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71-697: The Bronx Opera House is a former theater, part of the Subway Circuit , now converted into a boutique hotel in the Melrose neighborhood of the Bronx , New York City . It was designed by George M. Keister and built in 1913 at 436 East 149th Street on the site of Frederick Schnaufer's stable. It was one of several theaters to come into the area that became known as the Hub . It was formally dedicated on opening night Saturday, August 30, 1913. Performers included

142-569: A "stodgy adaptation of a definitely dated play directed in obsolete theatrical technique". It is considered a lost film . By the 1930s, Cohan walked in and out of retirement. He earned acclaim as a serious actor in Eugene O'Neill 's only comedy Ah, Wilderness! (1933) and in the role of a song-and-dance President Franklin D. Roosevelt in Rodgers and Hart 's musical I'd Rather Be Right (1937). The same year, he reunited with Harris to produce

213-407: A 4 ft. apron. The theatre was equipped with 110 A.C. electricity. The backstage area featured 12 dressing rooms. The building, its façade still standing today, has a 97-foot-wide (30 m) fronting on 149th Street, between Bergen and Brook Avenue, and it runs back 205 feet to 148th Street. A three-story commercial building was on 149th Street. That space, apart from the 25-foot lobby leading to

284-496: A dollar with bargain matinees at twenty-five and fifty cents. A young Richard Dix was on the stage of the Bronx Opera House on December 7 for a one-week engagement of The Hawk. D. W. Griffith 's The Birth of a Nation was shown for two weeks accompanied by a thirty-piece orchestra. It was scheduled for an encore presentation on May 1, 1916 but was cancelled to make room for The House of Glass. On June 7, during

355-431: A dollar with bargain matinees at twenty-five and fifty cents. The Bronx Opera House was officially dedicated on August 30, 1913 and opens with Eugene Walter 's play Fine Feathers . The Bronx Opera House opens its doors to "an immense audience" with Frazee's production of Fine Feathers . It's a scene long to be remembered as the crowd gathers around the entrance. Old Bronxites stand amazed as car after car whirls up to

426-460: A hit. Cohan further adapted it as a film in 1917, and it was adapted for film six more times, as well as for TV and radio. He dropped out of acting for some years after his 1919 dispute with Actors' Equity Association . In 1912 Cohan and Harris acquired Chicago's Grand Opera House and renamed the theatre "George M. Cohan's Grand Opera House". It was renamed "Four Cohans Theatre" in 1926 but reverted to Grand Opera House in 1928 when Cohan divested

497-601: A law case against the Internal Revenue Service that allowed the deduction, for federal income tax purposes, of his business travel and entertainment expenses, even though he was not able to document them with certainty. This became known as the "Cohan rule" and frequently is cited in tax cases. Cohan wrote numerous Broadway musicals and straight plays in addition to contributing material to shows written by others – more than 50 in all – many of which were made into films. His shows included: Cohan

568-561: A musical biopic of Cohan, Yankee Doodle Dandy , was released, and James Cagney 's performance in the title role earned the Best Actor Academy Award . The film was privately screened for Cohan as he battled the last stages of abdominal cancer, and he commented on Cagney's performance: "My God, what an act to follow!" Cohan's 1920 play The Meanest Man in the World was filmed in 1943 with Jack Benny . Although Cohan

639-583: A nightclub act, and in television appearances on the Ed Sullivan and Milton Berle shows. George Jr.'s only child, Michaela Marie Cohan (1943–1999), was the last descendant named Cohan. She graduated with a theater degree from Marywood College in Pennsylvania in 1965. From 1966 to 1968, she served in a civilian Special Services unit in Vietnam and Korea. In 1996, she stood in for her ailing father at

710-509: A performance at the town hall there each summer, and Cohan had a chance to gain some more normal childhood experiences, like riding his bike and playing sandlot baseball. His memories of those happy summers inspired his 1907 musical 50 Miles from Boston , which is set in North Brookfield and contains one of his most famous songs, " Harrigan ". As he matured through his teens, he used the quiet summers there to write. When he returned to

