The Grand Music Hall is a theater at Six Flags Great America, located in Hometown Square. It opened with the park on May 29, 1976, and is one of the few existing indoor performance venues in the park. It co-exists with the outdoor stage venue in Hometown Square, near the Great America Scenic Railway station.
With a capacity of 1,600 seats, many shows are presented in the theatre. Summer shows include the sixties-themed show Reflections (1992; 2013-14), the special effects show EFX 360 (2017), and the energetic stunt show Kinetic (2022-23). Seasonal event shows include multiple Fright Fest shows, which include the original Love at First Fright show, the longest running show, since 1991, and a "freak show" type show, The Ringmaster's Cabaret since 2017.
History[]
In 1976, the Grand Music Hall opened along with the park. The theatre boasted a seating capacity of 1,600 seats upon its opening.[1] The following year, Holiday debuted at the theater. It is unclear if a show had premiered in the park's opening year. Marriott-era shows were mostly original, and were revues themed on American history.
Beginning in the Six Flags-era, the park's show offerings included popular music, instead of original music. Starting in 1991, it would feature Fright Fest shows, the only one running would be Love at First Fright, and in 2018, it would also feature Holiday in the Park shows, such as A Wonderland at the Grand.
In 2014, a month before opening day, a small portion of the theater, next to Batman: The Ride, was engulfed in flames, after a wooden employee break area caught on fire. It was estimated that damages would cost up to $60,000. The fire did not cause delays, and later opened with Reflections later that summer.[2]
Architecture[]
The interior of Grand Music Hall during Kinetic: Stunt Show.
The architect of the Grand Music Hall was Randall Duell, who also designed the original layout for Six Flags Great America. In preliminary concept art for Hometown Square, the theatre is notably absent. The theatre takes model after the "Main Street" design predominate in theme parks and town squares.[3] Since then, the theatre has recieved minor renovations and paintjobs. An extended walkway stage was added in the 2000s in addition to the main stage, taking out some seats.
The publicly available sections of the theatre consist of a lobby and the theatre house. The lobby holds three chandeliers and has two doors on both the left and the right leading into the theatre house. Entering the theatre house, there are around 1,600 seats, and the stage of the theatre farthest from the entrance. As guests move toward the stage, the floor slopes down, as the theatre has a raked audience section. There is only one floor, and does not have mezzanine seating. The stage is a regular proscenium arch stage, with an extended walkway.
The leftmost exit of the theatre (from the audience perspective) leads to a small pathway near the Hometown Square bathrooms and Batman: The Ride, while the rightmost exit of the theatre leads directly into the main pathway, opposite to Strutters.
Productions[]
Summer[]
- Music America (1976)
- Holiday (1977)
- Broadway (1978)
- SilverScreen (1979)
- Music! America! (1980)
- Music! Music! Music! (1981)
- Salute To The Stars (1982)
- The Evolution of Rock (1983)
- American Pop (1984) (Last Marriott Show)
- America (1985-86)
- Stars and Strips/Chinese Acrobats (1987)
- Stars & Stripes Revue (1988)
- Dancin' in the Streets (1989)
- Stars of the U.S.S.R (1989)
- Dancin' in the Streets (1990)
- Reflections (1991)
- Reflections (1992)
- Chicago 1920: A New Gangster Musical (1993)
- Crime of the Century (1994)
- IMIDI The Tbilisi Youth Dance Company (1995)
- Great America on Ice (1996) (1997)
- Warner Bros. Country (1998)
- Rockin' Country Live (1999)
- American Rock (2000-2001)
- RadioActive (2002)
- Cold Fusion: A Skating Spectacular (2003)
- James Brandon: World of Magic (2004)
- Show Stoppin' (2007-2010)
- Pop Fusion (2011-2012)
- Dancin' in the Streets (2013)
- Reflections (2013-2014)
- The Stars of the Peking Acrobats (2015-2016)
- EFX 360 (2017)
- RockLusions! (2018-2019)
- Kinetic (2022-2023)
- Adrenaline (2024-)
Fright Fest[]
- Love at First Fright (1991-present)
- The Ringmaster's Cabaret (2017-present)
Holiday in the Park[]
Other uses[]
- Music in the Park performances
- Dance competition performances
- Character/performer auditions
References[]
- ↑ "Great America opens May 29" Great Lakes Bulletin. May 14, 1976. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
- ↑ Waters, Dan (April 3, 2014). "Fire at Six Flags causes nearly $60,000". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 29, 2023
- ↑ Gottwald, Dave (April 6, 2019). "Six Flags Great America - Part 1: Marriott in the Midwest". Themerica. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
See also[]
- Theatre Royale, a former theater in Orleans Place.
External links[]
- Entertainment - Six Flags Great America at Six Flags
