Princess Theatre (Melbourne)
Marriner Group | |
Designation | Victorian Heritage Register |
---|---|
Capacity | 1,452 |
Construction | |
Opened | 1854 |
Rebuilt | 1886 |
Architect | William Pitt |
Website | |
www.marrinergroup.com.au |
The Princess Theatre, originally Princess's Theatre, is a 1452-seat theatre in
Located on Spring Street in Melbourne's East End Theatre District, it is listed by the National Trust of Australia and is on the Victorian Heritage Register.
Astley's Amphitheatre
Entertainment on the site of today's Princess Theatre dates back to the
It featured a central ring for equestrian entertainment and a stage at one end for dramatic performances. Its name echoed that of
It was later leased by the actor-manager
Princess's Theatre
In 1857, the amphitheatre was extensively renovated and the facade extended, re-opening on 16 April as the Princess's Theatre and Opera House.[2] Its first manager, John Black,[3] founded the Theatre Royal two years earlier.[4]
In September 1877
The New Princess Theatre
By 1885, the theatre came under the control of "The Triumvirate", a partnership between J. C. Williamson, George Musgrove and Arthur Garner. The existing theatre had become rundown, and so the Triumvirate resolved to demolish the existing building.
The new theatre, designed by architect
When completed, it featured state-of-the-art electrical stage lighting, as well as Australia's first sliding or retractable roof and ceiling which provided ventilation from the auditorium. The marble staircase and grand foyers were hailed as equal to that of the Paris Opera, the Frankfurt Stadt and the Grand in Bordeaux.
Williamson left the Triumvirate in 1899 to form his own company, and Musgrove continued operate the theatre until 1910. The Princess came under a rapid succession of different owners until 1915, when
The theatre was purchased from Fuller in 1933 by
When Thring died,
After Fuller's death in 1952, Carroll assumed complete control.
Carroll died on 23 August 1964 and ownership passed to his son, John Carroll. For some years he maintained the pattern set by his father, but in 1969 the family company, Carroll Freeholds Pty Ltd, leased the Princess to the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust. Over time, the theatre was used less frequently, and the theatre fell into disrepair.
1989 reopening and current operation
In 1986, David Marriner purchased the theatre and commenced a renovation and refurbishment to restore the building to its 1922 state, and improve its technical capacity. The refurbished theatre reopened on 9 December 1989 with the musical Les Misérables, followed by The Phantom of the Opera, which established a new record for the longest running show ever staged in Victoria. [10]
The Princess Theatre continues to be owned and operated by the Marriner Group as a venue for major musical theatre productions, including Beauty and the Beast, Mamma Mia!, Jersey Boys and The Book of Mormon.
The Australian production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child opened at the Princess Theatre in early 2019,[11] as the third location for the production after London and New York. The theatre underwent a comprehensive internal and external refurbishment in 2018 in preparation for the production.[12] In its first year, the production was the most successful in the history of Australian theatre, with over 326,000 attendees. However, it was then forced to take a forty-nine week hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[13] When the production re-opened in February 2021, it was the first location to reccomence worldwide.[14]
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child closed on Sunday 9 July 2023, bringing to an end the longest-running play in Australian history.[15] The auditorium was then extensive restored back to the 1922 colour scheme.
