London Casino Old Compton Street

Old Compton Street is a road that runs east–west through Soho in the West End of London. Book your tickets online for Old Compton Street, London: See 77 reviews, articles, and 86 photos of Old Compton Street, ranked No.594 on Tripadvisor among 2,338 attractions in London. We make riding on public transit to Old Compton Street easy, which is why over 865 million users, including users in Soho trust Moovit as the best app for public transport. Old Compton Street, Soho Old Compton Street is a road that runs east–west through Soho in the West End of London.

1. Old Compton Street is the Mecca of Gay London. Eat at Balans - its living party. Theres also an amazing wine and sprit sore with an enormous collection. The bars are jammed and fun, and hey, your steps away from Covent Garden!!
2. Casino Thursday, 3rd April 1930 30 Old Compton Street London UK. History; Thursday, 30th September 1954 - Saturday, 28th January 1956: This is Cinerama: Friday, 3rd February 1956 - Saturday, 8th.

The Prince Edward Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Old Compton Street, just north of Leicester Square, in the City of Westminster, London.

History[edit]

The theatre was designed in 1930 by Edward A. Stone,^[1] with an interior designed by Marc-Henri Levy and Gaston Laverdet.^[2] Named after Prince Edward (at the time Prince of Wales, briefly Edward VIII and later Duke of Windsor), it opened on 3 April 1930 with a performance of the musical Rio Rita.^[3] Other notable events in its opening years included the London debut of famed cabaret artiste Josephine Baker, who performed her famous 'Bananas Dance'.

In 1935, Stone converted the theatre to a dance and cabaret hall, being renamed the 'London Casino'.

London Casino Old Compton Street Sweeping

As the London Casino, it was badly damaged and all its windows lost on 10 May 1941, in London's worst air raid of the Second World War. All neighbouring buildings directly across Greek Street were destroyed.

Stage alterations were undertaken by Thomas Braddock in 1942, and that year the building re-opened as the 'Queensberry All Services Club'—a club for servicemen where the shows were broadcast on the BBC. After the war, the architects T. and E. Braddock restored the building to theatrical use, becoming the 'London Casino'^[2] once again — where the 'King of Yiddish Music', Leo Fuld, was a major attraction.^{[citation needed]} The last production before Cinerama took over the building was Wish You Were Here, which included a full-size swimming pool on stage.

Cinerama[edit]

The three-projector, very-wide-screen Cinerama process had made its debut in New York in September 1952 with This Is Cinerama, a spectacular travelogue designed to make the most of the process, and an enormous box office success. The Cinerama Corporation chose the Casino Theatre for the UK debut of the system, and in 1954 architects Frank Baessler and T. and E. Braddock drew up plans for the conversion. This required the installation of three separate projection boxes at stalls level, and a 65 ft-wide-by-26 ft-high deeply curved screen in front of the proscenium. Five speakers behind the screen and others around the auditorium supported the system's seven-track stereophonic sound. Many front stall's seats were removed, and others were lost by the installation of the projection boxes. The sightlines from the upper circle were too poor, and it was taken out of use. Seating capacity was reduced to 1,337.

The premiere of This Is Cinerama took place on 30 September 1954. Like all subsequent presentations, the film was shown on a theatrical basis, with reserved seats and an intermission, which was required to load the spools for the second half onto the single projectors in each box. Unlike future 'roadshow' practice, there were three shows a day and the film ran until 28 January 1956. From 3 February 1956, the second Cinerama film, Cinerama Holiday was presented, running until 22 February 1958. From 25 February 1958, the third Cinerama travelogue, Seven Wonders of the World played, running until 31 October 1959 before being replaced by South Seas Adventure from 3 November 1959 to 4 March 1961. The final Cinerama travelogue presentation was Search for Paradise from 8 March 1961 to 27 October 1962.

The Casino was chosen for the World Premiere of How the West Was Won, the second (and final) narrative film in the three-strip Cinerama process. The premiere took place on 2 November 1962, and the film ran for 123 weeks, closing on 13 March 1965. This was the final three-strip presentation at the Casino, for the Cinerama corporation had in 1963 adopted 70mm 'single lens' Cinerama as the future standard. The two outer projection boxes at the Casino were taken out of use, and the centre box enlarged to take two Philips DP70 projectors capable of 35mm and 70mm projection. The single-strip system had made its debut in the UK at the Coliseum Cinerama at the end of 1963, and the first film in the process at the Casino was The Greatest Story Ever Told, which ran from 8 April to 28 July 1965.

