Music. Puppies. Empowered women. What could be better?
The Benedum Center presents “Legally Blonde: The Musical” tonight at 8, a production I would be dying to see. The Benedum Center itself is quite the interesting historical landmark. Between Beatles concerts and floods, this ancient theater has been through it all.
Actually, the Benedum Center is formerly known as Stanley Theater. It was built in 1928, when admission was just 25 cents. To say that the prices have risen since then is an understatement. In those days, Stanley Theater was the pinnacle of entertainment; a bit of comic relief from the oncoming depression. It would provide movies for the public to watch. In 1936, on St. Patrick’s Day, the theater flooded and trapped several men in the balconies for three days.
When rock and roll kicked off, the theater switched to a concert venue. It headlined famous bands such as Fleetwood Mac and the Almond Brothers. In fact, Bob Marley did his final concert at Stanley Theater.
Finally, the theater shed its ancient identity in 1987, when it was completely restored and renamed to the title we know today: Benedum. The theater cost just $3 million to build, but the restoration cost $43 million. Benedum then changed from a concert venue to a Broadway series theater. Since that time, many Broadway plays from New York have performed in the center, such as “Cats” and “Footloose.”
Overall, the theater has become a beacon of culture and art in Pittsburgh. John O. (who declined to give a last name), sees at least three shows each year during the summer series.
“It was probably the first place I saw a concert (America),” he said, “a long, long, long time ago.”
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