174-734: The Ed Sullivan Theater (originally Hammerstein's Theatre ; later the Manhattan Theatre , Billy Rose's Music Hall , CBS Radio Playhouse No. 3 , and CBS Studio 50 ) is a theater at 1697–1699 Broadway , between 53rd and 54th streets, in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Built from 1926 to 1927 as a Broadway theater , the Sullivan was developed by Arthur Hammerstein in memory of his father, Oscar Hammerstein I . The two-level theater
348-456: A mall kiosk in comparison. The auditorium was gutted during renovations. The theater's dome, which had been covered up by air ducts and sound buffers, was uncovered. The original stained-glass windows, which had been removed and placed in storage during the Letterman era, were also restored, as well as a wooden chandelier with individual stained-glass chambers. Advances in technology allowed
522-436: A sidekick or straight man on the show. While Colbert dances and physically interacts with his band leader while the band plays, they only occasionally engage in on-air banter, unlike David Letterman's relationship with Paul Shaffer or the relationship of other late night hosts with their announcers or bandleaders. Occasionally, Colbert has brought out producers of his show, or enlisted the help of audience members, who assume
696-558: A $ 600,000 loan on the property. In addition to CBS, the tenants at the time included Fred Waring & the Pennsylvanians and the American Guild of Variety Artists . During the 1950s, the theater also hosted shows such as The Garry Moore Show and The Big Payoff . Additionally, The Stage Show with Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey featured the first national television appearances by rock music icon Elvis Presley . By
870-490: A Gothic-style vaulted ceiling made of plaster. Foliate corbels support the ribs of the ceiling, while the center of the ceiling contains a flat rectangular panel. The outer lobby is L-shaped and has Gothic design details. As in the vestibule, the outer lobby's marble floor has a rhombus pattern, while the walls have marble baseboards and cast-stone panels. The north and south walls are each divided into three bays, with pairs of piers projecting from either wall. The center bay of
1044-564: A darkened theater, sound effects, and seating arrangements (lowering the orchestra pit ) which focused the attention of audience on the stage, completely immersing them in the imaginary world of the music drama. These concepts were revolutionary at the time, but they have since come to be taken for granted in the modern operatic environment as well as many other types of theatrical endeavors. Contemporary theaters are often non-traditional, such as very adaptable spaces, or theaters where audience and performers are not separated. A major example of this
1218-414: A decline in ratings over the course of the 1990s and 2000s, dating back to an affiliation agreement between New World Communications and Fox that resulted in all nine CBS-affiliated stations it owned or recently acquired switching to Fox between September and December 1994, relegating the network to lower-rated former Fox affiliates and independent stations in many major cities. According to TV by
1392-463: A few weeks after Colbert had emergency surgery for a ruptured appendix . Full episodes of the show going back about a month are available on Paramount Plus . Official clips from the show going back to 2015 are available on the show's YouTube channel. Colbert originally started the show with a cold open and brief monologue before the opening sequence. Starting with the April 18, 2016, broadcast,
1566-625: A five-year agreement. In contrast with Colbert's previous program The Colbert Report , in which he played a fictionalized version of himself , Colbert hosts the show as himself. Colbert's version retains the Late Show name under license from Letterman's Worldwide Pants , which holds the registered trademark. On April 23, 2014, the character version of Stephen Colbert appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart to announce that he had clearly "won television" and would be closing down The Colbert Report because he had met his goal. This came after
1740-573: A great priest." The show was a recipient for the Peabody Award and earned Primetime Emmy Award nominations including six times for Outstanding Variety Talk Series , as of the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards . In Canada, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert airs on Global , previously airing in simulcast with CBS in most regions. NTV , another Canadian station, also simulcasts Global 's broadcast to Newfoundland as well as The Bahamas and Saint Pierre and Miquelon . Since September 2023,
1914-448: A hanamichi stage with her entourage. The stage is used not only as a walkway or path to get to and from the main stage, but important scenes are also played on the stage. Kabuki stages and theaters have steadily become more technologically sophisticated, and innovations including revolving stages and trap doors were introduced during the 18th century. A driving force has been the desire to manifest one frequent theme of kabuki theater, that of
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#17327659751302088-425: A high-ceilinged interior. Within the large temple has a stage inside which is a large platform with its own pyramid roof. The stage area is separate from the audience area with the musician (a drummer on a high seat) behind the stage, and dressing rooms also at the rear with exit doors behind. The audience would be seated on a smooth, polished floor. Several Koothambalams exist within several Indian temples, and follow
2262-575: A hit. Another issue was the fact that the office wing was not profitable because an elevated railroad line ran nearby. The remainder of 1930 brought two major flops : Luana , which closed after 16 performances in September and October, and Ballyhoo , which ran 68 performances from December 1930 to February 1931. In February 1931, the Manufacturers Trust Company moved to foreclose on about $ 1.3 million in mortgage loans on
2436-544: A lease on the theater, relocating there from the Little Theatre . Architect William Lescaze renovated the interior, keeping nearly all of Krapp's design touches, but covering many walls with smooth white panels. The magazine Architectural Forum praised Lescaze's work. CBS engineers also added rock wool on the floors and walls to insulate the auditorium from passing elevated and subway trains, and they added telephone and public-announcement systems. The new playhouse
2610-413: A live episode that ran after Super Bowl 50 in 2016, which averaged 21.1 million viewers. Despite this, the show's initial ratings trailed its competitors. The show began to shift its focus onto politics, and in 2017, The Late Show began to see major ratings gains, aided by the program's satire of the incoming Donald Trump administration . After Trump's inauguration , Colbert narrowly beat Fallon for
2784-414: A live, election night special for CBS's sister premium channel Showtime , Stephen Colbert's Live Election Night: Democracy's Series Finale: Who's Going to Clean Up This Shit? The special featured appearances by Laura Benanti (reprising her impersonation of Melania Trump ), Jeff Goldblum , Mark Halperin , Elle King , John Heilemann , and Nick Offerman . Due to it being broadcast on a premium channel,
2958-700: A month. This was followed by Murder in the Cathedral in March, Class of '29 in May, and Help Yourself in July 1936. As of 2022, no further theatrical productions have been staged at the theater after Help Yourself closed. The Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) tested the Manhattan Theatre's acoustics in July 1936 to determine whether it was suitable as a broadcast playhouse. The next month, CBS acquired
3132-546: A naturally occurring site. The auditorium (literally "place for hearing" in Latin) was the area in which people gathered, and was sometimes constructed on a small hill or slope in which stacked seating could be easily made in the tradition of the Greek Theatres. The central part of the auditorium was hollowed out of a hill or slope, while the outer radian seats required structural support and solid retaining walls. This
3306-445: A paper towel on her chest, a move McDaniel later criticized in an interview with HasanAbi . She described the entire incident as one of the worst moments of her life. A clip of the interview posted on YouTube has more than 48 million views and is by far the most watched video ever posted to The Late Show YouTube channel, as of 2024. On June 22, 2016, CBS announced that The Late Show would broadcast two weeks of live episodes during
3480-514: A particular focus on politics. Also, the show follows the same basic format as other late-night talk shows including the use of sketch comedy , guest interviews and musical performances. Colbert's guest list includes more political and government figures than his contemporaries; his first two weeks' guests included visits from Jeb Bush , Joe Biden , Ban Ki-moon , Stephen Breyer , Bernie Sanders , Elizabeth Warren , Donald Trump , and Ted Cruz . Thus far, Colbert has not had any of his staff act as
3654-417: A production, often called a black box theater , due to the common practice of the walls being painted black and hung with black drapes. Usually in a building used specifically for performance there are offstage spaces used by the performers and crew. This is where props , sets , and scenery are stored, and the performers standby before their entrance. These offstage spaces are called wings on either side of
