“The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra is well on its way to transforming a historic theatre into a 21st century concert hall,” reports Ben Jordan on Tuesday (1/10) at WTMJ-TV Milwaukee. “The Warner Grand Theatre on 2nd and Wisconsin has been closed since 1995, but the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra wants to bring the theatre back to its former glory as their new venue…. ‘We feel like we’ve been waiting for this building and the building has been waiting for us,’ said Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra President Mark Neihaus. The theatre still has its 1930s historic charm.… Another big push for the new location is the city’s efforts to revitalize West Wisconsin Avenue…. The project would cost roughly $120 million, but thanks to anonymous donors, the symphony is halfway there with hopes to begin playing at the venue in 2019…. If everything goes according to plan for the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, reconstruction will begin this fall.” Says Neihaus, “It’s really gone from ‘how are you guys going to do this’ to ‘how could you possibly not do this?’ ” The Milwaukee Symphony currently performs at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, which also presents musical-theater productions and other events.
Posted January 13, 2017
