an outdoor bandshell or bandstand or a concert hall to an indoor sports stadium. Ty ...

located at 318 W. Fourth Street,

Royal Oak, Michigan Royal Oak is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An inner-ring suburb of Detroit, Royal Oak is about north of Detroit's city limits. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 57,236. Royal Oak is located along th ...

. It was built as a

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 ...

theatre and opened in 1928.

History and usage

The theater opened in 1928 by entrepreneur John H. Kunsky. Originally opening to serve as a

movie theater A movie theater (American English), cinema (British English), or cinema hall ( Indian English), also known as a movie house, picture house, the movies, the pictures, picture theater, the silver screen, the big screen, or simply theater is a ...

, in 1976, the theater that had now been closed, was reopened as a concert and comedy venue by Detroit native and concert promoter Paul Stanley of PS Productions. The very first concert was Maria Muldaur and Martin Mull on April 3, 1976. The second concert was billed as 'The Martins are coming' starred Martin Mull and Steve Martin for $5.50 a ticket, and the third concert featured a new act;

Hall & Oates Daryl Hall and John Oates, commonly known as Hall & Oates, are an American pop rock duo formed in Philadelphia in 1970. Daryl Hall is generally the lead vocalist; John Oates primarily plays electric guitar and provides backing vocals. The two ...

. In July 1978

Prism Prism usually refers to: * Prism (optics), a transparent optical component with flat surfaces that refract light * Prism (geometry), a kind of polyhedron Prism may also refer to: Science and mathematics * Prism (geology), a type of sedimentary ...

recorded a live album, “ Live Tonite”, at the theatre during one of their shows. It was privately owned until being purchased in 2004 by Worldwide Entertainment, LLC, then

Off Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

and

musicals Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

were brought as forms of entertainment into the venue.

AEG Live Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft AG (AEG; ) was a German producer of electrical equipment founded in Berlin as the ''Deutsche Edison-Gesellschaft für angewandte Elektricität'' in 1883 by Emil Rathenau. During the Second World War, AEG ...

began operating the theatre in 2007. Royal Oak Music Theatre view from balcony

Capacity

There are three set ups available at the theater with a maximum capacity of 1700;

general admission In live entertainment, there are several possible schemes for the seating assignment of spectators—including completely unassigned seating. There are several schemes which are most commonly used, though there are no hard and fast rules and alter ...

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...

, and theatre. General admission holds up to 1700 patrons, cabaret holds 782, seating 562 on the main floor and 200 in the mezzanine, and the theatre set up holds 1000, 718 on the floor and 282 in the mezzanine. Comedian shows have 1500 with standing room, but 1050 with seats.

References

External links

Kunsky Theatres
{{Authority control Music venues in Michigan Tourist attractions in Oakland County, Michigan Buildings and structures in Oakland County, Michigan Event venues established in 1928 Concert halls in Michigan