236-664: The Empire Theatre (originally the Eltinge Theatre ) is a former Broadway theater at 234 West 42nd Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City . Opened in 1912, the theater was designed by Thomas W. Lamb for the Hungarian-born impresario A. H. Woods . It was originally named for female impersonator Julian Eltinge , a performer with whom Woods was associated. In 1998,
472-718: A Focus Features executive as saying that the Empire 25 was "one of the best art houses in the country". A digital IMAX screen, the first in New York City, opened at the Empire 25 in September 2008. The multiplex remained one of the United States' most profitable movie theaters in the mid-2000s. It was especially popular on holiday weekends; for instance, it hosted 131 screenings of 14 separate films on Christmas Day in 2009. The Hollywood Reporter reported in 2011 that
708-578: A movie theater , the Victory, operated by the Brandt family. The theater became the first adult movie theater on 42nd Street in 1972. New 42 took over the Victory and several neighboring theaters in 1990. Plans for the children's theater were announced in 1993, and Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates restored the theater, which reopened on December 11, 1995, as the New Victory. The New Victory Theater
944-477: A 1995 renovation by Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates (HHPA). The design of the facade reflects its appearance in 1900, when Oscar Hammerstein I developed the theater. The interior design incorporates details that were added when David Belasco took over the theater in 1902. The theater's interior was intended to be completely fireproof, with marble stairways, artificial stone , and plaster surfaces with wire-net lathing . The brick and brownstone facade
1180-557: A 21-year lease for an 80-by-100-foot (24 by 30 m) plot just west of the Liberty Theatre . Woods planned to build a 1,000-seat theater named in honor of Julian Eltinge. It would be the eighth theater to be constructed on 42nd Street, after the New Amsterdam, Liberty, Harris , American, Lyric , Republic , and Victoria theaters. The George A. Just Company received the contract for the theater's structural steel, while
1416-706: A 50-percent stake in Woods's lease. As part of the agreement, all productions staged at the Eltinge Theatre also had to be presented at one of the Shubert family's theaters. The Shubert family withdrew from the theater's operation in February 1926, leaving Woods with complete control over the house's bookings. By then, Woods was busy with other projects, having leased the Martin Beck Theatre and owning
1652-472: A 7:00 p.m. or 8:00 p.m. "curtain". The afternoon " matinée " performances are at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays and at 3:00 p.m. on Sundays. This makes for an eight-performance week. On this schedule, most shows do not play on Monday and the shows and theatres are said to be "dark" on that day. The actors and the crew in these shows tend to regard Sunday evening through Monday evening as their weekend. The Tony award presentation ceremony
1888-641: A Moorish-style auditorium with three balconies. That December Oscar Hammerstein I filed revised plans for a theater, at the same site, to be known as the Republic. The structure would be built at a cost of $ 200,000 and would complement Hammerstein's Victoria Theatre next door. By constructing the Republic, Hammerstein could extend the roof garden atop the Victoria to the new theater. The Theatre Republic opened on September 27, 1900, with James Herne 's play Sag Harbor , starring Lionel Barrymore . It
2124-594: A New Audience, Urban Bush Women , and the Metropolitan Opera Guild , as well as film series. Newsday described the initial shows as including "football, a storytelling festival, comedy acts and hip-hop dance events". During the late 1990s, the theater hosted adaptations of shows such as Peter and Wendy , The Wind in the Willows , and It Ain't Nothin' But the Blues . The New Victory
2360-776: A Theater Advisory Council, which included Papp. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City , Broadway theaters closed on March 12, 2020, shuttering 16 shows that were playing or were in the process of opening. The Broadway League shutdown was extended first to April, then to May, then June, then September 2020 and January 2021, and later to June 1, 2021. Then-governor Andrew Cuomo announced that most sectors of New York would have their restrictions lifted on May 19, 2021, but he stated that Broadway theatres would not be able to immediately resume performances on this date due to logistical reasons. In May 2021, Cuomo announced that Broadway theaters would be allowed to reopen on September 14, and
2596-445: A bit of polychromy and deep dramatic piers, window recesses and other large elements". In the original design, there were four pairs of doors at ground level, underneath a steel-and-glass marquee that protruded onto the sidewalk. Both the entrance and the stage door were on 42nd Street, in contrast to other theaters along the same block (including the New Amsterdam and Harris), which had their stage doors on 41st Street. On either side of
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#17327761478192832-449: A booming economy and abundant creative talent kept Broadway hopping. To this day, the shows of the 1950s form the core of the musical theatre repertory." Kenrick notes that "the late 1960s marked a time of cultural upheaval. All those changes would prove painful for many, including those behind the scenes, as well as those in the audience." Of the 1970s, Kenrick writes: "Just when it seemed that traditional book musicals were back in style,
3068-663: A cast. There are still, however, performers who are primarily stage actors, spending most of their time "on the boards", and appearing in screen roles only secondarily. As Patrick Healy of The New York Times noted: Broadway once had many homegrown stars who committed to working on a show for a year, as Nathan Lane has for The Addams Family . In 2010, some theater heavyweights like Mr. Lane were not even nominated; instead, several Tony Awards were given for productions that were always intended to be short-timers on Broadway, given that many of their film-star performers had to move on to other commitments. According to Mark Shenton, "One of
3304-434: A challenge to the stage. At first, films were silent and presented only limited competition. By the end of the 1920s, films like The Jazz Singer were presented with synchronized sound, and critics wondered if cinema would replace live theatre altogether. While live vaudeville could not compete with these inexpensive films that featured vaudeville stars and major comedians of the day, other theatres survived. The musicals of
3540-540: A company of twelve actors from Britain to the colonies with his brother Lewis as their manager. They established a theatre in Williamsburg, Virginia , and opened with The Merchant of Venice and The Anatomist . The company moved to New York in 1753, performing ballad operas and ballad-farces like Damon and Phillida . During the Revolutionary War , theatre was suspended in New York City. But after
3776-443: A day: in the morning and in the afternoon. The burlesque performances were several times cheaper than legitimate Broadway shows such as George White's Scandals . Each show consisted of a skit, the main burlesque performance, and a dance or comedy act. Performers included Gypsy Rose Lee , Ann Corio , Margie Hart , and Georgia Sothern . The nearby Eltinge and Apollo theaters were converted into burlesque houses shortly after
4012-565: A discount of 20 to 50%. The TKTS booths are located in Times Square , in Lower Manhattan , and at Lincoln Center . This service is run by Theatre Development Fund . Many Broadway theatres also offer special student rates, same-day "rush" or "lottery" tickets, or standing-room tickets to help ensure that their theatres are as full—and their grosses as high—as possible. According to The Broadway League , total Broadway attendance
4248-906: A few exceptions, compared with London runs, until World War I . A few very successful British musicals continued to achieve great success in New York, including Florodora in 1900–01. In the early years of the twentieth century, translations of popular late-nineteenth century continental operettas were joined by the "Princess Theatre" shows of the 1910s, by writers such as P. G. Wodehouse , Guy Bolton , and Harry B. Smith . Victor Herbert , whose work included some intimate musical plays with modern settings as well as his string of famous operettas ( The Fortune Teller (1898), Babes in Toyland (1903), Mlle. Modiste (1905), The Red Mill (1906), and Naughty Marietta (1910)). Beginning with The Red Mill , Broadway shows installed electric signs outside
4484-523: A greenroom backstage, as well as traps and a stage elevator. The stage elevator, measuring 15 by 30 ft (4.6 by 9.1 m) across, formed much of the surface of the stage itself and required excavation into the underlying bedrock. In addition, there were footlights in front of the stage. The current configuration of the stage dates to 1995, when dressing rooms on the auditorium's stage were demolished to make way for expanded wing space. The stage area contains 276 dimmers and 300 lights in total, and
4720-605: A half-stake in the Broadhurst Theatre . In the mid-1920s, Woods continued to produce short-lived plays at the Eltinge, which featured several young actresses. These included Stolen Fruit (1925) with Ann Harding , The Ghost Train (1926) with Claudette Colbert , and Crime (1927) with Sylvia Sidney . Woods leased the Eltinge in March 1927 to Lester Bryant, who was sponsored by a group of wealthy men. By then, Woods
4956-655: A lack of money. In early 1989, several dozen nonprofit theater companies submitted plans to the UDC for the takeover of six theaters. Most of the bids were for the Liberty and Victory, but the Selwyn, Apollo, Lyric, and Times Square theaters received 13 bids between them. That year, The Durst Organization acquired the leases to eight theaters in Times Square, including the Victory. It subsequently announced plans to renovate
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#17327761478195192-532: A larger theatre. Other productions are first developed through workshops and then out-of-town tryouts before transferring to Broadway. Merrily We Roll Along famously skipped an out-of-town tryout and attempted to do an in-town tryout—actually preview performances —on Broadway before its official opening, with disastrous results. After, or even during, successful runs in Broadway theatres, producers often remount their productions with new casts and crew for
5428-646: A lobby and lounge for the AMC Empire 25. Woods leased the site in August 1911, and the Eltinge Theatre opened on September 11, 1912, with the play Within the Law . In its early years, the Eltinge was known as a "lucky house", with many long-running plays. The theater was less successful during the 1920s and was leased to various theatrical personalities. During the Depression, when legitimate productions were scarce,
5664-526: A more experimental, challenging, and intimate performance than is possible in the larger Broadway theatres. Some Broadway shows, however, such as the musicals Hair , Little Shop of Horrors , Spring Awakening , Next to Normal , Rent , Avenue Q , In the Heights , Fun Home , A Chorus Line , Dear Evan Hansen , and Hamilton , began their runs Off-Broadway and later transferred to Broadway, seeking to replicate their intimate experience in
5900-696: A movement opposing the demolition of the nearby Helen Hayes and Morosco theaters, motivated the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) to survey fifty of Midtown Manhattan's extant theaters in the early 1980s. The LPC started to consider protecting theaters, including the Empire Theatre, with discussions continuing over the next several years. While the LPC granted landmark status to many Broadway theaters starting in 1987, it deferred decisions on
6136-539: A negative COVID-19 test (PCR within 72 hours or antigen within six hours of the performance start time). Beginning November 8, those ages 5–11 also had the option to provide proof of at least one vaccination shot. Effective December 14, in accordance with NYC's vaccination mandate, guests ages 5–11 were required to have at least one vaccination shot until January 29, 2022, where they had to be fully vaccinated. The vaccine mandate lasted until April 30, and attendees were also required to wear face masks until July 1. During
6372-1152: A new age of American playwright with the emergence of Eugene O'Neill , whose plays Beyond the Horizon , Anna Christie , The Hairy Ape , Strange Interlude , and Mourning Becomes Electra proved that there was an audience for serious drama on Broadway, and O'Neill's success paved the way for major dramatists like Elmer Rice , Maxwell Anderson , Robert E. Sherwood , Clifford Odets , Tennessee Williams , and Arthur Miller , as well as writers of comedy like George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart . Classical revivals also proved popular with Broadway theatre-goers, notably John Barrymore in Hamlet and Richard III , John Gielgud in Hamlet , The Importance of Being Earnest and Much Ado About Nothing , Walter Hampden and José Ferrer in Cyrano de Bergerac , Paul Robeson and Ferrer in Othello , Maurice Evans in Richard II and