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#17327659751303828-523: A profile made by the Wall Street Journal on Colbert, actor Andrew Garfield said: "The openness and ownership that he has with seemingly culturally taboo subjects, such as grief, allows his guests permission to be in contact and reveal those aspects of their own selves and experiences. In turn, the audience gets to have a genuine, deep, and connected experience. So the show feels like an act of service to people. I think Stephen would have made
4002-408: A program of pure entertainment." The Late Show has received positive reviews following the inauguration of Donald Trump as president. "Colbert may not be the sarcastic, irony-laden character he once played for Comedy Central, but as Trump has dominated the news every day since taking office, The Late Show has become the home for reasoned, but incisive, discussion, on the perceived overreaches of
4176-439: A proscenium stage. A prompter's box may be found backstage. In an amphitheater, an area behind the stage may be designated for such uses while a blackbox theater may have spaces outside of the actual theater designated for such uses. Often a theater will incorporate other spaces intended for the performers and other personnel. A booth facing the stage may be incorporated into the house where lighting and sound personnel may view
4350-517: A regular late-night talk show for most of its existence before that point, with only one attempt (the short-lived Pat Sajak Show in 1989–1990) between 1972 and Letterman's arrival. Letterman, who joined CBS from NBC after ending his eleven-year run as host of Late Night and losing out on being Johnny Carson 's successor on The Tonight Show to Jay Leno , was initially competitive with his show's bitter rival, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ; Letterman's Late Show , however, slowly experienced
4524-577: A rendition of Sly and the Family Stone 's " Everyday People ". The episode nearly missed its broadcast due to technical difficulties. An early interview with Vice President Joe Biden received particular acclaim. Following the terrorist attacks in Paris that November, Colbert devoted his program to that city. A special football-themed episode aired as the lead-out program for Super Bowl 50 in 2016, featuring guests President Barack Obama (in
4698-457: A rhombus pattern. The vestibule's walls contain baseboards made of veined marble, above which are cast-stone wall panels that are designed to resemble travertine . The walls contain shallow archways. The north wall contains a cast-iron radiator grille in the Gothic style, which is divided by the arches. The west wall has six bronze-and-glass doors leading to the outer lobby. The vestibule contains
4872-695: A sidekick-like role for single segments, engaging in light dialogue about a topic. The show has occasionally been broadcast live to provide coverage of the immediate aftermath of major political events, such as candidate debates and party conventions during election years, the State of the Union address, in the 2018 mid-term elections and the 2020 US presidential election . In the show's series premiere, Colbert welcomed actor George Clooney and politician Jeb Bush , thanked former host David Letterman, and joined singer Mavis Staples and numerous other musicians for
5046-414: A sign of its interest in the Sullivan. Furthermore, by late 1981, Bankers Life announced that it would also sell the Sullivan to avoid tax penalties, since Bankers Life had to divest many of its properties under law. The Sullivan became Teletape Studios , a facility for Reeves Entertainment , in March 1982. Reeves taped the plays The Country Girl and Mornings at Seven there immediately after buying
5220-654: A smaller, secondary set modeled after Colbert's personal office (with a window showing a view similar to the auditorium's main backdrop), and still having guests appear remotely. The Late Show returned to the auditorium with a studio audience on June 14, 2021. Despite subsequent increases in COVID-19 cases, Colbert said in January 2022 that he would continue to broadcast from the Ed Sullivan Theater rather than from an upper-story office. Besides The Late Show ,
5394-559: A special edition of a public access program in Monroe, Michigan , interviewing Eminem . Colbert has been given near-full control of the show, with little interference from CBS management in regard to format. Colbert brought most of his staff from The Colbert Report with him to The Late Show , as well as outsiders such as Brian Stack , who is best known for his work on Conan O'Brien 's programs, and Jon Stewart , former host of Colbert's previous sister program The Daily Show , who
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5568-409: A stair with a cast-iron balustrade also leads up from the office lobby. The office stories were designed with high ceilings and column-free spaces. Each story was originally arranged with a narrow elevator vestibule, which has been replaced on most floors. The office stories were otherwise decorated in a utilitarian fashion. Arthur Hammerstein reportedly kept a bar room in his office. Among the tenants of
5742-468: A storefront with twisted colonettes . As of 2015, Angelo's Pizza occupied the storefront to the north. The remainder of the Broadway elevation is relatively simple in design. On Broadway, the windows are divided by brick piers into seven bays . There is Gothic ornamentation on the second through fifth floors and atop the facade. The 53rd Street elevation is divided into three parts from east to west:
5916-400: A studio audience. On August 4, 2020, the show's music producer Giovanni Cianci was fired following sexual misconduct allegations. On May 24, 2021, Colbert announced that the show would resume production inside the theater with an audience fully vaccinated against COVID-19 starting on June 14, 2021. It was also announced that the Ed Sullivan Theater would be back at full capacity, following
6090-427: A taped segment), Tina Fey , Margot Robbie , Will Ferrell , and Megyn Kelly . In February 2016, model Sarah McDaniel appeared for an interview on the show after being featured on the first ever non-nude cover of Playboy magazine. A minor wardrobe failure caused McDaniel to have to visibly cover her cleavage. Colbert attempted to joke about the situation to ease the awkwardness, and at one point playfully put
6264-448: A theater. They may range from open-air amphitheaters to ornate, cathedral -like structures to simple, undecorated rooms or black box theaters . A thrust stage as well as an arena stage are just a few more examples of the multitude of stages where plays can occur. A theatre used for opera performances is called an opera house . A theater is not required for performance (as in environmental theater or street theater ), this article
6438-427: A tradition called "stage dooring" that some fans participate in, in which fans wait outside of the stage door after the show in hopes of getting an autograph from the actors. The acting or performance space is the stage. In some theaters, such as proscenium theaters , arena theaters and amphitheaters, this area is permanent part of the structure. In some theaters the stage area can be changed and adapted specifically to
6612-456: A transposition, the recurrence of the pediment with the later solidified stone scene. In front of the skene there may have been a raised acting area called the proskenion , the ancestor of the modern proscenium stage. It is believed that the actors (as opposed to the chorus) acted entirely on the proskenion , but this is not certain. Rising from the circle of the orchestra was the audience. The audience sat on tiers of benches built up on
6786-490: A vertical dimension. The Indian Koothambalam temple is a space used to perform Sanskrit drama . Called the koothambalam or kuttampalam, it is a large high-caste rectangular, temple in Kerala which represented a “visual sacrifice” to any deities or gods of the temple. They were built for kutiyattam or “combined acting” performances, which only two dramas are performed today. The temple has a pyramidal roof, with high walls, and
6960-622: A weak online presence in comparison to The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon , and Colbert's lead-out The Late Late Show with James Corden (whose "Carpool Karaoke" segments have been popular as viral videos ). The Hollywood Reporter believed that Licht's experience in news programming would be leveraged to complement Colbert's strengths in topical and news-oriented material. On October 17, 2019, Colbert and CBS announced that they had agreed to renew his contract, which had been set to expire in August 2020, until August 2023. On March 12, 2020,
7134-531: A week after his last show on May 20, 2015, and Worldwide Pants moved out. Letterman's marquee was also removed and temporarily replaced by a banner promoting the neighboring Angelo's Pizza restaurant, featuring Colbert posing with a slice of pizza. A new Colbert marquee was installed in August 2015. The sign was designed to have a "glitzy" appearance appropriate for Broadway. CBS late-night executive Vincent Favale joked that 30 Rockefeller Plaza 's rear marquee (for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ) looked like
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7308-448: A winner during the live show – Americans would not know the winner until later in the week. The special won the 2021 Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Special (Live) . The Late Show debuted to 8.26 million viewers (with Live+7) according to Nielsen , beating out all late-night competition. The show's highest ratings to date – and highest for the Late Show franchise – were achieved by
7482-589: Is a structure where theatrical works, performing arts , and musical concerts are presented. The theater building serves to define the performance and audience spaces. The facility usually is organized to provide support areas for performers, the technical crew and the audience members, as well as the stage where the performance takes place. There are as many types of theaters as there are types of performance. Theaters may be built specifically for certain types of productions, they may serve for more general performance needs or they may be adapted or converted for use as
