Melbourne: The owners of city’s famous theatres include a Gold Logie winner and mega church

From Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (left) at the Princess Theatre to Kylie Minogue (centre) performing at The Palais in St Kilda, Melbourne’s theatres, one of which is owned by ex- television presenter Mike Walsh (right), have hosted a who’s who of the showbiz world.

A family-owned entertainment empire, Gold Logie winner and global mega church are among the identities behind Melbourne’s most famous theatres.

The city is home to several major performance venues including five operated and managed by the Marriner Group, the Princess Theatre, Regent Theatre, Comedy Theatre, Forum Melbourne and Plaza Ballroom.

Nowadays, the Marriner Group is owned by brother and sister team Kayely Marriner and Jason Marriner.

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Their property developer father David Marriner purchased Spring St’s Princess Theatre for $2.5m in 1986.

After a $5m refurbishment, the theatre reopened three years later to stage the musical Les Miserables.

The original Princess Theatre was established in 1854 but was demolished and rebuilt in 1886.

Earlier in 2024, preservation works in the theatre’s auditorium by Conservation Studio Australia were nominated for an Australian Institute of Architecture Victorian award.

In recent years, one of the most well-known productions staged at the theatre was Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which ran until July 2023.

According to a Victorian government statement, the show broke Australian theatre records in its first year, attracting more than 325,000 audience members.

This made it the most successful play in the country’s history, after breaking a record previously held by the Melbourne Theatre Company’s The Curious Incident of The Dog in the Night-Time.

Jason Marriner (pictured) and his sister Kayely own the Marriner Group, which operates the Regent Theatre. Picture: Jason Edwards.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child came to the end of its record-breaking Melbourne run at the Princess Theatre in July 2023. Picture: Jason Edwards.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is set 19 years after the novel the final chapter of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

Marriner Theatre, as the business was known until a name change in 2010, also played an instrumental role in saving the circa-1929 Plaza Ballroom and circa-1962 Forum from demolition.

Public records show the Forum Melbourne, at 154 Flinders St, sold for $6m in 2011.

In September 2024, then-Melbourne Lord Mayor candidate Nick Reece announced a proposal to sell the City of Melbourne’s 51 per cent share in Collins St’s Regent Theatre – believed to be worth about $40m to $50m – and use the proceeds to boost the city’s arts scene.

However, following his re-election, Cr Reece’s plans to offload the council’s Regent share hit a snag when several other councillors voted against the idea.

The Victorian government owns the other 49 per cent of the Regent, which opened in 1929.

Cast members from the musical A Chorus Line’s 1977, 1993 and 2012 productions outside Her Majesty’s Theatre. Picture: Ben Swinnerton.

Michael James Scott played the genie in the Aladdin musical at Her Majesty’s Theatre, and helped to promote the 2017 Melbourne Cup. Picture: Jay Town.

Another of Melbourne’s historic theatres, the 1886-built Her Majesty’s Theatre, is owned by a showbiz star with his own rather impressive credentials.

Former television and radio presenter Mike Walsh was known as the King of Australian Daytime TV, with his self-titled program The Mike Walsh Show airing for more than decade in the 1970s and 1980s.

The show won a massive 24 Logies and Walsh himself received a Gold Logie in 1980.

Also a successful theatrical producer in London, Walsh added Her Majesty’s to his portfolio of theatres in other Australian capital cities, in 1999.

He funded her Her Majesty’s restoration, for a sum believed to be in the order of $12m.

In 2016, Walsh was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to the entertainment industry, and to the performing arts through support for young actors, theatre restoration and production.

Sister Act: The Musical is showing at the Regent Theatre until January 26, 2025. Picture: Tony Gough.

The Melbourne premiere of the authorised Elvis Presley musical, Elvis: A Musical Revolution, starring Rob Mallett as Elvis, at the Athenaeum Theatre in 2023. Jason Edwards.

A circa-1940 photo of the Athenaeum Theatre on Collins St. Picture: News Corp/Newspix.

About 1.5km away from Her Majesty’s in Exhibition St, the circa-1839 Athenaeum Theatre on Collins St is operated by A.T. Management Pty Ltd, which has three directors, Barry Janes, Greg Hocking and Glenn Elston.

A National Trust of Australia (Victoria) board director, Mr Janes previously ran a property management and maintenance business, served in senior retail management positions and as a fashion manufacturer’s marketing director.

Mr Hocking is a Melbourne Opera conductor and producer and Mr Elston is the Australian Shakespeare Company’s artistic director.

In 2024, Eurovision on Tour was staged at the Palais Theatre in St Kilda. Fans Meaghan Sinclair, Kloud Milas and Honey Positano dressed up for the show. Picture: Tony Gough.

British ballerina Dame Margot Fonteyn with young co-stars from The Nutcracker, which was staged at the Palais Theatre in 1974. Picture: Herald Sun Feature Service, Melbourne.

Australian singer and actor Kylie Minogue in concert at the Palais during her Live and Intimate tour, in 1998.

Further out of the city, the Palais Theatre in St Kilda is owned by Port Phillip Council and operated by entertainment company Live Nation Australia.

The Palais, built in 1927, mainly operated as a cinema until the 1950s.

It has hosted acts such as the Rolling Stones, Tom Jones, Bob Dylan, The Australian Ballet, Joan Sutherland, John Farnham, Tim Minchin, Florence & The Machine, Sting and Kylie Minogue.

The Beatles greeting fans on their arrival in Sydney, 1964. They have performed at both the Palais and Festival Hall. Picture: Courtesy Glenn A Baker Archives.

Rage Against the Machine at Festival Hall.

In 2020, Christian mega church Hillsong made headlines when it splashed about $23m to buy Festival Hall in Dudley St, West Melbourne.

After opening its doors in 1913, Festival Hall initially served as a roller skating, boxing and wrestling venue. It later became a live music venue.

Artists including The Beatles, Johnny Cash, Frank Sinatra, Liberace, Shirley Bassey. Rage Against The Machine, A$AP Rocky, Bruno Mars, Ed Sheeran, Lorde and Lily Allen have all played at the hall, which is operated by Live Nation Australia.

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