781-498: A performing arts center developed in the 1980s but did not proceed. By 2004 the run-down auditorium was part of a Spanish evangelical church. The church had moved out before the end of the decade. The auditorium has not survived. New construction began to convert part of the building into a boutique hotel named the Opera House Hotel . Those plans continued to develop in 2012. According to developer Jay Domb , performers at

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852-575: A play titled Fulton of Oak Falls , starring Cohan. His final play, The Return of the Vagabond (1940), featured a young Celeste Holm in the cast. In 1940, Judy Garland played the title role in a film version of his 1922 musical Little Nellie Kelly . Cohan's mystery play Seven Keys to Baldpate was first filmed in 1916 and has been remade seven times, most recently as House of the Long Shadows (1983), starring Vincent Price . In 1942,

923-409: A second week. The cast remains the same but this 1916 production of the show features new songs, new music and new costumes, "those who saw it before will have to rub their eyes to make sure they are not really looking at a new production". Manager J. J. Rosenthal fired the first gun of the theatrical season by giving a monster patriotic benefit August 19, 1917. The theatre has been redecorated and with

994-588: A sketch called The Lively Bootblack . Temperamental in his early years, he later learned to control his frustrations. During these years, he originated his famous curtain speech: "My mother thanks you, my father thanks you, my sister thanks you, and I thank you." As a child, Cohan and his family toured most of the year and spent summer vacations from the vaudeville circuit at his grandmother's home in North Brookfield , Massachusetts, where he befriended baseball player Connie Mack . The family generally gave

1065-405: Is a term that was created before 1914 to define a group of legitimate New York City theaters featuring shows passing out from Broadway and usually prefacing their "going on tour" or used to get a try-out of a show before being sent to Broadway for a verdict. The theater also had to be reachable by New York City Subway . Unlike vaudeville managers, who cut salaries of actors when they took

1136-626: Is considered the father of American musical comedy. His life and music were depicted in the Oscar -winning film Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) and the 1968 musical George M! . A statue of Cohan in Times Square , New York City, commemorates his contributions to American musical theatre. Cohan was born in 1878 in Providence , Rhode Island, to Irish Catholic parents. A baptismal certificate from St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church (which gave

1207-473: Is formed with A.H. Woods who came on board with an interest of one-third and an interest in management as well. There is little or no excavation to be done and the then-estimated 2,500-seat house is expected to be ready by December. Observers saw the partnership either as an attempt by the two firms to break free from the Syndicates or an attempt to become their own Syndicate altogether. Both parties denied

1278-453: Is mainly remembered for his songs, he became an early pioneer in the development of the " book musical ", using his engaging libretti to bridge the gaps between drama and music. More than three decades before Agnes de Mille choreographed Oklahoma! Cohan used dance not merely as razzle-dazzle, but to advance the plot. Cohan's main characters were "average Joes and Janes" who appealed to a wide American audience. In 1914, Cohan became one of

1349-492: The Harlem River probably as early as 1911 as they were actively looking for a site at the very beginning of 1912. The trade newspaper Variety was reporting at the time that the two sites considered were at 150th street and Westchester Avenue and the other at 163rd Street and Prospect Avenue. Speculations were Cohan and Harris had secured a contract from Morgenthau-Hudson realty to build a 1,600 seats theatre for them at

1420-538: The Marx Brothers , George Burns , Gracie Allen , Julia Marlowe , Ethel Barrymore and Lionel Barrymore , David Warfield . Other performers at the theatre included George M. Cohan , Eddie Cantor , John Bunny , Harry Houdini , Peggy Wood and Fats Waller . Post-Broadway shows were often performed and the theater hosted the Aborn Opera Company . The Bronx Opera House is often confused with

