Front Row Theater

The Front Row was located in Highland Heights, Ohio, in suburban Cleveland, on Wilson Mills Road just west of Interstate 271.

[1] The Front Row was a theater-in-the-round, with the stage rotating during each performance, and absence of pillars that ensured clear views.

Musicians and comedians advertised or reported as performing there included (in rough order of their first performance there): Sammy Davis Jr., the Jackson 5, the Pointer Sisters, Marlene Dietrich, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Harry Belafonte, Loretta Lynn, Cheech & Chong, Al Green, Dionne Warwick, Isaac Hayes, Sonny & Cher, Frankie Valli, the O'Jays, Roberta Flack, Rufus and Chaka Khan, Donna Summer, Mel Torme, Captain & Tennille, Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, Tony Orlando, Spinners, David Ruffin, Muddy Waters, the Osmonds, James Brown, Bill Cosby, Chuck Mangione, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Bob Hope, Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis, Alice Cooper, Peter Tosh, Miles Davis, Liberace, Jimmy Buffett, Lou Rawls, the Righteous Brothers, Tom Jones, George Clinton, Bobby Womack, Ray Charles, Waylon Jennings, Roy Ayers, Hank Williams Jr., Paul Anka, Neil Sedaka, Whitney Houston, Gordon Lightfoot, Wynton Marsalis, the Commodores, B.B.

King, Run-DMC, Jay Leno, the Temptations, the Four Tops, Cheap Trick, Luther Vandross, Willie Nelson, Stephen Stills, Fats Domino, Emmylou Harris, Kenny Rogers, Anita Baker, Liza Minnelli, Diana Ross, Peter, Paul & Mary, Wayne Newton, Victor Borge, Joan Rivers, Spyro Gyra, Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela, Sheena Easton, Miami Sound Machine, Roy Orbison, George Carlin, Bob Newhart, Jeff Dunham and Salt-N-Pepa.

[4] The Michael Stanley Band ended its 13-year career with a sold-out run of 12 performances at the Front Row between December 16, 1986, and January 3, 1987.