Roxy Theater (Miami Beach)

Last updated
Roxy Theater
Roxy theater.png
The Roxy Theater, at its 1967 grand opening.
Roxy Theater (Miami Beach)
Address1527 Washington Avenue
Miami Beach, Florida
United States
Owner Leroy Griffith
OperatorLeroy Griffith
Capacity 725
Current useClub Madonna (adult nightclub)
Construction
Built1948;76 years ago (1948)
OpenedJuly 21, 1967;56 years ago (1967-07-21)
Renovated1994
ReopenedMarch 17, 1994;29 years ago (1994-03-17) (as Club Madonna)
Years active1967-present
Website
clubmadonna.com

The Roxy Theater is a former movie theater located at 1527 Washington Avenue in Miami Beach, Florida. [1] [2] In 1994, the Roxy was converted into an adult nightclub and renamed Club Madonna. It is owned and operated by theater and nightclub proprietor and former Broadway theater producer Leroy Griffith.

Contents

History

This July 21, 1967 newspaper ad promoted the grand opening of the Roxy. Roxy grand opening.PNG
This July 21, 1967 newspaper ad promoted the grand opening of the Roxy.

The Roxy, billed as "Miami Beach's newest and most fabulous theatre," opened on Friday, July 21, 1967. [3] For its grand opening, the theater premiered The Way West , starring Kirk Douglas, Robert Mitchum, and Richard Widmark.

"The theater is luxurious, designed for comfort and seats 400," wrote Miami News columnist Herb Kelly. He also reported that Griffith planned to add vaudeville later.

Griffith generated publicity there when, in 1967, he publicly invited city officials to a screening of the film, Man and Wife. "It was advertised as the art of making love 49 different ways," he said in a 1993 interview. [4] "I don't remember inviting them, but I vaguely remember the incident. I think that was the first hard-core movie ever shown down here." According to press accounts at the time, the officials seemed to think the movie was boring, but not obscene.

In early 1994, Griffith converted the Roxy from an adult movie theater to an all-nude strip club (Club Madonna), which it remains today. He successfully withstood an attempt by attorneys for the pop singer Madonna to prevent him from using the name. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sunset Strip</span> Stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through West Hollywood, California

The Sunset Strip is the 1.7-mile (2.7 km) stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through the city of West Hollywood, California, United States. It extends from West Hollywood's eastern border with the city of Los Angeles near Marmont Lane to its western border with Beverly Hills at Phyllis Street. The Sunset Strip is known for its boutiques, restaurants, rock clubs, and nightclubs, as well as its array of huge, colorful billboards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whisky a Go Go</span> Nightclub in West Hollywood, California

The Whisky a Go Go is a historic nightclub in West Hollywood, California, United States. It is located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip, corner North Clark Street, opposite North San Vicente Boulevard, northwest corner. The club has been the host for musicians and bands including Taj Mahal, Otis Redding, Hugh Masekela, Alice Cooper, The Doors, The Byrds, Three Dog Night, The Mothers of Invention, Buffalo Springfield, Led Zeppelin, Love, The Stooges, Parliament-Funkadelic, The Beach Boys, Cheap Trick, No Doubt, System of a Down, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Chicago, Germs, Elton John, Oasis, Steppenwolf, Van Halen, Rush, Johnny Rivers, X, Iron Butterfly, Fleetwood Mac, KISS, Guns N' Roses, Death, AC/DC, Golden Earring, Linkin Park, Metallica, Mötley Crüe, Stryper, Dokken, and Phil Seymour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danny Tenaglia</span> American DJ and record producer

Daniel "Danny" Tenaglia is an American DJ and record producer. He is a Grammy nominee for the best remixed recording. He is also a three time International Dance Music Award winner, 3 time DJ Awards winner and 2 time Muzik Awards recipient.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Studio 54</span> Broadway theater and former nightclub

Studio 54 is a Broadway theater and former nightclub at 254 West 54th Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Opened as the Gallo Opera House in 1927, it served as a CBS broadcast studio in the mid-20th century. The venue became a scene in 1977 after Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager opened Studio 54, a nightclub retaining much of the former theatrical and broadcasting equipment. Roundabout Theatre Company renovated the space into a Broadway house in 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roxy Theatre (West Hollywood)</span> Nightclub

The Roxy Theatre is a nightclub on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California, owned by Lou Adler and his son, Nic.

