Curran Theatre
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The Curran Theatre is located in San Francisco and was named by its first owner, Homer Curran.
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[edit] Overview
Mr. Curran operated another theatre with his name for several years prior to building the current theatre; however, the original Curran Theatre had various names before and after this time whereas the current theatre has never had another name. It has been claimed that the current theatre's design is based on six different Broadway houses. It opened in February 1922 and was initially considered a Shubert house. Later, it was a showcase for Theatre Guild presentations. Subsequently, it became closely associated with the Civic Light Opera (CLO) which also operated in Los Angeles. The CLO obtained numerous prestigious bookings as well as producing their own shows (often with star names as the leads).
In 1977, the Civic Light Opera shifted its operations to the Orpheum Theatre and, by the end of that year, Carole Shorenstein and James M. Nederlander took over the operation of the Curran and launched their Best of Broadway season starting with John Raitt in the national tour of Shenandoah and including the west coast debut of Annie. Later, Ms. Shorenstein, a Tony award winning producer, changed the name of her organization, SHN Theatres [1], and has operated the Curran as the premier theatre destination on the West Coast.
In the 1950s, the theatre was used for the interior and exterior scenes of a Broadway theatre in the movie All About Eve. Luminaries such as Mary Martin, Katharine Hepburn, Rex Harrison, Richard Taylor, Ian McKellen, Florence Henderson, Angela Lansbury, etc. have played at the Curran. Carol Channing not only played the Curran on mulitple occasions but also claimed it is where she saw first saw a stage show.
[edit] Tours
Many Broadway national tours have played at the Curran Theatre. The Curran hosted five years of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, becoming the show's longest run within the US outside of NYC. In 2004, the musical Wicked originated at the Curran with Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel before opening on Broadway. In 2006, A Chorus Line began its current revival at the Curran. This was especially fitting because after A Chorus Line first opened on Broadway in 1975, the very first touring company launched at the Curran with nearly all of the original principle cast members. Over the years, the show returned to the Curran for numerous successful runs.
In 2006, the first national tour of Jersey Boys began at the Curran and had a long run.
The first national tour of the Tony Award-winning musical Spring Awakening will begin at the Curran in fall 2008.
[edit] See also
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