Her Majesty's Theatre provided the first alternative to the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, built in 1663 and the Lincoln's Inn, founded in 1660 (forerunner of the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, built in 1728). The theatre's site is the second oldest such site in London that remains in use. These three post-interregnum theatres defined the shape and use of modern theatres. The land for the theatre was held on a lease renewable in 1740 and was ultimately owned, as it is today, by the Crown Estate. Building was delayed by the necessity of acquiring the street frontage, and a three bay entrance led to
Circle in the Square Theatre School and musical theatre students. Circle in the Square Theatre School's primary objective is to train actors and singers for work in professional theatre, film, and television; and utilizes an eclectic curriculum to expose the students to various acting styles, methods, and techniques. Theodore Mann started the highly selective school in 1961 with 15 students in a Greenwich Village venue on Bleecker Street when Circle in the Square Theatre was an Off-Broadway venue. In 1972, it moved to its current Broadway location in the Paramount Plaza. Its student body is now approximately 75 students. Jacqueline Brookes, the Broadway actress, was a