The Historic Orpheum Theatre is a theater in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

. It is one of four restored theaters on Hennepin Avenue

Hennepin Avenue

Hennepin Avenue is a major street in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It runs from Lakewood Cemetery , north through the Uptown District of Southwest Minneapolis, through the former "Bottleneck" area west of Loring Park, through the North Loop in the city center, to Northeast Minneapolis and...

, along with the Pantages Theatre

Pantages Theatre (Minneapolis)

The Pantages Theatre is a historic theatre in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The original building was a Beaux-Arts style twelve-story complex on Hennepin Avenue, designed by Kees & Colburn and operated by Alexander Pantages, a Greek immigrant who opened 500 theatres.The building was reduced...

, the State Theatre and the Shubert Theatre.

The building opened on October 16, 1921, originally named the Hennepin Theater. The theater actually consists of two separate structures: a long, fingerlike lobby that extends back from a narrow facade along Hennepin Avenue, and the auditorium, which is set back and parallels Hawthorne Avenue. The restored lobby includes six terra cotta

Terra cotta

Terracotta, Terra cotta or Terra-cotta is a clay-based unglazed ceramic, although the term can also be applied to glazed ceramics where the fired body is porous and red in color...

 bas relief sculptures. The auditorium is intricately plastered, with a number of garlands, swags, medallions, and other decorations. The ceiling has a dome with 30,000 squares of aluminum leaf.

The building seats 1500 on the main floor and 1100 on the three level balcony.

This theatre has also been the tryout place for the musicals, Victor/Victoria (musical)

Victor/Victoria (musical)

Victor/Victoria is a musical with a book by Blake Edwards, music by Henry Mancini, lyrics by Leslie Bricusse and additional musical material by Frank Wildhorn...

and The Lion King (musical)

The Lion King (musical)

The Lion King is a musical based on the 1994 Disney animated film of the same name with music by Elton John and lyrics by Tim Rice along with the musical score created by Hans Zimmer with choral arrangements by Lebo M. Directed by Julie Taymor, the musical features actors in animal costumes as well...

. both were successful, & moved to Broadway.