Dress Circle is a British

specialist store A specialty store is a shop/store that carries a deep assortment of brands, styles, or models within a relatively narrow category of goods. Furniture stores, florists, sporting goods stores, and bookstores are all specialty stores. Stores such as ...

that sells products related to the musical theatre, including cast albums, books, merchandise, and memorabilia. From 1978 until 2013, it operated a store near

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

; since 2013 it has been an online-only retailer.

History

The shop, which was named after the area of a traditional

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

called the

dress circle An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theaters, the number of auditoriums is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoriums can be found in entertainment venues, community halls, and t ...

, was founded in 1978 with the intention of providing an unrivalled selection of

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

and

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...

related merchandise. It claimed to be the longest running

show business Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz or showbiz (since 1945), is a vernacular term for all aspects of the entertainment industry.''Oxford English Dictionary'' 2nd Ed. (1989) From the business side (including managers, agents, produce ...

and musical theatre shop in the world and celebrated its 30th

anniversary An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded. Most countries celebrate national anniversaries, typically called national days. These could be the List of national independence days, date of independen ...

in 2008. In 2011, Murray Allan owner of Dress Circle announced financial problems with the business and that closure would be imminent. London's Stage newspaper reported the story on the front page of its issue. Shortly after this announcement Dress Circle reported an 'immeasurable amount of support' from the performance community. Actor/producers Stuart Matthew Price and

James Yeoburn James Yeoburn (born 30 December 1989) is an English Theatrical producer, producer and entrepreneur. He is the founder of international theatre production company United Theatrical Early life and education Yeoburn was born in Exeter, Devon and ...

were quick to arrange a series of in-store events and fund-raising galas under the name Dress Circle Benefit. Theatre performers, composers and celebrities from across the world came together in support of their mission and Dress Circle's small Covent Garden shop played host to the likes of: Barry Manilow, Ramin Karimloo, Alex Gaumond, Laurence Mark Whythe, Matt Rawle, John Owen Jones, Scott Alan, Oliver Tompsett, Lance Horne and Lucy May Barker in a month of weekend productions culminating in a sold-out concert in London's West End. The Dress Circle Benefit played at Her Majesty's Theatre on 7 August 2011 and united the best of the Westend and Broadway accompanied by a 50 piece orchestra. The concert, hosted by Aled Jones, featured original cast members from Les Misérables, Parade, The Witches of Eastwick and Miss Saigon surprised audiences with a guest, un-billed, appearance from Ellen Greene who reprised her role as Audrey in the film version of Little Shop of Horrors. The Dress Circle Benefit Concert and producers Stuart Matthew Price and

received Whatsonstage and Broadway World nominations for 'Theatrical Event of the Year' in 2011. Dress Circle announced on 31 July 2012 that it would close on 15 August 2012 after failing to negotiate a lease and citing a decline in sales due to "The downturn in the economy" and "CD’s becoming relics and downloads being more popular" Dress Circle's retail shop finally closed down on 28 February 2013. Dress Circle still continues online and supplies a range of Musical Theatre CDs, DVDs and other Theatrical Memorabilia including rare items, such as vinyl and brochures from long past shows a
www.dresscircle.london

Theatre evenings

Around 2010, the Dress Circle organised Theatre Evenings which typically includes: * A top price seat at a specified West End Show or Cabaret Performance. (Generally with a discount to the face value of the ticket.) * A private pre-show drinks party held in the basement of the shop. * A discount voucher for any items bought at the shop prior to the performance. Depending on the actual show the theatre evening also included: * A voucher for a free interval drink at the evenings performance. * A free

souvenir programme A programme or program (see spelling differences) is a booklet available for patrons attending a live event such as theatre performances, concerts, fêtes, sports events, etc. It is a printed leaflet outlining the parts of the event scheduled t ...

brochure A brochure is an promotional document primarily used to introduce a company, organization, products, or services and inform prospective customers or members of the public of the benefits. Although, initially, a paper document that can be folded ...

of the selected performance. * An opportunity at the end of the performance to meet the cast. Past events included performances of

Oliver! ''Oliver!'' is a stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the 1838 novel ''Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens. It premiered at the Wimbledon Theatre, southwest London in 1960 before opening in the W ...

, Love Never Dies,

The Drowsy Chaperone ''The Drowsy Chaperone'' is a Canadian musical with music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison, and a book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar. The story concerns a middle-aged, asocial musical theater fan who, feeling "blue", decides to pl ...

, and

Avenue Q '' Avenue Q'' is a musical comedy featuring puppets and human actors with music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx and a book by Jeff Whitty. It won Best Musical, Book, and Score at the 2004 Tony Awards. The show's format is a parody ...

Celebrity Signings

Many stars of the West End stage used the Dress Circle as a

vehicle A vehicle () is a machine designed for self-propulsion, usually to transport people, cargo, or both. The term "vehicle" typically refers to land vehicles such as human-powered land vehicle, human-powered vehicles (e.g. bicycles, tricycles, velo ...

to promote their latest CD, DVD or

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

by attending specially organised signings.

Elaine Paige Dame Elaine Jill Paige (born Elaine Jill Bickerstaff, 5 March 1948) is an English singer and actress, best known for her work in musical theatre. Raised in Chipping Barnet, Barnet, Hertfordshire, Paige attended the Aida Foster Theatre School, m ...

John Barrowman John Scot Barrowman MBE (born 11 March 1967) is a Scottish-American actor, author, presenter, singer and comic book writer. He is known for his roles as Captain Jack Harkness in ''Doctor Who'' (2005–2010; 2020–2021) and its spin-off ''Torc ...

Kerry Ellis Kerry Jane Ellis (born 6 May 1979) is an English actress and singer who is best known for her work in musical theatre and subsequent crossover into music. Born and raised in Suffolk, Ellis began performing at an early age before training at La ...

Jodie Prenger Jodie Christine Prenger (born 12 June 1979) is an English actress and singer, best known for winning the second series of ''The Biggest Loser'' in 2006 and the BBC talent show '' I'd Do Anything'' in 2008, the latter of which subsequently laun ...

Julie Andrews Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over eight decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Fi ...

and

Idina Menzel Idina Kim Menzel ( ; ; born May 30, 1971) is an American actress and singer. Particularly known for her work in Musical theatre, musicals on Broadway theatre, Broadway, she has been Honorific nicknames in popular music, nicknamed the "Queen of ...

have all promoted their work in this way. Original Cast Albums were frequently promoted in this way also; recent examples being

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. ...

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an Epic (genre), epic high fantasy novel written by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''The Hobbit'' but eventually d ...

Sister Act ''Sister Act'' is a 1992 American musical crime comedy film directed by Emile Ardolino and written by Paul Rudnick (billed as Joseph Howard). It stars Whoopi Goldberg as a lounge singer forced to hide in a convent after being placed in a witn ...

Les Misérables (musical) ''Les Misérables'' ( , ), colloquially known as ''Les Mis'' or ''Les Miz'' ( ), is a sung-through musical theatre, musical with music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, lyrics by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel, and a book by Schönberg and Boublil ...

Legally Blond ''Legally Blonde'' is a 2001 American comedy film directed by Robert Luketic and written by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith, based on Amanda Brown's novel. It stars Reese Witherspoon, Luke Wilson, Selma Blair, Matthew Davis, Victor G ...

and

. Other signings included principal cast members of the new live cast recording of the Les Misérables 25th Anniversary.

References

External links

* {{coords, 51.5134, -0.1270, display=title Theatre in London Shops in London 1978 establishments in England