Doors - 2:00 PM 

Concert - 3:00 PM 

Tickets - $17 

The Detroit Theater Organ Society’s long running Organ Pops Concert series kicks off the 2025 season with yet another afternoon of songs and splendor at the Senate. This time around we’re combining the power of our Mighty Wurlitzer theater organ, (the eighth largest ever constructed) with the talented young organist, Richie Gregory! Don’t miss your chance to experience the majesty, nuance and diversity of sounds that only a theater pipe organ can provide. 

About Richie Gregory
Richie Gregory (Columbus, Ohio) has had a lifelong interest in the theatre pipe organ. 

During its short life from 1999-2010, Richie’s grandparents took him to visit the Roaring 20’s Pizza and Pipes in Ellenton, Florida. The restaurant, featuring a Wurlitzer pipe organ, left a lasting impression. Gifted CDs of Bill Vlasak & Dwight Thomas at the organ, Richie listened to these religiously on a portable CD player throughout his early childhood. 

Richie has competed twice in the Young Theatre Organist Competition hosted by the American Theatre Organ Society; being a finalist both times in 2016 & 2019. Richie served as the Youth Advisor to the Board of Directors for ATOS from 2020-2023.

Richie graduated from Capital University in 2024 with a bachelors in Music Education. He enjoys golfing, spending time with his nieces & nephew, and girlfriend Joanna.

The Senate Theater and The Detroit Theater Organ Society, a non-profit and all-volunteer organization, is supported in part by The Michigan Arts and Culture Council and The National Endowment for the Arts. 

Parking is available in a gated parking lot on Gilbert St., behind the theater.

The Wiz (1978)  

Sat. Feb. 1 

Doors – 7:00 PM 

Organ Overture – 7:30 PM 

Film – 8:00 PM 

Tickets - $6 

2hr 16min | G | Family/Musical | USA 

Ease on down the road for a screening of The Wiz, starring Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Richard Pryor, Nipsey Russell and more! 

A Motown Productions film directed by Sidney Lumet, (12 Angry Men, Dog Day Afternoon) this reimagining of a reimagining has captured the imaginings of families for decades. Based on a hit “Super Soul” stage adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s classic of children’s literature The Wonderful WIzard of Oz, the 1978 film version moves the setting from Kansas to New York City.  

Don’t miss your chance to see the monumental sets and fantastic costumes on the big screen, all set to the beloved 70s R&B tunes that make this show a timeless family classic! 

The Senate Theater and The Detroit Theater Organ Society is supported by The Michigan Arts and Culture Council and The National Endowment for the Arts. 

Parking is available in our gated lot, on Gilbert, and Michigan Avenue 

Sat. Nov. 23 

Doors – 7:00 PM 

Film – 8:00 PM 

Tickets - $12 

2hr 31min | NR | War/Drama | United States 

Live Organ Accompaniment by John Lauter 

Silents at the Senate is proud to present The Big Parade, an epic romance set against the backdrop of global conflagration, with live organ accompaniment by theater organist John Lauter! 

This massive international hit tells the story of a wealthy young playboy (John Gilbert, perhaps the biggest marquee idol of the 1920s) who enlists in the U.S. Army to fight in the first World War. Expecting glory and adventure, he instead must confront the horrors of war, the likes of which only friendship and love can overcome. The Big Parade was MGM’s biggest success of the silent era, owing its success to its unflinching look at the realities of war and a stirring romance made real through the talents of its lead actors.  

And, as at every Silents at the Senate screening, the visual magic of cinema will be enhanced by the unmatched auditory majesty of our Mighty Wurlitzer theater pipe organ. This one-of-a-kind instrument was literally made to accompany silent films. There is no better way to see The Big Parade!  

The Senate Theater and The Detroit Theater Organ Society is supported by The Michigan Arts and Culture Council and The National Endowment for the Arts 

Parking is available in a gated parking lot on Gilbert St., behind the theater.

Doors - 2:00 PM 

Concert - 3:00 PM 

Tickets - $17 

The Detroit Theater Organ Society’s long running Organ Pops Concert series continues its 2024 season with yet another afternoon of songs and splendor at the Senate. This time around we’re combining the power of our Mighty Wurlitzer theater organ, (the eighth largest ever constructed) with the talents of an up and coming young organist, Ian Fraser! Don’t miss your chance to experience the majesty, nuance and diversity of sounds that only a theater pipe organ can provide. 