7656-405: Is about structures used specifically for performance. Some theaters may have a fixed acting area (in most theaters this is known as the stage ), while some theaters, such as black box theaters have movable seating allowing the production to create a performance area suitable for the production. A theater building or structure contains spaces for an event or performance to take place, usually called
7830-472: Is associated with the performers and their actions. The stage is made entirely of unfinished hinoki , a Japanese cypress, with almost no decorative elements. The poet and novelist Toson Shimazaki writes that "on the stage of the Noh theater there are no sets that change with each piece. Neither is there a curtain. There is only a simple panel ( kagami-ita ) with a painting of a green pine tree . This creates
8004-404: Is considered symbolic and treated with reverence both by the performers and the audience. The stage includes a large square platform, devoid of walls or curtains on three sides, and traditionally with a painting of a pine tree at the back. The platform is elevated above the place where the audience sits, which is covered in white gravel soil. The four stage corners are marked by cedar pillars, and
8178-406: Is credited as executive producer. Colbert no longer uses the character he had portrayed on The Colbert Report , jokingly remarking to Jeb Bush that "I used to play a narcissistic conservative pundit – now I'm just a narcissist." The Ed Sullivan Theater underwent a full restoration to its original 1927 appearance, a process that began following Letterman's final episode, including
8352-400: Is divided into front and rear sections by an aisle halfway across its depth, which contains Gothic railings. The walls are divided into bays by clustered columns, which are topped by capitals with foliate decoration. The outermost bays have exits within pointed archways, while the center bays had stained glass windows inside pointed arches. There are four-story-tall openings near the front of
8526-411: Is elaborately decorated with glazed terracotta blocks. The center of the ground story contains the theater entrance, which has four pairs of recessed bronze-and-glass doors. There is a modern marquee above the entrance, which since 2015 has advertised The Late Show with Stephen Colbert . To the south of the theater entrance is a pointed arch leading to the office lobby. To the north is a pointed arch and
8700-472: Is in front of the arch. The original stage had hydraulic equipment that could lift sets from the basement. The orchestra pit in front of the stage could seat 50 musicians and could descend into the basement; the pit also had an organ. As of 2015, the auditorium contains a stage that projects into the seating areas. Raised two steps above the stage, left of center, is a desk area used by Stephen Colbert , host of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert . Colbert's desk
8874-413: Is made of a synthetic stone that is designed to resemble rock pavement. The east and west walls are both divided into three bays by projecting shafts, composed of clusters of columns. The center bay of the west wall is slightly recessed and leads to the orchestra level of the auditorium. On either side are staircases ascending to the balcony, with Gothic-style balustrades. The east and south walls, as well as
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#17327659751309048-550: Is made of reddish wood and is curved, with shelves to allow him to pull props from under the desk area, as well as a monitor in the desktop. Colbert's set also contains balconies above the stage area. Louis Cato and the Late Show Band , the show's in-house band, have their own area on the stage next to Colbert. The ceiling contains a dome with 30 ribs, which intersect above the center of the auditorium. Each rib contains molded foliate decorations as well as bosses. Midway up
9222-539: Is now the Imperial Theatre after his father. While Shubert rejected the proposal, the Imperial did host two Hammerstein works in its early years. One of those, Rose-Marie , grossed enough to fund a dedicated memorial theater for Oscar Hammerstein I, which was to cost $ 3 million. In 1926, Arthur Hammerstein paid $ 1.5 million for several land lots at 1697 Broadway and 213–223 West 53rd Street, near
9396-636: Is revived and delivers an edition of The Word on " Trumpiness ", and a filmed sketch touring the convention's venue as his The Hunger Games -inspired character Julius Flickerman. Stewart appeared once more the following Thursday, delivering a segment criticizing the Fox News Channel in the wake of the firing of its CEO Roger Ailes . Colbert's performances during these episodes were critically praised for their return to an emphasis on news-oriented comedy similar to The Colbert Report and The Daily Show . On November 8, 2016, Colbert presented
9570-679: Is the modular theater, notably the Walt Disney Modular Theater . This large theater has floors and walls divided into small movable sections, with the floor sections on adjustable pneumatric piston, so that the space may be adjusted into any configuration for each individual play. As new styles of theater performance have evolved, so has the desire to improve or recreate performance venues. This applies equally to artistic and presentation techniques, such as stage lighting . Specific designs of contemporary live theaters include proscenium , thrust , black box theater , theater in
9744-497: The 2023 Writers Guild of America strike . Colbert showed his support to the writers, saying: "I'm a member of the guild. I support collective bargaining . This nation owes so much to unions " and hoped both parts would reach an agreement. It was reported that Colbert continued to pay his staff salary during the strike. On June 13, 2023, CBS announced that Colbert had signed a three-year contract extension through 2026. In November/December 2023, The Late Show production paused for
9918-592: The Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City , the same studio as its predecessor Late Show with David Letterman . It airs new episodes live to tape in most U.S. markets Mondays to Thursdays at 11:35 p.m. ET / PT , as with its competitors Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon . Colbert was announced as the new host in April 2014, after existing host David Letterman announced his intention to retire earlier in
10092-536: The Edinburgh Fringe has seen performances in an taxi . The traditional stage used in Noh theater is based on a Chinese pattern. It is completely open, providing a shared experience between the performers and the audience throughout the play. Without any prosceniums or curtains to obstruct the view, the audience sees each actor at moments even before entering the primary platform of the stage. The theater itself
10266-529: The Elizabethan era in England , theaters were constructed of wooden framing, infilled with wattle and daub and roofed with thatch . Mostly the theaters were entirely open air. They consisted of several floors of covered galleries surrounding a courtyard which was open to the elements. A large portion of the audience would stand in the yard, directly in front of the stage. This layout is said to derive from
10440-458: The Late Show and that Stephen Colbert would succeed him as the show's host. CBS secured tax breaks from the New York state government to keep the show at the Ed Sullivan Theater. CBS executive Richard Hart explained that Colbert was initially hesitant to use the theater, but Colbert called for a restoration of the theater after learning about the auditorium's dome. The Letterman set was removed
10614-652: The Maxine Elliott Theatre were too small. Cullman and CBS decided in 1951 to swap Studio 50 and the Alvin for another three years, allowing Studio 50 to be used for television. When the lease on Studio 50 came due in 1954, CBS extended its lease for another four years. The theater and building were sold in October 1955 to a client of Walter Scott & Co., and the Bowery Savings Bank placed
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#173276597513010788-527: The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) could not identify a reason why the theater was designed in the neo-Gothic style as opposed to the more common Adam or neoclassical styles. The office building lobby has terrazzo-and-marble floors; plaster wall panels with marble wainscoting; a bronze mailbox; a plaster vaulted ceiling. Four elevators lead from the office lobby to the upper floors, and
10962-562: The Shubert brothers , one of the major theatrical syndicates of the time. The Ed Sullivan Theater in particular was developed by Arthur Hammerstein, son of Oscar Hammerstein I , who went to form his own theatrical career in 1910. After Oscar died in 1919, Arthur started negotiating with Lee Shubert , one of the Shubert brothers, to develop a theater in Oscar's honor. Arthur proposed naming what
11136-523: The house band . In anticipation of the program's premiere, a new online presence was launched for The Late Show in June 2015, including new social media accounts, a podcast , mobile app, and a monologue-styled video focusing on the beard Colbert had grown since leaving The Colbert Report . Throughout the remainder of the summer, videos would continue to be released through the show's official YouTube channel and mobile app. On July 1, 2015, Colbert hosted
