Theater at Potsdamer Platz, Musical theater venue in Mitte district, Berlin, Germany.
The Theater at Potsdamer Platz is a musical theatre on Marlene-Dietrich-Platz, built to a design by architect Renzo Piano and completed on 2 October 1998. Its glazed, metal-framed facade rises under a deep roof canopy, with the entrance recessed behind a row of columns; illuminated signs read "Berliner Palast" and "THEATER AM POTSDAMER PLATZ". The auditorium seats 1,754, making it one of Germany's largest theatres.
Designed by architect Renzo Piano, the building on Marlene-Dietrich-Platz was completed on 2 October 1998 and opened as a musical theatre on 5 June 1999 with 1,754 seats. Its first production, Der Glöckner von Notre Dame, was a Disney premiere that took place in Berlin rather than on Broadway or in the West End. After the operator Stella Entertainment went insolvent, Stage Entertainment Germany took over the house in July 2002. Since the 2000 Berlinale it has been renamed Berlinale Palast each February.
The theatre's name changes each February: as the Berlinale Palast it hosts the opening film and the award ceremony of the Berlin International Film Festival, and the current musical's stage set is removed to turn the hall into a cinema. From 2011 to 2013 it also hosted the Goldene Henne media prize, which moved here from the Friedrichstadtpalast.
The theater stands on Marlene-Dietrich-Platz, a short walk from Potsdamer Platz station. During the Berlinale in February the house is renamed Berlinale Palast and the stage set of the running musical is removed to install cinema equipment, so the program differs from the rest of the year. The auditorium seats 1754.
Each February since 2000 the theatre becomes the Berlinale Palast: the current musical's stage set is struck and the auditorium converted into a cinema for the festival's opening film and awards ceremony. The building, by architect Renzo Piano, opened on 5 June 1999 with 1,754 seats.
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