Campus stages / Oakland University campus
Oakland University School of Music, Theatre and Dance (Varner Hall)
Oakland University's music, theatre and dance school shows off in Varner Hall on the Rochester campus: students and faculty in plays, musicals, opera, dance and concerts.
Oakland University School of Music, Theatre and Dance (Varner Hall) · Photo from the venue’s official website
Quick facts
- Resident companies
- OU Theatre · Oakland Dance Theatre · Oakland Symphony Orchestra
01 / Playbill
Now on stage
Announced lineup
What the venue announced on its own site when we last checked (2026-09-26). Click through for exact times and tickets.
02 / The story of this place
Make time for these
When there's a show on the Oakland University campus in Rochester, odds are it's in Varner Hall, which marked 50 years of performances in 2023. Plays go up in the Varner Studio Theatre and the even smaller Lab Theatre, while concerts, opera and dance take the Varner Recital Hall. Students also appear in co-productions with Meadow Brook Theatre, including its annual musical. The 2026-27 season brings Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' Gloria (October 14-18, 2026), Grease (November 18-22) and The Comedy of Errors (March 17-21, 2027). OU Theatre, Oakland Dance Theatre and the Oakland Symphony Orchestra all call it home.
- Gloria, Grease and The Comedy of Errors in 2026-27
- Opera, dance and symphony concerts in the Recital Hall
- Co-productions with Meadow Brook Theatre
Plan your visit
Get tickets from the SMTD box office at (248) 370-3013 or smtdboxoffice@oakland.edu, or online through Etix. Varner Hall is surrounded by free parking, so no circling the block here.
Box office
SMTD box office: (248) 370-3013, smtdboxoffice@oakland.edu; online tickets through Etix.
Accessibility
Accessible seating on both levels of the Recital Hall (an elevator serves the upper house) and up to four accessible seats each in the Studio and Lab theatres. Assisted-listening devices are available in the Studio Theatre; reserve one at smtdboxoffice@oakland.edu.
Parking
Free parking all around Varner Hall. Accessible parking is in Lot P36 for the Recital Hall and Lot P26 for the Studio and Lab theatres.
Theaters nearby
Back to theaters ↗
Professional companies / Rochester
Meadow Brook Theatre
A professional nonprofit theatre on Oakland University's Rochester campus since 1966, billing itself as Michigan's largest producing professional theatre. 2026–27 is Season 60, and the 44th A Christmas Carol opens November 20.
Community theaters / Rochester Hills
Avon Players Theatre
A volunteer-run community theatre in Rochester Hills, in a historic A-frame playhouse on Washington Road. Its production history starts with the 1947–48 season, and 2026–27 brings Twelve Angry Men, August: Osage County and Dear Evan Hansen.
Professional companies / St. Clair
Boardwalk Theatre (Thumbcoast Live Theaters)
Thumbcoast Live Theaters' biggest venue: 370 seats in riverfront downtown St. Clair, built for big musicals. Fall 2026 brings Chicago and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.