London Casino Old Compton Street Map

The Casino now entered into a period of large-scale 70mm 'presented in Cinerama' roadshow runs:-

• The Hallelujah Trail (29 July – 15 December 1965)
• Battle of the Bulge (17 December 1965 – 8 June 1966)
• Khartoum (9 June 1966 – 8 March 1967), a Royal World Premiere in the presence of HRH Princess Margaret
• Grand Prix (9 March 1967 – 8 November 1967)
• Custer of the West (9 November 1967 – 30 April 1968)
• 2001 A Space Odyssey (1 May 1968 – 25 March 1969)
• Ice Station Zebra (27 March – 8 October 1969)
• Winning (9 October – 1 December 1969), a 35mm blow-up
• Ben-Hur (26 December 1969 – 6 May 1970)
• Patton (7 May – 14 October 1970)
• Two Mules for Sister Sara (15 October – 9 December 1970), a 35mm blow-up
• Song of Norway (10 December 1970 – 2 February 1972), a Royal Premiere in the presence of HRH Princess Alexandra

For the next two years the Casino found the going increasingly tough, with revivals of old films and premieres of not-very-good new ones. The final presentation 'in Cinerama' was the feeble Run, Run, Joe! and Cinerama vacated the Casino in May 1974.

Return to theatrical use[edit]

The theatre was acquired by EMI, and refurbished at a cost of £150,000. The Cinerama screen was removed and replaced with a conventional one within the proscenium and the 70mm projectors were removed and replaced with a single 35mm projector and non-rewind system.^[3] The Casino Theatre continued in use as a cinema showing films, including the remake of King Kong. It also staged occasional theatre productions such as Dean (a musical about James Dean) in 1976, and the following year a Christmas production of Peter Pan with Ron Moody as Captain Hook. The final film run was a revival of Lady Sings the Blues and Mahogany which ended on 8 April 1978. The building was then converted back into a full-time theatre by RHWL Architects and given its original name, reopening with the world première of the musicalEvita on 21 June 1978. Further renovations were undertaken by RHWL in 1992–93,^[2] increasing the size of the stage, reopening 3 March 1993 with a revival of Crazy for You. The ABBA musical Mamma Mia! premièred here on 6 April 1999, transferring to the Prince of Wales Theatre after a five-year run.^[3]

Owned by the Delfont Mackintosh Group, and with a capacity of 1,716, it formerly hosted Mary Poppins until 12 January 2008, before the show toured the UK. Jersey Boys opened on 18 March 2008 and moved to the Piccadilly Theatre in March 2014,^[4] A revival of Miss Saigon opened at the Prince Edward Theatre in May 2014.^[5]

Disney's production of Aladdin opened in June 2016 at the theatre.^[6]

Recent and present productions[edit]

• Evita (21 June 1978 – 8 February 1986) by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, starring Elaine Paige and David Essex
• Chess (14 May 1986 – 8 April 1989) by Tim Rice, Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, starring Elaine Paige, Tommy Körberg and Murray Head
• Anything Goes (4 July 1989 – 25 August 1990) by Cole Porter, starring Elaine Paige, John Barrowman and Louise Gold
• Children of Eden (8 January 1991 – 6 April 1991) by Stephen Schwartz and John Caird
• The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber (14 May 1991 – 25 May 1991), starring Sarah Brightman
• The Hunting of the Snark (24 October 1991 – 14 December 1991) by Mike Batt
• Some Like It Hot (19 March 1992 – 20 June 1992) by Jule Styne and Bob Merrill, starring Tommy Steele
• Crazy for You (3 March 1993 – 24 February 1996) by George and Ira Gershwin and Ken Ludwig, starring Ruthie Henshall and Kirby Ward
• Martin Guerre (10 July 1996 – 28 February 1998) by Claude-Michel Schönberg, Alain Boublil and Stephen Clarke
• Show Boat (28 April 1998 – 19 September 1998) by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II
• West Side Story (6 October 1998 – 9 January 1999) by Stephen Sondheim, Leonard Bernstein and Arthur Laurents
• Mamma Mia! (6 April 1999 – 27 May 2004) by Catherine Johnson and Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, starring Siobhán McCarthy, Louise Plowright and Jenny Galloway
• Mary Poppins (15 December 2004 – 12 January 2008) by Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman, George Stiles, Anthony Drewe and Julian Fellowes, starring Laura Michelle Kelly, Scarlett Strallen, Gavin Lee and Gavin Creel
• Jersey Boys (18 March 2008 – 9 March 2014) by Bob Gaudio based on the music of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons
• Miss Saigon (21 May 2014 – 27 February 2016) by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg
• Aladdin (9 June 2016 – 24 August 2019) by Alan Menken, Chad Beguelin, Tim Rice and Howard Ashman
• Mary Poppins (23 October 2019 – ) by Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman, George Stiles, Anthony Drewe and Julian Fellowes, starring Zizi Strallen and Charlie Stemp

