The Old Vic and Laurence Olivier as its stars, performing mainly at the New Theatre (now the Noël Coward Theatre) until the Old Vic was ready to reopen in 1950. In 1946, an offshoot of the company was established in Bristol as the Bristol Old Vic. In 1963, the Old Vic company was dissolved and the new National Theatre Company, under the artistic direction of Lord Olivier, was based at the Old Vic until its own building was opened on the South Bank near Waterloo Bridge in 1976. In July 1974 the Old Vic presented a rock concert for the first time. National
Theatre at the Center educational and accessible to the entire community. Theatre at the Center’s main stage season offers five productions annually. Many of Theatre at the Center’s productions have been recommended by the Jeff Awards, celebrating excellence in Chicago theatre. Theatre at the Center additionally offers Theatre for Young Audiences programming, presenting four productions annually. William Pullinsi was the founder and artistic director of Candlelight Playhouse, America’s first dinner theater which opened in Washington, D.C. in 1959 and Summit, Illinois in 1961. He is widely credited with introducing theater to hundreds of thousands of patrons who might not have otherwise attended live theatrical