6608-621: A new work development program called LabWorks in 2012, and the theater received a special Drama Desk Award the same year. The theater also started providing free dance performances for local students in 2014 as part of the Victory Dance program. The theater's lower lobbies were renovated in 2017. The New Victory closed temporarily in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States , although it continued to host children's and family shows online which were also broadcast on WNET's Camp TV and Let's Learn. The New Victory Theater
6844-500: A rate acceptable to the producers, they may continue to run in the expectation that, eventually, they will pay back their initial costs and become profitable. In some borderline situations, producers may ask that royalties be temporarily reduced or waived, or even that performers—with the permission of their unions—take reduced salaries, to prevent a show from closing. Theatre owners, who are not generally profit participants in most productions, may waive or reduce rents, or even lend money to
7080-413: A roof garden above the Times Square and Victory theaters, though it was unclear what would have happened with the Victory's interior. Meanwhile, a committee of theatrical experts recommended in 1987 that the Victory and Liberty theaters be restored for nonprofit use; they estimated that it would cost between $ 6.6 million and $ 7.7 million to renovate the Victory. City and state officials announced plans for
7316-431: A run of 253 performances. The first theatre piece that conforms to the modern conception of a musical, adding dance and original music that helped to tell the story, is considered to be The Black Crook , which premiered in New York on September 12, 1866. The production was five-and-a-half hours long, but despite its length, it ran for a record-breaking 474 performances. The same year, The Black Domino/Between You, Me and
Empire Theatre (42nd Street) - Misplaced Pages Continue
7552-516: A series of sex crimes in early 1937, the La Guardia administration ordered all burlesque houses to remove the word "burlesque" from their marquees that June. The Republic continued to host burlesque performances, which were billed as variety shows . Even without burlesque on its marquee, the Republic remained popular, although it was only one of three remaining burlesque theaters in the city by 1940. The Republic's manager claimed in 1940 that
7788-401: A set of eight parallel tracks. Workers also poured 70 concrete caps inside the theater building. After the tracks had been installed, workers placed a dolly of steel beams above the tracks, which in turn traveled above a series of 250 rollers. The perimeter of the dolly contained load-bearing beams that supported the weight of the theater. The lowest portions of the walls were removed, detaching
8024-504: A short while, when officials' attention was diverted elsewhere. After he was elected mayor in 1934, Fiorello La Guardia began cracking down on burlesque and appointed Paul Moss as license commissioner. Even so, the Republic continued to operate as a burlesque house for several more years. Moss revoked the Republic's operating license again in September 1935, but the New York Court of Appeals overturned his revocation. After
8260-481: A show to keep it running. Some Broadway shows are produced by non-commercial organizations as part of a regular subscription season— Lincoln Center Theatre , Roundabout Theatre Company , Manhattan Theatre Club , and Second Stage Theater are the four non-profit theatre companies that currently have permanent Broadway venues. Some other productions are produced on Broadway with "limited engagement runs" for several reasons, including financial issues, prior engagements of
8496-471: A three-story arch, which originally illuminated the rear of the auditorium. The arch was intended to resemble a Roman triumphal arch . It is surrounded by an ornately carved frame. The outermost sections of the facade are slightly projecting piers , which flank the arch. According to Christopher Gray of The New York Times , the facade was typical of Lamb's 1910s theater designs, which "emphasized broad swaths of cream- or white-colored glazed terra cotta with
8732-443: A typical weekday to nearly 140 during the summer. AMC also rented out the Empire 25's space for various events, such as a showcase of 3D films and an experimental-music festival. The Empire 25, along with other movie theaters in New York state, was temporarily closed during much of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic . The theater reopened in March 2021 after being dark for nearly a year. The Empire 25 remains AMC's flagship multiplex in
8968-530: A variety of genres, though Levine said none of the company's 42nd Street theaters showed hardcore porn . The Brandts' theaters had a combined annual gross of about $ 2 million and operated nearly the entire day. However, the area was in decline; the Brandts' theaters only had three million visitors by 1977, about half of the number in 1963. The 42nd Street Development Corporation had been formed in 1976 to discuss plans for redeveloping Times Square. The same year,
9204-580: A venue for plays under the name Burton's Theatre. The Astor Opera House opened in 1847. A riot broke out in 1849 when the lower-class patrons of the Bowery Theatre objected to what they perceived as snobbery by the upper-class audiences at Astor Place: "After the Astor Place Riot of 1849, entertainment in New York City was divided along class lines: opera was chiefly for the upper-middle and upper classes, minstrel shows and melodramas for
9440-486: A year. In July 1921, Samuel Augenblick and Louis B. Brodsky bought the Liberty and Eltinge theaters from the heirs of Charlotte M. Goodridge, although this had no effect on Woods's lease. Later the same year, the theater hosted The Demi-Virgin , which transferred from the Times Square Theatre to finish its 268-performance run. The Demi-Virgin was the subject of a lengthy legal dispute regarding whether it
9676-545: Is a theater at 209 West 42nd Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City , near Times Square . Built in 1900 as the Republic Theatre (also Theatre Republic ), it was designed by Albert Westover and developed by Oscar Hammerstein I as a Broadway theater . The theater has been known by several names over the years, including the Belasco Theatre , Minsky's Burlesque , and
Empire Theatre (42nd Street) - Misplaced Pages Continue
9912-836: Is a cube measuring around 50 ft (15 m) on each side. When it opened as the Theatre Republic in 1900, the auditorium was decorated in green, white, and gold. Belasco repainted the auditorium red, green, and brown in 1902. The New Victory Theater was repainted in a red-and-gold palette, with green and purple accents, during the 1995 renovation. The modern color palette resembles the color scheme introduced in Belasco's 1902 renovation, with lighter tones. The seating areas were originally so steeply raked that The New York Times said "the big-hat question", in which some patrons' large hats obstructed other guests' views, "will never be raised in that house". When Belasco replaced
10148-475: Is an internationally prominent tourist attraction in New York City . According to The Broadway League , shows on Broadway sold approximately US$ 1.54 billion worth of tickets in both the 2022-2023 and the 2023–2024 seasons. Both seasons featured theater attendance of approximately 12.3 million each. Most Broadway shows are musicals . Historian Martin Shefter argues that "Broadway musicals, culminating in
10384-502: Is at 209 West 42nd Street, on the northern sidewalk between Eighth Avenue and Seventh Avenue , at the southern end of Times Square in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City . The building occupies a rectangular land lot covering 6,942 sq ft (644.9 m ), with a frontage of 69 ft (21 m) on 42nd Street and a depth of 100.5 ft (30.6 m). The theater abuts 3 Times Square to
10620-427: Is decorated with woodwork and plaster decorations, which resemble the original decorations in the theater. The auditorium was gilded extensively; the gilding was covered in 1902, before HHPA restored the gilding in 1995. The modern-day decorations consist of motifs such as fleurs-de-lis and laurels, which are made of glazed Dutch metal. At the rear of the second balcony level are control booths. The rear wall of
10856-438: Is designed in a red-and-gold palette, with green and purple accents, and contains box seats and a decorative domed ceiling. The backstage areas were initially extremely small, but they were expanded into a new wing in 1995. The theater opened on September 27, 1900, with the play Sag Harbor . Two years later, Belasco leased the theater, renamed it for himself, and completely reconstructed the interior. Although Belasco restored
11092-402: Is ocher with gold highlights, while the stage curtain is rose-colored. As built, the proscenium arch measured 35 ft (11 m) across and was ornately decorated. The top of the arch was decorated with a golden lyre, flanked by figures representing harmony and melody. When the theater opened, the proscenium arch was topped by a balcony for musicians, since there was no orchestra pit at
11328-417: Is operated by New 42nd Street. The New Victory's shows are largely intended for children up to 17 years old. Since 2019, Russell Granet has served as the theater's president and chief executive officer. In addition, as of 2022 , Mary Rose Lloyd is the artistic director. When the New Victory opened in 1995, it operated an education program on weekdays for students who attended public and private schools in
11564-432: Is part of Manhattan 's Theater District and contains many Broadway theaters . In the first two decades of the 20th century, eleven venues for legitimate theatre were built within one block of West 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues. The New Amsterdam, Harris , Liberty , Eltinge (now Empire), and Lew Fields theaters occupied the south side of the street. The original Lyric and Apollo theaters (combined into
11800-471: Is to the southeast. An entrance to the New York City Subway 's Times Square–42nd Street and 42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal stations, served by the 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 , <7> , N , Q , R , W , and S trains, is just west of the theater. The surrounding area
12036-571: Is usually held on a Sunday evening in June to fit this schedule. In recent years, some shows have moved their Tuesday show time an hour earlier to 7:00 pm. The rationale for this move was that since fewer tourists take in shows midweek, Tuesday attendance depends more on local patrons. The earlier curtain makes it possible for suburban patrons to get home by a reasonable hour after the show. Some shows, especially those produced by Disney , change their performance schedules fairly frequently depending on
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#173277614781912272-610: The American Theatre Wing , a service organization. While the League and the theatrical unions are sometimes at loggerheads during those periods when new contracts are being negotiated, they also cooperate on many projects and events designed to promote professional theatre in New York. Of the four non-profit theatre companies with Broadway theatres, all four ( Lincoln Center Theater , Manhattan Theatre Club , Roundabout Theatre Company , and Second Stage Theatre ) belong to
12508-633: The City University of New York 's Graduate Center hosted an exhibition with photographs of the Victory and other theaters to advocate for the area's restoration. One plan for the site, in 1978, called for restoring the Victory as a legitimate theater while razing nearby buildings to create a park. Another plan, called the City at 42nd Street, was announced in December 1979 as part of a proposal to restore West 42nd Street around Times Square. Under
12744-420: The La Guardia administration ordered all burlesque houses to remove the word "burlesque" from their marquees that June. The Eltinge continued to host burlesque performances, which were billed as variety shows . The theater operated without a permit for several weeks in late 1937 before its license was renewed at the end of that year. Even without burlesque on its marquee, the Eltinge remained popular, although it
12980-580: The League of Resident Theatres and have contracts with the theatrical unions which are negotiated separately from the other Broadway theatre and producers. ( Disney also negotiates apart from the League, as did Livent before it closed down its operations.) The majority of Broadway theatres are owned or managed by three organizations: the Shubert Organization , a for-profit arm of the non-profit Shubert Foundation, which owns seventeen theatres;
13216-503: The Nederlander Organization , which controls nine theatres; and ATG Entertainment , which owns seven Broadway houses. Both musicals and straight plays on Broadway often rely on casting well-known performers in leading roles to draw larger audiences or bring in new audience members to the theatre. Actors from film and television are frequently cast for the revivals of Broadway shows or are used to replace actors leaving