11310-432: The orchestra was a large rectangular building called the skene (meaning "tent" or "hut"). [1] It was used as a "backstage" area where actors could change their costumes and masks, but also served to represent the location of the plays, which were usually set in front of a palace or house. Typically, there were two or three doors in the skene that led out onto orchestra, and from which actors could enter and exit. At first,
11484-462: The orchestra , the skene , and the audience. The centerpiece of the theater was the orchestra , or "dancing place", a large circular or rectangular area. The orchestra was the site of the choral performances, the religious rites, and, possibly, the acting. An altar was located in the middle of the orchestra; in Athens, the altar was dedicated to Dionysus , the god of wine and the theater. Behind
11658-410: The showrunner , left the show to become the new chairman and CEO of CNN . On the August 11, 2022, episode, Colbert announced that bandleader Jon Batiste had decided he would not be returning to the show, in order to "pursue personal and professional interests". Batiste was replaced by Louis Cato . On May 2, 2023, The Late Show , and several other late night talk shows, halted its production due to
11832-508: The skene was literally a tent or hut, put up for the religious festival and taken down when it was finished. Later, the skene became a permanent stone structure. These structures were sometimes painted to serve as backdrops, hence the English word scenery . A temple nearby, especially on the right side of the scene, is almost always part of the Greek theater complex, which could justify, as
12006-400: The stage , and also spaces for the audience, theater staff, performers and crew before and after the event. There are usually two main entrances of a theater building. One is at the front, used by the audience, and leads into a foyer and ticketing. The second is called the stage door, and it is accessible from backstage. This is where the cast and crew enter and exit the theater, and there is
12180-489: The "milestone" in his bankruptcy, without which he would have still been fairly wealthy. Manufacturers Trust foreclosed on the property at an April 1931 auction, and the bank tried to sell the building unsuccessfully. Ultimately, Laurence Schwab and Frank Mandel leased the theater for their musical shows that June, and it was renamed the Manhattan Theatre at a ceremony in August 1931. Mandel and Schwab removed some glass windows and Oscar Hammerstein's lobby statue and expanded
12354-507: The 2016 Republican and Democratic conventions. The first of these episodes, on July 18, 2016, opened with a musical number by Colbert that compared the Republican convention to being " Christmas in July ", and featured sketches where Jon Stewart (revealed to have been living off-grid in a cabin) is told that Donald Trump had clinched the Republican nomination for the presidential election , Colbert's persona from The Colbert Report
12528-590: The Broadway storefront in 1994; the pub was replaced by a Late Show -themed restaurant that closed two years after opening. The Ed Sullivan Theater was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. CBS began moving HD production equipment into the Sullivan's control room in mid-2003, but a full HD upgrade was delayed due to the layout of the theater. Ultimately, the Sullivan was refitted with cabling and equipment to broadcast HDTV in mid-2005. In 2014, Letterman announced that he would retire from
12702-615: The CBS logo. New, larger audience seats were installed, reducing the overall capacity from 461 to 370. E-J Electric also renovated the building's top four floors for Colbert's offices. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert held its first show at the Ed Sullivan Theater on September 8, 2015. The Late Show went in production hiatus in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City , ultimately broadcasting remotely. The Late Show returned to in-studio production on August 10, 2020, but using
12876-692: The Ed Sullivan Theater from Winthrop Financial Associates for $ 4.5 million in February. Niles's Dreamtime was given four weeks to vacate, but Dreamtime closed instead because of the high cost of relocating. The rapid sale earned its broker the Henry Hart Rice Achievement Award for the Most Ingenious Deal of the Year for 1993. Polshek Partnership was hired to renovate the theater, while HRH Construction managed
13050-413: The Ed Sullivan Theater has occasionally staged other productions since 1993. The Rosie O'Donnell Show was broadcast from the theater for a week in October 1996 when several eighth-floor studios at NBC's 30 Rockefeller Center headquarters experienced complications from an electrical fire. An early incarnation of CBS This Morning broadcast a week of shows from the theater in May 1995, while Late Show
13224-523: The Hammersteins. The Broadway Association donated a bronze tablet, and mementos of Oscar Hammerstein, including a silk top hat and a cigar, were placed into the cornerstone. Hammerstein's Theatre was formally dedicated on November 30, 1927. The first production at the theater was Golden Dawn , which featured the American debut of Cary Grant (then known by his birth name, Archie Leach) as well as
13398-592: The NBC game show Shoot for the Stars with Geoff Edwards (1977), and Pass the Buck with Bill Cullen (1978). In addition, Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell started broadcasting from the Sullivan in 1976. Overall, however, the Sullivan remained largely empty after the cancellation of The Ed Sullivan Show . By 1980, the Ed Sullivan Theater and its office wing were owned by Bankers Life and Casualty. CBS's lease on
13572-519: The Nation . Describing Dickerson as a fellow "member of the CBS family", Colbert "read a laundry list of insults on-air to rapturous cheers from the crowd ... reeling off a series of scripted jokes and ending on, 'In fact, the only thing your mouth is good for is being Vladimir Putin's cock holster.'" Colbert's language was considered to be crude and homophobic by some, and led to a short-lived #FireColbert hashtag on Twitter. Colbert later addressed
13746-502: The New York City government tried to force the music hall to apply for a theatre license because the venue showed short films, even though the hall was technically registered as a cabaret . The same month, Rose withdrew from the hall because of disagreements over pay. In November 1934, the venue was renamed the Manhattan Music Hall. However, the venue struggled to succeed without Rose's leadership. The Manhattan Music Hall
13920-918: The Numbers , in February 2013, the live-plus-seven-day ratings for Letterman's Late Show averaged about 3.1 million per show for the 2012–2013 season to date. A year later, average viewership was down to 2.8 million. Late Show also had the oldest audience among the various late-night talk shows, which may have led to CBS' decision to pick a younger replacement for Letterman to compete with The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and ABC 's Jimmy Kimmel Live! . In addition, Colbert's previous program did well among college students and young men 18–34, which are prime target audiences for late-night comedy programming. On April 3, 2014, Letterman announced his retirement, with his final episode as host of Late Show scheduled for May 20, 2015. On April 10, 2014, CBS announced Stephen Colbert as Letterman's successor, signing him to
14094-581: The Stevenson Holding Company leased the Manhattan Theatre for five years from Manufacturers Trust. Stevenson planned to renovate the venue into the Manhattan Casino, a "restaurant and music hall" for 1,500 patrons. The improvements included removing the auditorium's seats and placing tables on the orchestra and balcony level. The orchestra was flattened so movable tables and chairs could be installed. Murals were installed to give
14268-571: The Truth , and Password also moved to Studio 50 after CBS began broadcasting regularly in color. For Ed Sullivan 's 20th anniversary in 1967, CBS announced plans to rename Studio 50 for Sullivan; the theater was officially renamed on December 10, 1967. By the time Ed Sullivan was canceled in 1971, it was the longest-running television show ever. Line and Truth remained at the Ed Sullivan Theater until 1971, after Ed Sullivan 's cancellation, when they were relocated to save money. While
14442-561: The White House," said David Sims of The Atlantic . James Poniewozik of The New York Times commented, "Mr. Colbert's comedy hasn't become radically different, but it has been more frank and caustic ... The network-TV Mr. Colbert is more cheery than his cable character. But it's as if the Trump administration had solved the problem of reconciling his new comedy with his old by making truthiness America's official language." In
14616-429: The addition of camera runways. Shielded television cameras had to be developed due to strong magnetic interference from equipment at a neighboring subway substation. With the conversion of Studio 50 to television use, the auditorium ceiling was painted white. By January 1950, Studio 50 was being used exclusively for television broadcasts and AM radio -television simulcasts . The first TV show to be broadcast from Studio 50
14790-448: The announcement the character would not be used after the end of The Colbert Report . The final episode of Report aired on December 18, 2014. Several states and municipalities attempted to coax CBS with tax credits and other incentives to move Late Show from its long-time home at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City, including Connecticut , Los Angeles , and New Orleans . On July 23, 2014, CBS CEO Les Moonves announced that
14964-498: The arrangement we see most frequently today, with a stage separated from the audience by a proscenium arch. This coincided with a growing interest in scenic elements painted in perspective, such as those created by Inigo Jones , Nicola Sabbatini and the Galli da Bibiena family . The perspective of these elements could only be viewed properly from the center back of the auditorium, in the so-called "duke's chair." The higher one's status,
