Teatro Apolo, Theater in central Buenos Aires, Argentina

Teatro Apolo occupies the site at Avenida Corrientes 1372 where a theatre of that name was built from 1886 and inaugurated in March 1892. The present building, rebuilt after 2008, holds a theatre hall on the lower floors of an eight-storey building with a shopping gallery at street level. Its stage was enlarged in height and proscenium width, and the revolving discs were restored to working order.

Construction of the Teatro Apolo began in 1886 on Corrientes, then a narrow street, with a planned 20-row stalls and 72 boxes; it finally opened in March 1892 with the comedy Divorciémonos, performed by Concepción Aranaz's company. Closed and facing demolition in 1958, it was saved after actors including Luis Arata and Mecha Ortiz lobbied President Arturo Frondizi, leading to law 14.800 of 1959. The Nuevo Teatro cooperative bought the new hall in 1966; Isabel Majdalani acquired it in 2008 and reopened it on 27 July 2009 with King Lear starring Alfredo Alcón.

The theatre's name comes from the original 1886 hall on the same Corrientes Avenue site, and the current room was bought in 1966 by the Nuevo Teatro cooperative led by Alejandra Boero, Pedro Asquini and Jorge Hacker. Its stage hosted Carlos Gardel, Tita Merello and Enrique Santos Discépolo, and payada contests between improvising singers. It reopened in 2009 with Alfredo Alcón in King Lear.

The venue is easily reached by public transportation and sits in the central area of the city. It helps to check ahead whether a show is happening on your planned visit day and what seating options are available.

The 1959 law 14.800, prompted by the campaign to save the old Apolo, requires any owner demolishing a theatre to include a similar hall in the new building. That rule, born from this site, shaped Argentine theatre protection. The current hall was bought in 1966 by the Nuevo Teatro cooperative led by Alejandra Boero, Pedro Asquini and Jorge Hacker.