Theater-Arts Venue Opening in Riverwest
The Brick House will host a soft opening event on Nov. 18.
Site of The Brick House, 504-506 E. Center St. Photo courtesy of Amanda Hull.
It’s almost call time for The Brick House, a new event venue that’s soon to open in Riverwest.
The theater-focused venue, led by Amanda Hull, will welcome local theater and arts groups, offering a comfortable and customizable space to hold auditions, workshops, classes, rehearsals, gallery shows and cabaret-style or staged reading performances.
It will also be available to rent for private, non-theater events such as weddings, showers, retirement parties and more.
Located at 504 E. Center St., the venue includes a full bar and can accommodate just under 50 people, including employees. The space itself, formerly home to Tangled Salon, features distressed wood floors and Cream City brick walls. Fresh decals and dangling silver stars are displayed in the sidewalk-facing front windows.
Groups who may be interested in renting the space are welcome to pay a visit on Saturday, Nov. 18 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. for an open house event.
The Brick House will fill a need for the city’s drama scene, which has seen performance and rehearsal spaces dwindle since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Hull said.
Underlining that statement is the upcoming closure of Sunstone Studios. The company, a member of the Milwaukee Theater District, announced on Oct. 16 that it would close its downtown venue at the end of November. It will, however, continue to produce live theater at other venues.
Hull, who will operate the Riverwest venue with her co-owner and husband of seven years, Cole Heinrich, is a longtime member of the Milwaukee theater scene, having studied acting and musical theater performance at UW-Milwaukee. She went on to work as a professional actor, costume designer, theater instructor and theater director. She also co-ran Milwaukee Entertainment Group, a theater company at the Brumder Mansion.
In sharing the news of The Brick House, Hull said she’s received plenty of positive feedback. “We’ve met with some of our neighbors and they’re very kind,” she said. “I think all the artists in the area seem excited.”
Hull said she plans on “easing into things” at The Brick House, where the scheduling of public-facing events will depend fully on the amount of rental inquiries the venue receives.
The space will host events including theatrical performances, but will not produce any theater of its own, Hull clarified. There may, however, be occasional evening performances by acoustic musicians, special weekend events or pop-ups, she said.
For more information, visit The Brick House website, or follow the venue on Instagram.
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