1491-602: The New York Friars' Club in the audience, George Cohan being the Abbot of the organization at the time. Sam Harris is indefatigable and everywhere, acting as manager, usher and doorman. Max Figman , who plays in Fine Feathers , delivered an address presenting the theatre on behalf of the management and the address of acceptance on behalf of the people of the Bronx was made by Assemblyman Louis D. Gibbs . Outside,

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1562-409: The Subway Circuit ) raise its top prices from $ 1 to $ 1.50, the Bronx Opera House quickly follows. This is the first permanent increase in ticket prices in 6 years but an expected one. Times Square theatres have titled their price scale to $ 2.50 and in some instances when the show is a hit, up to $ 3.50. Prices won't remain at $ 1.50 for long. October sees record Box Office numbers due higher prices. By

1633-714: The United States Merchant Marine Academy Regimental Band led a successful effort to preserve Cohan's home on Long Island. As a result, Cohan's family gave the Merchant Marine Academy Regimental Band the name "George M. Cohan's Own". On July 3, 2009, a bronze bust of Cohan, by artist Robert Shure, was unveiled at the corner of Wickenden and Governor Streets in Fox Point , Providence, a few blocks from his birthplace. The city renamed

1704-433: The "small time", or entered houses of lesser importance, there were no cuts made in the salaries of the legitimate actors playing the "Subway Circuit". To the actors, four weeks of some subway before or after going on the road was a boon, for the theaters were all within 30 minutes of Broadway and after a performance, they were within easy reach of the theatrical clubs in the theater district . The number of theaters part of

1775-712: The 150th Street location. Variety announced on January 20, 1912 that the Shuberts were planning to build a legitimate house in the Bronx as well. New York theater managers generally felt that while the Bronx was a fertile field for one such theatre to show the Broadway attractions at reasonable prices (all of the other theaters in the neighborhood were vaudeville), two theaters of similar policy in that section would only mean that either would be fortunate to break even. A bitter competition already existed between Cohan & Harris' Grand Opera House at 8th Avenue and 23rd Street and

1846-401: The 1940s, the building was converted to a late-run movie house, shuttering of the upper balcony reduced seating to 1,400, and became known simply as Bronx Theatre . The theatre lost its license in 1943 after the rape of a 17-year-old worker. Chief Assistant District Attorney Sylvester Ryan said "the theatre as a rendezvous for degenerates and thugs." Eight youths were sentenced to reformatory for

1917-430: The Bronx, when, on August 29, John Cort announced the construction of the "Royal Theatre" in association with Frank Gersten. A combination house with a seating capacity of 2,500 located at Westchester Avenue, Third Avenue and 150th Street, four blocks away from the Bronx Opera House, was to be completed by December 15. When asked if he was interested in any new theaters in the city beyond the Harlem River , Harry Frazee

1988-661: The Four Cohans when Cohan's sister Josie married, and she starred in Little Johnny Jones and other Cohan works. In 1907, Levey divorced Cohan on grounds of adultery. In 1908, Cohan married Agnes Mary Nolan (1883–1972), who had been a dancer in his early shows; they remained married until his death. They had two daughters and a son. The eldest was Mary Cohan Ronkin , a cabaret singer in the 1930s, who composed incidental music for her father's play The Tavern . In 1968, Mary supervised musical and lyric revisions for

2059-743: The Golden Lobby of fame looking more attractive than ever, is ready to receive Emma Dunn in Old Lady 31, Saturday, August 25 as the opening attraction of the regular season. John and Lionel Barrymore are on stage November 19 in John Raphael's play Peter Ibbetson . The third mini-season of the Aborn Opera Company does not fare as well as the previous two. The contract's terms were the same: booked for three weeks with more time optional. However returns were not found satisfactory and their engagement ended after only two weeks. J.J. Rosenthal

2130-535: The Hollywood musical film The Phantom President . The film co-starred Claudette Colbert and Jimmy Durante , with songs by Rodgers and Hart , and was released by Paramount Pictures . He appeared in some earlier silent films but he disliked Hollywood production methods and only made one other sound film, Gambling (1934), based on his own 1929 play and shot in New York City. A critic called Gambling

