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HISTORY |
The Prince of Wales Theatre
The first theatre on this site was The Prince's Theatre, designed by C J Phipps and opening in January 1884. It was later demolished in 1937 to make way for the larger present theatre. On 17th June, 1937 the foundation stone of the current theatre was laid by Gracie Fields, and the theatre, now named The Prince of Wales, was opened on 27th October, 1937.
Alterations were made to the stage area in 1963 and the theatre was reopened on 28th March, 1964. The huge Stalls bar is located under the stalls seating area and has a dance floor originally designed for tea dances. Productions here have included The World of Susie Wong in 1959, Funny Girl in 1966 with Barbra Streisand, Sweet Charity in 1967 and Guys and Dolls in 1985. In January 1989 the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Aspects of Love opened here and run for 1,325 performances and becoming the Prince of Wales Theatre longest running production. Barry Manilow's musical Copacabana played here for just over a year in 1994.
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