15138-422: The auditorium at the rear on 53rd Street. This layout was necessary because New York City building regulations of the 1920s prohibited developers from constructing offices above theaters. The building has a facade made of brown brick and terracotta . The Broadway elevation of the facade contains the theater entrance and offices, and it is largely designed with Gothic-style glazed terracotta trim. The ground story
15312-469: The auditorium. The Ed Sullivan Theater is housed in the western portion of the L-shaped site, along 53rd Street. The neo-Gothic auditorium was purposely designed to resemble a cathedral, uniquely among structures that were designed as Broadway theaters. The theater was equipped with ventilating and heating/cooling systems that were advanced designs for the 1920s. In a report about the Ed Sullivan Theater,
15486-533: The building was set to expire in December 1981, but the network did not seek to renew the lease. The Nederlander Organization and the Shubert Organization both expressed interest in leasing the Ed Sullivan Theater and turning it back into a legitimate Broadway venue. The Shuberts, which were federally prohibited from acquiring more theaters, even petitioned a federal court to lift the restriction,
15660-422: The ceilings are decorated with latticework panels. The auditorium has an orchestra level, one balcony, and a proscenium arch. The auditorium's width is greater than its depth, and the space is designed with plaster decorations in high relief . Hammerstein's Theatre was originally designed with 1,265 seats. As of 2015, the Ed Sullivan Theater has 370 seats. The Sullivan does not have boxes . The orchestra level
15834-417: The city of London. Around this time, the green room , a place for actors to wait until required on stage, became common terminology in English theaters. The Globe has now been rebuilt as a fully working and producing theater near its original site (largely thanks to the efforts of film director Sam Wanamaker ) to give modern audiences an idea of the environment for which Shakespeare and other playwrights of
16008-611: The closer they would be seated to this vantage point, and the more the accurately they would be able to see the perspective elements. The first enclosed theaters were court theaters, open only to the sovereigns and the nobility. The first opera house open to the public was the Teatro San Cassiano (1637) in Venice. The Italian opera houses were the model for the subsequent theaters throughout Europe. Richard Wagner placed great importance on "mood setting" elements, such as
16182-510: The controversy on-air, admitting he had used "a few words that were cruder than they needed to be" but that he "would do [the monologue] again". On May 5, the Federal Communications Commission announced that it would go through a comprehensive investigation of Colbert's remarks, and concluded no action was to be taken against Colbert or The Late Show , reasoning in a public statement released on May 23 that there
16356-511: The designations in March 1988. David Niles and his company 1125 Productions signed a lease in December 1989 for his HDTV studio and his new Broadway show Dreamtime . Niles recalled that the theater resembled a "bombed-out tenement". The theater was renovated to accommodate HDTV broadcasts, the first of which took place in early 1991 with a taping of the Seattle Opera . An NBC special celebrating Phil Donahue 's 25 years on television
16530-418: The dome, concealing air-conditioning systems that kept the temperature at 62 °F (17 °C). Acoustic baffles were installed along the rear of the auditorium to give it an "intimate" feel, and the number of seats was reduced from 1,265 to 400. CBS removed the stained-glass windows and placed them in storage, covering the window openings with acoustic material. Since the existing interior was decayed, much of
16704-581: The early Nickelodeon talk show Livewire , and a pilot of The Stiller and Meara Show . The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) had started considering protecting the Sullivan as an official city landmark in 1982, with discussions continuing over the next several years. The LPC designated the interior as a landmark in January 1988. This was part of the LPC's wide-ranging effort to grant landmark status to Broadway theaters, which had commenced in 1987. The New York City Board of Estimate ratified
16878-604: The early 1960s, Studio 50 and the neighboring Studio 52 were among CBS's busiest stages. Studio 50 was used not only for Sullivan's program but also for The Merv Griffin Show and several game shows. The Ed Sullivan Show hosted numerous events, including The Beatles ' debut performance in the United States in 1964. Studio 50 was converted to color in 1965, and the first color episode of The Ed Sullivan Show debuted on October 31 of that year. What's My Line? , To Tell
17052-413: The east wall contains doors from the entrance vestibule. The ceiling contains transverse ribs, which rise from columns along the north and south walls, dividing the ceiling into coffers . Within each coffer, there are moldings with foliate decoration, as well as rosette bosses. The inner lobby is rectangular and arranged on a north-south axis, approached via the outer lobby on the north. The marble floor
17226-514: The existing plasterwork was restored or replaced. Part of the balcony railing was replaced with fiberglass, and a control room from the Ed Sullivan era was also relocated. The Late Show premiered at the Ed Sullivan Theater on August 30, 1993. The premiere of the Late Show led to a revitalization of the surrounding neighborhood, but this led to businesses being relocated or displaced due to high rents. For example, CBS evicted McGee's Pub from
17400-487: The festival for which they were erected concluded. This practice was due to a moratorium on permanent theatre structures that lasted until 55 BC when the Theatre of Pompey was built with the addition of a temple to avoid the law. Some Roman theatres show signs of never having been completed in the first place. Inside Rome, few theatres have survived the centuries following their construction, providing little evidence about
17574-490: The first topless woman in a stage production in the U.S. The artist Joseph Cummings Chase designed 11 portraits of Golden Dawn 's cast members, which were hung in the lobby for the dedication. The theater was lavishly decorated with materials such as Czechoslovakian rugs, gold-colored mosaics, and stained glass. New York Daily News critic Burns Mantle likened Hammerstein's to "a vaulted temple in free Gothic", while New York Daily Mirror critic Robert Coleman said
17748-541: The first time in average weekly viewership, and it continued to see ratings gains over the ensuing months. It ended up becoming the highest-rated late-night talk show for the 2016–2017 season, averaging more than 3.2 million nightly viewers. The show continued to see improvement throughout the 2010s; in the 2018–2019 season, The Late Show beat The Tonight Show as the top program among the key demographic of adults 18–49, marking its first win in Colbert's tenure, and only
17922-400: The first under new showrunner Chris Licht, the format was modified to replace the cold open monologue with short sketches starring Colbert, his staff, and often featuring that night's guests, followed by the opening sequence and Colbert entering the stage. For the first few weeks of the show, Colbert performed his own voiceovers for the intro. Since then he has used Jen Spyra, former writer for
18096-431: The following year, presenting musical comedies. Theatre Incorporated expressed interest in operating Hammerstein's. Ultimately, in June 1946, Cullman and CBS formed an agreement in which CBS could use Hammerstein's for five more years, while Cullman would present productions at the Alvin instead. The onetime Hammerstein's Theatre was converted for television in 1949, and it became CBS-TV Studio 50. The modifications included
18270-411: The highest-rated U.S. late-night talk show for seven consecutive seasons as of 2023, marking the longest winning streak in franchise history over its competitors; since 2019, it exceeded The Tonight Show in key demographic viewership. Prior to Colbert's assumption of hosting duties, David Letterman had been host of Late Show for 22 years, dating to his arrival at CBS in 1993. CBS had not had
18444-419: The impression that anything that could provide any shading has been banished. To break such monotony and make something happen is no easy thing." Another unique feature of the stage is the hashigakari , a narrow bridge at upstage right used by actors to enter the stage. Hashigakari means "suspension bridge", signifying something aerial that connects two separate worlds on a same level. The bridge symbolizes
18618-470: The interior, though he kept the overall decorative scheme intact. Billy Rose's Music Hall opened on June 21, 1934. It was one of three theaters near 54th Street that were converted to nightclubs in the mid-1930s. The hall offered luncheons, dinners, and suppers with entertainment such as newsreels, comedies, a hundred singing waiters, and a hundred "American beauties" who doubled as hostesses. Authentic reenactments of vaudeville were also presented. Initially,
18792-415: The introduction of less intrusive sound and video equipment. The new set was described as being "intimate", with a multi-tier design, many LED lighting and video projection backdrops, and a larger desk area two steps above the orchestra. Exposed for the new show, the Sullivan's dome is lit with a digital projection system, which displays images such as a kaleidoscopic pattern with images of Colbert's face and
