Editing Savoy Theatre (section)

==Rupert D'Oyly Carte's theatre==
In 1915 Richard D'Oyly Carte's son, [[Rupert D'Oyly Carte]], took over management of the theatre.<ref name=Howard/> After serving in the navy in World War I, Carte decided to bring the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company back to London in first-rate style. He began to mount seasons of updated and refreshed Gilbert and Sullivan productions at first at the [[Shaftesbury Theatre|Prince's Theatre]] in 1919.<ref name=bettany/> [[J. B. Fagan]]'s adaptation of ''[[Treasure Island]]'' first played in December 1922 at the Savoy Theatre with [[Arthur Bourchier]] as Long John Silver.<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article23886297 "London Life – a commentary"] ''The West Australian'' 31 January 1923, p. 10</ref> It was so popular that it was revived every Christmas until the outbreak of World War II.<ref>Chapman, p. 32</ref>

[[File:Mikado Ricketts.jpg|thumb|right|230px|1926 costume for ''[[The Mikado]]'']]
On 3 June 1929 Carte closed the Savoy Theatre, and the interior was completely rebuilt to designs by Frank A. Tugwell with elaborate décor by [[Basil Ionides]]. The ceiling was painted to resemble an April sky; the walls, translucent gold on silver; the rows of stalls were all richly upholstered in different colours, and the curtain repeated the tones of the seating. Ionides said that he took the colour scheme from a bed of zinnias in [[Hyde Park, London|Hyde Park]].<ref name=bettany/> The entire floor space had been replanned: the old cloakrooms and bar at the back of the theatre were relocated to the side, and instead of 18 boxes there was now only one. The new auditorium had two tiers leaving three levels: stalls, dress, and upper circle. The capacity of the old house, originally 1,292, had been reduced to 986 by 1912,<ref>''Who's Who in the Theatre'', 1912, p. 297. The seating plan in that edition shows only 8 boxes instead of the original 18, and reduced numbers of seats in the Dress (156) and Upper Circle (127) (as they were by then named).</ref> and the new theatre restored the capacity almost completely, with 1,200 seats.<ref>"Reopening of the Savoy", ''The Times'', 21 October 1929.</ref> The new stage was 29.3 feet wide, by 29.5 feet deep.<ref name=Howard/>

The theatre reopened on 21 October 1929 with a new production of ''The Gondoliers'' designed by [[Charles Ricketts]] and conducted by [[Malcolm Sargent]].<ref>[http://diamond.boisestate.edu/gas/carte/1929/index.html Rupert D'Oyly Carte's 1929–30 Season at the G&S Archive]</ref> In the only box sat Lady Gilbert, the librettist's widow.<ref name=bettany/> There were Gilbert and Sullivan seasons at the Savoy Theatre in 1929–30, 1932–33, 1951, 1954, 1961–62, 1975, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003. Other famous works presented at the Savoy included [[Robert Morley]] in ''[[The Man Who Came to Dinner]]'', and several comedies by [[William Douglas-Home]] starring, among others, [[Ralph Richardson]], [[Peggy Ashcroft]], and [[John Mills]]. The long-delayed first public performance in England of [[Oscar Wilde]]'s ''[[Salome (play)|Salome]]'' played at the theatre in 1931.<ref>Ellis, Samantha. [https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2003/mar/26/theatre.samanthaellis "Salomé, Savoy Theatre, October 1931"], 26 March 2003. Retrieved 22 February 2013</ref> In 1951 Noël Coward's ''[[Relative Values (play)|Relative Values]]'' premièred at the theatre and ran for 477 performances.<ref name="Gaye, p. 1537">Gaye, p. 1537</ref>

After Rupert D'Oyly Carte died in 1948 his daughter, [[Bridget D'Oyly Carte]], succeeded to the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and became a director and later president of the Savoy Hotel group, which controlled the theatre. Management of the theatre was assumed in 1948 by [[Hugh Wontner|Sir Hugh Wontner]], chairman of the Savoy hotel group.<ref name=Howard/> The theatre was designated a Grade II* [[listed building]] in 1973.<ref>{{NHLE |num=1236724 |desc=Grade II* |access-date=13 May 2009}}</ref> The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company closed in 1982, and Dame Bridget died childless in 1985, bringing the family line to an end. Wontner continued as chairman of the theatre until his death in 1992.<ref name=times>''The Times'', obituary of Hugh Wontner, 27 November 1992</ref>