The Queen’s Theatre is dead! Long live the Sondheim Theatre!
West End superproducer Cameron Mackintosh has been wanting to name one of his theatres after legendary musical theatre composer Stephen Sondheim for a while now – it was going to be the Ambassadors, until his purchase of that dinky venue fell through last year.
So Sondheim now gets the much fancier Queen’s Theatre named after him (sorry ma’am – although at least HRH still has Her Majesty’s Theatre). It will adopt the new name after closing for a refurb this summer. That will upgrade the 1907 theatre and even repair a spot of bomb damage from WWII, while also waving a teary goodbye to the revolve that has defined ‘Les Misérables’ – the show it hosts (pictured) – for the last 35 years, replacing it with a non-spinning production. The theatre will close on July 13 and reopen on December 18.
Quoth Sondheim: ’I have loved British theatre since I saw my first play here in 1958. I have treasured Cameron Mackintosh’s support and friendship ever since he produced “Side by Side by Sondheim” in 1976. Cameron is synonymous with British theatre, so the confluence on this occasion is truly exhilarating. I am chuffed, as you say in British English, to a degree I wouldn’t have imagined. Or as we say in American English, it’s awesome.’
For more information about the Queen’s Theatre click here.
