Royal Oak Music Theatre finishes first of three phases of renovations

Today, patrons of the Royal Oak Music Theatre will notice new mahogany bars and polished floors inside the venue. Next year they will see a reworked marque that incorporates the original lettering with LED screens.

All of these changes are part of a three-phase renovation process the venerable theater is undergoing.

“This theater has had tremendous potential since it was built,” says Justin Miller, general manager of the Royal Oak Music Theatre. “These renovations are helping us realize that potential.”

AEG Live, which runs the theater, has just finished the first phase of its renovations, which includes: polished concrete floors, fresh paint and new carpeting. The most obvious change is the update to the venue’s bars. Workers tore down the two original bars on the main floor and replaced them with one large mahogany bar.

“When you walk into the theater you really notice it,” says Leah McCarthy, the business development manager for the theater. “It’s really clean and crisp.”

The two bars in the theater’s upstairs have also been spiffied up, wrapping up most of the work that will be done this year as the venue launches its busiest season. Theater officials expect the next two phases of renovations to be done by this time next year.

Those will include: rebuilding the bathrooms and box office as well as upgrading the theater’s marque.

“We’re talking about putting in LED screens on the marque,” Miller says. “We’ll keep the marque letters and put in LED screens where the panels are.”

The theater originally opened as the Kunsky Royal Oak in 1928. It has served as a movie palace for most of its life until the later half of the 20 Century when it became known as a popular performance venue.

Source: Justin Miller and Leah McCarthy, general manager and business development manager of the Royal Oak Music Theatre
Writer: Jon Zemke