13452-590: The New Amsterdam Theatre to the south; and the Candler Building to the southwest. The surrounding area is part of Manhattan 's Theater District and contains many Broadway theaters . In the first two decades of the 20th century, eleven venues for legitimate theatre were built within one block of West 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues. The New Amsterdam, Harris , Liberty , Eltinge , and Lew Fields theaters occupied
13688-778: The Prudential Insurance Company of America . It was delayed for several years due to lawsuits and disputes concerning the towers. Meanwhile, by the mid-1980s, the adult-film industry had begun to decline, resulting in fewer films being screened at the Victory Theatre. Even so, it was the oldest theater in Manhattan to have continuously operated as such. The Victory still retained some of its early-20th-century architectural detail, such as cherubs, gold-leaf decorations, and trapdoors. The Brandts also leased all their movie theaters on 42nd Street, including
13924-476: The Roaring Twenties , borrowing from vaudeville, music hall , and other light entertainment, tended to ignore plot in favor of emphasizing star actors and actresses, big dance routines, and popular songs. Florenz Ziegfeld produced annual spectacular song-and-dance revues on Broadway featuring extravagant sets and elaborate costumes, but there was little to tie the various numbers together. Typical of
14160-703: The Selwyn , Apollo , Times Square , Lyric , and Victory theaters on the north side of 42nd Street, as well as the Laff-Movie and the Liberty Theatre on the south side. Several producers offered to stage legitimate productions in the Brandt theaters, but none of the offers were successful. William Brandt said in 1953 that any of his 42nd Street theaters could be converted into a legitimate house within 24 hours' notice, but producers did not take up his offer. Brandt announced in August 1953 that he would renovate
14396-480: The Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City . The theater was originally located at 236–242 West 42nd Street, but it has been moved 168 feet (51 m) west of its original location. The Empire's modern-day site was formerly occupied by the Lew Fields Theatre , which was demolished in 1997. The theater is part of an entertainment and retail complex at 234 West 42nd Street, which includes
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#173277614781914632-515: The Victory Theatre . The theater is owned by the city and state governments of New York and leased to nonprofit New 42 , which has operated the venue as a children's theater since 1995. The New Victory presents theater shows, dance shows, puppet shows, and other types of performance art shows from all around the world. The New Victory Theater's modern design dates to a 1995 renovation; its facade reflects its appearance in 1900, while
14868-470: The fly system consists of 30 sets of counterweights . The counterweight system replaced an older system that used sandbags . Originally, the Victory Theatre was surrounded on all sides by other buildings, and it had neither backstage areas nor a stage door. During the 1995 renovation, the New Victory Theater organization acquired two low-rise tenement buildings on 43rd Street. One of
15104-409: The 1920s were lighthearted productions such as Sally ; Lady Be Good ; Sunny ; No, No, Nanette ; Harlem ; Oh, Kay! ; and Funny Face . Their books may have been forgettable, but they produced enduring standards from George Gershwin , Cole Porter , Jerome Kern , Vincent Youmans , and Rodgers and Hart , among others, and Noël Coward , Sigmund Romberg , and Rudolf Friml continued in
15340-404: The 1930s when the theater was converted into a burlesque venue. The sounding board above the proscenium arch contained a mural, which depicted three robed women dancing to music and was painted by French artist Arthur Brounet . According to The New York Times , the women depicted in the mural may have been based on different outfits Eltinge wore. The auditorium contains a domed ceiling. There
15576-443: The 2000s. By the 2000s, the theater was also hosting a variety of dance productions, including classical ballet , hip-hop dance, and modern routines. Compared with theatrical productions, which were often produced or adapted specifically for children, the dance productions were more difficult to adapt to younger audiences. The New Victory Theater renamed its lobby after its primary donor, LuEsther Mertz , in 2003. Two years later,
15812-524: The 2020s. Productions are listed by the year of their first performance. This list only includes Broadway shows; it does not include burlesque shows or films. Broadway theatre Broadway theatre , or Broadway , is a theatre genre that consists of the theatrical performances presented in 41 professional theaters , each with 500 or more seats, in the Theater District and Lincoln Center along Broadway , in Midtown Manhattan , New York City . Broadway and London 's West End together represent
16048-492: The Belasco in its early years. By 1906, Belasco was unsure whether he would be able to renew his lease on his namesake theater, so he decided to develop the Stuyvesant Theatre on 44th Street, incorporating many of the innovations that he had developed at the 42nd Street theater. Belasco's lease was again scheduled for renewal in 1910, and he renamed the theater yet again that July. The 42nd Street theater became
16284-404: The Brandts' five theaters on the north side of 42nd Street were added to the redevelopment plan. Despite the Brandts' insistence that the Empire and Liberty theaters also be included in the redevelopment, the two theaters were leased to New York Mart Inc. as part of a separate plan. Ultimately, the 42nd Street Redevelopment Project was delayed for several years due to lawsuits and disputes concerning
16520-536: The Broadway national tour, which travels to theatres in major cities across the country. Sometimes when a show closes on Broadway, the entire production, with most if not all of the original cast intact, is relaunched as a touring company, hence the name "Broadway national tour". Some shows may even have several touring companies out at a time, whether the show is still running in New York or not, with many companies "sitting down" in other major cities for their own extended runs. For Broadway national tours of top-tier cities,
16756-619: The Broadway orchestra is governed by an agreement with the musicians' union (Local 802, American Federation of Musicians) and The Broadway League. For example, the agreement specifies the minimum size of the orchestra at the Minskoff Theatre to be eighteen, while at the Music Box Theatre it is nine. Most Broadway shows are commercial productions intended to make a profit for the producers and investors ("backers" or "angels"), and therefore have open-ended runs (duration that
16992-686: The COVID-19 shutdown, the Shubert Organization, the Nederlander Organization, and Jujamcyn had pledged to increase racial and cultural diversity in their theaters, including naming at least one theater for a Black theatrical personality. The August Wilson Theatre , owned by Jujamcyn, had been renamed after Black playwright August Wilson in 2005. The Shuberts announced in March 2022 that the Cort Theatre , which
17228-574: The Cakewalk (1898), and the highly successful In Dahomey (1902). Hundreds of musical comedies were staged on Broadway in the 1890s and early 1900s made up of songs written in New York's Tin Pan Alley involving composers such as Gus Edwards , John Walter Bratton , and George M. Cohan ( Little Johnny Jones (1904), 45 Minutes From Broadway (1906), and George Washington Jr. (1906)). Still, New York runs continued to be relatively short, with
17464-521: The Country ; and the play The Ninth Guest . The theater's last-ever legitimate show was First Night , produced by Richard G. Herndon, which closed in February 1931. By then, there were rumors that the Eltinge could be converted to a movie theater or burlesque house. Woods subleased the Eltinge Theatre to Max Rudnick in February 1931; Woods continued to occupy the fourth-floor offices, as his lease did not expire for another two years. Rudnick converted
17700-558: The Eltinge for 541 performances through the end of 1913. Many of the Eltinge's early productions were similarly successful. The next hit at the Eltinge was the play The Yellow Ticket , featuring Florence Reed and John Barrymore , which opened in January 1914 and ran for 183 performances. Later the same year, Edward Sheldon 's play The Song of Songs opened at the Eltinge, running for six months. The theater also hosted Fair and Warmer , which opened in December 1915 and transferred to
17936-470: The Eltinge into a stock burlesque theater, and launched his first burlesque shows there on March 6. The Eltinge was the second theater on 42nd Street to feature stock burlesque, following Minsky's Republic Theater (now the New Victory ) which opened a month earlier. The Eltinge's conversion to burlesque was due in part to the Depression and in part to a general decline in the Broadway theater industry in
18172-426: The Eltinge was leased for burlesque by Max Rudnick from 1931 until 1942. Bud Abbott and Lou Costello , then burlesque comedians, first performed together at the Eltinge early in 1935. After its tenure as a burlesque house, the Eltinge became the Laff-Movie movie theater operated by the Brandt family and leased to J.J. Mage. The Brandts renamed the theater the Empire in 1954 and continued to present movies there until
18408-455: The Empire 25 had two million guests per year or an average of 40,000 guests per week. By contrast, the average multiplex in the United States had a third as many visitors. The Empire 25's success was attributed not only to its central location near Times Square but also because it offered independent and art films in addition to major features. Because of varying patronage throughout the week, the number of employees varied widely, from 20 workers on
18644-422: The Empire and other theaters to advocate for the area's restoration. One plan for the site, in 1978, called for razing several buildings in the area, including the Empire, to create a park. Another plan, called the City at 42nd Street, was announced in December 1979 as part of a proposal to restore West 42nd Street around Times Square. Under the plan, five theaters would have been converted back to legitimate use, and
18880-417: The Empire. It subsequently announced plans to renovate the eight theaters in February 1990. The New York state government acquired the theater sites that April via eminent domain . The city had planned to buy out the theaters' leases but withdrew after the 42nd Street Company indicated it would lease the theaters to another developer. Although Durst protested the move, a New York Supreme Court judge ruled that
19116-460: The Empire. Martin Levine and Richard Brandt took over the 42nd Street Company in 1972. At the time, the Empire was presenting " showcase films". The other six theaters showed a variety of genres, though Levine said none of the company's 42nd Street theaters showed hardcore porn . The Brandts' theaters had a combined annual gross of about $ 2 million and operated nearly the entire day. However, the area
19352-456: The Erlanger syndicate. During this time, the play Lightnin' by Winchell Smith and Frank Bacon became the first Broadway show to reach 700 performances. From then, it would go on to become the first show to reach 1,000 performances. Lightnin' was the longest-running Broadway show until being overtaken in performance totals by Abie's Irish Rose in 1925. The motion picture mounted
19588-660: The Fleischmann Brothers received the general construction contract. By January 1912, Variety magazine reported that the Eltinge Theatre was nearly completed and was ready to open that April. Woods moved his executive offices from the Putnam Building to the entire upper floor in August 1912. The Eltinge Theatre opened on September 11, 1912, with Bayard Veiller 's melodrama Within the Law . The drama had previously been successful in Chicago, and it ran at
19824-478: The Harris Theatre after seven months. The Max Marcin play Cheating Cheaters opened at the Eltinge in August 1916, with 286 performances over the next several months. Within five years of its opening, the Eltinge Theatre was known as a "lucky house", in part because Woods often booked or produced popular comedies and melodramas. The Eltinge screened films in early 1917, such as the documentary Birth and
20060-606: The Holly Holding Company, leased the Republic in January 1931 with plans to present burlesque shows there. Joseph Weinstock would finance the conversion of the theater into a burlesque house, and Minsky installed two runways for his performers. The theater reopened as a burlesque house on February 12, 1931, becoming the first burlesque venue on 42nd Street. The venue, known as Minsky's Burlesque, presented performances with such titles as "Panties Inferno" and "Mind Over Mattress". The theater presented two shows
20296-596: The LPC hosted public hearings on whether to designate the Victory and five other theaters as landmarks. The LPC rejected the designations in February 2016 because the theaters were already subject to historic-preservation regulations set by the state government. The Urban Development Corporation (UDC), an agency of the New York state government, proposed redeveloping the area around a portion of West 42nd Street in 1981. The plan centered around four towers that were to be built at 42nd Street's intersections with Broadway and Seventh Avenue, developed by Park Tower Realty and
