University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

Search
Search
News
Multimedia
Sports
Classifieds
Opinion
Subscribe
Entertainment
Send a Tip
Podcasts
Donate
In-Depth

Subscribeto our newsletter

Minnesota Daily Logo

Saturday, February 23, 2019 Print Edition

Donate

  •       
  • News
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
  • Podcasts
  • Classifieds
  • Special Issues
  • Send a Tip
  • News
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
  • Podcasts
  • Classifieds
  • Special Issues
  • Send a Tip
Search

Subscribe

The independent news source for the University of Minnesota campus, now only a click away. Subscribe to the Minnesota Daily's e-newsletter for full sports coverage, updates from the newsroom, and a pick of the week's top features.

Minnesota Daily Newsletter

Fill out my online form.

Donate to the Minnesota Daily!

The Minnesota Daily has been training student journalists and serving the University of Minnesota community since 1900. With your help, we will continue to produce award-winning journalism and provide excellent training for students in all areas of news production. We collect donations through GiveMN; please click below and donate today!

MINNESOTA DAILY | GiveMN


2/8/2018, 1:14am

Varsity Theater to reopen after more than a year of no public shows

The Dinkytown theater will host its reopening party on Friday under new management.

By Kassidy Tarala
Varsity Theater to reopen after more than a year of no public shows
Meagan Lynch, Daily File Photo
The exterior of Varsity Theater in Dinkytown on Wednesday, April 26. The theater was sold for over $2 million by former owner Jason McLean following four lawsuits alleging child sex abuse.

Share

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Mail
  • Print

Varsity Theater will reopen its doors in Dinkytown on Friday for its first public concert since December 2016.

The venue has undergone improvements in the past year in anticipation of the reopening. Businesses neighboring the theater saw a drop in traffic following its closure more than a year ago and are now welcoming the venue’s return.

“In a nutshell, when the Varsity had large events, we had a huge increase in in-store traffic,” said Nato Coles, manager of Mesa Pizza in Dinkytown.

The longtime theater will again see long lines and heavy concert-goer traffic with a reopening party featuring DJ Jake Rudh, Kiss the Tiger, Chris Koza and Dirt Train.

“We wanted to feature local bands, acts and DJs because we really wanted friends, family and neighbors to feel welcome here,” said Varsity Theater General Manager Alex Bennett. “We want people who always loved the Varsity to come back and love it again.”

Easton Green, Daily File Photo
General B and the Wiz perform during a private event at the Varsity Theater in Dinkytown on April 7, 2017.

The theater has undergone physical improvements since new management took over. Bennett said summer concerts were always too hot and winter concerts were too cold, so they’ve updated their HVAC system.

Electrical repairs and Wi-Fi improvements have also been made inside and outside the theater, he said.

“People who went to the theater a lot back in the day will notice that it’s still pretty much the same place that they know and love,” Bennett said.

The reopening party has sold tickets quickly, although Bennett said they will not sell tickets to full capacity.

“It’s just the reopening event, so we wanted to ease the first night for bartenders and other new staff and security,” he said.

After much anticipation from local business owners and residents, theater staff chose this weekend to reopen to make sure everything was “put together and back up and running.”

“We’ve been waiting a long time for the theater to reopen, and we’re just glad that the [previous owner] is out and the theater is back in business,” Coles said.

Mesa Pizza noticed fewer customers while Varsity was out of business.

Mesa staff noticed whenever there was a show at the Varsity, concert-goers would come to the restaurant.

“There’s somewhat of a spillover effect. When the long lines fill up outside of the theater, a lot of them go to Mesa, too,” Coles said.

Local businesses aren’t the only ones who are excited to see the Varsity reopen. University of Minnesota junior Corinna Wiese said she’s happy to have a concert venue back on campus.

Wiese said she didn’t attend any events at the Varsity before it closed due to sexual assault allegations against the previous owner, Jason McLean. McLean drew four lawsuits for sexual assault in 2016.

“I chose not to go to the Varsity based on [the previous owner], but also they didn’t have the best concerts around and it was too small to host bigger acts,” she said.

Wiese plans to attend the reopening party and is hopeful to find interest in future events.

“If they have better acts, I would go again,” she said. “Otherwise, I’m excited for this reopening party.”

Overall, Bennett said people are just anxious to return to the theater.

“Staff, both new and old, are just as excited as the guests to get back to the best venue in Minneapolis,” he said.

With ticket sales up and new management enthusiastic to open the theater, Bennett is expecting the Varsity to receive a warm welcome from local businesses and residents.

“It’s a literal yell-for-joy moment: the Varsity Theater is back!” Bennett said.

Share



Related Stories

Freshman Nathan Burke skates back to the bench after scoring his first goal of the season at Mariucci Arena on Saturday, Nov. 17.

Minnesota falls to Notre Dame 3-2

By Julianna Landis

HealthPartners facilitated a presentation to educate health practitioners about health equity at Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis on Thursday, Feb. 21. HealthPartners Institute is partnering with Mixed Blood to find ways to bridge the cultural gap between medical providers and the community.

Health care providers discuss cultural barriers in Cedar-Riverside

By Miguel Octavio

Sophomore Destiny Pitts runs through defenders toward the hoop during the game against Purdue on Thursday, Jan. 24.

Gophers lose to Terrapins at the buzzer

By Babatunde Jinadu


The Minnesota Daily welcomes thoughtful discussion on all of our stories, but please keep comments civil and on-topic. Read our full guidelines here.


Editor's Picks


2/22/2019, 11:13am

Health care providers discuss cultural barriers in Cedar-Riverside

By Miguel Octavio

Mixed Blood Theatre hosted an event Thursday night aimed at bridging the cultural gap between medical providers and residents of Cedar-Riverside.


Basketball 2/21/2019, 12:53am

Minneapolis Final Four to be 'unlike any other event'


2/21/2019, 12:59am

China-funded institute set to close


2/21/2019, 12:59am

Student services fees for Boynton Health expected to increase in next fiscal year


Podcasts


2/21/2019, 7:20am

Episode 20 - The renaming of Coffman


2/13/2019, 11:20pm

Episode 19: Connecting with youth in Cedar-Riverside


2/7/2019, 12:17am

Episode 18: The bittersweet life of UMN sugar babies


Minnesota Daily Logo To Homepage
  • About
  • Jobs
  • Contact
  • Archives
  • Advertise
  • Distribution

All Rights Reserved

© Copyright 2019 Minnesota Daily

Powered by Solutions by The State News.