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Curtain falls on struggling Majestic Theatre

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After nearly 90 years of live entertainment and independent film screenings, the Majestic’s days as a theatre are numbered as the facility’s new owner makes plans to convert the Madison landmark into a dance club.

The Majestic, 115 King St., opened as a vaudeville theatre in 1909, and has been a movie theatre since the 1970s. Over the last few years, however, filling seats in the facility has been difficult.

Nick Sciavo, owner of Café Continental and of the future Majestic establishment, plans to use the Majestic primarily as a dance club, but also for banquets, live music and occasional film screenings.

Sciavo said both the liquor license and cabaret license, which provides the approval necessary to host dancing, were granted Aug. 14by Madison’s Alcohol License and Review Committee.

Pending approval by the City Council, the new club, which will have a capacity of around 475 people, could open anywhere from New Year’s Eve at the earliest to sometime in the spring.

Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, expects the council to approve the licenses and looks forward to the club’s opening.

“While I am sad to see the Majestic theatre go, I am excited by the arrival of another dance club,” said Verveer. “It will provide a much-needed entertainment center and it should be very popular.”

Ald. Tom Powell, District 5, expressed similar sentiments.

“Currently, there really is no dance club in the campus area,” he said. “While it is unfortunate the Majestic did not make it as a movie theatre, the whole area will benefit from the club’s existence.”

While preservationist groups assert the renovations have the potential of damaging the Majestic, an official city landmark, Schiavo said the historic building’s exterior would not be affected.

“The remodeling will not touch the exterior,” Schiavo said. “The renovation plan respects the Majestic’s integrity and history.”

The Majestic’s renovation is seen as one of the final installments of a renaissance on King Street, an area known widely as a seedy “red-light” district in the 1980s for abundant prostitution and drug activity.

“It should cement King Street as a destination point for entertainment,” Verveer said, pointing out that the area is already home to bars such as the Great Dane, Madison’s, the King Club, the Opus and the Cardinal Bar.