18966-568: The lease. That month, Earl Carroll 's brother Norman S. Carroll leased the Manhattan Theatre for five years, intending to show revues there. Earl Carroll had hoped to stage a musical based on the Austin Melford farce It's a Girl . Six months later in October, Norman Carroll had relinquished his own lease on the Manhattan. The theater was again dark for an extended period. Harry Kline took over management in March 1933. In September 1933,
19140-467: The lifting of COVID-19 guidelines that restricted the number of people in a crowded, indoor setting. The announcement was significant in that the Ed Sullivan Theater would become the first theater on Broadway to reopen to full capacity. It also made The Late Show the first late-night talk show to announce a return to a full audience, though The Tonight Show ultimately returned to full-capacity audiences one week ahead of The Late Show on June 7, 2021. With
19314-453: The main entrance on Broadway to the auditorium on 53rd Street. The auditorium was purposely designed to resemble a cathedral, unlike other structures that were designed as Broadway theaters. It has a domed ceiling with ribs, as well as walls with stained glass . Though the seating arrangement and stage have been heavily modified from their original design, many of the design elements in the lobbies and auditorium are intact. Hammerstein operated
19488-597: The month; Colbert had previously hosted Comedy Central 's news satire The Colbert Report , a program where Colbert portrayed a character named Stephen Colbert as a parody of conservative pundits . As such, the series has carried a stronger focus on discussing and satirizing current events , especially within U.S. politics . Some of Colbert's staff moved to The Late Show , along with Jon Stewart – who previously hosted The Colbert Report ' s parent series The Daily Show – serving as an executive producer. The Late Show has remained
19662-430: The music hall was successful, and Rose decided to travel to Europe for eight weeks to obtain acts for the hall's next season. Within a month of the hall's opening, Rose was forced to fire many of the singing waiters and hostesses due to labor complaints. Mobsters became involved in the hall's operation during Rose's absence, including Lucky Luciano , prompting an investigation that involved J. Edgar Hoover . That September,
19836-407: The musical Golden Dawn , to be played at the theater's opening, with soprano Louise Hunter as a featured performer. The theater's name was shortened to "Hammerstein's Theatre" in March 1927 because the words "Temple of Music" could not fit on playbills. Work officially began on March 21, 1927. A cornerstone -laying ceremony was held on September 30, where mayor Jimmy Walker made a speech praising
20010-535: The mythic nature of Noh plays in which otherworldly ghosts and spirits frequently appear. In contrast, hanamichi in Kabuki theaters is literally a path ( michi ) that connects two spaces in a single world, thus has a completely different significance. The Japanese kabuki stage features a projection called a hanamichi (花道; literally, flower path), a walkway which extends into the audience and via which dramatic entrances and exits are made. Okuni also performed on
20184-409: The northwest corner of these two streets. That May, Hammerstein announced plans for a "Temple of Music" in memory of his father, to be designed by Herbert Krapp in the Gothic style. In October 1926, Variety reported that Arthur planned to leave a covenant in his will , prohibiting the theater from being renamed while it was standing. The following January, Hammerstein hired Emmerich Kálmán to write
20358-557: The northwest, 1717 Broadway to the north, 810 Seventh Avenue to the southeast, the Broadway Theatre to the south, and the August Wilson Theatre to the southwest. The Ed Sullivan Theater was designed by architect Herbert J. Krapp and built by Arthur Hammerstein between 1926 and 1927. The theater building consists of two major portions: a 13-story office tower on the narrow Broadway frontage, as well as
20532-443: The office section, the auditorium exit, and a seven-story auditorium facade. The office section to the east is six bays wide and 13 stories high, with the windows on each story being grouped in pairs. The ground story contains a storefront and an entrance to the Ed Sullivan Theater's office lobby, while the top stories contain Gothic ornament. The auditorium exit at the center is three stories high and contains burned stretchers between
20706-455: The office stories are the Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre & Broadcasting , a New York City government agency on the sixth floor. Generally, the vestibule and lobbies have marble floors, cast-stone wall panels, and cast-iron radiator grilles . The four double doors on Broadway lead west to a small theater vestibule, which is irregular in shape. The floor of the vestibule has marble panels in
20880-534: The orchestra contains a promenade, which has wooden wainscoting with heraldic shields, as well as cast-stone walls. Clustered columns divide the promenade wall into three bays with Gothic arches. The rear of the orchestra also contains a Gothic-style rail. The side walls of the orchestra contain floating corbels just below the balcony, which divide each wall into four bays. The underside of the balcony contains Gothic-style moldings, including ribs with foliate decoration and ceiling panels that resemble webs. The balcony level
21054-517: The orchestra pit. The first musical under the new management was Free For All , which opened in September 1931 and ran just 15 performances before closing. A subsequent musical, East Wind , opened in October 1931 and was little more successful, run 23 performances. The Manhattan staged a third musical, Through the Years , in January 1932; it lasted 20 performances. Schwab and Mandel had terminated their two-year lease by April 1932, ten months after signing
21228-424: The orchestra, which resemble apsidal recesses with stained glass windows in them. Near the front of the orchestra, the walls curve inward toward an elliptical proscenium arch. The archway is flanked by Gothic arches with tracery, as well as clustered columns. The capitals of the columns contain foliate decoration and serve as the imposts of the arch. There is a decorated concave panel on the arch itself. The stage
21402-495: The original performance also covered up the Late Show marquee over the weekend. CBS This Morning temporarily relocated to the Sullivan during March 2020 after its normal facilities at the CBS Broadcast Center were shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic, placing a desk used from a recent CBS News presidential debate broadcast atop the Late Show stage. Theatre (structure) A theater , or playhouse ,
21576-809: The period were writing. During the Renaissance , the first modern enclosed theaters were constructed in Italy. Their structure was similar to that of ancient theaters, with a cavea and an architectural scenery, representing a city street. The oldest surviving examples of this style are the Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza (1580) and the Teatro all'antica in Sabbioneta (1590). At the beginning of 17th century theaters had moved indoors and began to resemble
21750-513: The practice of holding plays in the yard of an inn. Archaeological excavations of The Rose theater at London's Bankside , built 1587, have shown that it had en external diameter of 72 feet (22 metres). The nearby Globe Theatre (1599) was larger, at 100 feet (30 metres). Other evidence for the round shape is a line in Shakespeare's Henry V which calls the building "this wooden O ", and several rough woodcut illustrations of
21924-543: The program would remain in New York City; CBS would be eligible for $ 11 million in tax credits over five years to produce the program there, and would also receive grants to fund renovations to the theater. Jon Batiste was announced as the bandleader on June 4, 2015, with his Stay Human band succeeding the CBS Orchestra (which returned to its previous identity as the World's Most Dangerous Band shortly thereafter) as
22098-405: The project. In addition, Letterman's production company Worldwide Pants was to have its offices in the theater's office building. Two hundred workers worked for twelve weeks to reconfigure the theater. To speed up approvals for the renovation, Polshek agreed to design all the modifications so they could be reversed later. Five concave sound-insulation shells were hung from an elliptical ring below
22272-516: The reality game show Survivor , starting with Survivor: The Amazon in 2003, after a live finale outdoors in Central Park was canceled due to rain. On February 9, 2014, the 50th anniversary of the Beatles' first Ed Sullivan performance, CBS News hosted a roundtable discussion at the theater, moderated by Anthony Mason . A replica of the marquee to the theater as it looked the night of
22446-473: The red brick. The second story of this section has a fire escape and an arched window. The third story contains a brick pattern with pulled-out bricks, as well as vertical stretchers that are arranged to resemble piers. The auditorium facade at the west is seven stories high, with six window openings on each story. An electrical substation for the New York City Subway exists immediately west of
22620-408: The rental was to expire in 1976, CBS was paying $ 100,000 a year for the Sullivan, which no longer had a major tenant. Afterward, the Sullivan broadcast several game shows. The $ 10,000 Pyramid premiered in 1973 and continued to broadcast there after moving to ABC in 1974. Other short-lived game shows produced at the theater included Musical Chairs with singer Adam Wade (1975), some episodes of