2201-463: The Percy G. Williams' New Bronx Opera House built in 1909 and located at 567 Melrose Avenue (corner of 150th Street), later renamed the B.F. Keith's Bronx Theatre, which was a different venue featuring vaudeville shows. It had a capacity of 1,892 seats divided as follows: 799 orchestra (floor) seats, 537 balcony seats, 478 gallery seats and 78 box seats. The stage had a proscenium opening of 34x28 ft. and

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2272-464: The Shuberts' Manhattan Opera House at 34th Street. Sam H. Harris's attempt at negotiating a deal with Lee Shubert failed, and Cohan & Harris announced the following week they were walking out on the entire project. In early May, Sam H. Harris confirmed to Variety they had secured a site on 149th Street just east of Third Avenue to build a sister theater to their Manhattan Grand Opera House and that it would be in operation by November. Details of

2343-518: The Subway Circuit has changed over time. This is a non-exhaustive list. George M. Cohan Cohan began his career as a child, performing with his parents and sister in a vaudeville act known as "The Four Cohans". Beginning with Little Johnny Jones in 1904, he wrote, composed, produced, and appeared in more than three dozen Broadway musicals. Cohan wrote more than 50 shows and published more than 300 songs during his lifetime, including

2414-525: The actors' employment. During the strike, he donated $ 100,000 (equal to $ 1,757,390 today) to finance the Actors' Retirement Fund in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. After Actors' Equity was recognized, Cohan refused to join the union as an actor, which hampered his ability to appear in his own productions. Cohan sought a waiver from Equity allowing him to act in any theatrical production. In 1930, he won

2485-710: The behest of lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II , a $ 100,000 bronze statue of Cohan was dedicated in Duffy Square (the northern portion of Times Square ) at Broadway and 46th Street in Manhattan. The 8-foot bronze remains the only statue of an actor on Broadway. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970. His star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is located at 6734 Hollywood Boulevard. Cohan

2556-489: The ceremony marking her grandfather's induction into the Musical Theatre Hall of Fame at New York University. Cohan was a devoted baseball fan, regularly attending games of the former New York Giants. Cohan died of bladder cancer at the age of 64 on November 5, 1942, at his Manhattan apartment on Fifth Avenue, surrounded by family and friends. His funeral was held at St. Patrick's Cathedral , New York, and

2627-548: The corner the George M. Cohan Plaza and announced an annual George M. Cohan Award for Excellence in Art & Culture. The first award went to Curt Columbus , the artistic director of Trinity Repertory Company . From 1899 to 1907, Cohan was married to Ethel Levey (1881–1955; born Grace Ethelia Fowler ), a musical comedy actress and dancer. Levey and Cohan had a daughter, actress Georgette Cohan Souther Rowse (1900–1988). Levey joined

2698-498: The crime. The theatre flourished during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s as a Latin music dance club operating as Bronx Casino , Club Caravana and El Cerromar . In the 1980s it was purchased by a pentecostal church . Charlie Palmieri recorded Pachanga at the Caravana Club on site in 1961. Visits to the theatre are noted in the book Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years . Renovation plans to relaunch it as

2769-492: The crowd gathering was such that the police was called to clear the sidewalk and the street. The play was a huge hit and at the end of the last act, the cast answered to six curtain calls. Fine Feathers concludes a successful nine-day engagement and is replaced the following week by the de Koven Opera Company production of Robin Hood . Attendance for the second week is described as a "large audience". One hit of this first season

2840-402: The curb and discharges its burden of fashion, wealth and beauty. It's Broadway transferred uptown. Longacre Square at its busiest hour could not show a more fashionable or a more cultured assemblage. Long before opening time, the street is jammed with a good-humored crowd. Inside, George Cohan, Sam H. Harris, A. H. Woods and Harry Frazee all attend the performance. There is also a delegation from

