Free Fisher Theater Tickets for DetroitYES Members for "Heartbeat of Home"

**fzappa2000** · March-20-14, 08:42 PM

Posted this on FB last night after getting home from a great performance at the Fisher:

A big shout out to the folks at the Fisher Theater and Detroit Yes forum moderator Lowell B. for getting forum members free tix to see the dance/musical at the Fisher, 'Heartbeat of Home'. All aspects of the show were really top notch; music, dance, costumes, sets and song. Not really a 'Riverdance' kind of guy, but the show was a fusion of Riverdance, Stomp, West Side Story and salsa and flamenco all rolled into energized performance. The physicality of the entire company was astounding!
http://www.broadwayindetroit.com/engine.cfm?i=182#

Nice meeting Gistok and being part of a very appreciative audience that gave the performers a well-deserved standing ovation!

**fzappa2000** · March-20-14, 08:56 PM

Didn't know that free parking was provided and we did what many might consider 'unthinkable'....we parked our 2010 Honda Odyssey on Second Ave. about 2 blocks north of the Fisher Bldg. Car was still there and we didn't get mugged walking alone at 10 PM to our car...What were we thinking!

**Lowell** · March-20-14, 11:22 PM

Originally Posted by Gistok

I had not been on main floor seating at the Fisher in over 20 years. And since our seats were all there, I got to study the place a little bit more, and saw a lot of telltale "mayhem" that gives up the secret that the 1960-61 reconstructed "new Fisher" was a shrink down version of the "Mayanesque old Fisher"...

After you pass from the outer doors of the Fisher, you get into the theatre lobby. This 2 story space with a grand staircase at one end was once larger... a 3 story space with not only the mezzanine, but then also the balcony level looking down on it. This lobby was shrunk down by inserting a floor level above the mezzanine, and having the balcony use this as circulation space.

When you pass thru the doors that separates the theatre lobby from the foyer space [[known in theatre jargon as the "holdout gates"... you pass into a very odd large space. The first part of this area you walk into has a flat floor, and this was the original Grand Foyer. But then suddenly the floor starts to slope downward in this space... and you have just entered what used to be the back of the original auditorium. The back 500 of the 1500 seats of the original auditorium are now with the much larger Grand Foyer space. When you look up you see a pair of mezzanine bridges [[catwalks) that take the mezzanine patrons from the mezzanine foyer to the mezzanine seats. These open catwalks were once part of a larger mezzanine seating level, which was carved out so that it becomes a lofty space above the main floor foyer.

The 2nd set of doors that main floor patrons encounter were [[in 1961) moved 1/3 of the way into the larger former auditorium.

So although both the 3000 seat old Fisher and 2089 seat new Fisher have the same seating spots in the front of the main floor, mezzanine and balcony levels... the farther reaches of each level was eliminated and incorporated into foyer space [[for the main floor and mezzanine), or walled off [[for the balcony).

A very unique way to handle the 1961 downsizing of the theatre...

Not sure if you were aware but... A reconfiguration was made a couple of years ago that added some seats, accommodated handicap seating and enhanced sound control stations at the back of the main floor. It was quite expensive for the amount of seating added.

**Gistok** · March-21-14, 12:46 AM

Originally Posted by Lowell

Not sure if you were aware but... A reconfiguration was made a couple of years ago that added some seats, accommodated handicap seating and enhanced sound control stations at the back of the main floor. It was quite expensive for the amount of seating added.

Lowell,

I'm not sure of what they did to the Fisher Theatre. However in 2007 there were plans to spend $3.5 million [[in 2008) to remodel and expand the theatre seating [[from 2,089 to 2,475). This would have required shutting down the theatre for about a year. But due to the Banking meltdown of that era... that large scale renovation never happened...
http://atdetroit.net/forum/messages/...tml?1198392335

AFAIK... the Fisher has not had any significant downtime since that announcement.

**Kelton** · March-21-14, 07:32 AM

Wow! What a great experience! My two friends and I thoroughly enjoyed the matinee show yesterday. I extended the pleasure this morning by studying the program I purchased at the Fisher. It's so interesting to discover where each of these talented young performers was raised, where they studied dance, what their credits are, etc. What the human body can do! The musicians were wonderful as well.

Thank you again Lowell for the opportunity to see this amazing show. Please pass along my thanks to your generous friend who made it all possible.

Kelton

**Zads07** · March-21-14, 10:58 AM

Fantastic show, loved every minute of it. I wasn't sure what to expect, but it definitely had me at attention the whole time. Thank you indeed Lowell for the tickets.