Whether you are a lifelong theater organ enthusiast or just a curious music lover, we hope to see you there! 

Artist Bio:

Ian Fraser’s fascination with organs started at the age of two when he heard a band organ on a local carousel in his hometown of Staten Island, NY. His interests soon expanded into the world of mechanicalmusic with player pianos, orchestrions, etc. When he was 16, after seeing a silent film accompanied by Bernie Anderson at Chaminade High School in Mineola, NY in 2017, he had the opportunity to sit at the console and play the theatre organ for the first time. From there, he has followed his passion to become a theatre organist.

Leveraging his ability to play by ear, Ian taught himself in just a few short years to play the theatre organ. This has been influenced by studying his favorite genres and organists. He has performed at John Dickinson High School (DE), Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall (NJ), the Loew’s Jersey Theatre (NJ), the Trenton War Memorial (NJ), the Union County Performing Arts Center (NJ), Babson College (MA), Cleveland Grays Armory Museum (OH), the Capitol Theatre (PA) and The Grand Theater (PA) among others.

Ian is the first-place winner of the American Theatre Organ Society’s Young Theatre Organist Competition which was held at the 2023 Chicago Convention.

Now residing in Plainfield, NJ, Ian is the house organist at the Barrymore Film Center in Fort Lee, NJ performing pre-shows before film screenings and accompanying silent films. He is also the house organist at the St. George Theatre in Staten Island, NY performing pre-shows for their “Better on the Big Screen” classic movie series and “Arts-In-Education” series where he regularly plays for audiences of over 1,500 students in grades K-12 exposing the theatre organ to the next generation.

In addition to being a concert artist and a silent film accompanist, he has developed a new themed live show format blending silent shorts, historical presentation and a mini-concert.

Ian’s other interests are in the restoration of pipe organs and mechanical musical instruments.

He is the Vice President of AMICA’s Lady Liberty Chapter (Automatic Musical Instrument Collectors Association) and a Director of COAA (Carousel Organ Association of America). He is also a member of the NCA (National Carousel Association), GSTOS (Garden State Theatre Organ Society), NYTOS (New York Theatre Organ Society), Eastern Massachusetts Chapter of the American Theatre Organ Society (EMCATOS), Susquehanna Valley Theatre Organ Society (SVTOS), Rochester Theatre Organ Society(RTOS), Theatre Organ Society of the Delaware Valley (TOSDV), and ATOS (American Theatre Organ Society).

The Senate Theater and The Detroit Theater Organ Society is supported by The Michigan Arts and Culture Council and The National Endowment for the Arts. 

Parking is available in a gated parking lot on Gilbert St., behind the theater.

An exclusive screening of award-winning writer and filmmaker dream hampton’s powerful new documentary, presented by the Museum of Contempory Art Detroit with a panel discussion to follow with the filmmaker. DOORS AT 5:30

Join us at the historic Senate Theatre for an exclusive screening of award-winning writer and filmmaker dream hampton’s powerful new documentary, It Was All A Dream. A visual memoir reflecting on the dawn of the golden era of hip-hop from hamptons personal archives, takes viewers inside the studio with intimate access to some of rap’s most celebrated minds, including hampton’s neighbor The Notorious BIG, Wu Tang’s Method Man, Mobb Deep, Snoop Dogg and many more. And celebrates a phenomenal era in hip-hop history. Experience an evening of thought-provoking storytelling that challenges norms and inspires change. Following the film, we’ll have a short discussion and Q&A with the director and MOCADs Co-Director/Artistic Director, Jova Lynne . Don’t miss this chance to witness a groundbreaking work that pushes boundaries!

Doors - 2:00 PM 

Concert - 3:00 PM 

Tickets - $17 

The Detroit Theater Organ Society’s long running Organ Pops Concert series continues its 2024 season with yet another afternoon of songs and splendor at the Senate. This time around we’re combining the power of our Mighty Wurlitzer theater organ, (the eighth largest ever constructed) with not one, but two leading organists: Scot Smill and Stephen Warner! Don’t miss your chance to experience the majesty, nuance and diversity of sounds that only a theater pipe organ can provide. 

