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117-653: The company's name is derived from the Ballets Russes of impresario Sergei Diaghilev . The last season of Diaghilev's Ballets Russes was 1929, during which it toured and performed in both London, England , and Paris, France . During the final season, it produced the new ballets The Prodigal Son and Le Bal . The company performed for the final time in London at the Covent Garden Theatre on July 26, 1929. Diaghliev died of complications from diabetes

234-431: A cornice above the auditorium. The eastern section, containing the building's current main entrance, includes statues flanking the doors, as well as an overhanging marquee . The 51st Street facade was originally a side entrance; the main entrance was originally at 1655 Broadway but was closed in the 1950s. In contrast to the exterior, the theater has a Baroque interior. Its rotunda lobby contains eight fluted columns ,

351-633: A frontage of 225 feet (69 m) on 51st Street and a depth of 200 feet (61 m). The bulk of the theater exists on 51st Street, with a wing extending north to 52nd Street . The Mark Hellinger shares the block with the Neil Simon Theatre to the west and Gallagher's Steakhouse to the north. Other nearby buildings include the August Wilson Theatre to the north; the Broadway Theatre and 810 Seventh Avenue to

468-434: A parapet with zigzag patterns. The stage house to the west and the auditorium at the center share a facade, with gold brick above a black-granite water table. Horizontal brown-brick strips run across the first story. The first floor also contains display boxes with brick headers around them, as well as an office door, a former stage door, and a wide garage door. On the upper stories, the central section (auditorium) contains

585-573: A balcony, and a domed ceiling with several murals; a basement lounge exists under the lobby. The auditorium has a coved ceiling with murals, as well as boxes and a deep stage. For the first two decades of the Hellinger Theatre's existence, it largely served as a cinema under the Hollywood Theatre name. Vaudeville was presented in 1932, and some legitimate productions were shown intermittently from 1934 to 1942. The theater

702-501: A cartouche above. There are twelve frames in total, which depict 18th-century French aristocratic scenes; each mural signifies a different part of the year. The main portion of the ceiling contains additional molded bands, which contain more murals and surround an oval panel at the center. The oval panel contains a fan design while the surrounding panels are designed in the Adam style . There are small pendant-style chandeliers hanging from

819-541: A central medallion and a smaller globe-style chandelier. A staircase curves upward to the lobby and contains paneled walls with molded borders, as well as a paneled ceiling with suspended globe-style chandeliers. Movie palaces became common in the 1920s between the end of World War I and the beginning of the Great Depression. In the New York City area, only a small number of operators were involved in

936-736: A composer was dashed in 1894 when Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov told him he had no talent. In 1898, several members of The Pickwickians founded the journal Mir iskusstva ( World of Art ) under the editorship of Diaghilev. As early as 1902, Mir iskusstva included reviews of concerts, operas, and ballets in Russia. The latter were chiefly written by Benois, who exerted considerable influence on Diaghilev's thinking. Mir iskusstva also sponsored exhibitions of Russian art in St. Petersburg, culminating in Diaghilev's important 1905 show of Russian portraiture at

1053-605: A design competition for an original Australian ballet, which was won by Donald Friend with designs for a ballet based on a fictitious event in the life of Ned Kelly .. A number of dancers stayed in Australia, including Kira Bousloff , who went on to found the West Australian Ballet . Soon after they returned to the United States in 1939, World War II broke out. The company suffered financially, but

1170-649: A domed ceiling. According to the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC), the lobby's design is similar to the interior of the 18th-century Basilica of the Fourteen Holy Helpers in Germany. The Times Square Church uses the lobby to sell religious products such as books and CDs. The main lobby's columns are placed on marble pedestals, and they are topped by Ionic -style capitals . Above

1287-688: A hit and a classic, premiered at the Hollywood in 1942. Among the films screened at the Hollywood in the mid-1940s were This Is the Army (1943), Old Acquaintance (1943), The Adventures of Mark Twain (1944), The Corn Is Green (1945), and Night and Day (1946). The Hollywood Theatre became the Warner Theatre in August 1947 with the premiere of the film Life with Father . Wealthy producer Anthony Brady Farrell agreed to purchase

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1404-418: A huge sensation, completely reinvigorating the art of performing dance, bringing many visual artists to public attention, and significantly affecting the course of musical composition. It also introduced European and American audiences to tales, music, and design motifs drawn from Russian folklore . The company's employment of European avant-garde art went on to influence broader artistic and popular culture of

1521-643: A lack of Broadway productions prompted the Nederlanders to lease the theater to the Times Square Church, which bought the building two years later and continues to operate it as of 2024 . The Mark Hellinger Theatre is at 237 West 51st Street , on the north sidewalk between Eighth Avenue and Broadway , in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City . The irregular land lot covers 23,650 square feet (2,197 m ), with

1638-412: A large brick panel surrounded by soldier courses . There are rectangular openings to the east (right) of this panel, with grilles above them. The top story of the auditorium contains stylized brick brackets , which support a decorative copper cornice ; there are octagonal panels between the brackets. The stage house contains window openings between shallow brick piers . The stage house has a setback on

1755-508: A modern facade and a Baroque interior. It has 1,605 seats across two levels and has been a house of worship for the Times Square Church since 1989. Both the exterior and interior of the theater are New York City landmarks . The facade on 51st Street is designed in a modern 1930s style and is constructed with golden and brown bricks. The stage house to the west and the auditorium at the center are designed as one unit, with