2911-416: The emergency exits. An automatic asbestos safety curtain fronted the entr'acte drop, which was decorated with a damask valance separated into three sections, fringed with galloons . The centre of each section was embroidered with an embossed wreath, giving them a rich effect, materially enhanced by a highlight gold border running the full width of the curtain. At the time of its opening, the color scheme of

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2982-419: The end of November 1919, Subway Circuit theaters are already considering raising their ticket prices to $ 2. The Riviera will again take the lead and make the price hike effective December 22. When it opened the opera house was considered the best theatre in the borough . It had two separate balconies and a large crystal chandelier in the center of the ceiling. Performances included vaudeville and plays. By

3053-411: The founding members of ASCAP . Although Cohan was known as generous to his fellow actors in need, in 1919, he unsuccessfully opposed a historic strike by Actors' Equity Association , for which many in the theatrical professions never forgave him. Cohan opposed the strike because in addition to being an actor in his productions, he was also the producer of the musical that set the terms and conditions of

3124-583: The hotel's water cooling tower was suspected in several cases of Legionnaires' disease that occurred across several buildings in the area. In early 2023, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission placed the building under consideration for designation as an individual landmark, noting the building's significance to "Latino history and culture". The Bronx Opera House received landmark designation on June 13, 2023. Subway Circuit Subway Circuit

3195-503: The house's interior was ivory, green and old gold. The decorations were in the Italian Renaissance style. The ornamental work on the ceiling and box fronts and columns was old gold. The ornamental plaster work had been treated with an ivory tint, stenciled to harmonized with the wall coverings which were of silk damask. The body of the silk damask wall decorations was of a light green pattern harmonizing in color. Draperies of

3266-568: The industry in general. Although poor performance is generally attributed to war uncertainties, the Bronx Opera House good numbers are most likely due to the elimination of the Royal Theatre. By mid January 1915 it is estimated to be the most profitable combination theater in New York with an average business of $ 8,000 a week. Potash and Perlmutter alone did an estimated $ 9,900 in one week and The Crinoline Girl $ 9,700. A motion picture

3337-463: The musical George M! Their second daughter was Helen Cohan Carola , a film actress, who performed on Broadway with her father in Friendship in 1931. Their youngest child was George Michael Cohan, Jr. (1914–2000), who graduated from Georgetown University and served in the entertainment corps during World War II. In the 1950s, George Jr. reinterpreted his father's songs on recordings, in

3408-510: The plays Cohan wrote or composed, he produced with Harris, among others, many of which were adapted for film, It Pays to Advertise (1914) and the successful Going Up in 1917, which became a smash hit in London the following year. His shows ran simultaneously in as many as five theatres. One of Cohan's most innovative plays was a dramatization of the mystery Seven Keys to Baldpate in 1913, which baffled some audiences and critics but became

3479-557: The project were officially announced in June 1912. The Bronx Opera House was to be located at 438 to 444 East 149th Street, the lease secured from Frederick Schnaufer that same day. George M. Keister had designed the theater. Cohan & Harris, via their Bronx 149th Street Realty Company, had already leased the commercial space to Gibson and Beiswenger for a cafe, restaurant and banquet hall on 149th Street before construction has even begun. Cohan and Harris still ended up facing competition in

3550-578: The property and the Shubert family became the sole owners of the theatre. In 1925, he published his autobiography Twenty Years on Broadway and the Years It Took to Get There . Cohan appeared in 1930 in The Song and Dance Man , a revival of his tribute to vaudeville and his father. In 1932, he starred in a dual role as a cold, corrupt politician and his charming, idealistic campaign double in

3621-625: The red car was gone and so was Beppo the donkey, a ten-year veteran of the stage. Common Clay breaks the house record on September 4 ( Labor Day ) drawing $ 9,697. John Barrymore is back on the stage of the Bronx Opera House September 26 in John Galsworthy 's Justice . Julian Eltinge returns to the Bronx Opera House on Christmas Day with Cousin Lucy, a show so successful the previous season, it had been extended