References[edit]

1. ^The exterior of the theatre was based on Stone's 'Streatham Astoria Cinema'
2. ^ ^abcEarl and Sell (2000) pp. 132
3. ^ ^abcPrince Edward Theatre (Arthur Lloyd Theatre History) accessed 11 June 2008
4. ^'West End's Jersey Boys to Move Home from Prince Edward to Piccadilly Theatre'. Playbill. 14 June 2013. Archived from the original on 18 June 2013. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
5. ^BREAKING NEWS: It's Finally Official! MISS SAIGON to Return to West End in May 2014 at Prince Edward Theatre! broadwayworld.com Retrieved 19 June 2013
6. ^'A Whole New World! Disney's ALADDIN Confirms Summer 2016 Premiere in the West End, Starring Trevor Dion Nicholas as Genie!'. Broadway World. 15 October 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2015.

• Guide to British Theatres 1750–1950, John Earl and Michael Sell pp. 132 (Theatres Trust, 2000) ISBN0-7136-5688-3

External links[edit]

London, W1D 4HS

Legal gambling age in arizona indian reservations. 9 people favorited this theater

Related Websites

Delfont Mackintosh Theatres(Official)

Additional Info

Operated by:Delfont Mackintosh Theatres

Architects:Edward Albert Stone

Functions:Live Theatre

Styles:Art Deco, Italian Renaissance

Previous Names: London Casino, Casino Theatre, Casino-Cinerama Theatre, Casino Cinema

Phone Numbers: Box Office: 440844.482.5151

Nearby Theaters

News About This Theater

• Jun 23, 2012 — REMEMBERING CINERAMA (Part 54: Omaha)

Located in London's West End in the centre of the Soho district. Opened on April 3, 1930 as the Prince Edward Theatre with the musical comedy 'Rio Rita'. Seating was provided for 1,800 in orchestra stalls, dress circle and balcony levels and stage boxes. Designed by noted cinema architect Edward A. Stone, with the exterior in red and yellow brick in the style of an Italian palace. The Art Deco style interior decorations were by Marc-Henri Levy and Gaston Laverdet. Although built as a live theatre, it was equipped for film presentations from the start, and screened its first film 'Song O' My Heart' starring John McCormack in May 1930. During the early-1930's it was often used during the day for film trade shows.

The Prince Edward Theatre was closed in 1935, when new owners took over and converted it into cabaret/restaurant known as the London Casino. The owners also operated the French Casino in New York and the Casino in Miami, Florida. Conversion entailed the construction of stairways from the orchestra stalls to the dress circle, and a semi-circular dance floor on the stage. The London Casino opened on 2nd April 1936 with 'Folies Parisiennes', and the shows were interchanged with New York and Miami. The French Casino in New York went bankrupt, but the London Casino was quite successful, and continued until 1940, when the German blitz on London caused it to close.

