Queen's Theatre in a modern style. The reconstructed theatre opened 8 July 1959 with John Gielgud's solo performance in "Shakespeare speeches and sonnets, Ages of Man". Since April 2004, the theatre has played host to Cameron Mackintosh's production of "Les Misérables" which transferred after 18 years at the nearby Palace Theatre. The musical celebrated its 20th anniversary at the venue on 8 October 2005 and overtook "Cats" as the longest running musical of all time a year later on 8 October 2006. The theatre was Grade II listed by English Heritage in June 1972. An extensive refurbishment was undertaken in the latter
Theatre at the Center productions. Pullinsi is recognized as a master director amongst theater professionals internationally and nationally for staging the American musical. He has served as artistic director at Theatre at the Center since 2005. He has directed and/or produced more than 400 shows in his career receiving 18 Jeff Awards. Bill produced numerous shows that became part of Chicago‘s rich theatrical history due to their record breaking multi-year runs including "Fiddler on the Roof", "Man of La Mancha" and "Little Shop of Horrors", which transferred to the Royal George Theatre. Bill is long known for his high production values and creative staging.