The East Pyongyang Grand Theatre is a 2,500-seat theatre located in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang. It was the site of the 2008 concert by the New York Philharmonic, which was the first significant cultural visit to North Korea by the United States since the Korean War. On New Year's Day 2007, following reconstruction, the theatre hosted the Mansudae Art Troupe.Its "massive" stage needed an acoustic shell built to properly project the orchestra's sound. The theatre was specifically chosen by Zarin Mehta, who rejected the home of the North Korea State Symphony as too small.