Travel, Food & Drink

Five of the Best Theater Cities Around the World

With the 70th annual Tony Awards saluting excellence in Broadway theater, we turn the spotlight on five standing-ovation-worthy places to live

All the world’s a stage, William Shakespeare observed. For theater lovers, this is still very true – most major cities have their own theater districts, so no one has to travel very far to take in a show. From the bright lights of New York’s Broadway to the buzzy vibe of Auckland, New Zealand, we round up five of the best “theaterlands” around the globe.

New York

“Prepare to get swept off your feet,” says Cirque du Soleil of its acrobatic extravaganza, Paramour. Photograph: Joan Marcus. Banner image: An American in Paris. Photograph: Matthew Murphy
“Prepare to get swept off your feet,” says Cirque du Soleil of its acrobatic extravaganza, Paramour. Photograph: Joan Marcus. Banner image: An American in Paris. Photograph: Matthew Murphy
It’s widely agreed that New York’s theater area, known around the globe as Broadway, takes its name from the Broadway Theatre. This first opened as BS Moss’s Colony Theater on Christmas Day, 1924 as a venue for motion pictures and vaudeville shows. Today, the Theater District is home to some 40 venues and extends from West 40th Street to West 54th Street and from Sixth to Eighth Avenue, taking in bustling Times Square.

Current hot tickets include Cirque du Soleil’s Paramour, which has just opened at the Lyric, and Eclipsed at the John Golden Theatre, starring Lupita Nyong’o (until 19 June). For those looking to invest in the original theaterland, Brown Harris Stevens is offering a rare opportunity to own a stunning apartment way up high on Fifth Avenue. The four-bedroom, four-bath duplex offers approximately 4,100 sq ft of indoor space and an additional 1,690 sq ft of outdoor space, and is just a short walk from Broadway ($16,000,000).

London

Christopher Wheeldon’s An American in Paris has been described by The New York Times as “a perfect integration of dance, romance, and classic Gershwin.” Photograph: Matthew Murphy
Christopher Wheeldon’s An American in Paris has been described by The New York Times as “a perfect integration of dance, romance, and classic Gershwin.” Photograph: Matthew Murphy
Theaterland in London means the “West End”, and historic Covent Garden is the heart of the West End theater district. Once the vegetable garden of the monks of Westminster Abbey, Covent Garden was the site of London’s famous fruit and vegetable market until 1974. Today it is a neighborhood that’s as popular with locals as it is with tourists, thanks to its appealing mix of shops, bars, and restaurants – it’s also just minutes away from equally buzzy Soho. Covent Garden’s Piazza is the place to go for upscale retail (Chanel has a pop-up store here), while the area around Neal Street and Seven Dials is home to smaller, independent boutiques. Noteworthy cultural hubs include the Royal Opera House and the Theatre Royal Drury Lane – the oldest continually used theater in the British capital.

Equally noteworthy is the Donmar Warehouse, which regularly attracts Hollywood A-listers who want to tread the boards in London. It was here that Nicole Kidman’s performance in The Blue Room was described as “theatrical Viagra”. Looking ahead, the Playhouse Theatre London hosts the return of Stephen Daldry’s multi award-winning production of An Inspector Calls this fall, and Christopher Wheeldon’s Tony Award-winning production of An American in Paris opens at the Dominion Theatre in the spring of 2017. For those looking to reside near the bright lights, Christie’s International Real Estate affiliate Strutt and Parker is marketing a period home in Queen Anne’s Gate. The Grade I-listed property, which has six bedrooms and three baths, is located in the Birdcage Walk Conservation Area, and is just a short taxi ride from all the West End has to offer. (Price on application).