In July 1942, it was converted into the Queensbury All Services Club, used to entertain the troops. This continued until the end of World War II in 1945. The London Casino re-opened was re-converted back to a live theatre re-named Casino Theatre, opening on 14th October 1946 with 'Pick-Up-Girl', and was now under the control of Tom Arnold and Emile Littler. A revival of 'The Dancing Years' was staged in March 1947, and this was followed by seasons of variety with international stars topping the bill, ballet seasons and annual pantomimes also features in the programming. In 1949 Robert Nesbitt's 'Latin Quarter' revue was staged and this ran for several years. In 1953 Cicely Courtneidge starred in the Vivian Ellis revue 'Over the Moon', which was followed by the holiday-camp musical 'Wish You Were Here'.

In 1954, the London Casino was altered by architects Frank Baessler and TPH & E Braddock to house London's first Cinerama cinema with a massive 64-foot-wide curved screen and three projection boxes built in the orchestra stalls. 'This Is Cinerama' opened on 1st October 1954 at the Casino-Cinerama Theatre. This was followed by other films made in the Cinerama process 'Cinerama Holiday', 'Seven Wonders of the World', 'Search for Paradise', 'South Seas Adventure, 'The Best of Cinerama', 'How the West was Won' and 'The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grim'. On 17th December 1965 a simultaneous European Premiere of 'Battle of the Bulge' was held here and at the Theatre Royal Cinerama in Manchester. The Royal World Premiere of 'Khartoum' was held on 9th June 1966. A World Premiere of 'Custer of the West' was held on November 9th 1967. On 3rd February 1972 the re-release of 'Zulu' starring Stanley Baker was presented in 70mm. On 18th October 1973 'This Is Cinerama' returned to theatre - 'to be experienced by a new generation'. Rivers casino poker room promotions. The Cinerama screen was eventually removed in 1974, with a more conventional screen replacing it until 8th April 1978 when it closed as the Casino Cinema with a double-bill of Diana Ross films 'Lady Sings the Blues' and 'Mahogany'.

On return to live shows in June 1978, it reverted back to its original name, Prince Edward Theatre, opening with the world premiere production of 'Evita'. The musical ran for over eight successful years.

A further major alteration and renovations by the architectural firm RHWL in 1993, has modernized the auditorium and made it more attractive than at any time in its history.

It is now a major theatre in London's West End and has played long runs of 'Chess', 'Anything Goes', 'Crazy for You', 'Show Boat', 'West Side Story', 'Martin Guerre', 'Miss Saigon'. 'Mama Mia', 'Aladdin', 'Mary Poppins' and 'Jersey Boys'.

1. Old Compton Street is the Mecca of Gay London. Eat at Balans - its living party. Theres also an amazing wine and sprit sore with an enormous collection. The bars are jammed and fun, and hey, your steps away from Covent Garden!!
2. Casino Thursday, 3rd April 1930 30 Old Compton Street London UK. History; Thursday, 30th September 1954 - Saturday, 28th January 1956: This is Cinerama: Friday, 3rd February 1956 - Saturday, 8th.

The Prince Edward Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Old Compton Street, just north of Leicester Square, in the City of Westminster, London.

History[edit]

The theatre was designed in 1930 by Edward A. Stone,^[1] with an interior designed by Marc-Henri Levy and Gaston Laverdet.^[2] Named after Prince Edward (at the time Prince of Wales, briefly Edward VIII and later Duke of Windsor), it opened on 3 April 1930 with a performance of the musical Rio Rita.^[3] Other notable events in its opening years included the London debut of famed cabaret artiste Josephine Baker, who performed her famous 'Bananas Dance'.

In 1935, Stone converted the theatre to a dance and cabaret hall, being renamed the 'London Casino'.

London Casino Old Compton Street Sweeping

As the London Casino, it was badly damaged and all its windows lost on 10 May 1941, in London's worst air raid of the Second World War. All neighbouring buildings directly across Greek Street were destroyed.

Stage alterations were undertaken by Thomas Braddock in 1942, and that year the building re-opened as the 'Queensberry All Services Club'—a club for servicemen where the shows were broadcast on the BBC. After the war, the architects T. and E. Braddock restored the building to theatrical use, becoming the 'London Casino'^[2] once again — where the 'King of Yiddish Music', Leo Fuld, was a major attraction.^{[citation needed]} The last production before Cinerama took over the building was Wish You Were Here, which included a full-size swimming pool on stage.

