Palace Theatre

The Palace Theatre opened in January 1891 with the intention of being a home for English Grand Opera. Originally titled The Royal English Opera house, its first two productions (Ivanhoe and La Basoche) were successes, but there were no other works ready to fill the theatre. It was sold a year later, converted into a grand musical hall and renamed the Palace Theatre of Varieties. The theatre changed hands again in 1904 and new manager Alfred Butt emphasized a variety line-up, including dancing girls and film screenings (which began in 1897). In 1911, the theatres title was altered to The Palace Theatre, and saw memorable performance throughout the rest of the 20th Century. In 1922, the theatre played host to the famous comedy group The Marx Brothers, who performed selections from their shows on Broadway. The musical comedy No, No, Nanette opened in 1925 and ran for 665 performances. Other shows of this era include Princess Charming (1926), The Girl Friend (1927) and Gay Divorce (1933); Fred Astaire’s final stage musical. These musical successes would continue with The Sound of Music (opening in 1961 and running for 2,385 performances), Jesus Christ Superstar (1972-80), and Les Miserables (1985), which ran for 19 years before transferring to the Queens Theatre. Recent and popular productions include The Woman in White (2004-06), Spamalot (2006-09), and Priscilla Queen of the Desert (2009-11).