The Shaftesbury Avenue Apollo Theatre opened Feb. 21, 1901, with a showing of “The Belle of Bohemia,” an American musical comedy. It was the fourth theatre to be built on Shaftesbury Avenue and is a listed Grade II West End theatre. Following its opening show, the theatre presented “A Cigarette Maker’s Romance” and an adaptation of “A Tale of Two Cities” entitled “The Only Way.” It found its first great success with “Véronique” in 1904, which was performed almost 500 times. 

The theatre hosted “The Follies,” by H.G. Pelissier between 1908 and 1912. Following this show, a variety of other plays were presented, including “Hobson’s Choice” and Gilbert Dayle’s “What Would a Gentleman Do?” 

Beginning in 1913, the Apollo showcased several revivals and plays by actor/producer Sir Charles Hawtrey, including “Trilby,” “Things We’d Like to Know,” “General John Regan,” and “A Little Fowl Play,” even though the Apollo’s shows were almost all musical productions otherwise. 
In 1920, the theatre produced a three-act comedy entitled “Such a Nice Young Man,” and in the years following, audiences were treated to matinee plays such as “The Best Policy,” “Galey Slaves,” and 1922′s “The Wheel,” a show by J.B. Fagan starring Edith Evans. Edward Laurillard and George Grossmith Jr. managed the theatre during this time. The duo also produced several other plays and revivals, including “Such a Nice Young Man” and “The Only Girl.” 

In 1924, the Apollo produced “The Fake,” featuring Godfrey Tearle, which was considered the greatest success of the year. Following this success, in 1926, “Is Zat So” ran for an impressive 234 performances and in 1927, “Irish Rose” and “Whispering Wires” were shown. 

The theatre was renovated in 1932 and the Royal Box received an ante room and a private foyer. Shows presented during this time include “Wild Decembers,” “Idiot’s Delight,” “Gaslight,” and “Flare Path.” 

The theatre was taken over by Prince Littler in 1944. Between 1944 and 1950, the theatre produced “Private Lives,” “The Happiest Days of Your Life,” and “Treasure Hunt.” Beginning in 1950, “Seagulls Over Sorrento” ran for more than three years. Also in this year, the theatre had an audience capacity of 893. 

The Apollo’s longest-running show, “Boeing Boeing,” which starred Patrick Cargill and David Tomlinson, opened in 1962 and ran until it transferred to the Duchess Theatre in 1965. “Forty Years On” came to the Apollo stage in 1968 and 1969 saw David Storey’s “Home.” 

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, several popular comedies were shown in the theatre, including “Orphans, “I’m Not Rappaport,” “Driving Miss Daisy,” and “Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell.” 

In the 21st century, the theatre has seen a number of big hits, among them “Side Man,” “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf,” “The Vortex,” “Summer and Smoke,” “The Glass Menagerie,” and “The Last Five Years.” 

Apollo Theatre, which was purchased in 2005 by Max Weitzenhoffer and Nica Burns, became part of the Nimax Theatres group, a distinction it retains to today. Currently, “Rain Man” with American actor Josh Hartnett is playing at the theatre.

The Apollo Victoria Theatre, a 2,208 capacity, West End theatre located in the City of Westminster, was originally built in 1929 as a venue for cinema and variety theatre. Built by Provincial Cinematograph Theatre architects William Edward Trent and Ernest Wainsley Lewis, the Apollo Victoria featured mainly concrete construction, two identical façades, and, along the exterior of the auditorium, horizontal banding. The theatre’s entrance uses chrome trimmings and an original Art Deco-style, nautical-themed interior featuring concealed lighting, scallop shell decorations and several columns. On June 28, 1972, the theatre was Grade II listed. 

When the theatre first opened on Oct. 15, 1930, the super-cinema was called the New Victoria Cinema and played a George Arils film in Old English, which was based on a John Galsworthy stage play. The Apollo Victoria was equipped with a theatre organ, which was played opening night by Reginald Foort. Aside from the films shown, the theatre also offered variety shows to the public. Soon after the theatre’s opening, the management diminished the number of variety shows and began to specialize in film showings and the occasional performance by big bands. In June 1939, the cinema became one of three sites in London used to present The Epsom Derby in live, experimental transmissions. 