Cinerama[edit]

The three-projector, very-wide-screen Cinerama process had made its debut in New York in September 1952 with This Is Cinerama, a spectacular travelogue designed to make the most of the process, and an enormous box office success. The Cinerama Corporation chose the Casino Theatre for the UK debut of the system, and in 1954 architects Frank Baessler and T. and E. Braddock drew up plans for the conversion. This required the installation of three separate projection boxes at stalls level, and a 65 ft-wide-by-26 ft-high deeply curved screen in front of the proscenium. Five speakers behind the screen and others around the auditorium supported the system's seven-track stereophonic sound. Many front stall's seats were removed, and others were lost by the installation of the projection boxes. The sightlines from the upper circle were too poor, and it was taken out of use. Seating capacity was reduced to 1,337.

The premiere of This Is Cinerama took place on 30 September 1954. Like all subsequent presentations, the film was shown on a theatrical basis, with reserved seats and an intermission, which was required to load the spools for the second half onto the single projectors in each box. Unlike future 'roadshow' practice, there were three shows a day and the film ran until 28 January 1956. From 3 February 1956, the second Cinerama film, Cinerama Holiday was presented, running until 22 February 1958. From 25 February 1958, the third Cinerama travelogue, Seven Wonders of the World played, running until 31 October 1959 before being replaced by South Seas Adventure from 3 November 1959 to 4 March 1961. The final Cinerama travelogue presentation was Search for Paradise from 8 March 1961 to 27 October 1962.

The Casino was chosen for the World Premiere of How the West Was Won, the second (and final) narrative film in the three-strip Cinerama process. The premiere took place on 2 November 1962, and the film ran for 123 weeks, closing on 13 March 1965. This was the final three-strip presentation at the Casino, for the Cinerama corporation had in 1963 adopted 70mm 'single lens' Cinerama as the future standard. The two outer projection boxes at the Casino were taken out of use, and the centre box enlarged to take two Philips DP70 projectors capable of 35mm and 70mm projection. The single-strip system had made its debut in the UK at the Coliseum Cinerama at the end of 1963, and the first film in the process at the Casino was The Greatest Story Ever Told, which ran from 8 April to 28 July 1965.

London Casino Old Compton Street Map

The Casino now entered into a period of large-scale 70mm 'presented in Cinerama' roadshow runs:-

• The Hallelujah Trail (29 July – 15 December 1965)
• Battle of the Bulge (17 December 1965 – 8 June 1966)
• Khartoum (9 June 1966 – 8 March 1967), a Royal World Premiere in the presence of HRH Princess Margaret
• Grand Prix (9 March 1967 – 8 November 1967)
• Custer of the West (9 November 1967 – 30 April 1968)
• 2001 A Space Odyssey (1 May 1968 – 25 March 1969)
• Ice Station Zebra (27 March – 8 October 1969)
• Winning (9 October – 1 December 1969), a 35mm blow-up
• Ben-Hur (26 December 1969 – 6 May 1970)
• Patton (7 May – 14 October 1970)
• Two Mules for Sister Sara (15 October – 9 December 1970), a 35mm blow-up
• Song of Norway (10 December 1970 – 2 February 1972), a Royal Premiere in the presence of HRH Princess Alexandra

For the next two years the Casino found the going increasingly tough, with revivals of old films and premieres of not-very-good new ones. The final presentation 'in Cinerama' was the feeble Run, Run, Joe! and Cinerama vacated the Casino in May 1974.

Return to theatrical use[edit]

The theatre was acquired by EMI, and refurbished at a cost of £150,000. The Cinerama screen was removed and replaced with a conventional one within the proscenium and the 70mm projectors were removed and replaced with a single 35mm projector and non-rewind system.^[3] The Casino Theatre continued in use as a cinema showing films, including the remake of King Kong. It also staged occasional theatre productions such as Dean (a musical about James Dean) in 1976, and the following year a Christmas production of Peter Pan with Ron Moody as Captain Hook. The final film run was a revival of Lady Sings the Blues and Mahogany which ended on 8 April 1978. The building was then converted back into a full-time theatre by RHWL Architects and given its original name, reopening with the world première of the musicalEvita on 21 June 1978. Further renovations were undertaken by RHWL in 1992–93,^[2] increasing the size of the stage, reopening 3 March 1993 with a revival of Crazy for You. The ABBA musical Mamma Mia! premièred here on 6 April 1999, transferring to the Prince of Wales Theatre after a five-year run.^[3]