Ghost sightings
The theatre has experienced several reported ghost sightings.[16]
On the evening of 3 March 1888, the baritone Frederick Baker, known under the stage name "
Previous productions
Notable productions at the Princess Theatre include:
- 1933: Collits' Inn
- 1934: The Cedar Tree
- 1951: An Aboriginal Moomba: Out of the Dark
- 1956: Kismet
- 1957: Salad Days
- 1958: Bells are Ringing, Free as Air
- 1959: Once Upon a Mattress
- 1960: The Music Man, West Side Story
- 1961: Lock Up Your Daughters, The Most Happy Fella, The Sound of Music
- 1962: The King and I
- 1963: Wildcat
- 1964: Carousel, Finian's Rainbow
- 1965: High Spirits, Porgy and Bess
- 1966: Robert and Elizabeth
- 1968: Marlene Dietrich
- 1972: Carol Channing
- 1975: The Magic Show
- 1976: Betty Blokk Buster Follies
- 1979: Danny La Rue
- 1983: West Side Story
- 1984: Fiddler on the Roof
- 1986: The Rocky Horror Show
- 1988: Manning Clark's History of Australia - The Musical
- 1989: Les Misérables
- 1990: The Phantom of the Opera
- 1993: Cats, Scrooge
- 1994: West Side Story, Me and My Girl, Hot Shoe Shuffle
- 1995: Beauty and the Beast
- 1997: Chess, A Little Night Music, The Phantom of the Opera
- 1998: Les Misérables
- 1999: The Boy from Oz
- 2000: The Importance of Being Earnest, The Sound of Music
- 2001: Mamma Mia!
- 2002: The Witches of Eastwick
- 2004: The Producers
- 2005: Dirty Dancing
- 2006: Swan Lake on Ice, Kiss Me, Kate
- 2007: The Phantom of the Opera
- 2008: Guys and Dolls
- 2009: Jersey Boys
- 2010: Hairspray
- 2012: Moonshadow, South Pacific
- 2013: Legally Blonde
- 2014: The King & I, Once
- 2015: Anything Goes, Fiddler on the Roof
- 2016: Matilda the Musical
- 2017: The Book of Mormon
- 2018: Mamma Mia!
- 2019: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
- 2023: Mamma Mia!
- 2024: Groundhog Day (musical)
It has also been used as a venue for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, including the stage show Puppet Up! in 2007.
References
- ^ "Local Intelligence". The Banner (Melbourne). No. CVIII. Victoria, Australia. 1 September 1854. p. 9. Retrieved 20 August 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Advertising". The Age. No. 774. Victoria, Australia. 14 April 1857. p. 1. Retrieved 6 September 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "A Peep Behind the Scenes of the Princess's Theatre". The Age. No. 1, 155. Victoria, Australia. 5 July 1858. p. 6. Retrieved 6 September 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "The Princess's Theatre". The Age. No. 781. Victoria, Australia. 22 April 1857. p. 4. Retrieved 6 September 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- The Australasian. Vol. XXIII, no. 599. Victoria, Australia. 22 September 1877. p. 19. Retrieved 6 March 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "The New Princess Theatre". The Weekly Times (Melbourne). No. 433. Victoria, Australia. 29 December 1877. p. 14. Retrieved 6 March 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ Argus, 4 August 1993, p.7, quoted in The Two Frank Thrings, Peter Fitzpatrick, Monash University Publications 2012
- ^ a b "Garnet H. Carroll 2". Archived from the original on 10 March 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
- ^ "Carroll, Garnet Hannell (1902–1964)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
- ^ "Princess Theatre | Marriner Group". marrinergroup.com.au. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
- ^ "Hit play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child coming to Melbourne in 2019". 23 October 2017.
- ^ "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child will transform Melbourne theatre | Herald Sun". Retrieved 13 May 2023.
- ^ "The magic returns after 49 weeks | News". 24 February 2021.
- ^ "Saying goodbye to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child after four record-breaking years". ABC News. 6 February 2023. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
- ^ "Saying goodbye to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child after four record-breaking years". ABC News. 6 February 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
- ^ The theatre ghost Archived 23 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine from the ABC
- ^ Stone, David. Frederick Federici Archived 30 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine at Who Was Who in the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, 27 August 2001, accessed 4 September 2011
- ^ "Shocking Occurrence at the Princess's Theatre: Tragic Death of Mr. Federici", The Argus (Melbourne), 5 March 1888, p. 8; and "Production of Faust in Melbourne", The Press, Volume XLV, Issue 7025, 29 March 1888, p. 3, National Library of New Zealand
- ^ Graeme Blundell, "Marvellous Meelbourne", The Age, 27–28 August 2005