22-574: The Theatre Row Building is a complex of five Off-Broadway theatres at 410 West 42nd Street on Theatre Row in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan , New York City . The building is owned by the 501(c)(3) organization non-profit Building for the Arts and is the center piece of an effort to transform the adult entertainment district on 42nd Street between Ninth Avenue and Tenth Avenue into an Off-Broadway theater district. The 42nd Street Development Corporation
44-868: A new flagship Toys "R" Us store. The company now operates three Broadway theatres – the Todd Haimes Theatre , Studio 54 , and the Stephen Sondheim Theatre – and two off-Broadway spaces: the Laura Pels Theatre for new works by established playwrights, and the Roundabout Underground Black Box Theatre for new work of emerging writers and directors. The latter two theatres are located in the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre (the former American Place Theatre ). Following
66-509: A new outlet for "poets, playwrights, actors, songwriters, and designers. ... The first great Off-Broadway musical was the 1954 revival" of The Threepenny Opera , which proved that off-Broadway productions could be financially successful. Critic John Gassner argued at the time, however, that "Broadway is just as eclectic – and just as footless – as 'Off-Broadway'." Theatre Row , on West 42nd Street between 9th and 10th Avenues in Manhattan,
88-482: Is a concentration of off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway theatres. It was developed in the mid-1970s and modernized in 2002. Many off-Broadway shows have had subsequent runs on Broadway, including such musicals as Hair , Godspell , Little Shop of Horrors , Sunday in the Park with George , Rent , Grey Gardens , Urinetown , Avenue Q , The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee , Rock of Ages , In
110-555: Is a production of a play , musical , or revue that appears in such a venue and adheres to related trade union and other contracts. Some shows that premiere off-Broadway are subsequently produced on Broadway. The term originally referred to any venue, and its productions, on a street intersecting Broadway in Midtown Manhattan 's Theater District , the hub of the American theatre industry. It later became defined by
132-601: Is based on the capacity given for the respective theatre at the Internet Off-Broadway Database . Laura Pels Theatre The Roundabout Theatre Company is a non-profit theatre company based in Midtown Manhattan , New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres . The company was founded in 1965 by Gene Feist , Michael Fried and Elizabeth Owens. Originally housed at a Chelsea, Manhattan , grocery store, on 26th Street, it moved to
154-600: The Lucille Lortel Award (created in 1985 by the League of Off-Broadway Theatres & Producers), and the Drama League Award . Although off-Broadway shows are not eligible for Tony Awards , an exception was made in 1956 (before the rules were changed), when Lotte Lenya won Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for the off-Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera . Capacity
176-920: The 2023 death of Todd Haimes , Roundabout's longtime artistic director, Christopher Ashley was hired as Roundabout's artistic director in September 2024. 1991–1999: Roundabout productions have received nine Lucille Lortel Awards . Derek McLane and Catherine Zuber won Outstanding Set and Costume Design Awards for 2004's Intimate Apparel . Reg Rogers won an Outstanding Actor award for 2002's The Dazzle . Kenneth Posner won an Outstanding Lighting Design Award for 2000's Give Me Your Answer, Do! . Robert Brill with Scott Pask, Jess Goldstein, and Kevin Adams won Awards for Outstanding Set, Costume, and Lighting Design for 1999's The Mineola Twins . 1998's All My Sons won an award for Outstanding Revival. 1996's Molly Sweeney won an award for Outstanding Play of
198-493: The 42nd Street Playhouse which had signs advertising "All Live Burlesk" and Mermaid. In the same year the Manhattan Plaza apartment tower opened on the north side of 42nd. The first theatre renovations were dedicated in 1978 with Walter Mondale , Joan Mondale and Ed Koch among those attending. The transformation of the district was highlighted in the scenes and settings for the 1981 film Tootsie . Audiences to
220-667: The Broadway Box are the Laura Pels Theatre and The Theater Center . The off-Broadway movement started in the 1950s as a reaction to the perceived commercialism of Broadway and provided less expensive venues for shows that have employed many future Broadway artists. An early success was Circle in the Square Theatre 's 1952 production of Summer and Smoke by Tennessee Williams . According to theatre historians Ken Bloom and Frank Vlastnik, off-Broadway offered
242-641: The Country , Alfred Molina in 1996's Molly Sweeney , Helen Carey in 1997's London Assurance , Alan Cumming in 1998's Cabaret , Henry Czerny in 2000's Arms and the Man , Juliette Binoche in 2001's Betrayal , David Warner in 2002's Major Barbara , Victoria Hamilton in 2003's A Day in the Death of Joe Egg , Antonio Banderas and Mary Stuart Masterson for 2003's Nine , Alexander Gemignani in 2004's Assassins , Carla Gugino in 2005's After
