photo by Eric Plautz

Everything old is new again now that the venerable stagehouse once known as the Oscar Mayer Theatre has reopened as the Capitol Theater. The 1928 venue has received a fresh and improved look and feel, with larger and fewer seats, improved sightlines and acoustics, and improved support spaces.

Significant historic features remain, including the Grand Barton Organ, ornate ceiling, wall niches, proscenium arch and chandelier lighting. The space has become a mid-size performance venue, providing seating for approximately 400 at the orchestra level and up to 600 in the balcony.

A new lobby created from the space that was occupied by last 16 rows of the main floor boasts an authentic period feel and seamlessly blends with the theater thanks to careful attention to detail and retention of key architectural elements. With the seats gone, the floor leveled and a wall added, the Capitol Lobby turns a space formerly occupied by less-than-desirable seats into a grand entrance and spacious area to mingle that feels like it was there from the day the original theater opened. Many original decorative elements prominent in the lobby had been hidden unnoticed in the back of the old theater, including 18 hand-painted round ceramic tiles. Ornate wall sconces are restored to their original luster and replicas were made to occupy the new lobby walls.

Once inside the theater, audiences see familiar sights: the proscenium arch framed by decorative tiles and ornate chandeliers, with the mighty Grand Barton Organ just to the right of the stage. The tiles and chandeliers played key roles in the selection of the color palette and design of the theater and new orchestra shell. The curtains may look familiar at first glance, but they are new, designed in keeping with the theater¹s history with nearly identical drape, placement, and trimmings as its predecessors. The new wider, more comfortable seats feature detailed end panels consistent with the theater¹s design. The Capitol Theater serves as the home of the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, in addition to a number of CTM, Overture Presents, Overture OnStage, and Duck Soup Cinema performances.

photo by Eric Oxendorf

Grand Barton Organ

Overture Center's Grand Barton Theatre Organ, Opus 249, is original to the Capitol Theater. It was built in Oshkosh, Wisconsin by the Barton Musical Instrument Company in 1927.

The instrument's 1005 pipes are contained in 14 ranks and are played on the original 3 manual console containing 155 stopkeys. The Organ Historical Society cited the organ for "exceptional historic merit worthy of preservation," due to the fact that we have preserved the organ in its original mechanical state and preserved the musical integrity of the original installation. Overture Center staff work with local organists to make sure that the organ receives continued use to help keep the organ in playing shape. Organists may sign up for private console time by contacting Rudy Lienau at 608.258.4177.

Read more about the Grand Barton Organ's biography