Bill Keefrey
The entrance to Apollo Lounge, a part of the renovation that enabled the reopening of the Stage Door.
In retrospect, it was one of those ideas that was just sitting there, waiting for someone to (re)discover it.
This summer, Toffer Christensen, the talent buyer for the Live Nation-run Orpheum Theater, booked a concert at a different Madison music venue but sales lagged. When Christensen tried to move the show to a smaller club, he discovered that every option was already booked. The show ended up relocating to Milwaukee.
“It just kind of dawned on me that we had a small room right here at the Orpheum that could have worked for this show — the Stage Door,” Christensen explains.
The Stage Door, located behind the brown metal doors of the Orpheum’s back entrance at 121 East Johnson Ave., has a long and storied history that dates back to 1969. In addition to being one of the first theaters in the United States to host a showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, it also hosted intimate gigs by acts ranging from The Decemberists to Andrew Bird. The space also regularly showed first-run movies — until former Orpheum owners Henry Doane and Eric Fleming tore out the movie screen to expand the size of the Orpheum’s main stage (The two would begin tearing each other down shortly thereafter, but that’s another story).
Interestingly, renovation is what’s making the Stage Door’s comeback possible. Upgrades to the Orpheum’s Apollo Lounge space creates a situation in which the back of the Orpheum’s main stage can be curtained off, creating a second stage.
Because of those design logistics, the Stage Door obviously can’t be used on nights when the Orpheum is booked. Christensen estimates he’ll be booking one or two concerts there a month, with a mix of lounge nights and private events filling the gaps. The capacity is 300, but Christensen doesn’t expect to lure any shows away from small- to mid-sized venues like The Frequency or the High Noon Saloon.
"We are not looking to be direct competition to any established rooms in town, and will not have the volume of events to be considered as such,” he says. “The Stage Door gives our business some added flexibility and offers a new unique intimate experience for both our patrons and clients.” It also gives Live Nation a new addition to its catalogue of local venues. Earlier this year, the company began partnering with Liquid Nightclub owner Michael Hierl to handle show bookings at the University Avenue venue’s two performance spaces. As part of the arrangement, Liquid advertises shows at the Orpheum.
“They’re particularly adept at reaching the college demo[graphic],” says Christensen of Liquid. “It's good to have like-minded partners in the market who care about expanding the musical choices available to people in town.”
The first show at the new Stage Door space will be the Rebirth Brass Band on Jan. 7. Later that month, the space will host Minnesota rapper Mod Sun and a DJ night.
