Variety Playhouse is a live music venue in Atlanta’s Little Five Points neighborhood, housed inside a former movie theater that first opened its doors on October 4, 1940 as the Euclid Theatre. Built by Lucas and Jenkins Theatres, the same company behind the city’s landmark Fox Theatre, the building screened films for over two decades before closing in 1962 and sitting largely dormant for nearly thirty years.
The theater found new life in 1990 when it reopened as Variety Playhouse, launching with a performance by the Count Basie Orchestra. Since then it has become one of Atlanta’s most respected mid-sized concert rooms, prized for its acoustics and its role as an anchor of the Little Five Points arts district. A 2016 renovation under new ownership modernized the seating, bar areas, and balcony while preserving the venue’s art moderne character.
Stats at a Glance
- Location: 1099 Euclid Ave NE, Little Five Points, Atlanta, Georgia
- Type: Converted cinema / live music theater
- Opened: October 4, 1940 (as Euclid Theatre); reopened as a music venue September 7, 1990
- Capacity: About 1,000
- Renovated: 2016, under owner Agon Sports and Entertainment
- Famous for: Acoustics and live album recordings by artists including Sara Bareilles and Butch Walker
From Movie House to Music Hall
The building’s path to becoming a concert venue was anything but direct. After closing as a cinema in 1962, it stood empty for decades and was at one point used as a plumbing supply warehouse before facing possible demolition. Intervention tied to Little Five Points redevelopment efforts in the 1980s saved the structure, and it was eventually restored and reopened as Variety Playhouse in 1990, giving the neighborhood a dedicated live music home.
A Room Known for Its Sound
Variety Playhouse hosts a wide mix of genres, from rock, indie, and electronic to funk, folk, bluegrass, jazz, and world music. Its acoustics have made it a favored stop for artists recording live albums, including Sara Bareilles’s 2013 release Brave Enough: Live at the Variety Playhouse and Butch Walker’s This Is Me… Justified and Stripped. The venue has also repeatedly won Creative Loafing’s ‘Best Concert Venue’ honor for Atlanta.
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Variety Playhouse FAQs
What was Variety Playhouse before it became a music venue?
It opened in 1940 as the Euclid Theatre, a movie house built by Lucas and Jenkins Theatres, the same company that built Atlanta’s Fox Theatre.
How many people does Variety Playhouse hold?
The venue has a capacity of about 1,000 guests across its floor and balcony seating areas.
Where is Variety Playhouse located?
It sits at 1099 Euclid Ave NE in the Little Five Points neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia.
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Photo: Krelnik / CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.