The theatre was designed by W. G. R. Sprague and opened on 27 December 1906 as the Hicks Theatre, named after Seymour Hicks, for whom it was built. The first play at the theatre was a hit musical called "The Beauty of Bath" co-written by Hicks. Another big success was "A Waltz Dream" in 1908. In 1909, the American impresario Charles Frohman became manager of the theatre and renamed the house the Globe Theatre – a name that it retained for 85 years. "Call It a Day" opened in 1935 and ran for 509 performances, a long run for the slow inter-war years. "There's a Girl in My Soup", opening in 1966, ran for almost three years, a record for the theatre that was not surpassed until "Daisy Pulls It Off" opened in April 1983 to run for 1,180 performances.