Barrymore Theatre
Encyclopedia
Barrymore Theatre
The Barrymore Theatre is located at 2090 Atwood Avenue on the east side of Madison, WisconsinMadison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
. The theatre has featured everything from music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, movies, and masques to parties, porn
PORN
Porn is a common short form for pornography. It may also refer to:* Progressive outer retinal necrosis, a disease of the retina* PORN, a French industrial rock band...
, and puppet shows.
History
The Barrymore Theatre, known as The Eastwood at the time, opened on December 28, 1929, and had a capacitySeating capacity
Seating capacity refers to the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, both in terms of the physical space available, and in terms of limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats...
of 980. In 1930, a Kilgen
Kilgen
Kilgen was a prominent American builder of organs which was in business from the mid-19th to the mid-20th century.-History:-The Kilgen family:...
theatre organ
Theatre organ
A theatre organ is a pipe organ originally designed specifically for imitation of an orchestra. New designs have tended to be around some of the sounds and blends unique to the instrument itself....
"opus 4420," size 2/8, was installed.
Designed by architects Frederic J. Klein and H. C. Alford, the building has retained its Italian Renaissance
Italian Renaissance
The Italian Renaissance began the opening phase of the Renaissance, a period of great cultural change and achievement in Europe that spanned the period from the end of the 13th century to about 1600, marking the transition between Medieval and Early Modern Europe...
style. Nonetheless, it has had many incarnations
Incarnations
Incarnations can refer to:*Incarnation of supernatural or religious entities*Incarnations of Immortality, a book series by Piers Anthony*Incarnate , a character class in a role-playing game...
over the years. The Eastwood was later known as The Atwood, and then in the 1970s it became The Cinema. The Cinema was a family theatre showing cartoons and Disney films. Eventually, it only showed cartoons on weekends and X-Rated
X-rated
In some countries, X is or has been a motion picture rating reserved for the most explicit films. Films rated X are intended only for viewing by adults, usually legally defined as people over the age of 17.-United Kingdom:...
movies the rest of the week. At this point, the theatre began to look rundown, much like the surrounding neighborhood. In the late 1980s, Richard Slone and Tom Peterson decided to rescue the theatre (and hopefully the neighborhood) by refurbishing The Cinema, renaming it The Barrymore Theatre. They purchased the building and the three attached storefronts and turned them into a positive neighborhood landmark
Landmark
This is a list of landmarks around the world.Landmarks may be split into two categories - natural phenomena and man-made features, like buildings, bridges, statues, public squares and so forth...
. Opening in July 1987, The Barrymore Theatre is now owned and operated by SARA (Schenk-Atwood Revitalization Association), a non-profit organization run by Madisonians. Its general manager is Steve Sperling.