Oakland University has been home to a storied history of theater, concert, dance and artistic performances over the years. The breadth of artistic ventures students, graduates, alumni and others have accomplished on OU’s campus should not be understated.
This past summer, notable artists like The Beach Boys, Death Cab For Cutie, The Postal Service and Charlie Puth performed on OU’s campus at the Meadow Brook Amphitheatre. Meadow Brook has been home to many different theater, dance, film and concert performances over the years.
Opened in 1964, Meadow Brook Amphitheatre provides a unique outdoor concert-going experience and can hold up to 7,701 patrons. The amphitheatre event held the summer residency for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra up until 1991.
Since then, the venue has been home to many genre-spanning concerts and performances by artists such as The 1975, Rex Orange County, Band of Horses, Wilco and Vampire Weekend.
This impressive list also includes classic performances from older bands and acts like Bush, Sublime, Steely Dan, Peter Frampton, Weird “Al” Yankovic, John Denver, The Cranberries and Barry Manilow.
The colorful history of the Meadow Brook Amphitheatre goes along with the diversity of the musicians that have performed there. In 2013, St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival took place at Meadow Brook Amphitheatre. It was also the first time this festival took place in North America — a groundbreaking fact.
Along with the Meadow Brook Amphitheatre, Meadow Brook Theatre — also located on OU’s campus — has had impressive performances of its own in the past. Coining itself as “Michigan’s Answer to Broadway,” Meadow Brook Theatre is a staple of OU.
While not affiliated with OU — according to the Detroit Free Press, the company just rents the space — Meadow Brook Theatre is home to a myriad of theater performances by the Meadow Brook Theatre troupe.
As a tradition during every fall season, the Meadow Brook Theatre troupe puts on Charles Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol” to a huge audience — with the production usually running from mid-November to Christmas Eve.
Past notable performances from the Meadow Brook Theatre company include: “Sherlock Holmes” (1984), “The Rocky Horror Show” (1999), “Murder on the Nile” (2001), “Steel Magnolias” (2005) and “Sleepy Hollow” (2009).
Performances for the 2023 to 2024 season include: “Ken Ludwig’s Moriarty,” the aforementioned annual “A Christmas Carol,” “Father of the Bride,” “A Little More Alive,” “Native Gardens,” “Route 66” and “Ella, The First Lady of Song.”
Varner Hall — OU’s music, theater and dance building — is also celebrating 50 years of hosting student, graduate and alumni performances.
OU’s commitment to the arts — even by hosting events by proxy through Meadow Brook Amphitheatre and Meadow Brook Theatre — is one of the most unique parts of this campus. They continue to support student-led art performances through events in Varner and other venues.
Meadow Brook Amphitheater and Theater have not announced their 2024 to 2025 lineups, but if the past has anything to say — we should be excited.
As for Varner, the Act II Gala celebration is on the horizon, as well as choreography performances, dance repertoire shows and band recitals.
