Kings Theatre Under New Management

Only a year after re-opening, Flatbush’s beloved Kings Theatre has new management.

UK-based Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) now operates the landmark Kings Theatre on Flatbush Avenue. The company also counts the Lyric Theatre Broadway and the Hudson Theatre Broadway among its venues.

We were unable to reach Kings Theatre or ATG headquarters for comment.

Houston-based ACE Theatrical Group had been Kings’ operator, according to the theatre’s website. ATG acquired ACE Theatrical Group’s venues in a merger last Fall, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The 1929 building housing the Kings Theatre is actually owned by the City of New York. The Kings Theatre Redevelopment Corporation (a consortium including the ACE Theatrical Group, the Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group, and nonprofit National Development Council) was given a 55-year lease on the building in 2013.

The redevelopment corporation partnered with The New York City Economic Development Corporation to re-open the Kings Theatre in 2015, after a $95 million renovation. The renovation was reportedly funded primarily by New York City and State.

The theatre’s new operator, ATG, says that the renovation converted the “spectacular, gilded movie palace into a state-of-the-art performing arts facility.”

The Kings Theatre is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. With 3,072 seats, it is Brooklyn’s largest indoor theatre and New York City’s fourth largest.

ATG describes itself as “the global leader in live theatre and an extraordinary British success story.” The company is majority owned by Providence Equity Partners, a private equity firm focused on media, communications, education and information investments.

Founded in 1992, ATG has 46 venues in Britain, the US and Australia. It also provides theatre ticketing services through ATG Tickets, LOVETheatre and Group Line.

What changes will new management bring to the Kings Theatre?