The theatre closed temporarily, due to World War II, from September 1940 to May 1941, but did not suffer any serious damage and reopened quickly thereafter. In the 1950′s, plans were made to demolish the theatre, but these plans fell through the venue was used for a combination of live shows, films, and ballet. 

In November 1975, the cinema played its final show, a double showing of “Legend of the Werewolf,” starring Peter Cushing, and “Vampire Circus,” starring Adrienne Corri. The theatre was closed after this showing, and underwent extensive renovations. It reopened in 1981, renamed the Apollo Victoria Theatre, and specialized in presenting concerts, the first of which was performed by Shirley Bassey. Other musical acts shown during the early 1980′s include Bucks Fizz, Dean Martin and Liza Minelli. During this time, the theatre also began staging musical theatre performances. 

Theatrical performances in the last two-and-a-half decades or so include “The Sound of Music,” which ran from Aug. 17, 1981, to Sept. 18, 1982; “Camelot,” running from November 1982 to February 1983; “Fiddler on the Roof,” which ran from June to October 1983; 1984′s “Starlight Express,” a show which required the theatre to undergo interior modification to allow roller-skating performers to skate through the audience, running for an extremely successful 18 years; Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Bombay Dreams” in 2002; “Saturday Night Fever,” shown in 2004, “Movin’ Out,” a musical based on the songs of Billy Joel, in 2006; and Stephen Schwartz’s “Wicked,” which is playing currently and which began its run Sept. 27, 2006. “Wicked,” has proven to be exceptionally successful for the theatre, as it pulled in £761,000, a record-breaking amount, during the first eight performances of the show and has, to date, grossed more than £50 million in London.

Disney on Broadway shows are meant for the whole family. All of us have enjoyed Disney movies for these are movies which are great for family viewing. There may be a time when you would like to see these movies in reality and that is what Disney on Broadway does for you. These shows embrace all the aspects of the movie. Even though the sets are two dimensional, they are still similar to the original sets and background of the movie. Even the costumes worn are reminiscent of the movie version. 

Sets And Costumes Of Disney On Broadway Shows 

The background sets of these shows transport you to a magical world. Sets that are larger than life, bright colourful costumes, enchanting musical scores take you to the world in which these shows are based. Disney on Broadway shows follow the movie version and the costumes along with the makeup give the characters a fairytale look. Just imagine watching your favourite Little Mermaid, Ariel splash around on the stage in front of you! The best shows are those of Beauty and the Beast, Lion King and Cinderella. The costumes for these shows are terrific and actors of these Disney on Broadway shows perform brilliant roles. 

Some Of The Famous Disney On Broadway Shows 

Beauty and the Beast: Following the unprecedented success of the 1991 film, The Beauty and the Beast musical opened on Broadway in 1994 and ran for 5464 performances up to 2007. It still remains one of the best of Disney’s Broadway shows. 

The Lion King: Hakuna Matata became synonymous with Simba and everyone fell in love with the gentle King of the jungle. Disney gave Broadway The Lion King musical in 1997 which has since become one of the longest running shows on Broadway. 

Mary Poppins: Mary Poppins and Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious exploded onto stage in 2004. The Disney on Broadway show of the lovable nanny with her magical umbrella received a much better response than the movie. It has turned into one of the most priced Broadway possessions of Disney. 

Tarzan: Tarzan opened on Broadway in 2006 with impressive jungle sets and costumes. The musical was heavily publicized by Phil Collins and proved to be yet another success of Disney’s. Tarzan received excellent reviews and theatres remained fully booked for many months. 

Other Disney shows on Broadway include classics like The Little Mermaid, Peter Pan and High School Musical. These are but a few of Disney’s vast repertoire of Broadway shows. 

Getting Tickets For Disney On Broadway Shows 

Tickets for these shows may not be very easy to get especially through the box office. But there are many reliable sources available online who can deliver Disney on Broadway tickets right at your doorstep. These tickets are a must have for all those who are fans of Disney movies. You can even give away these tickets as a gift or enjoy these productions yourself.