The Aladdin Theater was originally the Geller's Theatre when it opened in 1928. It became the Aladdin in 1930 and was a vaudeville house, playing host to the likes of Jack Benny. The birth of movies saw the demise of vaudeville in the mid 1930's. For the next 40 years, the Aladdin served as a family movie emporium, before taking a major detour in the 70 ²s and 80 ²s serving as an adult movie theater (the number one exhibitor of the X-rated classic Deep Throat). The Aladdin Theater was purchased and renovated by Paul Shuback, of Shuback's violin shop, in the early 1980's and in late 1993 Steve Reischman and Sally Custer (then of promotions company Showman, Inc.) began promoting concerts in the theater and thus began it's rise as the destination in Portland for live music and comedy. Current owner Mark Adler, of True West LLC, continues to build on the many successes of the Aladdin promoting great shows at the Aladdin and in many of Portland and Seattle's best music venues.
The Aladdin Theater is a 600 capacity venue that has won numerous awards as Portland's favorite live music venue. The list of artists who have graced the stage at the Aladdin reads like a who's who of past, present, and future of all genres of music.
The Aladdin has become a hot spot for comedians in the past 10 years with some of the biggest names performing on our stage including BILL MAHER, LOUIS C.K., DAVE ATELL, JEFF DUNHAM, CRAIG FERGUSON, PAULA POUNDSTONE, ADAM CAROLLA, STEPHEN LYNCH, JIM GAFFIGAN, CHELSEA HANDLER and AZIZ ANSARI.
And finally some of the biggest acts of the past decade got their Portland start on the Aladdin stage. BON IVER, MUMFORD & SONS, LILY ALLEN, SUFJAN STEVENS, OLD CROW MEDICINE SHOW, CAT POWER, BLACK KEYS, MY MORNING JACKET, AMOS LEE, MICHAEL BUBLE, DAMIEN RICE, GRANDADDY, BECK.
The Aladdin Theater is well known in the community for its relationships with non-profit organizations such as Mercy Corps, The Sisters of the Road, The Friends of the Children, and PHame Academy. Concerts for these organizations, as well as for other local non-profits, have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the beneficiaries.
