Pantages Theatre (Hollywood)

Pantages Theater

Pantages Theatre during the 2007-2009 run of Wicked
Location	6233 Hollywood Boulevard Hollywood, California
Type	Indoor theatre
Opened	June 4, 1930
Seating type	Reserved
Website	broadwayla.org

The Pantages Theatre, formerly known as RKO Pantages Theatre, is located at Hollywood and Vine (6233 Hollywood Boulevard), Hollywood, California, USA. Designed by architect B. Marcus Priteca, it was the last theater built by the vaudeville impresario Alexander Pantages. The palatial Art Deco theater opened on June 4, 1930, as part of the Pantages Theatre Circuit.

History

The Pantages Theatre Circuit had been built on vaudeville, and the new Hollywood theater programmed first-run movies alternating through the day with vaudeville acts for its first two years. But like other theaters during the Great Depression, it was forced to economize and thereafter operated primarily as a movie theater, though live entertainment was presented occasionally.

Alexander Pantages sold the Hollywood landmark in 1932 to Fox West Coast Theaters. In 1949, Howard Hughes acquired the Pantages for his RKO 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 for Road show movies into the 1970s. From 1965, it was operated by Pacific Theatres. The Pantages closed as a movie theater 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 venues for live theater (the five highest-grossing weeks in L.A.'s theatrical history were all shows at the Pantages). The theatre has recently presented large-scale Broadway musicals such as Disney's The Lion King, which ran at the theatre for over two years, and hosted the long-running Los Angeles production of the Broadway musical Wicked.

Situated on a prime location, the area's building and a rejuvenation boom has spread to Bob Hope Square with the addition of a new W Hotel and retail stores, tied closely to the Hollywood/Vine station. The theater underwent 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 was 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.

The theatre has also occasionally hosted popular music concerts, including those of the bands Dream Theater and Foo Fighters. Talking Heads' 1984 concert film Stop Making Sense was shot there. In 1997, 4 years before her English crossover, Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira performed her first show in the United States at the Pantages. In 2006, Mexican pop-group RBD recorded their CD/DVD "Live in Hollywood" at the Pantages.

The Pantages Theatre is also a popular location for the filming of movies, TV shows, and music videos. The concert scenes in the 1980 film The Jazz Singer is just one example.

Past productions

Productions at the Pantages (presented by Broadway in L.A. since 1996), have included:

• Bubbling Brown Sugar (1977)
• Man of La Mancha (1978)
• La Cage aux Folles (1984-1985)
• Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (1993)
• 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, 2009)
• Hairspray (2004, 2006)
• Miss Saigon (2004)
• Movin' Out (2004)
• Les Misérables (2004, 2006)
• Oklahoma! (2005)
• Wicked (2005, 2007)
• Irving Berlin's White Christmas (2005)
• Dragon Tales Live (2006)
• Doctor Dolittle (2006)
• Stomp (2006)
• Rent (2006)
• Little Women (2006)
• Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (2006)
• Sweet Charity (2006)
• The Ten Tenors (2006)

2009

• The Phantom of the Opera (2009)
• Rent (2009)
• Mamma Mia! (2009)
• Grease (2009)
• Dirty Dancing (2009)
• RAIN – A Tribute to The Beatles (2009)
• Fiddler on the Roof (2009)
• Legally Blonde (2009)
• Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (2009)

2010

• Riverdance (2010)
• Stomp (2010)
• The Color Purple (2010)
• Cats (2010)
• Chicago (2010)
• Young Frankenstein (2010)
• In the Heights (2010)
• The Phantom of the Opera (2010)
• West Side Story (2010)

2011

• Hair (2011)
• Spring Awakening (2011)
• Rock of Ages (2011)
• The Beatles Experience Rain (2011)
• Disney's Beauty and the Beast (2011)
• Burn The Floor (2011)
• Shrek the Musical (2011)
• Wicked (2011-2012)

Preceded by The Academy Theater Hollywood

Host of the Academy Awards 1949 - 1960

Succeeded by Santa Monica Civic Auditorium Santa Monica

See also

• Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments in Hollywood

External links

• Official site