Whether you are a lifelong theater organ enthusiast or just a curious music lover, we hope to see you there! 

Artists Biographies:

Scott Smith is a life-long resident of Lansing, Michigan. He is the owner of Scott Smith Pipe Organs, LLC, a full-service pipe organ business that services and restores both theatre and church/classical pipe organs. He has worked extensively in the field of pipe organ maintenance and restoration since high school, when he joined the volunteer crew that restored and maintained the Barton organ in Lansing’s Michigan Theatre.

Scott has performed concerts and accompanied silent films across the country, but first performed regularly at the Michigan Theatre in Lansing as its last staff organist, from 1972 to 1980. When the organ’s new home was secured as the Grand Ledge Opera House in Grand Ledge, Michigan, he was responsible for the organ’s redesign and oversaw its installation and tonal refinement, where he has been House Organist since 1995.

Stephen Warner is the organist at Jefferson Avenue Presbyterian Church in Detroit and a staff organist at the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor. He grew up in Traverse City, Michigan, where he studied piano from age seven and participated in almost every facet of the Traverse City Public Schools music program.

In 2003, Mr. Warner completed dual bachelor’s degree in organ performance and in mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan. There, he had the opportunity to play the organ with many of the bands, orchestras and choirs, including the U of M Men’s Glee Club, which he was a member for 6 years. He studied organ primarily with Dr. James Kibbie and piano with Dr. Louis Nagel.

The Senate Theater and The Detroit Theater Organ Society is supported by The Michigan Arts and Culture Council and The National Endowment for the Arts. 

Parking is available in a gated parking lot on Gilbert St., behind the theater

Doors – 7:00 PM 

Organ Overture – 7:30 PM 

Film – 8:00 PM 

Tickets - $6 

1hr 33min | PG | Comedy/Musical | USA 

We all know rock music is dangerous, but did you know it might just blow up your children’s school? 

That’s according to the cult teen movie classic, Rock ‘n’ Roll High School, a delightful alchemy of sneering punk rock attitude, goofball energy, and campy performances! 

Produced by Roger “King of the B-movie" Corman, this tongue-in-cheek comedy follows the exploits of a plucky teenage troublemaker Riff Randall as she attempts to meet her idols and hopefully kickstart a nascent songwriting career. It was originally conceived as Disco High, an update of the rock ‘n’ roll exploitation films Corman and others made in the 1960s. That concept was soon abandoned, however, as the script veered deep into screwball antics and back towards rock music, eventually leading to the hiring of (then unknown) punk rock legends The Ramones.  

The result lands somewhere between Grease and Animal House, with a soundtrack featuring a heavy dose of The Ramones, alongside the likes of Brian Eno, The Velvet Underground, and Detroit’s own MC5. 

See you there. Don’t be a square. 

The Senate Theater and The Detroit Theater Organ Society is supported by The Michigan Arts and Culture Council and The National Endowment for the Arts. 

Parking is available in our gated lot, on Gilbert, and Michigan Avenue

Doors - 2:00 PM 
Concert - 3:00 PM 
Tickets - $17 

The Detroit Theater Organ Society’s long running Organ Pops Concert series continues its 2024 season with yet another afternoon of songs and splendor at the Senate. This time around we’re combining the power of our Mighty Wurlitzer theater organ, (the eighth largest ever constructed) with the talents of veteran organist, Tony O’Brien! 

Don’t miss your chance to experience the majesty, nuance and diversity of sounds that only a theater pipe organ can provide. 

Whether you are a lifelong theater organ enthusiast or just a curious music lover, we hope to see you there! 

About the Artist: 

Hailing from the Detroit area, Mr. O’Brien is a trained theater organist with a degree in classical organ and many years of concert experience both domestically and internationally. It is this pedigree that provides him with the ability to create a diverse and technically impressive set of musical sounds at the organ console. His versatility allows him to both put on an exciting organ concert and accompany a silent film with the requisite timing and emotional resonance.  

The Senate Theater and The Detroit Theater Organ Society is supported by The Michigan Arts and Culture Council and The National Endowment for the Arts. 

Parking is available in our gated lot, on Gilbert, and Michigan Avenue