Gaslight Theatre opening music hall in Oro Valley

The Gaslight Music Hall, an arm of Tony Terry’s The Gaslight Theatre on Tucson’s east side, will open late this month in the same space that the former Great American Playhouse occupied in the Rancho Vistoso Center.

But Terry, whose popular theater frequently plays to capacity, isn’t planning the same type of programming that Gaslight does, or Great American did.

“We aren’t going to do melodrama,” he said in a phone interview. “I don’t think Tucson is large enough to support another theater like that.”

It will be a Grandma Tony’s pizza restaurant during the day, offering the same menu of the Grandma Tony’s attached to The Gaslight.

And in late afternoon and night, it will do just what the name implies — music.

“That fits what our staff is passionate about — our music and concert series,” said Terry.

This is not a new avenue for Terry — Monday nights at the east side Gaslight are turned over to music performances.

“We are lucky to sell out almost every Monday,” he said. “We often have to add extra shows.”

While he won’t be staging melodramas in the Oro Valley location, he is bringing a version of the popular music-filled olio, which follows each performance at The Gaslight.

“We’re going to put together Gaslight revues, like our olios, but extended,” he said. “There will be a larger band, but the same sort of idea. We’ll start with a country-Western theme revue, have a holiday one around Christmas, and a beach blanket one in the summer.”

Initially, Terry expects to offer the music acts three to four days a week, with two shows a day. He has priced tickets at $19.95 — the same as the Gaslight Theatre. There will be discounts available. His first show, booked for Feb. 28, is Robert Shaw’s “Good Rockin’ — Live,” with songs plucked from the Sun Records catalogue (think Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison …).

During the day it will be open as a Grandma Tony’s pizza restaurant (which will also be open during the shows), and Terry is considering having a banjo and piano to provide the soundscape to dining. He said the theater will also be available as a rental.

Terry said the 9,000-square-foot space, which Great American had converted from a supermarket to a theater, has undergone some changes.

“We didn’t have to do much,” he said. “It was all cosmetic, but it’s going to look like a totally different place. It will be comfortable, fun and family-friendly.”

It will seat about 220, and wine and beer will be served. Terry expects to add different alcohol options a few months after that.

About 50 employees are expected to be hired, with jobs paying in the $8- to $14-an-hour range.

Great American Playhouse closed in November after two years in business. Nancy LaViola, who opened the theater with Sean MacArthur, told the Star she had sunk about $1 million into repurposing the space for a theater. It was closed after an agreement on lease payment could not be reached with property managers NAI Horizon.