20532-455: The Laff-Movie, along with the neighboring Liberty Theatre , in December 1944. By the mid-1940s, the ten theaters along 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues were all showing movies; this led Variety to call the block the "biggest movie center of the world". The Brandt family operated seven of these theaters, while the Cinema circuit operated the other three. The Brandt theaters included
20768-436: The Laff-Movie, showing feature films exclusively. The theater was renamed the Empire in 1954; the name had previously been used by a theater on 41st Street that had just been demolished. By the late 1950s, the Empire was classified as a "reissue house", displaying reruns of films and changing its offerings twice a week. Tickets cost 25 to 65 cents apiece, the cheapest admission scale for any theater on 42nd Street. The Empire and
21004-457: The League confirmed that performances would begin to resume in the fall season. Springsteen on Broadway became the first full-length show to resume performances, opening on June 26, 2021, to 1,721 vaccinated patrons at the St. James Theatre . Pass Over then had its first preview on August 4, and opened on August 22, 2021, becoming the first new play to open. Hadestown and Waitress were
21240-618: The Lew Fields Theatre, whose site would be occupied by the relocated Empire. The rear of the theater was braced because workers had to remove the stage and the fly systems, and the removal would undermine the building's structural integrity. Workers installed piles on the adjacent lots to the west, which had previously contained residences with basements. The basements were demolished, allowing the theater building to rest directly on Manhattan's bedrock instead of atop an unstable layer of dirt. There were 430 piles in total, which supported
21476-527: The Liberty and Eltinge theaters in November 1923 and immediately resold the theaters to Maximilian Zipkes. The Eltinge continued to host plays, although they were often not very popular. In early 1925, the theater hosted Leon Gordon 's play The Piker , which was so negatively received that its leading performer, Lionel Barrymore , seldom appeared on Broadway again. That September, the Shubert brothers bought
21712-495: The Limousine , which opened the same October. The Eltinge did not host many long-lasting productions during the 1920s, likely because of the growing popularity of larger theaters and because Woods was busy producing other shows. With only 829 seats in 1919, the Eltinge was smaller than most of the area's other theaters. The play Ladies' Night , which opened in 1920, was the theater's first hit of that decade, running for nearly
21948-492: The National Music Theatre Network used the Victory for workshops and stage readings . The theater was also used as a filming location, including for the film Manhattan Murder Mystery , a video by the band The Black Crowes , and a video for Sophie B. Hawkins 's song " Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover ". As plans for the redevelopment of 42nd Street progressed, several critics lamented the fact that
22184-429: The New Amsterdam. After he was elected mayor in 1934, Fiorello La Guardia began a crackdown on burlesque and appointed Paul Moss as license commissioner. Rudnick, his assistant manager, and several performers were arrested on indecency charges in November 1934, but were ultimately exonerated. The Eltinge continued to operate as a burlesque house for several more years. However, after a series of sex crimes in early 1937,
22420-649: The New Victory Theater launched the New Vic at the Duke, a series of teenagers' plays presented at the neighboring The Duke on 42nd Street . The Arts Education Network, operated by Americans for the Arts , gave the New Victory Theatre an Arts Education Award in 2008. By then, the theater's programming director Mary Rose Lloyd was also planning to host shows for infants and toddlers. The New Victory established
22656-631: The New Victory was awarded by the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities with the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award for the usher program. The New Victory also operates LabWorks, a program in which performers and other artists can receive rehearsal space and subsidies. Since 2021, the New Victory has also operated LabWorks Launch, in which a LabWorks artist is selected to develop their work further and present it at
22892-545: The New Victory. Times Square became the epicenter for large-scale theater productions between 1900 and the Great Depression . Manhattan's theater district had begun to shift from Union Square and Madison Square during the first decade of the 20th century. From 1901 to 1920, forty-three theaters were built around Broadway in Midtown Manhattan. These included the New Victory Theater, which over
23128-434: The New York state government, proposed redeveloping the area around a portion of West 42nd Street in 1981. The plan centered around four towers that were to be built at 42nd Street's intersections with Broadway and Seventh Avenue, developed by Park Tower Realty and the Prudential Insurance Company of America . The Brandt family planned to submit a bid to redevelop some of the theaters they owned on 42nd Street. In June 1982,
23364-604: The Opera at the Majestic Theatre became the longest-running Broadway musical, with 7,486 performances, overtaking Cats . The Phantom of the Opera closed on Broadway on April 16, 2023, soon after celebrating its 35th anniversary, after a total of 13,981 performances. Attending a Broadway show is a common tourist activity in New York. The TKTS booths sell same-day tickets (and in certain cases, next-day matinee tickets) for many Broadway and Off-Broadway shows at
23600-535: The Post was the first show to call itself a "musical comedy". Tony Pastor opened the first vaudeville theatre one block east of Union Square in 1881, where Lillian Russell performed. Comedians Edward Harrigan and Tony Hart produced and starred in musicals on Broadway between 1878 ( The Mulligan Guard Picnic ) and 1890, with book and lyrics by Harrigan and music by his father-in-law David Braham . These musical comedies featured characters and situations taken from
23836-526: The Republic Theatre at the end of that month. Woods's first production at the theater was The High Cost of Loving , which opened that August. Cleves Kinkead's Common Clay opened at the theater in 1915, running for over 300 performances, and Clare Kummer 's play Good Gracious, Annabelle was staged at the Republic the next year. Afterward, Woods began to lease out the theater, as he could not produce all of these shows by himself. Among
24072-417: The Republic Theatre name in 1910, he continued to operate it until 1914. A. H. Woods then leased the theater until 1922, when Oliver D. Bailey took over, hosting the play Abie's Irish Rose at the theater for five years. Due to a lack of theatrical productions, Billy Minsky converted the Republic into a burlesque house in 1931, and his family operated it as such until 1942. Afterward, the Republic became
24308-405: The Republic as early as April 1931, arresting managers and some of the performers for public indecency, but these actions only boosted the theaters' popularity. The Republic's operating license was temporarily revoked in September 1932, although the theater reopened the next month. The Republic temporarily stopped showing burlesque every time it was raided; the managers reinstated the shows after
24544-459: The Republic reopened, and the Republic was financially successful by mid-1931. After Minsky died in 1932, his siblings continued to operate the theater as a burlesque. Local business owners opposed burlesque, claiming that the shows encouraged loitering and decreased property values. In New York, theater licenses were subject to yearly renewal, and opponents of burlesque tried to get the theaters' licenses revoked. The police conducted raids on
24780-461: The Republic's plays in 1917 were Jane Cowl and Jane Murfin 's Lilac Time , John N. Raphael's Peter Ibbetson , and Lou Tellegen and Willard Mack 's Blind Youth . Woods also produced Parlor, Bedroom and Bath , which ran at the theater for 232 performances from 1917 to 1918, and A Voice in the Dark , which had 134 performances in 1919. The Republic presented a long-running transfer of
25016-400: The Republic, while the 44th Street theater became the Belasco. The renamed theater's first production was Bobby Burnit , which opened in August 1910. The New York City government announced the same year that it would widen 42nd Street, requiring that the Republic Theatre's stoop be demolished. Around that time, Hammerstein also indicated his intent to sell the theater. The Republic hosted
25252-462: The Selwyn, Apollo, Times Square, Lyric, and Victory theaters on the north side of 42nd Street, as well as the Eltinge and Liberty theaters on the south side. The Victory Theater showed horror and exploitation films. Several producers offered to stage legitimate productions in the Brandt theaters, but none of the offers were successful. William Brandt indicated in 1946 that he might replace
25488-490: The Victory Theatre is unclear, with numbers ranging from to 936 to 1,100 given across various sources, although this has since been reduced to an off-Broadway capacity of 499 seats. Seating is across three levels. The decreased capacity reflects the fact that part of the former seating area is occupied by the lobby. In addition, the present-day children's theater did not need a high seating capacity, and modern audiences generally required wider seats. The modern auditorium
25724-512: The Victory and other theaters on the block were no longer showing adult movies. New 42nd Street decided to convert the Victory into a space for live performances, and it erected a sidewalk shed in front of the theater in July 1993, before renovation plans were even finalized. New 42nd Street announced in October 1993 that the Victory would become a children's theater called the New Victory. HHPA
25960-423: The Victory in 1944 and began operating it as a "grind house", showing movies from dawn to dusk. By the mid-1940s, the ten theaters along 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues were all showing movies; this led Variety to call the block the "biggest movie center of the world". The Brandt family operated seven of these theaters, while the Cinema circuit operated the other three. The Brandt theaters included
26196-460: The Victory into a children's theater, New 42nd Street wished to prove that the theaters on the block were "viable", as well as to fill a gap in the theatre industry. Officials attended a groundbreaking ceremony for the renovation on May 17, 1994. The cost of the project had increased to $ 9.2 million at the time of the groundbreaking. HHPA chose to restore the early-20th-century design so it could be easily converted to present shows for adults if
26432-523: The Victory, to the Cine 42nd Street Corporation in 1986. From 1987 to 1989, Park Tower and Prudential hired Robert A. M. Stern to conduct a study on the Apollo, Lyric, Selwyn (later American Airlines), Times Square, and Victory theaters on the north side of 42nd Street. Stern devised three alternatives for the five theaters. Stern presented a model of his plan in October 1988. The plan called for erecting
26668-461: The Victory. The theater became the first on 42nd Street to exhibit pornographic films in 1970. The city government quickly started cracking down on adult theaters, forcing the Victory's managers to change the theater's marquee and withdraw shows under threat of arrest. Martin Levine and Richard Brandt took over the 42nd Street Company in 1972. At the time, the Victory was showing porn and "a mixed bag of other films". The other six theaters showed
26904-457: The auditorium and the stage, and he took over the theater in April 1902. He hired the firm of Bigelow, Wallis & Cotton to conduct the renovations, and he hired Rudolph Allen as the interior designer. Belasco initially planned to spend only $ 15,000 to $ 20,000, but he eventually gutted the entire interior, spending $ 150,000. The stage and auditorium were entirely reconstructed, and a basement
27140-400: The auditorium, Three doors under the original stoop led to a box office, cab office, check room, and information bureau, and two more doors led to the orchestra-level seats. Two staircases with carved balustrades led from the lobby to the first balcony level. By the 1930s, the lobby had been removed, and the main entrance doors led directly to the theater's orchestra level. When the theater
27376-492: The authors and also in numerous unlicensed productions). They were imitated in New York by American productions such as Reginald Dekoven 's Robin Hood (1891) and John Philip Sousa 's El Capitan (1896), along with operas, ballets, and other British and European hits. Charles H. Hoyt 's A Trip to Chinatown (1891) became Broadway's long-run champion when it surpassed Adonis and its 603 total performances in 1893, holding