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#1732776382540264-644: The Fall , Mamie Gummer in 2006's Mr. Marmalade , Nellie McKay in 2006's The Threepenny Opera , Harry Connick Jr. in 2006's The Pajama Game , Ben Daniels in 2008's Les Liaisons dangereuses , and Jenna Russell in 2008's Sunday in the Park with George . They have won eight Obie Awards . 2004's Intimate Apparel , 2003's All Over , 2002's The Dazzle , 1999's The Mineola Twins , and 1981's The Chalk Garden won Performance Awards for Viola Davis, Rosemary Harris, Peter Frechette and Reg Rogers, Swoosie Kurtz, and Irene Worth respectively. Emily Mann also won
286-932: The Heights , Spring Awakening , Next to Normal , Hedwig and the Angry Inch , Fun Home , Hamilton , Dear Evan Hansen , Hadestown , and Kimberly Akimbo . In particular, two that became Broadway hits, Grease and A Chorus Line , encouraged other producers to premiere their shows off-Broadway. Plays that have moved from off-Broadway houses to Broadway include Doubt , I Am My Own Wife , Bridge & Tunnel , The Normal Heart , and Coastal Disturbances . Other productions, such as Stomp , Blue Man Group , Altar Boyz , Perfect Crime , Forbidden Broadway , Nunsense , Naked Boys Singing , Bat Boy: The Musical , and I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change have had runs of many years off-Broadway, never moving to Broadway. The Fantasticks ,
308-574: The League of Off-Broadway Theatres and Producers as a professional venue in Manhattan with a seating capacity of at least 100, but not more than 499, or a production that appears in such a venue and adheres to related trade union and other contracts. Previously, regardless of the size of the venue, a theatre was considered a Broadway (rather than off-Broadway) house if it was within the "Broadway Box", extending from 40th Street north to 54th Street and from Sixth Avenue west to Eighth Avenue , including Times Square and West 42nd Street . This change to
330-542: The Off Broadway venues noted in the 1980s that the buildings still maintained the rough edges of their porn history with poor seating, poor bathrooms and air conditioning that worked intermediately so in 1999, under Theatre Row Managing Director Ray Cullom, the core of the Theatre Row Buildings were gut renovated and rebuilt from the ground up with the five theatres opening in brand new spaces in 2002 in
352-865: The Season. Twenty-nine performers in Roundabout productions have won Theatre World Awards , which honors achievement in "breakout" performances. Winners are Christopher Goutman in 1979's The Promise , Boyd Gaines in 1981's A Month in the Country , Lisa Banes in 1981's Look Back in Anger , Anthony Heald in 1982's Misalliance , Kate Burton in 1983's Winners , Mark Capri in 1985's On Approval , Lindsay Crouse in 1992's The Homecoming , Natasha Richardson and Liam Neeson in 1993's Anna Christie , Calista Flockhart and Kevin Kilner in 1995's The Glass Menagerie , Helen Mirren in 1995's A Month in
374-462: The contractual definition of "off-Broadway" benefited theatres satisfying the 499-seat criterion because of the lower minimum required salary for Actors' Equity performers at Off-Broadway theatres as compared with the salary requirements of the union for Broadway theatres. The adoption of the 499-seat criterion occurred after a one-day strike in January 1974. Examples of off-Broadway theatres within
396-476: The first version of the Laura Pels Theatre. Notable productions during Roundabout's tenure at the Criterion include the 1993 revival of Eugene O'Neill 's Anna Christie (featuring Liam Neeson and Natasha Richardson in their Broadway debuts), the 1995 revival of Stephen Sondheim 's Company , and the 1997 revival of 1776 . The company left the space in 1999 when their lease was canceled in favor of
418-681: The longest-running musical in theatre history, spent its original 42-year run off-Broadway and had another off-Broadway run from 2006 to 2017. Off-Broadway shows, performers, and creative staff are eligible for the following awards: the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award , the Outer Critics Circle Award , the Drama Desk Award , the Obie Award (presented since 1956 by The Village Voice ),
440-549: The nearby 23rd Street Theatre in 1972, performing there until their lease expired in 1984. Following that, Roundabout leased the theatre space at 44 Union Square until that lease expired in 1990. The company then moved into the Criterion Center in Times Square, a two-auditorium complex. Roundabout used the larger Stage Right space as a small Tony Award -eligible theater while the smaller second theater became
462-551: The original five-story brick building (even as tall apartment towers rose adjacent to it). In 2019 the theatre complex was renovated and the individual theatres renamed. Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres , but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer than 100. An "off-Broadway production"
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#1732776382540484-437: Was formed in 1976 by Fred Papert with a mission of working to revitalize all of 42nd Street which had become home to numerous pornographic businesses. In 1977 Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was elected to its board and in 1977 it began a process to replace porn stores between 9th Avenue and Dyer on the south side of the street with off Broadway theatres, rehearsal spaces and offices. Among the bigger adult venues being replaced were
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