22794-592: The ribs, there is a set of ten latticework grilles between the ribs. A lantern hangs from the center of the ceiling. The five-story dome was covered by ceiling panels when Letterman hosted The Late Show , but they were uncovered in 2015 during Colbert's tenure. Times Square became the epicenter for large-scale theater productions between 1900 and the Great Depression . During the 1900s and 1910s, many theaters in Midtown Manhattan were developed by
22968-459: The round , amphitheater , and arena . In the classical Indian dance , Natya Shastra defines three stage types. In Australia and New Zealand a small and simple theater, particularly one contained within a larger venue, is called a theatrette . The word originated in 1920s London, for a small-scale music venue. Theatrical performances can also take place in venues adapted from other purposes, such as train carriages. For instance, in recent years
23142-400: The same rectangular plan and structure. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is an American late-night news and political satire talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert , which premiered on September 8, 2015. Produced by Spartina Productions and CBS Studios , it is the second iteration of CBS ' Late Show franchise . The program is taped at
23316-413: The second in franchise history, since the 1994–1995 season. The Late Show has remained the highest-rated U.S. late-night talk show for seven consecutive seasons as of 2023, marking the longest winning streak in franchise history over its competitors. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert has garnered mostly positive reviews. The Guardian 's Brian Moylan praised the show's humor: "This opener
23490-694: The show airs at 12:05am or following Global's late evening newscast. In Australia, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert airs on Network 10 (a sister Paramount network). In Southeast Asia, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert aired on RTL CBS Entertainment weeknights at 10:50 pm ( UTC+08:00 ) starting September 10, 2015, preceding The Late Late Show with James Corden . In India and Sri Lanka , The Late Show with Stephen Colbert airs on STAR World Premiere HD. In Portugal , The Late Show with Stephen Colbert airs on SIC Radical . In Germany , The Late Show with Stephen Colbert has aired since January 2020 on Sat.1 Emotions . In South Africa
23664-418: The show and run their respective instruments. Other rooms in the building may be used for dressing rooms, rehearsal rooms, spaces for constructing sets, props and costumes , as well as storage. All theaters provide a space for an audience. In a fixed seating theatre the audience is often separated from the performers by the proscenium arch. In proscenium theaters and amphitheaters , the proscenium arch, like
23838-438: The show suspended production due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States . Beginning March 30, 2020, the show was produced from Colbert's home, billed as A Late Show with Stephen Colbert (or A Late Show with Stephen at Home ). From August 10, Colbert presented the program from a smaller set within the building's office tower, built as a replica of his own personal office seen on A Late Show with Stephen Colbert , without
24012-422: The show was billed as being uncensored (which Colbert demonstrated during his monologue by swearing, and announcing Marco Rubio 's Senate re-election result using a nearly-nude model). Critics felt that the special had anticipated a Hillary Clinton victory, noting the increasingly "surreal" and "uncomfortable" atmosphere that ensued when Trump emerged as the front-runner. When Halperin informed Colbert that Trump
24186-546: The show's more political segments as reminiscent of The Colbert Report . The show's post- Super Bowl episode in 2016 proved polarizing. "Sunday's live episode felt mostly like a wasted opportunity – one that probably won't win many converts among those football fans sober enough to stick around," said Brian Lowry at Variety . Daniel D'Addario of Time dubbed his performance "stiff and uncomfortable", writing, "Colbert might have been better advised not to bother trying with football at all and just put forward
24360-458: The show's return to the theater, the original name, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert , was also put back in use. The program's intro originally used tilt–shift photography featuring scenes of New York City, making the city appear like a miniature model. In September 2021 The Late Show introduced a new intro sequence, featuring the use of a drone camera flying around the theater and its backstage areas. On February 26, 2022, Chris Licht,
24534-438: The show, as his off-screen announcer; the first female late night announcer . The open was originally followed by an extended news satire style desk sequence with a run-through of recent headlines, in a manner reminiscent of television newscasts and that of The Colbert Report . This has been revised to a traditional stand-up monologue presentation, but still composed of the same extended run-through of news headlines, with
24708-473: The side of a hill. Greek theaters, then, could only be built on hills that were correctly shaped. A typical theater was enormous, able to seat around 15,000 viewers. Greek theaters were not enclosed; the audience could see each other and the surrounding countryside as well as the actors and chorus. The Romans copied the Greek style of building, but tended not to be so concerned about the location, being prepared to build walls and terraces instead of looking for
24882-414: The south wall has a three-sided ticket booth, while the westernmost bay on the south wall leads into the inner lobby of the auditorium. The ticket booth projects outward and contains cusped arches with windows, surrounds with Gothic details, and finials . The north wall has cast-iron radiator grilles as well. The west wall contains metal double doors with Gothic tracery, which lead to a service alley, while
25056-476: The space an old west feeling, and the main floor was equipped with a wishing well . In addition, the space was outfitted with bars in the lobby and the basement lounge. Known tentatively as the Manhattan Casino, the planned music hall was subsequently renamed Billy Rose's Music Hall after Billy Rose signed a lease for the Manhattan Theatre in early 1934. Clark Robinson, who decorated both Radio City Music Hall and Rose's Casino de Paree , designed alterations for
25230-465: The special was, had Clinton won, Colbert would have brought out nude models with the letters "W-E-'-R-E W-I-T-H H-E-R" printed on their butt cheeks. When it became clear that Trump was going to win, they initially thought of changing the lettering to "W-E-'-R-E S-C-R-E-W-E-D", before it was decided not to use the gag. On May 1, 2017, Colbert's monologue was devoted to President Trump following his conduct in an interview with CBS's John Dickerson on Face
25404-414: The special, showrunner Chris Licht told The Hollywood Reporter ' s TV's Top 5 podcast that the show would be prepared for every eventuality. The special featured many of the same guests who had attended the 2016 election night special, notably Charlemagne tha God ; unlike the 2016 show, the prolonged nature of the election projections in 2020 meant that Colbert could not reasonably prognosticate on
25578-435: The specific theatres. Arausio , the theatre in modern-day Orange, France , is a good example of a classic Roman theatre, with an indented scaenae frons , reminiscent of Western Roman theatre designs, however missing the more ornamental structure. The Arausio is still standing today and, with its amazing structural acoustics and having had its seating reconstructed, can be seen to be a marvel of Roman architecture. During
25752-536: The stage, is a permanent feature of the structure. This area is known as the auditorium or the house. The seating areas can include some or all of the following: Greek theater buildings were called a theatron ('seeing place'). The theaters were large, open-air structures constructed on the slopes of hills. The most famous open-air greek theater was the Globe Theater where many of Shakespeare's plays were performed. They consisted of three principal elements:
25926-458: The street between 53rd and 54th streets. The theater building's site is approximately L-shaped and covers 17,527 square feet (1,628.3 m). The site has a frontage of about 50.3 feet (15.3 m) on Broadway and 150 feet (46 m) on 53rd Street. The theater building wraps around two commercial structures of five stories each, and the surrounding area typically contains hotels and commercial buildings. Nearby locations include Studio 54 to
26100-459: The sudden, dramatic revelation or transformation. A number of stage tricks, including actors' rapid appearance and disappearance, employ these innovations. The term keren (外連), often translated playing to the gallery , is sometimes used as a catch-all for these tricks. Hanamichi and several innovations including revolving stage, seri and chunori have all contributed to kabuki play. Hanamichi creates depth and both seri and chunori provide
26274-555: The theater and offices in May 1944 to Howard S. Cullman and the Cullman brothers, subject to a mortgage of $ 400,000. CBS Radio Theater No. 3 continued to operate within the auditorium and some of the upper stories, and CBS's lease had two years remaining. By December 1945, with CBS's lease about to expire, the network was negotiating to buy the Alvin Theatre . The Cullman brothers intended to return Hammerstein's to theatrical use
26448-521: The theater from 1927 to 1931, when he lost it to foreclosure. For the next five years, the theater was leased to multiple operators as both a theater and a music hall. The theater became a venue for CBS radio broadcasts in 1936, and it was converted to TV broadcasting in 1950. Under the Studio 50 name, the theater housed The Ed Sullivan Show from 1953 to 1971, as well as other shows such as The Garry Moore Show and The Jackie Gleason Show . Studio 50