27612-435: The beginning of the nineteenth century, the area that now comprises the Theater District was owned by a handful of families and comprised a few farms. In 1836, Mayor Cornelius Lawrence opened 42nd Street and invited Manhattanites to "enjoy the pure clean air." Close to 60 years later, theatrical entrepreneur Oscar Hammerstein I built the iconic Victoria Theater on West 42nd Street. Broadway's first "long-run" musical
27848-476: The biggest changes to the commercial theatrical landscape—on both sides of the Atlantic—over the past decade or so is that sightings of big star names turning out to do plays has [sic] gone up; but the runs they are prepared to commit to has gone down. Time was that a producer would require a minimum commitment from his star of six months, and perhaps a year; now, the 13-week run is the norm." The minimum size of
28084-550: The bill was not passed. The Save the Theatres campaign then turned their efforts to supporting the establishment of the Theater District as a registered historic district . In December 1983, Save the Theatres prepared "The Broadway Theater District, a Preservation Development and Management Plan", and demanded that each theater in the district receive landmark designation. Mayor Ed Koch ultimately reacted by creating
28320-601: The block. Back Stage magazine said the New Victory's restoration was "boldly leading the way to the rebirth of 42nd Street as a cultural mecca". TCI magazine said the theater's restoration proved that "Broadway's tarnished jewel boxes-even those languishing as porno houses-can be saved to support the legitimate theatre". For its restoration of the New Victory Theater, HHPA won the American Institute of Architects 's 1997 honor award for interior spaces. The theater's initial season included acts such as Theatre for
28556-472: The building was relocated 168 feet (51 m) west of its original location to serve as the entrance to the AMC Empire 25 , a multiplex operated by AMC Theatres , which opened in April 2000. The facade of the Empire Theatre is made of terracotta and is square in shape, with relatively little ornamentation compared to other theaters of the time. The center of the facade contains a three-story arch, which
28792-401: The ceiling were designed to be stronger and more rigid than in a conventional building. Above the auditorium was Woods's office, which had green carpets and walnut-paneled walls. The theater had 750 seats on three levels. These were proportioned in "slender", "medium", and "stout" widths for patrons of different sizes. The side walls were steeply angled to give the impression that the auditorium
29028-518: The children's theater failed. The restoration included rebuilding the original exterior double staircase and returning the rest of the theater to the way it looked during the Belasco era. In addition, the backstage areas were expanded into two existing buildings on 43rd Street. The project's cost increased still further to $ 11.4 million by late 1995. Following the New Victory Theater's restoration, companies such as Disney and Livent quickly leased 42nd Street's other theaters. On December 11, 1995,
29264-459: The city. The New Victory Theater also offered apprenticeships for high school and college students who lived in the city. These apprenticeships, funded by a scholarship grant, originally ran for 10 to 12 weeks and trained students to be ushers. In addition to the apprenticeship and education programs, the theater operates the Usher Corps, training high-school students to be ushers. In 2014,
29500-486: The construction cost. In its first year of operation, the Empire 25 struggled to compete with the E-Walk; it had not screened many major films in part because of a lack of successful feature films. By 2001, the Empire 25 had become one of the most popular in the world, grossing over $ 500,000 a week. The Times Square Cafe opened on the multiplex's balcony level in 2001 and later closed. The Hollywood Reporter , in 2005, quoted
29736-434: The current Lyric Theatre), as well as the Times Square, Victory, Selwyn (now Todd Haimes), and Victoria theaters, occupied the north side. These venues were mostly converted to movie theaters by the 1930s, and many of them had been relegated to showing pornography by the 1970s. The Empire Theatre, originally the Eltinge 42nd Street Theatre , was designed by Thomas W. Lamb for the Hungarian-born impresario A. H. Woods . In
29972-422: The decade ended with critics and audiences giving mixed signals." Ken Bloom observed that "The 1960s and 1970s saw a worsening of the area [Times Square] and a drop in the number of legitimate shows produced on Broadway." By way of comparison, in the 1950 to 1951 season (May to May) 94 productions opened on Broadway; in the 1969 to 1970 season (June to May) there were 59 productions (fifteen were revivals). In
30208-459: The development. The large size of the steel columns required the architects to slightly reduce the size of the AMC multiplex. The AMC Empire 25 opened in April 2000, being the second multiplex to open on the block, after the E-Walk complex. Theatrical insiders claimed that the Empire 25 had cost $ 70 million, which might have made it the most expensive movie theater ever built, but AMC refused to disclose
30444-434: The early 1980s. The LPC started to consider protecting theaters, including the Victory Theatre, as landmarks in 1982, with discussions continuing over the next several years. While the LPC granted landmark status to many Broadway theaters starting in 1987, it deferred decisions on the exterior and interior of the Victory Theatre. Further discussion of the landmark designations was delayed for several decades. In late 2015,
30680-543: The early 1990s, although it was still dilapidated. The Victory staged its first legitimate play in six decades, the En Garde Arts company's production of the play Crowbar , in early 1990; the audience sat on the stage and the performers ran around the auditorium. Later that year, the Actors' Equity Association said that the Victory could host the off-off-Broadway show Stealing Souls (Bring Your Camera) , marking
30916-736: The east and northeast, as well as the Lyric Theatre to the west and northwest. It also shares the block with the Hotel Carter building, the Todd Haimes Theatre , and the Times Square Theater to the west. Other nearby buildings include 255 West 43rd Street , the St. James Theatre , and the Hayes Theater to the northwest; 229 West 43rd Street and 1501 Broadway to the north; 5 Times Square and
31152-634: The east, as well as Eleven Times Square to the west. The E-Walk entertainment complex is directly across 42nd Street to the north. The Todd Haimes Theatre , Times Square Theater , Lyric Theatre , New Victory Theater , and 3 Times Square are to the northeast. In addition, the Port Authority Bus Terminal is to the west, the New York Times Building is to the south, and the Nederlander Theatre
31388-443: The eastern section of the site, using the entrance of the former Harris Theatre; Bruce Ratner wanted to develop a similarly ornate gateway for AMC on the western end of the site. Forest City Ratner was not permitted to destroy or dismantle the Empire, which was protected by historic-preservation regulations. In June 1996, Ratner proposed relocating the theater 170 feet (52 m) westward at a cost of $ 1.2 million, using tracks to move
31624-692: The educational movie Trip Through China . The same year, the Eltinge's stage was enlarged in advance of the 1917–1918 theatrical season. The theater's next hit was Business Before Pleasure , starring Barney Bernard and Alexander Carr , which ran from August 1917 to June 1918. This was followed by the play Under Orders , which opened in September 1918; it ran for several months despite having only two performers, in contrast to many contemporary productions that enjoyed large casts. The Eltinge also hosted Wilson Collison 's Up in Mabel's Room , which opened in January 1919, and Collison and Avery Hopwood 's The Girl in
31860-577: The effort. At Papp's behest, in July 1982, a bill was introduced in the 97th Congress , entitled "H.R.6885, A bill to designate the Broadway/Times Square Theatre District in the City of New York as a national historic site". The legislation would have provided certain U.S. government resources and assistance to help the city preserve the district. Faced with strong opposition and lobbying by Mayor Ed Koch's Administration and corporate Manhattan development interests,
32096-461: The eight theaters in February 1990. The New York state government acquired the theater sites that April via eminent domain . The city had planned to buy out the theaters' leases but withdrew after the 42nd Street Company indicated it would lease the theaters to another developer. Although Durst protested the move, a New York Supreme Court judge ruled that the sites could be acquired by condemnation . A nonprofit organization, New 42nd Street ,
32332-438: The elevator had to be built within an alleyway at the eastern end of the theater building. The basement contains the theater's restrooms, lockers, and concessions. During the theater's restoration in 1995, part of the underlying bedrock was excavated to make way for the basement. Prior to its restoration, the Victory Theatre had never been equipped with adequate lounges, concessions, or restrooms. The original capacity of
32568-450: The entire Broadway production is transplanted almost entirely intact and may run for many months (or years) at each stop. For example, the first U.S. tour of The Phantom of the Opera required 26 53-foot-long (16.1 m) semi-trailers to transport all its sets, equipment, and costumes, and it took almost 10 days to properly unload all those trucks and install everything into a theater. New Victory Theater The New Victory Theater
32804-456: The everyday life of New York's lower classes and represented a significant step forward from vaudeville and burlesque, towards a more literate form. They starred high-quality professional singers ( Lillian Russell , Vivienne Segal , and Fay Templeton ), instead of the amateurs, often sex workers, who had starred in earlier musical forms. As transportation improved, poverty in New York diminished, and street lighting made for safer travel at night,
33040-463: The exterior and interior of the Empire Theatre. Further discussion of the landmark designations was delayed for several decades. In late 2015, the LPC hosted public hearings on whether to designate the Empire and six other theaters as landmarks. The LPC rejected the designations in February 2016 because the theaters were already subject to historic-preservation regulations set by the state government. The Urban Development Corporation (UDC), an agency of
33276-441: The facades of three other theaters, including the Empire, would be restored. The Empire's small capacity made it unsuitable as a legitimate theater, so the interior was likely to be demolished and renovated into a restaurant. Mayor Ed Koch wavered in his support of the plan, referring to it as a "Disneyland on 42nd Street". Subsequently, Hugh Hardy conducted a report on 42nd Street's theaters in 1980. His report, in conjunction with
33512-522: The film Last Action Hero in 1993. After Disney committed to restoring the New Amsterdam Theatre in 1994, most of the other theaters around 42nd Street were quickly leased. By 1995, real-estate development firm Forest City Ratner was planning a $ 150 million entertainment and retail complex on the site of the Empire, Harris, and Liberty theaters. Madame Tussauds and AMC leased space in the complex that July. Madame Tussauds would occupy
33748-405: The film The Last Action Hero . The modern multiplex contains a five-story glass facade that rises above the original Empire Theatre's facade. The superstructure of the theater is composed of a steel frame with brick walls measuring 18 inches (460 mm) thick. The Eltinge Theatre could not contain interior columns because they would obstruct audience members' sightlines, so the side walls and
33984-467: The first decade of the 20th century. From 1901 to 1920, forty-three theaters were built around Broadway in Midtown Manhattan. Furthermore, A. H. Woods and American actor Julian Eltinge signed a contract in 1909, wherein Woods acted as Eltinge's manager for seven years. Both men earned several hundred thousand dollars from the contract. Eltinge, who gained fame as a female impersonator, never performed there. In August 1911, Woods announced that he had signed
34220-467: The first musicals to resume performances on September 2, 2021. The 74th Tony Awards were also postponed; the Tony nominations were announced on October 15, 2020, and took place on September 26, 2021. On July 30, 2021, it was announced that all Broadway theaters required attendees to provide proof of full COVID-19 vaccination . The rule applied to guests ages 12+. Those under age 12 were required to provide
34456-402: The first time that Actors' Equity had approved an off-off-Broadway show at a Broadway-sized theater. The Theatre for a New Audience staged Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet at the theater in January 1991. That September, André Gregory relocated his rehearsals of the play Uncle Vanya to the Victory; he relocated the rehearsals to the New Amsterdam Theatre in 1992. Organizations such as