Auckland

10 Judge Street in Parnell is only a few minutes’ drive from Auckland’s thriving midtown area.
10 Judge Street in Parnell is only a few minutes’ drive from Auckland’s thriving midtown area.
Auckland is a big deal at the moment. Identified by Christie’s International Real Estate as the “hottest” luxury real estate market worldwide, it also has a thriving theater scene. The cultural hub of Auckland centers around the city’s midtown area, home to theaters, cinemas, a great public library, as well as Auckland Art Gallery. The grande dame of Auckland’s theaters is The Civic. One of the few remaining “atmospheric theaters” in the world, The Civic opened in 1929 as a movie palace for talkies, which had just arrived in New Zealand. The main auditorium has a soft-top ceiling, giving the impression of a domed blue sky with twinkling stars and floating clouds.

For something more intimate and experimental, Q’s studio space, Loft, is the place to visit – the space also showcases timber beams and floor-to-ceiling Art Deco windows looking out onto Queen Street. Looking to invest in this property hotspot? Bayleys, an affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate, is currently offering a unique home in sought-after Parnell, which boasts four bedrooms, a modern kitchen, spacious living room, and an indoor–outdoor design with north-facing decks, swimming pool, private spa, and native planting grounds. (Price on application).

Sydney

Sydney Festival’s previous attractions have included the Anima Eterna Brugge orchestra, who performed at Sydney Opera House. Photograph: Jamie Williams
Sydney Festival’s previous attractions have included the Anima Eterna Brugge orchestra, who performed at Sydney Opera House. Photograph: Jamie Williams
For many, Sydney is the Opera House, but the Australian city has much to offer fans of live performance of all kinds. Sydney Opera House itself, in Sydney Harbour, hosts some of the biggest names in music, theater, and comedy (and offers once-in-a-lifetime backstage tours), but walk for just a few minutes into town and you’ll find the Sydney Lyric Theatre and Belvoir St Theatre. The State Theatre on Market Street is a particular highlight of Sydney’s cultural scene, not just for the productions it stages, but for its amazing design. Opened in 1929, the theater was conceived as a “palace of dreams” by architect Henry White, who combined Gothic, Italian, and Art Deco design to create a peerless architectural gem.

Also minutes away from the Opera House is Walsh Bay, home to arts organizations such as the Sydney Theatre Company and Sydney Dance Company. The Sydney Festival takes place each January. This year it celebrated its 40th anniversary with Desdemona, a re-imaginging of Shakespeare’s Othello by American writer Toni Morrison.

Toronto

An architectural masterpiece, 400 Queens Quay is close to the theaters and restaurants of Toronto’s cultural quarter.
An architectural masterpiece, 400 Queens Quay is close to the theaters and restaurants of Toronto’s cultural quarter.
Toronto’s cultural hub is located downtown, near the harbor on the shores of Lake Ontario. Bounded by Adelaide Street to the north, University Avenue to the east, Bathurst Street in the west and King Street West in the south, the area is home to notable historic theaters such as the Tarragon Theatre. Once a factory that produced cribbage boards, the Tarragon is renowned for developing and producing new work and has championed the work of such Canadian playwrights as David French, Michel Tremblay, and award-winning dramaturge Hannah Moscovitch. As well as touring Broadway and West End productions, Toronto also hosts the annual Shaw Festival, celebrating the works of Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw, the Summerworks festival, which showcases small theater productions and, in nearby Stratford (Ontario), the annual Stratford Shakespeare Festival.

Sarah Carter of Chestnut Park, an affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate, adds: “Toronto has an exciting, well-established theater district with a wonderful mix of vintage and modern theaters – such as the TIFF Bell Lightbox – and some of the city’s most popular restaurants.” Chestnut Park is currently marketing two spectacular homes within easy reach of Toronto’s cultural offerings: A three-bedroom, four-bath condo at Queens Quay, with spectacular living space and an Arthur Erickson tiered-terrace design, offering views over the harbor and Lake Ontario from every principal room (CA$4,500,000); and on Bay Street a two/three bedroom suite at the luxurious Trump Residences (CA$3,400,000), featuring more than 2,800 sq ft of interior space with 11 ft-high coffered ceilings.