<i>Speed-the-Plow</i> 1988 play written by David Mamet

Speed-the-Plow is a 1988 play by David Mamet that is a satirical dissection of the American movie business. As stated in The Producer's Perspective, "this is a theme Mamet would revisit in his later films Wag the Dog (1997) and State and Main (2000)". As quoted in The Producer's Perspective, Jack Kroll of Newsweek described Speed-the-Plow as "another tone poem by our nation's foremost master of the language of moral epilepsy."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruth Underwood</span> American musician

Ruth Underwood is an American musician best known for playing xylophone, marimba, vibraphone, and other percussion instruments in Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. She collaborated with the Mothers of Invention from 1968 to 1977.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Déjà Vu (company)</span> U.S. company

Deja Vu Services, Inc., is an American company that operates nearly 200 strip clubs in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, France, Canada, and Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miami Beach Convention Center</span> Convention center in Florida

The Miami Beach Convention Center is a convention center located in Miami Beach, Florida. Originally opened in 1958, the venue was renovated from 2015 to 2018 for $620 million. The re-imagined and enhanced MBCC includes a 60,000-square-foot Grand Ballroom, four junior ballrooms, 500,000 square feet of flexible exhibition space, 84 meeting rooms, and pre-function space, as well as outdoor spaces and terraces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beacon Theatre (New York City)</span> Entertainment venue in Manhattan, New York

The Beacon Theatre is an entertainment venue at 2124 Broadway, adjacent to the Hotel Beacon, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1929, the Beacon Theatre was developed by Samuel "Roxy" Rothafel and built as a movie palace, with 2,894 seats across three levels. It was designed by Walter W. Ahlschlager with decorations inspired by the Renaissance, Ancient Roman, Ancient Greek, and Rococo styles. The theater is designated as a New York City interior landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Granville Entertainment District</span> Neighbourhood in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

The Granville Entertainment District is a neighbourhood in Downtown Vancouver known for its vast assortment of bars, danceclubs, restaurants, nightlife, and urban adult oriented shops and entertainment. The entertainment district centred on a seven-block stretch of the Granville Mall and surrounding streets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gaiety Theatre (male burlesque)</span> Former male burlesque theatre in New York City, United States (1975-2005)

The Gaiety Theatre was a gay male burlesque theater in Times Square, New York City, for almost 30 years until it closed on March 17, 2005. The name on the awning over the entrance was Gaiety Theatre, but it was also called the Gaiety Male Burlesque or the Gaiety Male Theatre in advertisements. It was located at 201 W 46th Street, New York, NY 10036, on the second floor of the building that also housed what was the last Howard Johnson's restaurant in New York City. The Gaiety opened in late 1975 and closed in 2005 and was owned by Denise Rozis, run by both her and her younger sister, Evridiki Rozis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thee Experience</span>

Thee Experience was a psychedelic nightclub in Hollywood, California, United States. It was located at 7551 Sunset Boulevard, on the Sunset Strip.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buckhead Theatre</span> Theater in Atlanta, Georgia, United States

The Buckhead Theatre is a theatre located in the Buckhead neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beacham Theatre</span> Movie theater in Orlando, Florida

The Beacham Theatre is a cinema built in 1921 by Braxton Beacham Sr. in the city of Orlando, Florida. The current address of the theater is 46 North Orange Avenue, and it is located at the southwest corner of Orange Avenue and Washington Street. The building's current lack of impressive architecture is offset by its significant cultural history. The Beacham Theatre was considered an important contributing structure when the Downtown Orlando historic district was created in 1980 and the building was granted local landmark status in 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leroy Griffith</span> American theater and nightclub proprietor

Leroy Charles Griffith is an American theater and nightclub proprietor, former Broadway theater producer, and film producer. He has owned, leased, or operated more than 70 adult entertainment theaters across the United States, dating from the burlesque era of the 1950s to present day nightclubs. During burlesque's heyday, he was a prolific producer of live stage shows featuring showgirls, strippers, comedians, and other stars of the era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paris Theatre (Portland, Oregon)</span> Historic building in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

Paris Theatre, formerly Third Avenue Theatre and also known as Paris Theater or Ray's Paris Theatre, is an historic building in Portland, Oregon's Old Town Chinatown neighborhood, in the United States. The theatre was constructed in 1890 and opened as a burlesque house. It was later converted to a cinema, then a club and music venue, before serving as an adult movie theater until 2016. The building was a live venue and nightclub until it closed in October 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boulevard Theater (Miami)</span> Former movie theater in Miami, now an adult entertainment club

The Boulevard Theater is a former movie theater located at 7770 Biscayne Boulevard in Miami, Florida. It is owned by theater and nightclub proprietor and former Broadway theater producer Leroy Griffith.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madonna: Tears of a Clown</span> 2016 international concert series by Madonna

Tears of a Clown was a show by American singer Madonna, first held at the Forum Theatre in Melbourne, Australia on March 10, 2016. The singer had not included Australia during her previous five concert tours, until the Rebel Heart Tour (2015–2016), so she created the show for her Australian fans since they had waited so long for her to perform there. Madonna explained that the idea behind Tears of a Clown was to combine music and storytelling, being influenced by clowns. Tickets for the first show were made available to members of Madonna's official fan club, Icon, and were non-transferable, with the person's name printed on them.

References

  1. "Roxy Theatre". cinematreasures.org. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
  2. "Roxy Theatre". cinematour.com. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
  3. "Grand Opening". The Miami News. July 18, 1967. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
  4. Baker, Greg (January 27, 1993). "The Pioneer of Porn". The Miami New Times. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
  5. Wakefield, Rebecca (May 2, 2002). "Strip Wars". The Miami New Times. Retrieved 13 December 2014.


25°47′17.4″N80°07′54″W / 25.788167°N 80.13167°W / 25.788167; -80.13167