34692-401: The first two stories, while the concession stand is on the third story. The movie screens are spread across five stories, connected by 14 escalators. The multiplex contains an additional six mezzanines, which are connected by elevators. In addition to the proscenium arch, other decorative details remain intact within the multiplex's lobby. A portion of the AMC multiplex is located on a truss above
34928-425: The five theaters, along with the Liberty Theatre on the south side of 42nd Street, in September 1988. The UDC opened a request for proposals for the six theaters that October. The Liberty and Victory were to be converted into performing-arts venues for nonprofit organizations, while the Selwyn, Apollo, Lyric, and Times Square were to be converted to commercial use. By the end of the year, the plans were threatened by
35164-498: The former Liberty Theatre and the Madame Tussauds New York museum. The complex's land lot covers 54,060 square feet (5,022 m) and extends 200 feet (61 m) between its two frontages on 41st and 42nd Streets, with a frontage of 270 feet (82 m) on 41st Street and 350 feet (110 m) on 42nd Street. The city block includes the Candler Building , New Amsterdam Theatre , and 5 Times Square to
35400-403: The heaviest building in New York City to have been relocated. After the theater was relocated, Forest City Ratner planned to recreate stonework on the facade, which at several places had been stripped to a layer of brick. At the time of the relocation, its interior was in poor condition, with peeling paint and missing boxes, but the auditorium retained most of its plasterwork. The theater's facade
35636-728: The highest commercial level of live theater in the English-speaking world . While the Broadway thoroughfare is eponymous with the district, it is closely identified with Times Square . Only three theaters are located on Broadway itself: Broadway Theatre , Palace Theatre , and Winter Garden Theatre . The rest are located on the numbered cross streets, extending from the Nederlander Theatre one block south of Times Square on West 41st Street, north along either side of Broadway to 53rd Street , and Vivian Beaumont Theater , at Lincoln Center on West 65th Street. While exceptions exist,
35872-465: The interior incorporates details that were added when David Belasco took over the theater in 1902. The theater has a brick and brownstone facade with a central stoop leading to the second floor. Inside the entrance is a lobby and reception area, as well as a basement with the theater's restrooms, lockers, and concessions. The New Victory Theater's auditorium seats 499 people on three levels, although it originally accommodated over 900 guests. The auditorium
36108-458: The intersection of the ribs. Its glazed surface is painted amber and ocher. The dome includes an LED chandelier and uplights, as well as ventilation openings. Above the auditorium is the theater's heating, ventilation, and air conditioning equipment; to minimize vibrations, the HVAC equipment is mounted on girders spanning the auditorium's ceiling. The proscenium arch in front of the stage
36344-554: The late 1990s, the former auditorium was converted into a lobby and lounge for a 25-screen multiplex operated by AMC Theatres . Known as the AMC Empire 25 , it was AMC's first theater in New York City. The AMC Empire 25 complex was designed by a joint venture between Benjamin Thompson , Beyer Blinder Belle , Gould Evans Goodman , and the Rockwell Group . The Empire 25 is part of a larger retail and entertainment complex on
36580-424: The late 20th century. The city and state governments of New York acquired the theater as part of the 42nd Street Redevelopment Project in 1990. Forest City Ratner developed an entertainment and retail complex on the site in the 1990s, relocating and renovating the Empire. The Empire Theatre is on the south side of 42nd Street , between Seventh Avenue and Eighth Avenue near the southern end of Times Square , in
36816-428: The licenses revoked. The nearby Republic and other theaters had been raided by police, but these actions only boosted the theaters' popularity. The Eltinge's operating license was temporarily revoked in September 1932, only to reopen the next month. The Eltinge toned down its shows whenever it was raided, but reverted to form soon after. By 1933, Rudnick had taken over the theater building, and Woods relocated his office to
37052-404: The main entrance, the lowest section of the ground-level facade contained a granite water table , above which were doorways set within a rusticated stone facade. The original water table was removed when the theater was relocated in 1998. The second and third floors are mostly devoid of ornamentation. The center of the arch is topped by a cartouche , and the outer piers also contain cartouches at
37288-422: The mart would be developed by Tishman Speyer , operated by Trammell Crow , and funded by Equitable Life Assurance . The Brandts leased all their movie theaters on 42nd Street, including the Empire, to the Cine 42nd Street Corporation in 1986. Cine 42nd Street subleased the theater to Sweetheart Theatres Inc., which screened pornographic movies. The Empire Theatre was still part of the mart project in 1987. Though
37524-402: The mid-20th century; from 1931 to 1950, the number of legitimate theaters decreased from 68 to 30. The Eltinge and the Republic were financially successful by mid-1931, but local business owners opposed burlesque, claiming that the shows encouraged loitering, crime and decreased property values. In New York, theater licenses were subject to yearly renewal, and opponents of burlesque tried to have
37760-557: The middle-class, variety shows in concert saloons for men of the working class and the slumming middle-class." The plays of William Shakespeare were frequently performed on the Broadway stage during the period, most notably by American actor Edwin Booth who was internationally known for his performance as Hamlet . Booth played the role for a famous 100 consecutive performances at the Winter Garden Theatre in 1865 (with
37996-419: The multiplex had 34 plasma screens and seven projectors when it opened; some of the screens were located within the lobby. When the theater opened, all of its screening rooms contained digital audio systems. Times Square became the epicenter for large-scale theater productions between 1900 and the Great Depression . Manhattan's theater district had begun to shift from Union Square and Madison Square during
38232-420: The next sixteen years. However, smaller vaudeville and variety houses proliferated, and Off-Broadway was well established by the end of the nineteenth century. A Trip to Coontown (1898) was the first musical comedy entirely produced and performed by African Americans in a Broadway theatre (inspired largely by the routines of the minstrel shows ), followed by the ragtime -tinged Clorindy: The Origin of
38468-537: The next year. The theater's other plays included The Girl of the Golden West in 1905; The Rose of the Rancho in 1906; The Warrens of Virginia in 1907; and The Devil in 1909. Although Belasco was involved in many of these productions, the extent of his involvement varied widely. George Arliss , Cecil B. DeMille , Mary Pickford , and Tyrone Power Sr. were among the other actors who appeared at
38704-557: The number of potential patrons for the growing number of theatres increased enormously. Plays could run longer and still draw in the audiences, leading to better profits and improved production values. As in England, during the latter half of the century, the theatre began to be cleaned up, with less prostitution hindering the attendance of the theatre by women. Gilbert and Sullivan 's family-friendly comic opera hits, beginning with H.M.S. Pinafore in 1878, were imported to New York (by
38940-421: The one in front of it. The rooms each contain up to 600 seats. On the sixth story are seven smaller screens, which are used for independent , foreign-language, and art films . Two of the screening rooms include leather seats, which were intended for large gatherings such as business presentations and private parties. In addition, there is a private 60-seat screening room that can be rented out for events. In total,
39176-407: The orchestra and first balcony level, as well as the control booths on the second balcony level, contain sound-absorbing acoustical panels. In addition, the entrance from the lobby and the auditorium's emergency exits have soundproof doors. When Belasco owned the theater, he had installed autumn-themed tapestries on the rear and side walls of the auditorium. He also placed a rosewood partition at
39412-515: The orchestra level of seating. The balcony was removed in 1902. During that renovation, an orchestra pit was placed in front of the stage, with platforms at different heights. It was expanded and deepened during the 1995 renovation. The sprung floor stage measures 31 by 65 ft (9.4 by 19.8 m). For most of the 20th century, the stage lacked sufficient wing space and was relatively small, measuring only 33 by 32 ft (10.1 by 9.8 m). In 1902, Belasco added three dressing rooms and
39648-419: The original Empire Theatre building, which measures 20 feet (6.1 m) deep and is placed 60 feet (18 m) above ground level. The screening rooms originally had 4,916 seats in total, although this had been reduced to 4,764 seats by 2011. Each of the 25 rooms contains a curved screen spanning the width of the room. The rooms contain stadium seating , with each row being 18 inches (460 mm) higher than
39884-426: The other 42nd Street theaters operated from 8 a.m. to 3 a.m., with three shifts of workers. The ten theaters on the block attracted about five million visitors a year between them. The 42nd Street Company was established in 1961 to operate the Brandts' seven theaters on 42nd Street. By the early 1960s, the surrounding block had decayed, but many of the old theater buildings from the block's heyday remained, including
40120-423: The other 42nd Street theaters operated from 8 a.m. to 3 a.m., with three shifts of workers. The ten theaters on the block attracted about five million visitors a year between them. The 42nd Street Company was established in 1961 to operate the Brandts' seven theaters on 42nd Street. By the early 1960s, the surrounding block had decayed, but many of the old theater buildings from the block's heyday remained, including
40356-556: The performers, or temporary availability of a theatre between the end of one production and the beginning of another. However, some shows with planned limited engagement runs may, after critical acclaim or box office success, extend their engagements or convert to open-ended runs. This was the case with 2007's August: Osage County , 2009's God of Carnage , 2012's Newsies , and 2022's Take Me Out . Historically, musicals on Broadway tend to have longer runs than "straight" (i.e., non-musical) plays. On January 9, 2006, The Phantom of
40592-416: The perimeter. The current stoop is a replica of the theater's original stoop, which led to the auditorium's second balcony level; the original lobby was below the original stoop. The original stoop was removed in 1910 before being restored in 1995. The New York City government had to approve the installation of the current stoop because it extends onto the sidewalk of 42nd Street. When Belasco renovated
40828-504: The plan, the Victory Theatre would be restored as a legitimate theater. Mayor Ed Koch wavered in his support of the plan, criticizing it as a "Disneyland on 42nd Street". Subsequently, Hugh Hardy conducted a report on 42nd Street's theaters in 1980. His report, in conjunction with a movement opposing the demolition of the nearby Helen Hayes and Morosco theaters, motivated the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) to survey fifty of Midtown Manhattan's extant theaters in
41064-469: The play Enter Madame in 1921, as well as the farce Getting Gertie's Garter and the comedy The Fair Circassian later the same year. Meanwhile, after Oscar Hammerstein had died in 1921, his son Arthur Hammerstein and two of Arthur's sisters sued their stepmother Emma Smith for control of the Republic Theatre and Manhattan Opera House . A judge subsequently determined that the theater had belonged to Arthur since 1910. Oliver D. Bailey leased
41300-661: The plays Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm in 1910, The Woman in 1911, and The Governor's Lady in 1912; all of these shows lasted for several months. In January 1914, Belasco leased the Republic to the Universal Film Company for use as a cinema. Hammerstein, who feared that people would boycott the theater, sued Belasco, claiming that the lease only permitted Belasco to use the theater for "first-class theatrical performances". Hammerstein won his lawsuit against Belasco and Universal in March 1914, prompting Belasco to give up his lease. A. H. Woods leased
41536-468: The plays of George Bernard Shaw , and Katharine Cornell in such plays as Romeo and Juliet , Antony and Cleopatra , and Candida . In 1930, Theatre Guild 's production of Roar, China! was Broadway's first play with a majority Asian cast. As World War II approached, a dozen Broadway dramas addressed the rise of Nazism in Europe and the issue of American non-intervention. The most successful