26622-537: The theater was "just such a playhouse as the father of American grand opera would have loved". Less successful was Golden Dawn , which ultimately lost money, even though it ran 184 performances into May 1928. After the end of Golden Dawn 's run, Arthur Hammerstein announced he would screen the Soviet film The Last of St. Petersburg at the theater, though approval of that film was delayed slightly by New York state censors. The next production to play at Hammerstein's
26796-425: The theater. The company remodeled the Sullivan with a larger stage measuring 80 by 80 feet (24 by 24 m). The dressing rooms were also refurbished and new lighting and soundproofing were installed. Under Reeves's management, the Sullivan hosted the sitcom Kate & Allie from 1984 to 1989. It also hosted tapings of some Merv Griffin Show episodes, The Great Space Coaster , Doug Henning's World of Magic ,
26970-412: The theater. The next month, Arthur Hammerstein filed for bankruptcy, saying that he had just $ 5.77 in his name, having lost $ 2 million in the preceding years; Hammerstein had to give up the theater to satisfy the outstanding mortgage; he blamed his misfortune on Luana and Ballyhoo , as well as the decline in musical comedy. Hammerstein's bankruptcy filings described the theater and office building as
27144-473: The uncovering of the theater's ceiling, stained-glass windows and a restoration of a chandelier, due to advances in technology that allow less sound and video equipment to cover up the auditorium 's architectural details. On April 13, 2016, former CBS This Morning and Morning Joe executive producer Chris Licht was named showrunner for The Late Show ; CBS had shown concerns that, despite improved ratings in comparison to Letterman's tenure, Colbert had
27318-456: The undersides of the west wall's staircases, contain marble baseboards, wood wainscoting, and cast-stone wall panels. The center bay of the east wall contains Gothic-style tracery that formerly flanked a statue of Arthur Hammerstein's father, Oscar Hammerstein I . The statue was designed by Pompeo Coppini . The inner lobby has transverse ribs that divide the ceiling into coffers, with foliate-molded ribs that converge at rosette bosses. The coves of
27492-442: The whole is topped by a roof, even when the Noh stage is erected indoors. A ceramic jar system under the stage amplifies the sounds of dancing during the performance. There is a small door to permit entry of the musicians and vocalists. The independent roof is one of the most recognizable characteristic of the Noh stage. Supported by four columns, the roof symbolizes the sanctity of the stage, with its architectural design derived from
27666-447: The worship pavilion ( haiden ) or sacred dance pavilion ( kaguraden ) of Shinto shrines. The roof also unifies the theater space and defines the stage as an architectural entity. The pillars supporting the roof are named shitebashira (principal character's pillar), metsukebashira (gazing pillar), wakibashira (secondary character's pillar), and fuebashira (flute pillar), clockwise from upstage right respectively. Each pillar
27840-496: Was Arthur Godfrey 's Monday prime-time show Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts , which had simulcast on radio and TV since December 6, 1948. The next production to air from Studio 50 was The Jackie Gleason Show , which commenced in September 1952. Toast of the Town (later renamed The Ed Sullivan Show ), hosted by newspaper columnist and impresario Ed Sullivan , relocated to Studio 50 in January 1953 because its previous quarters at
28014-503: Was Good Boy , which opened in September 1928 and ran 253 performances through April 1929. Hammerstein's third production was Sweet Adeline , which opened in September 1929, weeks before the Wall Street Crash of 1929 . Even so, Sweet Adeline managed 235 performances before it closed in March 1930. By then, Arthur Hammerstein had lost his wealth during the financial crisis, and he hoped to recover some of his losses by staging
28188-722: Was "nothing actionable under the FCC's rules" as the offending statement had been properly censored . During the COVID-19 pandemic when the show was produced from Colbert's home (March 2020 until June 2021), his wife Evelyn "Evie" McGee-Colbert was a frequent guest appearance on the show. Crucial to maintaining Colbert's energy as a host, Evie stood in for the regular studio audience's reactions and laughter. On November 3, 2020, Colbert produced his second Showtime election special, Stephen Colbert's Election Night 2020: Democracy's Last Stand: Building Back America Great Again Better 2020 . Ahead of
28362-599: Was "temporarily" shuttered in January 1935, and the hall sought to reorganize shortly afterward. After another year of failures, the Manhattan Music Hall closed permanently in January 1936 and the Hammerstein's Theatre space was used by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) under the auspices of the "Popular Price Theater". The first WPA production to be staged at the Manhattan was American Holiday , which opened on February 21, 1936, and ran for
28536-458: Was born only days after the first presidential election where women had the right to vote nationally ) remarked that – despite having historically been a Republican – she had wanted to vote for Hillary Clinton. He argued that people may have "overdosed" on the "poison" of politics, but acknowledged that "you can't laugh and be afraid at the same time, and the devil cannot stand mockery." Another abandoned gag from
28710-409: Was by no means a perfect show, but there were enough really inventive jokes to make Colbert already seem like an innovator." Robert Lloyd of Los Angeles Times deemed it a "strong start", while Variety 's Brian Lowry felt it a "mostly terrific" debut, commenting, "Colbert looks like he has the skill set to settle in and make this job his own, night in and night out." Many critics considered
28884-427: Was designed by Herbert J. Krapp with over 1,500 seats, though the modern Ed Sullivan Theater was downsized to 370 seats by 2015. The neo-Gothic interior is a New York City designated landmark , and the building is on the National Register of Historic Places . The Ed Sullivan Theater was built in conjunction with a 13-story Gothic-style office building facing Broadway. An entrance vestibule and two lobbies lead from
29058-508: Was labeled as theater number 1. The theater was subsequently known as the CBS Radio Playhouse. A New York Times reporter wrote in 1943 that the onetime memorial to Oscar Hammerstein was now "another kind of shrine" on Saturday nights. At the time, teenagers often congregated at the playhouse to hear Frank Sinatra . The comedy program The Fred Allen Show was also broadcast at CBS Radio Theater No. 3. Manufacturers Trust sold
29232-439: Was nearing the required 270 electoral votes, he remarked that he "[couldn't] put a happy face on it, and that's my job." Katy Perry was expected to make a pre-recorded appearance, but her segment was dropped due to the impending victory. During his interview, Jeff Goldblum also acknowledged the situation, and sang a verse from " It Goes Like It Goes ". In his closing monologue, Colbert noted that before she died, his mother Lorna (who
29406-407: Was of course not always the case as Romans tended to build their theatres regardless of the availability of hillsides. All theatres built within the city of Rome were completely man-made without the use of earthworks. The auditorium was not roofed; rather, awnings ( vela ) could be pulled overhead to provide shelter from rain or sunlight. Some Roman theatres, constructed of wood, were torn down after
29580-410: Was originally raked , but this rake was leveled in subsequent renovations. The auditorium has ten stained glass windows in total, depicting scenes from the elder Hammerstein's opera productions. The stained glass was removed during the run of Late Show with David Letterman (1993–2015), but these were subsequently restored when The Late Show with Stephen Colbert took over. The rear (west) end of
29754-401: Was renamed after Ed Sullivan in 1967, and Reeves Entertainment used the Sullivan in the 1980s as a broadcast facility. The Sullivan has staged CBS's The Late Show franchise since 1993, first under David Letterman , then under Stephen Colbert since 2015. The Ed Sullivan Theater is at 1697 Broadway , in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on the west side of
29928-451: Was taped at the Sullivan in 1992, as well as an MTV "Up Close" interview with Paul McCartney of the Beatles. In addition, NBC News used the theater for election-night coverage of the 1992 United States elections . In January 1993, after David Letterman switched from NBC to CBS, he considered taping his new Late Show with David Letterman in either Los Angeles or New York City. CBS looked at 15 theaters in New York City before buying
30102-526: Was taping in London. In the early 21st century, during the Late Show with David Letterman 's run, the top of the theater's marquee hosted concerts by several musicians, starting with the band Bon Jovi on June 13, 2000. Subsequent appearances included Dave Matthews Band on July 15, 2002; Audioslave on November 25, 2002; Phish on June 21, 2004; Paul McCartney on July 15, 2009; and Eminem and Jay-Z in June 2010. The Sullivan also hosted finales for
30276-710: Was tentatively known as the CBS Theatre on the Air. The radio network began broadcasting from the Manhattan in September 1936, moving in broadcast facilities it had leased in the NBC Studios at Rockefeller Center . The debut broadcast was the Major Bowes Amateur Hour . In February 1937, the Manhattan Theatre became CBS Radio Theater No. 3 after the network acquired the Golden Theatre , which
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