Orpheum Theater in Madison Wisconsin

The Orpheum Theater in Madison is a historic treasure.  It is more than 80 years old and continues to have its original French Renaissance interior.   According to the Orpheum Theater web site, the theater once held 2,400 seats!  This makes it the largest theater in Madison.  It currently holds 1,700 seats and is still an active movie theater and restaurant.    The Orpheum had many stars appear there prior to it becoming a movie theater, restaurant and wedding venue; for example, Frank Sinatra, Buddy Holly, Artie Shaw, Louis Armstrong, Sonny & Cher, and Johnny Cash all performed there.  

I am shooting a wedding there on September 18, 2010.  I came with my associate, Paul, who appears in a few of the pictures.  The following are some of the pictures I took.

Though the theater is fairly dark, with off-camera flash I am still able to get some well-lit images. 

With my 50 mm f1.4 lens I expect to get some great shots during the wedding which have a shallow depth of field.

This is a nice picture of Paul.

The lobby area has been restored and looks beautiful.

There are lots of very cool details along the stairway. 

Next we walked over to the Overture Center and looked around.  We were given a quick tour by Jean, the Wedding Coordinator.  The following was taken of the Promenade Lounge.

Here is another view of the Overture Center Promenade Lounge.   With all the large windows and the huge skyligh,t there is plenty of natural light for the whole area.