41772-423: The production plays), meaning that the length of their presentation is not set beforehand, but depends on critical response, word of mouth, and the effectiveness of the show's advertising, all of which determine ticket sales. Investing in a commercial production carries a varied degree of financial risk. Shows need not make a profit immediately; should they make their "nut" (weekly operating expenses), or lose money at
42008-645: The productions of Rodgers and Hammerstein , became enormously influential forms of American popular culture " and contributed to making New York City the cultural capital of the world . New York City's first significant theatre was established in the mid-18th century, around 1750, when actor-managers Walter Murray and Thomas Kean established a resident theatre company at the Theatre on Nassau Street in Lower Manhattan , which held about 280 people. They presented William Shakespeare 's plays and ballad operas such as The Beggar's Opera . In 1752, William Hallam sent
42244-441: The rear of the auditorium. Behind this screen was originally a men's smoking room, as well as one women's lounge on each of the three levels. These rooms were outfitted with then-modern amenities such as telephones and carriage calls. There are triple-height boxes flanking the stage, above which are golden domes. Originally, there were two boxes on either side of the stage at the orchestra and first balcony levels, while there
42480-478: The refurbished theater reopened as the New Victory Theater, becoming the city's first off-Broadway theater for kids and families. The theater hosted its first public show a week later, when the French-Canadian troupe Cirque Éloize performed there. At the time of the New Victory's reopening, the surrounding block of 42nd Street was being redeveloped rapidly, although there were still seven adult stores on
42716-464: The relocation on a weekend. As such, the structure was initially moved 30 feet (9.1 m) on February 22, while the rest of the relocation occurred during a five-hour period on March 1. Hydraulic jacks moved the theater in five-minute bursts, moving the theater about 5 feet (1.5 m) during each burst. Two large balloons representing Abbott and Costello , who first performed together at the theater in 1935, were rigged to appear as if they were dragging
42952-600: The revue Blackbirds of 1928 , which transferred from the Liberty and ran until June 1929. Following the Wall Street Crash of 1929 , Woods produced several plays, which all had short runs. The play Murder on the Second Floor , featuring Laurence Olivier , opened in late 1929. This was followed the next year by Love Honor and Betray with Clark Gable ; the Theatre Guild 's production of A Month in
43188-531: The run ending just a few months before Booth's brother John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln ), and would later revive the role at his own Booth's Theatre (which was managed for a time by his brother Junius Brutus Booth Jr. ). Other renowned Shakespeareans who appeared in New York in this era were Henry Irving , Tommaso Salvini , Fanny Davenport , and Charles Fechter . Theatre in New York moved from Downtown gradually to Midtown Manhattan , beginning around 1850, seeking less expensive real estate. At
43424-473: The season. This is done in order to maximize access to their target audience. Most Broadway producers and theatre owners are members of The Broadway League (formerly "The League of American Theatres and Producers"), a trade organization that promotes Broadway theatre as a whole, negotiates contracts with the various theatrical unions and agreements with the guilds, and co-administers the Tony Awards with
43660-421: The seats in 1902, he installed seat coverings with bee motifs, a reference to his last initial. The modern-day seats are flanked by wrought-iron stanchions, both with bee motifs. The modern seat coverings are similar in design to those that Belasco installed. HHPA created a custom design for the current carpets in 1995; the original carpets could not be restored due to a lack of documentation. The auditorium
43896-478: The sites could be acquired by condemnation . Government officials hoped that the development of the theaters would finally allow the construction of the four towers around 42nd Street, Broadway, and Seventh Avenue. Even though the Empire Theatre was abandoned, government officials continued to heat the theater to preserve the plasterwork. The exterior of the unused theater was used as the Pandora Theater for
44132-415: The south side of 42nd Street, which covers 335,000 square feet (31,100 m). The theater itself covers 140,000 square feet (13,000 m) and was New York City's largest multiplex movie theater at the time of its construction. The square facade of the Empire Theatre is made of terracotta and has little ornamentation compared with other theaters built around the same time. The center of the facade contains
44368-469: The south side of the street. The original Lyric and Apollo theaters (combined into the current Lyric Theatre), as well as the Times Square, Victory, Selwyn (now Todd Haimes), and Victoria theaters, occupied the north side. These venues were mostly converted to movie theaters by the 1930s, and many of them had been relegated to showing pornography by the 1970s. The New Victory Theater was designed by architect Albert Westover; its current design dates to
44604-470: The stage for 657 performances. Chinatown itself was surpassed by the musical Irene (1919) in 1921 as the longest-running Broadway musical, and even earlier, in March 1920, by Lightnin' (1918) as the longest-running Broadway show. In 1896, theatre owners Marc Klaw and A. L. Erlanger formed the Theatrical Syndicate , which controlled almost every legitimate theatre in the U.S. for
44840-426: The structure. AMC finalized its lease the same month. According to New 42nd Street president Cora Cahan, news articles about the proposed relocation were largely "filled [...] with wonder", in contrast to the mostly negative characterizations of Times Square. Urban Foundations was hired to relocate the building. Engineers were preparing to raze several buildings along the south side of 42nd Street by mid-1997, including
45076-434: The term "Broadway theatre" is used predominantly to describe venues with seating capacities of at least 500 people. Smaller theaters in New York City are referred to as off-Broadway , regardless of location, while very small venues with fewer than 100 seats are called off-off-Broadway , a term that can also apply to non-commercial, avant-garde , or productions held outside of traditional theater venues. The Theater District
45312-479: The theater after himself, and it reopened on September 29, 1902, with the play Du Barry featuring Mrs. Carter. One of the renovated theater's early successes was Belasco's play The Darling of the Gods , which opened in December 1902 and lasted for 182 performances. Belasco's play Sweet Kitty Bellairs opened at the theater in December 1903, running for more than 300 performances, followed by The Music Master
45548-414: The theater from the original foundations. The theater was then lifted about 1 ⁄ 8 inch (3.2 mm) so it could be hoisted onto the dolly. Workers used hydraulic jacks to lift the theater. The theater's relocation required several months of preparation. The entire relocation was supposed to have occurred on February 17, 1998, but this was postponed because New York City officials wanted to perform
45784-490: The theater had lost millions of dollars after the marquee stopped advertising burlesque. Moss again refused to renew the Republic's operating license in early 1942, marking the permanent end of burlesque at the Republic. By May 1942, the Republic had become a newsreel theater . Shortly afterward, it was renamed the Victory Theatre, in honor of American soldiers fighting in World War II. The Brandt family acquired
46020-457: The theater in 1902, he installed a wrought iron and glass canopy in front of the entrance, which was also eliminated in 1910. Prior to the New Victory's restoration, there had been an Art Deco -style marquee in front of the entrance, dating from 1932. This was removed in 1995, along with a piece of the neighboring Lyric Theatre 's marquee. Above the cornice of the theater building are capital letters spelling out "New Victory". Although
46256-421: The theater in July 1922, with plans to present Theatre Guild productions there, and he relocated the play Abie's Irish Rose to the Republic from the nearby Fulton Theatre . Abie's Irish Rose ultimately ran for 2,327 performances through October 1927, becoming the longest-running Broadway show at the time, a record that it held for six years. After Abie's Irish Rose closed, several producers leased
46492-470: The theater in the hope that 42nd Street's reputation would improve. William Brandt said in 1953 that any of his 42nd Street theaters could be converted to a legitimate house within 24 hours' notice, but producers did not take up his offer. By the late 1950s, the Victory was operating as a grindhouse , displaying exploitation and horror films. Tickets cost 25 to 65 cents apiece, the cheapest admission scale for any theater on 42nd Street. The Times Square and
46728-609: The theater in the hope that they would also be able to present a long-running play. Bailey also produced several Theatre Guild shows, such as a rendition of the play Porgy that had transferred from the Guild Theatre . One of the Republic's more successful shows in the late 1920s was My Girl Friday , with 253 performances in 1929. With the onset of the Great Depression in 1930, many Broadway theaters were impacted by declining attendance. The theater's last play
46964-483: The theater was originally topped by a colonnade with arches, it was not rebuilt in the 1995 restoration. The modern-day "New Victory" sign occupies the site of the former colonnade. The roof of the theater contained the Paradise Roof Garden, an extension of a garden atop the neighboring Victoria Theatre . It operated until about 1914 or 1915. The garden originally consisted of a "Swiss farm", which
47200-449: The theater was tentatively slated to be used for fashion shows and other events, the city and state governments had not reached an agreement with private developers regarding the mart. The merchandise mart was ultimately never built; the northern part of the site became 11 Times Square, while the southern part became the New York Times Building. In 1989, The Durst Organization acquired the leases to eight theaters in Times Square, including
47436-401: The theater westward. Large construction markers, referencing Abbott and Costello's " Who's on First? " comedy routine, were placed along the construction fence to mark the move's progress. Two portable heaters continued to heat the empty auditorium as it was being relocated. The event attracted several hundred spectators. Until 2022, the 3,700-short-ton (3,300-long-ton; 3,400 t) structure was
47672-634: The theater's 1901–1902 season, the venue was rented out to producers, who presented such shows as Under Southern Skies , The Happy Hypocrite , and Mistress Nell . Theatrical operator David Belasco agreed in January 1902 to lease the Republic from Hammerstein, after the latter had visited Belasco's Carnegie Hall office to lament that "the Theatrical Syndicate is trying to crush me out of business". Belasco planned to present productions starring silent-film actress Mrs. Leslie Carter . Belasco filed plans for major renovations to both
47908-521: The theaters on the north side of 42nd Street with a skyscraper. By then, there was a shortage of new films in the theaters along 42nd Street, which led to decreased attendance. Later the same year, the Brandt family received a mortgage loan for the Victory Theatre. They also bought the theater building from the Geisha Realty Company for $ 402,000; previously, the Brandts had leased the theater from Geisha. The Brandts continued to operate
48144-482: The theatres. Since colored bulbs burned out too quickly, white lights were used, and Broadway was nicknamed "The Great White Way". In August 1919, the Actors' Equity Association demanded a standard contract for all professional productions. After a strike shut down all the theatres, the producers were forced to agree. By the 1920s, the Shubert Brothers had risen to take over the majority of the theatres from
48380-481: The theatrical producer and director who established The Public Theater , led the "Save the Theatres" campaign. It was a not-for-profit group supported by the Actors Equity union to save the theater buildings in the neighborhood from demolition by monied Manhattan development interests. Papp provided resources, recruited a publicist and celebrated actors, and provided audio, lighting, and technical crews for
48616-413: The third story. A carved cornice runs above the third story. The fourth story contains six recessed rectangular windows, which overlooked the offices of the theater's manager A. H. Woods and his brother Martin Woods. The theater was topped by a mansard roof . By 1993, the original facade had become so dilapidated that Columbia Pictures covered the original facade with a stucco-and-plywood replica for
48852-461: The time, the average age of theatergoers was 40.4; nearly two-thirds of the audience were women; and 29% identified as a racial minority. The classification of theatres is governed by language in Actors' Equity Association contracts. To be eligible for a Tony, a production must be in a house with 500 seats or more and in the Theater District, which are the criteria that define Broadway theatre. Off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway shows often provide
