The Prince Edward Theatre is a London West End theatre on Old Compton Street, north of Leicester Square.
The Prince Edward Theatre London: Venue and History
The Prince Edward Theatre was designed by Edward A. Stone, also an architect for the Piccadilly Theatre, in 1928. With interior decoration by Marc-Henri Levy and Gaston Laverdet, the building itself was a success. A spacious art deco foyer greeted audiences, with staircases leading off to the stall and dress circle. Themes of fuchsia and gold made the interior warm and welcoming. It opened on April 3, 1930, with a performance of the musical Rio Rita. Unfortunately, it had checkered success with shows, forcing it to change hands and venue uses repeatedly. The Prince Edward 1935 it was converted to a dance and cabaret hall, being renamed the "London Casino", and renamed again as the "Queensberry All Services Club" in 1942. After the war, it became the London Casino once again and in 1954 was converted to a cinema, reopening as "Casino Cinerama Theatre".
In 1978 it was converted back to a theatre and returned to its original name, reopening with the world premiere of the musical Evita. Then just prior to the opening of Mary Poppins in December 2004, The Prince Edward Theatre underwent some refurbishment to improve the bar areas, font of house facilities, and the dressing rooms.
With a capacity of 1,716 seats, The Prince Edward is currently showing the much anticipated West End revival of Mary Poppins after overwhelming success with its previous Disney outing, Aladdin The Musical. The venue has also played host to such highly successful top West End shows as Miss Saigon and Jersey Boys.
The Prince Edward Theatre: Past and Current Productions
Evita (January 21, 1978 - February 8, 1986)
Chess (May 14, 1986 - April 8, 1989)
Anything Goes (July 4, 1989 - August 25, 1990)
Crazy For You (March 3, 1993 - February 24, 1996)
Martin Guerre (July 10, 1996 - February 28, 1998)
Mamma Mia (April 6, 1999 - May 27, 2004)
Mary Poppins (December 15, 2004 - January 12, 2008)
Jersey Boys (18 March, 2008 - 9 March, 2014)
Miss Saigon (21 March, 2012) One Night Only Production
Miss Saigon (3 May 2014 - 27 February 2016)
Aladdin (15 June 2016 - 24 August 2019)
Mary Poppins returns (23 October 2019 - TBD)