The Melody Top Theatre was a musical theatre located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and featured performances in the round. The theatre that was originally built as a circus-style tent is now defunct.
History
The Melody Top was built in 1962. It was only operational during the summers beginning in 1963. The theatre was modeled after the identical Melody Top in Chicago. The large venue lasted until 1986. The theatre was originally built in the form of a giant, circus-style tent. It was located on W Good Hope Road, just east of N 76th St in Milwaukee. Later, the architecture of the venue comprised a wooden dome. The Milwaukee Melody Top was affiliated with a second Melody Top located in Hillside, Illinois.
The Melody Top hosted "...Broadway quality presentations of big scale musical hits..." The theatre hosted celebrities such as Leonard Nimoy in Oliver!; Betty White in My Fair Lady; and Christopher Walken in West Side Story.
Productions
1963
Guys and Dolls - starring Gordon and Sheila MacRae
The Music Man - starring Forrest Tucker
The Unsinkable Molly Brown - starring Jaye P. Morgan
The Vagabond King - starring Earl Wrightson and Lois Hunt
Bye Bye Birdie - starring Van Johnson
Brigadoon - starring Dennis Day and McLean Stevenson
1964
Kiss Me, Kate - starring Howard Keel
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes - starring Betty Hutton
Wildcat - starring Martha Raye
Roberta - starring Edward Everett Horton
Little Me - starring Gabriel Dell and Karen Morrow
Mr. President - starring Bert Parks
The Pajama Game - starring Phil Ford and Mimi Hines
1965
West Side Story - starring Anna Maria Alberghetti and Christopher Walken
South Pacific - starring Betty White and Gene Hollmann
Bells Are Ringing - starring Phil Ford and Mimi Hines
My Fair Lady - starring Michael Allinson and Barbara Williams
Annie Get Your Gun - starring Jaye P. Morgan and Gary Mann
The Sound of Music - starring Janet Blair and John Myhers
Camelot - starring Earl Wrightson and Lois Hunt
1966
The King and I - starring Gisele MacKenzie
Can-Can - starring Monique van Vooren
Gypsy - starring Janis Paige
Flower Drum Song - starring Chita Rivera
Milk and Honey - starring Molly Picon
Call Me Madam - starring Margaret Whiting and Tommy Sands
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying - starring Robert Q. Lewis and Karen Morrow
1967
Sweet Charity - starring Gretchen Wyler
Lady in the Dark - starring Patrice Munsel
High Button Shoes - starring Margaret Whiting and Gabriel Dell
Silk Stockings - starring Earl Wrightson and Lois Hunt
The Boy Friend - starring Jane Powell
On a Clear Day You Can See Forever - starring Forrest Tucker
Carousel - starring John Raitt
1968
Irma la Douce - starring Chita Rivera
Fanny - starring Anna Maria Alberghetti
Where's Charley? - starring Gabriel Dell and Eileen Brennan
Take Me Along - starring Robert Q. Lewis
Pal Joey - starring Margaret Whiting
The Desert Song - starring Anne Jeffreys and Bill Hayes
Of Thee I Sing - starring Hal March and Jack Bailey
1969
The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd - starring Phil Ford and Mimi Hines Carnival! - starring Jean-Pierre Aumont and Marisa Pavan Paint Your Wagon - starring Earl Wrightson Anything Goes - starring Gretchen Wyler The Most Happy Fella - starring Anna Maria Alberghetti and Edwin Steffe Song of Norway - starring Anne Jeffreys and Bill Hayes Oklahoma! - starring John Raitt