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3692-406: The roof with a high-power electric fan that drove the cold air down under the concrete floor of the auditorium, into which it was filtered by way of innumerable colanders installed under seats, making it possible to keep the temperature of the interior "healthful", no matter what conditions prevailed outside. George M. Cohan and Sam H. Harris had the idea of building a combination theater above

3763-583: The rumors. In the meantime, the development of its direct competitor, Cort and Gersten's Royal Theatre, was delayed by a variety of factors, including building violations in February 1913. Two months later, the Shuberts and Klaw & Erlanger announced that they would play all their shows at the Bronx Opera House, shutting out the Royal Theatre. Manager : Richard Madden Treasurer : Harry Cullen Show times : Evening, 8:15 pm, matinees (Wed., Sat. and holidays), 2.15 pm Ticket prices : twenty-five cents to

3834-471: The same character in heavy velvet, treated with gold, with ornate center wreath medallions, constituted the box decorations. Three mural paintings were adorning the auditorium ceiling. These represented the Temple of Love, Love Accused Before Jove, and Repose and Laughter. In the foyer and aisles were carpets of green, two shades darker than the wall coverings and draperies. A feature of the Bronx Opera House

3905-463: The six-week engagement of the Aborn Opera Company , Beppo, a donkey who was appearing on stage in Pagliacci , was tied by its keeper to a car parked in front of the theater. The Aborn Company was putting on Cavalleria Rusticana after Pagliacci and the keeper whose sympathies were divided between mules and music thought to slip back in the theater and hear an aria or two. When the keeper came out,

3976-525: The standards " Over There ", " Give My Regards to Broadway ", " The Yankee Doodle Boy " and " You're a Grand Old Flag ". As a composer, he was one of the early members of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers ( ASCAP ). He displayed remarkable theatrical longevity, appearing in films until the 1930s and continuing to perform as a headline artist until 1940. Known in the decade before World War I as "the man who owned Broadway", he

4047-546: The theater included Harry Houdini and The Marx Brothers "got their vaudeville start here". Domb plans to decorate the hotel with relics and prints of artifacts from the theatre. The hotel opened in August 2013 and is one of eight hotel properties owned and operated by the Empire Hotel Group. The hotel is the first of several boutique hotels which have opened or are being constructed in the Bronx. In summer 2015

4118-589: The theater, was originally leased to William Gibson and Gustave Beiswenger as a restaurant, café and banquet hall on the first and second floor named the Bronx Opera House Restaurant, the third floor being used as lodge rooms. Emphasis was put on fire safety. An area-way demanded by the Department of Public Safety ran from street to street on either side of the theatre, affording ample space for substantial steel stairways leading down from

4189-536: The town in the cast of Ah, Wilderness! in 1934, he told a reporter "I've knocked around everywhere, but there's no place like North Brookfield." Cohan began writing original skits (over 150 of them) and songs for the family act in both vaudeville and minstrel shows while in his teens. Soon he was writing professionally, selling his first songs to a national publisher in 1893. In 1901 he wrote, directed and produced his first Broadway musical, The Governor's Son , for The Four Cohans. His first big Broadway hit in 1904

4260-504: The violin and then as a dancer. He was the fourth member of the family vaudeville act called The Four Cohans , which included his father Jeremiah "Jere" (Keohane) Cohan (1848–1917), mother Helen "Nellie" Costigan Cohan (1854–1928) and sister Josephine "Josie" Cohan Niblo (1876–1916). In 1890, he toured as the star of a show called Peck's Bad Boy and then joined the family act. The Four Cohans mostly toured together from 1890 to 1901. Cohan and his sister made their Broadway debuts in 1893 in

4331-456: The wrong first name for his mother) indicated that Cohan was born on July 3, but he and his family always insisted that he had been "born on the Fourth of July!" His parents were traveling vaudeville performers, and he joined them on stage while still an infant, first as a prop, learning to dance and sing soon after he could walk and talk. Cohan started as a child performer at age 8, first on