49088-508: The towers. The New York Mart plan consisted of a garment merchandise mart on Eighth Avenue between 40th and 42nd Streets, opposite Port Authority Bus Terminal. The project was to be completed by the Times Square Redevelopment Corporation, comprising members of the New York state and city governments. Under this plan, the Empire and Liberty theaters would be renovated, although the extent of the renovations
49324-568: The twenties, there were 70–80 theaters, but by 1969, there were 36 left. During this time, many Broadway productions struggled due to low attendance rates, which resulted in perceived mediocrity among such plays. For this reason, the Theatre Development Fund was created with the purpose of assisting productions with high cultural value that likely would struggle without subsidization, by offering tickets to those plays to consumers at reduced prices. In early 1982, Joe Papp ,
49560-568: The vein of Victor Herbert. Live theatre has survived the invention of cinema. Leaving these comparatively frivolous entertainments behind and taking the drama a step forward, Show Boat premiered on December 27, 1927, at the Ziegfeld Theatre . It represented a complete integration of book and score, with dramatic themes, as told through the music, dialogue, setting, and movement, woven together more seamlessly than in previous musicals. It ran for 572 performances. The 1920s also spawned
49796-692: The war's end, theatre resumed in 1798, when the 2,000-seat Park Theatre was built on Chatham Street on present-day Park Row . A second major theatre, Bowery Theatre , opened in 1826, followed by others. By the 1840s, P.T. Barnum was operating an entertainment complex in Lower Manhattan. In 1829, at Broadway and Prince Street, Niblo's Garden opened and soon became one of New York's premier nightspots. The 3,000-seat theatre presented all sorts of musical and non-musical entertainments. In 1844, Palmo's Opera House opened and presented opera for only four seasons before bankruptcy led to its rebranding as
50032-498: The wings was demolished to make way for a loading dock. The other building was preserved and converted into a dressing room wing. The rear wing includes 40 dressing rooms, as well as a wardrobe room, green room , security office, and offices for visiting theatre companies. During the development of the adjacent 3 Times Square in 1998, the Rudin family acquired the loading dock and demolished it. The Rudins constructed loading docks within 3 Times Square, reserving one loading dock for
50268-415: The years has been known as Theatre Republic, Belasco Theatre, and Victory Theatre. George M. Jansen filed plans with the New York City Department of Buildings for a music hall and cafe at 207–211 West 42nd Street, to be designed by John E. Kerby, in June 1899. It would have been three stories tall with a raised basement and would have cost $ 200,000. Had the theater been built, it would have contained
50504-401: Was Lillian Hellman 's Watch on the Rhine , which opened in April 1941. After the lean years of the Great Depression , Broadway theatre had entered a golden age with the blockbuster hit Oklahoma! , in 1943, which ran for 2,212 performances. According to John Kenrick 's writings on Broadway musicals, "Every season saw new stage musicals send songs to the top of the charts. Public demand,
50740-515: Was Pressing Business , which premiered in November 1930 for a month-long run. Bailey gave up his lease on the theater in December 1930, and Arthur Hammerstein announced plans to present talking films at the Republic. By then, the Depression had made it extremely difficult for theater owners to continue presenting legitimate shows. The Republic Amusement Corporation operated the theater for one month, presenting short films continuously and selling tickets for 25 cents. Billy Minsky , treasurer of
50976-539: Was 14.77 million in 2018–2019, compared to 13.79 million in 2017–2018. The average age of the Broadway audience in the 2017–18 theater season was 40, the lowest it had been in nearly two decades. By 2018, about 20% of Broadway tickets were sold to international visitors, although many visitors reported not being able to use their tickets. In 2022–2023, the first full season since the COVID-19 pandemic, Broadway theaters sold 12.3 million tickets, of which 35% were to local residents and 17% to international visitors. At
51212-531: Was a 50-performance hit called The Elves in 1857. In 1870, the heart of Broadway was in Union Square , and by the end of the century, many theatres were near Madison Square . Theatres arrived in the Times Square area in the early 1900s, and the Broadway theatres consolidated there after a large number were built around the square in the 1920s and 1930s. New York runs continued to lag far behind those in London, but Laura Keene 's "musical burletta" The Seven Sisters (1860) shattered previous New York records with
51448-441: Was an "indecent" show, which Woods ultimately won. After The Demi-Virgin closed, most of the Eltinge's productions ran for fewer than 200 performances, including East of Suez in 1922 and The Woman on the Jury in 1923. One of the exceptions was Archibald and Edgar Selwyn 's comedy Spring Cleaning , which opened in November 1923 and ran for seven months. The firm of Mandelbaum & Lewine, along with Max N. Natanson, bought
51684-410: Was cleaned, while the interior was adapted to become the lobby of the AMC multiplex. Midway through the project, Forest City Ratner decided to add a 455-room hotel above the new entertainment and retail spaces to the east. The hotel was built atop a large truss, which in turn was supported by reinforced-concrete walls and eight large steel columns, since the hotel was structurally separate from the rest of
51920-430: Was excavated underneath the stage to accommodate trap doors and the stage elevator. Belasco also built apartments for himself and for Mrs. Carter above the auditorium. As workers were excavating an area under the stage, they hit a spring by mistake, flooding the site. Belasco's assistant, Louis Hartmann, convinced him to add a laboratory directly above the dome to test out lighting and stage effects. Belasco renamed
52156-453: Was formed in September 1990 to restore six of the theaters and find uses for them. Government officials hoped that development of the theaters would finally allow the construction of the four towers around 42nd Street, Broadway, and Seventh Avenue. In 1992, New 42nd Street received $ 18.2 million for restoring the six theaters as part of an agreement with Prudential and Park Tower. The Victory began offering plays by non-profit companies in
52392-443: Was hired to renovate the theater for $ 7.9 million. Fisher/Dachs Associates was hired as the theater designer, Fisher Maranz Renfro Stone was the lighting consultant, and Jaffe Holden Scarborough Associates was the acoustic engineer. The Victory was the first theater restored by New 42nd Street; this was a deliberate choice, as the Victory had been the earliest of 42nd Street's theaters to become an adult movie theater. By converting
52628-487: Was in decline; the Brandts' theaters only had three million visitors in 1977, about half of the number in 1963. The Brandts' movie theaters on 42nd Street continued to operate through the mid-1980s, at which point the Empire was showing kung-fu and horror films. The 42nd Street Development Corporation had been formed in 1976 to discuss plans for redeveloping Times Square. The same year, the City University of New York 's Graduate Center hosted an exhibition with photographs of
52864-420: Was inspired by Venetian architecture. When the theater was completed in 1900, the main facade measured 70 ft (21 m) tall and 100 ft (30 m) wide. The New-York Tribune described it as being made of "iron, brownstone, and Powhatan brick". At the front of the theater, a brownstone stoop with two staircases rises from ground level to the second story. Ten wrought-iron street lights decorate
53100-408: Was intended to resemble a Roman triumphal arch ; a fourth story was used for offices. The theater had about 900 seats in its auditorium, spread across three levels. It was decorated with ancient Egyptian and Greek details, as well as a sounding board depicting three dancing women. Most of the original detail was restored when the theater building was repurposed in 1998. The former auditorium serves as
53336-447: Was larger than it actually was. The auditorium was decorated with ancient Egyptian and Greek details. These included a proscenium arch decorated with sphinxes and winged disks. The proscenium was flanked by smaller arches, each of which contained two levels with two boxes each. The boxes stepped down toward the stage, and the fronts of each box were decorated with sculpted medallions, flanked by sculpted figures. The boxes were removed in
53572-415: Was more successful than predicted, filling 85 percent of its seats in the 1996–1997 season and selling thousands of memberships to families. Cora Cahan, who headed New 42nd Street, said the New Victory's success proved that there was a "real need" for children's theaters in New York City. The theater continued to present family-friendly shows, including those by foreign artists, through the late 1990s and
53808-403: Was one box on either side at the second balcony level. The boxes are topped by lighting fixtures, similar to those that had been installed when Belasco owned the theater. On the ceiling is a large dome that features lyre -playing putti perched on its rim; these putti were removed in 1902 before being restored in 1995. The dome is divided by ribs, with a central motif of a lyre and cherubs at
54044-490: Was only one of three remaining burlesque theaters in the city by 1940. Moss again refused to renew the Eltinge's operating license in early 1942, marking the permanent end of burlesque at the Eltinge. After the Eltinge's burlesque license expired, J. J. Mage leased the theater from the Brandts. Mage reopened the Eltinge as the Laff-Movie in July 1942, with 759 seats. The new name reflected the fact that it showed only comedic shorts and feature films . The Brandt family took over
54280-434: Was originally a chandelier hanging from the center of the ceiling, but it was removed in the 1930s. When the theater building was repurposed in 1998, the steeply-raked balcony levels were replaced with mezzanines that contained restaurants. Escalators pass through the former proscenium arch to the newer multiplex screens above. There are three levels of lobbies, which lead to the screening rooms. The former auditorium comprises
54516-431: Was producing multiple large shows, which the theater's small capacity could not accommodate. The Lambert Theatre Corporation, a venture in which Bryant was a partner, leased the Eltinge during the 1927–1928 theatrical season, hosting seven shows in eight months. Louis I. Isquith leased the theater during mid-1928, presenting a series of plays with low ticket prices. Woods subsequently took back the theater's lease and produced
54752-403: Was renovated in 1995, the rearmost rows of seating were removed from the auditorium, creating space for the present lobby. A wall was installed between the auditorium and lobby, reducing disruption caused by noise from the street. A staircase and an elevator connect the lobby to other stories. The elevator was installed in the mid-1990s. Because there was so little space within the theater,
54988-414: Was replaced with a "Dutch farm" in 1905. According to The New York Times , the "Dutch farm" was a replica of a Dutch village "complete with water mill, a rooftop space where patrons dined and danced". The theater initially had a small reception area, described by the New-York Tribune as "tomblike", which was replaced with a lobby in 1902. The original lobby had oak panelling and wrought-iron doors to
55224-455: Was the third theater built on this block of West 42nd Street, as well as the seventh theater developed by Hammerstein. The New-York Tribune called the Republic a "small but prettily arranged house". The theater hosted three additional plays during its inaugural season, including In the Palace of the King , which featured Viola Allen for four months. The theater was relatively small, so it could only accommodate dramas and comedies. During
55460-401: Was unclear. David Morse and Richard Reinis were selected in April 1982 to develop the mart, but they were removed from the project that November due to funding issues. Subsequently, the state and city disputed over the replacement development team, leading the city to withdraw from the partnership in August 1983. The state and city reached a compromise on the development team that October, wherein
55696-458: Was under renovation at the time, would be renamed after actor James Earl Jones . In June 2022, the Nederlanders announced that the Brooks Atkinson Theatre would be renamed after Lena Horne , The James Earl Jones Theatre was rededicated in September 2022, while the Lena Horne Theatre was rededicated that November. Although there are some exceptions, shows with open-ended runs generally have evening performances Tuesday through Saturday, with
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