Owned by the Delfont Mackintosh Group, and with a capacity of 1,716, it formerly hosted Mary Poppins until 12 January 2008, before the show toured the UK. Jersey Boys opened on 18 March 2008 and moved to the Piccadilly Theatre in March 2014,^[4] A revival of Miss Saigon opened at the Prince Edward Theatre in May 2014.^[5]

Disney's production of Aladdin opened in June 2016 at the theatre.^[6]

Recent and present productions[edit]

• Evita (21 June 1978 – 8 February 1986) by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, starring Elaine Paige and David Essex
• Chess (14 May 1986 – 8 April 1989) by Tim Rice, Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, starring Elaine Paige, Tommy Körberg and Murray Head
• Anything Goes (4 July 1989 – 25 August 1990) by Cole Porter, starring Elaine Paige, John Barrowman and Louise Gold
• Children of Eden (8 January 1991 – 6 April 1991) by Stephen Schwartz and John Caird
• The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber (14 May 1991 – 25 May 1991), starring Sarah Brightman
• The Hunting of the Snark (24 October 1991 – 14 December 1991) by Mike Batt
• Some Like It Hot (19 March 1992 – 20 June 1992) by Jule Styne and Bob Merrill, starring Tommy Steele
• Crazy for You (3 March 1993 – 24 February 1996) by George and Ira Gershwin and Ken Ludwig, starring Ruthie Henshall and Kirby Ward
• Martin Guerre (10 July 1996 – 28 February 1998) by Claude-Michel Schönberg, Alain Boublil and Stephen Clarke
• Show Boat (28 April 1998 – 19 September 1998) by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II
• West Side Story (6 October 1998 – 9 January 1999) by Stephen Sondheim, Leonard Bernstein and Arthur Laurents
• Mamma Mia! (6 April 1999 – 27 May 2004) by Catherine Johnson and Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, starring Siobhán McCarthy, Louise Plowright and Jenny Galloway
• Mary Poppins (15 December 2004 – 12 January 2008) by Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman, George Stiles, Anthony Drewe and Julian Fellowes, starring Laura Michelle Kelly, Scarlett Strallen, Gavin Lee and Gavin Creel
• Jersey Boys (18 March 2008 – 9 March 2014) by Bob Gaudio based on the music of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons
• Miss Saigon (21 May 2014 – 27 February 2016) by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg
• Aladdin (9 June 2016 – 24 August 2019) by Alan Menken, Chad Beguelin, Tim Rice and Howard Ashman
• Mary Poppins (23 October 2019 – ) by Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman, George Stiles, Anthony Drewe and Julian Fellowes, starring Zizi Strallen and Charlie Stemp

References[edit]

1. ^The exterior of the theatre was based on Stone's 'Streatham Astoria Cinema'
2. ^ ^abcEarl and Sell (2000) pp. 132
3. ^ ^abcPrince Edward Theatre (Arthur Lloyd Theatre History) accessed 11 June 2008
4. ^'West End's Jersey Boys to Move Home from Prince Edward to Piccadilly Theatre'. Playbill. 14 June 2013. Archived from the original on 18 June 2013. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
5. ^BREAKING NEWS: It's Finally Official! MISS SAIGON to Return to West End in May 2014 at Prince Edward Theatre! broadwayworld.com Retrieved 19 June 2013
6. ^'A Whole New World! Disney's ALADDIN Confirms Summer 2016 Premiere in the West End, Starring Trevor Dion Nicholas as Genie!'. Broadway World. 15 October 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2015.

