Uptown Theater

Uptown Theater’s long history starts way back in 1948, when three siblings—Jerry, Silver, Sherman Silver, and Helen Meagher Fisher—purchased the Wings Theatre in Grand Prairie. Within two years, it was renovated and reopened as an 1,100-seat movie theater and live performance venue, selling tickets for 35 cents a pop. Uptown stayed in the family for more than 40 years before shutting down in the mid-1990s. It stayed mostly dormant for a decade, until the City of Grand Prairie purchased the space in 2005 and embarked on a massive restoration project.

Three years later, Uptown was reopened as a visual and performing arts venue, complete with art gallery space, orchestra pit, and improved stage designed for theater, music, and dance. Most of the acts that roll through Uptown bring a song or two with them, whether it’s a long-running musical like Rent, an act from the Uptown Arts Series (which presents themed shows like Simply Sinatra and Best of Broadway), or a special holiday performance from the Three Redneck Tenors. But the theater also organizes plenty of other events, from movie screenings to an annual talent variety show held each November.