About the Hollywood Pantages Theatre

The Hollywood Pantages Theatre officially opened its doors on June 4, 1930. It was the last movie palace built in Hollywood during the golden age of cinema and the last venue erected by vaudeville circuit owner, Alexander Pantages. Designed by architect B. Marcus Priteca, the theatre was originally intended to showcase vaudeville acts alongside motion pictures. Opening night included The Florodora Girl, a 1930 film starring Marion Davies, and the Fanchon and Marco Rose Garden Idea, a true spectacle of stage talent including Aerial Girls, Sunkist Beauties and Fearless Four.

During the height of the Great Depression, the Theatre was sold to Fox West Coast Theatres, changing its name to the Fox-Pantages. The re-opening on October 20, 1932, included another Fanchon and Marco production, called Whoopee as well as the premiere of the film Red Dust starring Clark Gable and Jean Harlow. 

Changing ownership again in 1949, Howard Hughes purchased the theatre under his company RKO Pictures. The name was officially changed to the RKO Pantages and Hughes located his offices and a living space on the second floor of the building.

The RKO Pantages became home to the Academy Awards® (Oscars®) from 1950 to 1960. The first ever telecasted ceremony (1953) hosted by Bob Hope and broadcasted on NBC was hosted at the theatre. It was both the first televised ceremony as well as the first ceremony held in both Hollywood and New York simultaneously.

In November 1959, the theatre closed for a renovation supervised by the Heinsbergen Co. This renovation focused on a modernization of the ticket lobby, the installation of 70mm equipment, and an immense addition of drapery. The theatre reopened on Christmas Day in 1959. This renovation covered much of the art-deco style that the theatre is known for today. 

Pacific Theatres purchased the Pantages Theatre from RKO in December of 1967, followed by the Nederlander Organization in 1977.

With this shift in ownership, the Pantages underwent another overhaul before reopening as a legitimate live theatre venue with Bubbling Brown Sugar on February 25, 1977. Since then, the venue has remained primarily a home for live theatre in Hollywood, as well as special events and occasional premieres. 

In 2000, chairman James N. Nederlander locked up a Pantages booking agreement with the Walt Disney Company’s production of The Lion King by agreeing to a substantial renovation. Most of the original 1930’s opulence had been lost over the years as well as immense damage done by the 1994 earthquake. The $10.8 million renovation also included a 40x40 foot pit cut into the stage to accommodate the state-of-art computerized hydraulics. This restoration overhauled the modernization of previous years, returning the Hollywood Pantages Theatre to its 1930’s design that you see today. 

After its grand reopening with The Lion King, the Hollywood Pantages Theatre became a hub for long-term Broadway engagements, many of which rank among the highest-grossing weeks in Los Angeles theatrical history—all on the Pantages stage. In 2003, a 9-month run of The Producers starring Martin Short and Jason Alexander drew large audiences and critical acclaim. This was followed in 2005 by a sold-out 7-week engagement of Wicked.

The Lion King returned for another sold-out 8-week run in 2006, with encore performances in 2013 and 2023. In 2007, Wicked began a landmark two-year sit-down production starring Megan Hilty and Eden Espinosa, playing to nearly 2 million fans. Its popularity continued with return engagements in 2011, 2014, 2018, and 2024.

The Book of Mormon also became a recurring success at the Pantages, with a 12-week run in 2012, a 16-week return in 2014, followed by 6 weeks in 2017, and 2 weeks in 2022. These historic runs helped cement the Hollywood Pantages as the home of live theater in Hollywood.