Prince Edward Theatre original name, reopening with the world première of the musical "Evita" on 21 June 1978. Further renovations were undertaken by RHWL in 1992–93, increasing the size of the stage, reopening 3 March 1993 with a revival of "Crazy for You". The ABBA musical, "Mamma Mia!" premièred here on 6 April 1999, transferring to the Prince of Wales Theatre, after a five-year run. Owned by the Delfont Mackintosh Group, and with a capacity of 1,716, it formerly hosted "Mary Poppins" until 12 January 2008, before the show toured the UK. "Jersey Boys" opened on 18 March 2008 and moved to the
Development of musical theatre and, along with the other changes in the theatre, raised the standard for what was considered a successful run. Only a few 19th century musical pieces exceeded the run of the Mikado: "The Chimes of Normandy" ("Les Cloches de Corneville") ran for 705 performances in 1878 in London, and Alfred Cellier and B. C. Stephenson's 1886 hit, "Dorothy" (a show midway between comic opera and musical comedy), set a new record with 931 performances. Gilbert and Sullivan's influence on later musical theatre was profound, creating examples of how to "integrate" musicals so that the lyrics and dialogue were designed to