- Pantages Theatre (Hollywood)
The Pantages Theatre, formerly known as RKO Pantages Theatre, is located at
Hollywood and Vine (6233Hollywood Boulevard ),Hollywood, California in theUnited States of America . Designed by architectB. Marcus Priteca , it was the last theatre built for the impresarioAlexander Pantages . The palatialArt Deco theatre opened onJune 4 ,1930 , as part of the Pantages Theatre Circuit.Citation | last =Vincent| first =Roger | author-link =Roger Vincent
title = Pantages presents a revival: tower plan from the 1920s.
newspaper = Los Angeles Times | pages =C1, C4 | year =2007 | date =2007-12-06
url = http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-pantages6dec06,1,1872992.story?ctrack=2&cset=true]The Pantages Theatre Circuit had been built on
Vaudeville , and the new Hollywood theatre programmed first-run movies alternating through the day with Vaudeville acts for its first two years. But like other theatres during theGreat Depression , it was forced to economize and thereafter operated primarily as a movie theatre, though live entertainment was presented occasionally.Pantages sold the Hollywood landmark in 1932 to Fox West Coast Theaters. In 1949,
Howard Hughes acquired the Pantages under hisRKO Theatre Circuit and moved his personal offices to the building's second floor. From 1949 through 1959, the theatre hosted the American motion picture industry's annual Academy Award Ceremonies. It continued to be a major venue forRoad show movies into the 1970s. From 1965, it was operated by Pacific Theatres. The Pantages closed as a movie theatre in January, 1977, and re-opened the following month with "Bubbling Brown Sugar ", the first of the many stage productions that have since become its regular fare.Now operated by an arm of the
Nederlander Organization , the Pantages is one of Los Angeles' leading homes of legitimate theatre (the five highest-grossing weeks in L.A.'s theatrical history were all shows at the Pantages) and a favorite location for TV shows, movies and music videos. The Pantages Theatre has recently shown large scale production musicals such as Disney's Lion King, which ran at the theatre for over two years, and currently hosts the Los Angeles production of the Broadway musical "Wicked".Situated on a prime location, the areas building and a rejuvenation boom has spread to
Bob Hope Square with the addition of a newW Hotel and retail, tied closely to theHollywood/Vine (LACMTA Station) . The theater underwent a a $10-million restoration and upgrade in 2000. The original plans for the Pantages were for a 12 story building; 2 floors dedicated to theater and 10 floors of office space. Completion of the 10 upper floors were halted due to the 1929 stock market crash during construction. In December 2007, plans were revealed to complete the original design and floors, much due to the rejuvenation of the Hollywood area and the demand for office space.It has also occasionally hosted rock concerts, for such bands as
Dream Theater andFoo Fighters . In 1997, 4 years before her english crossover, Colombian singer-songwriterShakira performed her first show in the United States at the Pantages. In 2006, Mexican pop-groupRBD recorded their CD/DVD "Live in Hollywood" at the Pantages.The concert scenes in the 1980 film "
The Jazz Singer " were filmed here.Past productions
Past productions that have graced the Pantages (as part of Broadway in L.A.) have included:
*"How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying " (1996)
*"Damn Yankees " (1996)
*"Riverdance " (1996, 1998, 2006)
*"Andrew Lloyd Webber–Music of the Night " (1997)
*"West Side Story " (1997)
*"Cats" (1997, 2003, 2006)
*"Tango x 2" (1997)
*"The Phantom of the Opera " (1997, 1998)
*"The King and I " (1998, 2005)
*"Peter Pan " (1998, 2004)
*"Annie" (1999, 2005)
*"Cirque Ingenieux" (1999)
*"Evita" (1999, 2005)
*"The Wizard of Oz" (1999)
*"Footloose" (1999)
*"Jekyll & Hyde" (1999)
*"Sunset Boulevard" (1999)
*"Defending the Caveman" (1999)
*"Fame" (1999)
*"Buddy–The Buddy Holly Story" (2000)
*"The Sound of Music " (2000)
*"The Lion King" (2000-2003, 2006)
*"The Producers" (2003)
*"Chicago" (2004, 2005)
*"Starlight Express " (2004)
*"Mamma Mia! " (2004)
*"Hairspray" (2004, 2006)
*"Miss Saigon " (2004)
*"Movin' Out" (2004)
*"Les Miserables" (2004, 2006)
*"Oklahoma!" (2005)
*"Wicked" (2005, 2007-2009)
*"Irving Berlin's White Christmas" (2005)
*"Dragon Tales Live" (2006)
*"Dr. Dolittle " (2006)
*"Stomp " (2006)
*"Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat " (1993)
*"Rent" (2006)
*"Little Women " (2006)
*"Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" (2006)
*"Sweet Charity " (2006)
*"The Ten Tenors ", (2006).References
External links
* [http://www.broadwayla.org/theatre/neighborhood.asp?id=2 Official site]
* [http://www.los-angeles-theatre.com Los Angeles Theatre Guide]
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