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4402-465: Was Broadway Jones , a comedy written, produced, directed and played by George M. Cohan in his own brand new theater in the Bronx. It was a vehicle for his farewell tour as an actor and both his parents were on stage with him. The singer-actor Fiske O'Hara went on the stage of the Bronx Opera House for the first time October 13, 1913, in a production of In Old Dublin . Middleton's The Prodigal Judge premiered December 8, 1913; on that night, every seat

4473-483: Was attended by thousands of people, including five governors of New York, two mayors of New York City and the Postmaster General. The honorary pallbearers included Irving Berlin , Eddie Cantor , Frank Crowninshield , Sol Bloom , Brooks Atkinson , Rube Goldberg , Walter Huston , George Jessel , Connie Mack , Joseph McCarthy , Eugene O'Neill , Sigmund Romberg , Lee Shubert and Fred Waring . Cohan

4544-767: Was called "the greatest single figure the American theatre ever produced – as a player, playwright, actor, composer and producer". On May 1, 1940, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt presented him with the Congressional Gold Medal for his contributions to World War I morale, in particular with the songs " You're a Grand Old Flag " and " Over There ". Cohan was the first person in any artistic field selected for this honor, which previously had gone only to military and political leaders, philanthropists, scientists, inventors, and explorers. In 1959, at

4615-532: Was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame on October 15, 2006. The United States Postal Service issued a 15-cent commemorative stamp honoring Cohan on the anniversary of his centenary, July 3, 1978. The stamp depicts both the older Cohan and his younger self as a dancer, with the tag line "Yankee Doodle Dandy". It was designed by Jim Sharpe. In 1999, Captain Kenneth R. Force and

4686-454: Was occupied, even the boxes being filled with first-nighters. In its November 7, 1914 edition, Variety estimates that "The Story of the Rosary" brought in $ 6,900 to the Bronx Opera House but that the theatre has had an average of 9 to $ 10,000 per week since the beginning of the season – pretty good considering the 1914-1915 season showed an almost unbroken line of failures at the box office in

4757-572: Was quoted by the New York Sun as saying he thanked the Creator that he had no project underway in the Bronx. Cramp & Co. was awarded the construction contract for the Bronx Opera House in September 1912; the structure was to be a fireproof building with exterior of brick, limestone and terra cotta requiring an expenditure of $ 250,000. As construction gets quickly underway, a partnership

4828-566: Was shown for the first time at the Bronx Opera House on December 14. A silent documentary titled Belgian War Scenes, it featured an actual battle in progress, shells bursting, men falling in the trenches and the care of the wounded. John Barrymore is on stage April 19 for a week in Willard Mack's Kick-In. J. J. Rosenthal was the manager. The show times were 8:15 pm for evening shows and 2:15 pm for matinees (Wednesdays, Saturdays, and holidays). Ticket prices ranged from twenty-five cents to

4899-406: Was the diffused lighting arrangements. The sunburst, or center ceiling light fixture, was five feet in diameter. The small lights of the auditorium were so arranged as to be concealed from the eye. The second balcony and main auditorium were equipped with the same indirect alba glass globes. Ventilation was achieved by a system of tubing built in the walls and foundations leading to and connecting on

4970-487: Was the manager until December 1918, and Mike Selwyn was manager from January through June 1919. The treasurer was Maurice Louis Silverstein, while the doorman was August L. Heckler. The Bronx Opera House starts to experiment with ticket price increases. "Going Up" opens March 17 to a new scale of matinees: 25 cents to 75 cents; evenings: 25 cents to $ 1.50. At the start of the season, the Riviera at 97th street (also part of

5041-523: Was the show Little Johnny Jones , which introduced his tunes " Give My Regards to Broadway " and " The Yankee Doodle Boy ". Cohan became one of the leading Tin Pan Alley songwriters, publishing upwards of 300 original songs noted for their catchy melodies and clever lyrics. His major hit songs included: From 1904 to 1920, Cohan created and produced over 50 musicals, plays and revues on Broadway together with his friend Sam H. Harris . Aside from

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