The acquisition of the two theatres for 53 million euros confirmed Stage Entertainment’s long-term commitment to the Spanish market. Stage Entertainment now co-owns the Lope de Vega, where the production of The Lion King has been running since 2011, and the Coliseum, which had been in a state of neglect for two years.

The renovation of the Coliseum has been a great challenge, with construction starting last September on the same day the property was purchased. Deadlines put us under a lot of pressure, and we wanted to make sure everything was ready on time allowing us to premiere Mamma Mia! in March.

During the five-month renovation period, a local team of architects worked together with the international architecture studio AMA to achieve the quality and overall comfort that audiences expect in every Stage Entertainment theater worldwide. 

The Coliseum has now been transformed into one of the Gran Vía’s two most beautiful theaters, with the other, of course, being the Lope de Vega.

The Coliseum theater was constructed in 1931 and is subject to strict building regulations designed to protect historic structures. This forced us to deal with many requirements and conditions imposed by local authorities that were sometimes a greater challenge for the team than the construction itself.

At the peak of the renovation, dozens of workers worked side-by-side putting in electrical and sound installations, leveling floors and laying carpets.

A crane was even brought in the auditorium to help with the refurbishing of the proscenium and the loge on the first balcony. It was quite a challenge, but we managed to achieve our goals within deadline and budget.

The fantastic art collection selected by Janine Van den Ende is now hanging on the newly restored walls of the theater awaiting our first visitors for tomorrow’s preview of Mamma Mia!

We want to thank all those involved who helped to make this fantastic project such a success: International Venues team (Kassandra Dommisse-Reebergen and Matthijs Konijn), the AMA team (Frank Glaudemans and Roel Graven), the Spanish architects (Pedro Rodriguez Miranda and Belén Rodero) and David Barreñada and Moises Robles with their teams. 

Special thanks to Joop and Janine Van den Ende for creating the magnificent art collection and offering their valuable advice in this challenging refurbishment project.

Let the show begin!

Jaime Tato y Yolanda Pérez

Director Financiero y de operaciones – Directora comercial y de marketing