• Guide to British Theatres 1750–1950, John Earl and Michael Sell pp. 132 (Theatres Trust, 2000) ISBN0-7136-5688-3

External links[edit]

London, W1D 4HS

Legal gambling age in arizona indian reservations. 9 people favorited this theater

Related Websites

Delfont Mackintosh Theatres(Official)

Additional Info

Operated by:Delfont Mackintosh Theatres

Architects:Edward Albert Stone

Functions:Live Theatre

Styles:Art Deco, Italian Renaissance

Previous Names: London Casino, Casino Theatre, Casino-Cinerama Theatre, Casino Cinema

Phone Numbers: Box Office: 440844.482.5151

Nearby Theaters

News About This Theater

• Jun 23, 2012 — REMEMBERING CINERAMA (Part 54: Omaha)

Located in London's West End in the centre of the Soho district. Opened on April 3, 1930 as the Prince Edward Theatre with the musical comedy 'Rio Rita'. Seating was provided for 1,800 in orchestra stalls, dress circle and balcony levels and stage boxes. Designed by noted cinema architect Edward A. Stone, with the exterior in red and yellow brick in the style of an Italian palace. The Art Deco style interior decorations were by Marc-Henri Levy and Gaston Laverdet. Although built as a live theatre, it was equipped for film presentations from the start, and screened its first film 'Song O' My Heart' starring John McCormack in May 1930. During the early-1930's it was often used during the day for film trade shows.

The Prince Edward Theatre was closed in 1935, when new owners took over and converted it into cabaret/restaurant known as the London Casino. The owners also operated the French Casino in New York and the Casino in Miami, Florida. Conversion entailed the construction of stairways from the orchestra stalls to the dress circle, and a semi-circular dance floor on the stage. The London Casino opened on 2nd April 1936 with 'Folies Parisiennes', and the shows were interchanged with New York and Miami. The French Casino in New York went bankrupt, but the London Casino was quite successful, and continued until 1940, when the German blitz on London caused it to close.

In July 1942, it was converted into the Queensbury All Services Club, used to entertain the troops. This continued until the end of World War II in 1945. The London Casino re-opened was re-converted back to a live theatre re-named Casino Theatre, opening on 14th October 1946 with 'Pick-Up-Girl', and was now under the control of Tom Arnold and Emile Littler. A revival of 'The Dancing Years' was staged in March 1947, and this was followed by seasons of variety with international stars topping the bill, ballet seasons and annual pantomimes also features in the programming. In 1949 Robert Nesbitt's 'Latin Quarter' revue was staged and this ran for several years. In 1953 Cicely Courtneidge starred in the Vivian Ellis revue 'Over the Moon', which was followed by the holiday-camp musical 'Wish You Were Here'.

In 1954, the London Casino was altered by architects Frank Baessler and TPH & E Braddock to house London's first Cinerama cinema with a massive 64-foot-wide curved screen and three projection boxes built in the orchestra stalls. 'This Is Cinerama' opened on 1st October 1954 at the Casino-Cinerama Theatre. This was followed by other films made in the Cinerama process 'Cinerama Holiday', 'Seven Wonders of the World', 'Search for Paradise', 'South Seas Adventure, 'The Best of Cinerama', 'How the West was Won' and 'The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grim'. On 17th December 1965 a simultaneous European Premiere of 'Battle of the Bulge' was held here and at the Theatre Royal Cinerama in Manchester. The Royal World Premiere of 'Khartoum' was held on 9th June 1966. A World Premiere of 'Custer of the West' was held on November 9th 1967. On 3rd February 1972 the re-release of 'Zulu' starring Stanley Baker was presented in 70mm. On 18th October 1973 'This Is Cinerama' returned to theatre - 'to be experienced by a new generation'. Rivers casino poker room promotions. The Cinerama screen was eventually removed in 1974, with a more conventional screen replacing it until 8th April 1978 when it closed as the Casino Cinema with a double-bill of Diana Ross films 'Lady Sings the Blues' and 'Mahogany'.

On return to live shows in June 1978, it reverted back to its original name, Prince Edward Theatre, opening with the world premiere production of 'Evita'. The musical ran for over eight successful years.

A further major alteration and renovations by the architectural firm RHWL in 1993, has modernized the auditorium and made it more attractive than at any time in its history.

It is now a major theatre in London's West End and has played long runs of 'Chess', 'Anything Goes', 'Crazy for You', 'Show Boat', 'West Side Story', 'Martin Guerre', 'Miss Saigon'. 'Mama Mia', 'Aladdin', 'Mary Poppins' and 'Jersey Boys'.