CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cleveland’s historic Variety Theatre is on the path to make its grand return as a live music venue, following its recent sale to former Mahall’s owner Kelly Flamos.
Flamos closed the deal on Monday, May 2. She said she first signed a purchase agreement in November, several months after she sold her 50% ownership stake in Mahall’s to a holding company formed by BravoArtist founder Cory Hajde.
She’s looking back on parts of the Variety’s history to envision its future. The complex – which includes the theater space, 10 storefronts and 13 apartments – takes up an entire block of Lorain Ave. Flamos said she plans to find local businesses to take over the shops, and she’ll bring music back to the theater itself.
“I wasn’t ready to be done. ... I toured it right after we inked the deal with Cory last spring, and I was familiar with it, and I knew it was available,” Flamos said. “I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I just have taken it one step at a time.”
Flamos said she reinvested what she earned from the Mahall’s sale into the Variety Theatre, which is located at 11817 Lorain Ave. According to Cuyahoga County land records, the building sold on April 29 for $450,000.
Flamos said she aims to preserve the architecture of the Variety Theatre and bring new life to it. She had a similar mission at Mahall’s, a long-running bowling alley, bar and music venue in Lakewood. At the Variety, she will focus on live music, but also feature other types of performance art, including poetry, theater and dance.
“I’ve always thought there might be the question, ‘Do we need another music venue?’ But why not? We’re the home of rock and roll,” Flamos said. “I say, the more the merrier.”
It’s not just about the music business, though. Flamos emphasized forging community at the Variety Theatre, creating a space where locals can gather around the arts.
“We want to reestablish it as an anchor in that neighborhood, and make it a space for creative expression and human connection, these face-to-face encounters that are becoming fleeting,” Flamos said. “I want it to be a place where people can bring their ideas, and create a canvas for the artists that live around here.”
Almost a century of entertainment
The Variety Theatre, which is on the National Registry of Historic Places and has been named a City of Cleveland landmark, has a history that goes back nearly 100 years. The space was built in 1924, according to property records, and it was designed by Cleveland architect Nicola Petti, also known for designing the Cedar-Lee Theatre.
Initially, the Variety existed as a movie theater. Warner Bros. purchased the building in 1929 and ran it until 1954. The 1970s and 1980s saw the Variety shift gears into a theater and concert club, hosting acts like Slayer, Metallica, Megadeth, R.E.M., The Replacements and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. A 1984 Motorhead show marked the tail end of the Variety Theatre’s concert days: The event was so loud that it famously cracked the plaster ceiling.
In 2009, the Friends of the Historic Variety Theatre took ownership of the building, and the group began the long-term restoration work that included, most notably, installing a new replica of the Variety’s original 1920s marquee sign in 2016. They also stabilized the building’s roof and updated the building’s electrical system, Flamos said.
The area around the Variety Theatre -- the Variety Village Historic District -- was fixed up in 2016, when the City of Cleveland completed a $3.6 million streetscape and roadway improvement project.
Flamos gave credit to decades of preservation work that preceded her purchase, shouting out former Ward 11 councilwoman Dona Brady and Patrick Colvin, the former secretary of Friends of the Historic Variety Theatre and board president of Westown Community Development Corporation. Colvin passed away last year.
“This opportunity is only possible because of decades of hard work and advocacy to save that theater, by the county and the city, officials there, and then community members that are committed to saving it,” Flamos said. “I’m stepping in to continue the work that they started. I’m new to the Variety Theatre in that respect, because people have been working on saving it for over 20 years.”
The road ahead
Having only just received the keys to the theater this week, Flamos said it’s too early to know when the building repairs will take place, much less when the venue will open for business. The apartments and storefronts require mostly aesthetic restoration, while the biggest project will be restoring the theater itself. Flamos plans to keep seats out of the main floor of the auditorium, with seats in the mezzanine.
(Photo by Laura DeMarco, The Plain Dealer)
Before all of that, the new owner will apply for historic tax credits on both the federal and state level. Flamos will work with her development partner, Missy Ferchill of MCM Company Inc., and her legal team at Trzaska Rosen & Faller for the duration of the project.
Eventually, Flamos hopes to open the completely restored, 2,000-capacity venue to the public. It’s a big leap from Mahall’s, a space that has been in constant operation since 1924. When Flamos and her team took over Mahall’s in 2011, much of the business’ staff carried over, and former owners were available to answer questions.
Getting the Variety Theatre up and running will be a bigger challenge. But Flamos’ experience at Mahall’s – particularly during the pandemic – reinforced to her that Clevelanders crave live arts experiences, and that the Variety Theatre could add to Northeast Ohio’s scene once again.
“Early-on in COVID, I had a fear that venues wouldn’t survive. But we saw this amazing local and national coming together of independent venues,” Flamos said. “People want to experience live art, entertainment, sports, in-person. I’m hopeful because of that. That was a scary time and we’re still coming out of it, but I think it proved that the experience of witnessing your favorite band live is something that can’t be duplicated on a screen.”