1872-662: A month at the Hollywood. In 1940, the theater was again renamed the 51st Street Theatre, presenting a revival of Romeo and Juliet with Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier that May. Though the play had been highly promoted, it ran for only 36 performances. This was followed in October 1940 by a three-week performance by the Ballet Russe de Monte-Carlo , then in November by performances from Colonel Wassily de Basil 's Original Ballet Russe . The theater reverted to

1989-630: A month later, on August 19, 1929. In 1931, with the help from financier Serge Denham , René Blum and Colonel Wassily de Basil formed Les Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo. One of the new company's board members was American businessman Jim Thompson . The company hired Leonide Massine and George Balanchine as choreographers. The majority of the works performed had previously been staged by Diaghilev's company, but other new works were commissioned, such as Jeux d'enfants , with music by Georges Bizet and sets by Joan Miró . Featured dancers included David Lichine (who soon began choreographing ballets for

2106-411: A movie palace on the site. The company planned to build an entrance from Broadway , on the eastern end of the block. The theater was to have 1,600 seats on an orchestra and a balcony level, and it would be the first Broadway theater built specifically for films. Warner Bros. had chosen this site specifically because it was close to the established Theater District around Times Square. That area, by

2223-406: A score by Burton Lane and Alan Jay Lerner . The same year, a 40-foot-wide (12 m) alcoholic bar was installed in the lounge's rotunda. The late 1960s was characterized by several unsuccessful musicals. The musical A Joyful Noise in 1966, with choreography by Michael Bennett , ended after just 12 performances. The Martha Graham Dance Company had a limited engagement at the theater

2340-416: A shelf supported on console brackets. The immediate opposite wall has doorways to the women's and men's restrooms. The lounge formerly also had a bar, which was installed in the 1960s. The ceiling dome is shallow and contains a central medallion with overlapping circles, from which hangs a large chandelier. The rest of the ceiling contains moldings and beams, which divide the ceiling into sections, each with

2457-462: A short run at the Hellinger in 1984. Michael Bennett negotiated to buy a half-interest in the theater's ownership in 1984, the same year that Jerry Weintraub purchased a stake in the operation of the Hellinger. In 1985, the Hellinger hosted Grind for 75 performances and Tango Argentino for about 200 performances. The 1985 film A Chorus Line was also partly shot on location at

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2574-411: A vertical axis. A projection room was placed at the rear of the balcony, measuring 30 feet (9.1 m) long and 12 feet (3.7 m) tall. On either side of the proscenium is an archway with a single box that is curved outward. The balcony's front railing extends onto the box's front railing, supporting two fluted Corinthian columns on either side of each box. Underneath the front railing of each box

2691-486: Is an arch at orchestra level, which contains a pair of console brackets with a cartouche at the center. There are also cartouches beside the arches, under each pair of columns; these in turn are flanked by brackets with cherubs and swags. Above each box is another arch, which rises from volutes atop the Corinthian-column pairs. Small pendant chandeliers are placed in front of the boxes' column pairs. Next to

2808-428: Is designed with plaster decorations in low relief . The auditorium's seating capacity is 1,603, though historically it could fit 1,506 people. The orchestra alone could fit 900 people. The seats are upholstered in red velvet and finished in wood. From the outset, three hundred seats were equipped with "Warner Theatre-phones" to both amplify and clarify sound for hard-of-hearing users. Damask curtains were placed on

2925-417: Is mounted over the building's entrance. The facade is made of gold brick, with three strips of brown-brick rectangles above the marquee, rising to a set of three brown-brick squares. On either side are fluted terracotta panels, topped by stylized urns that contain plant forms. On all stories, the theater's brick courses step outward to the left and right of the tower. The top of the entrance's facade contains

3042-448: Is short term for me. It'll pass before you know it." Had the Nederlanders retained the Hellinger as a legitimate venue, the organization could have rented the theater to a large musical for $ 1.04 million a year, but it would be far from a consistent income stream. Legs Diamond closed later the same month. According to The New York Times : "To many theater people, the leasing of the Hellinger, [...] which has long been considered one of

3159-418: Is slightly raked , sloping down toward an orchestra pit near the stage. The underside of the balcony, above the orchestra, contains globe-shaped light fixtures and three coves with scallops and foliation. Though the balcony is also raked, its underside is convex, preventing sound-deadening air pockets from accumulating at the orchestra's rear wall. The balcony also has a promenade at its rear, separated from

3276-947: The Polovtsian Dances (from Prince Igor ), Les Sylphides , and Cléopâtre . The season also included Le Festin , a pastiche set by several choreographers (including Fokine) to music by several Russian composers. The principal productions are shown in the table below. Léon Bakst (costumes) Alexandre Benois (costumes) Ivan Bilibin (costumes) Edvard Grieg ( Småtroll, op.71/3, from Lyric Pieces , Book X ) (orch. Igor Stravinsky for "Variation") Michel Fokine Léon Bakst (costumes) Léon Bakst (costumes) Alexander Golovin (sets and costumes) Natalia Goncharova (costumes) Gabrielle Chanel (costumes) Pablo Picasso (sets) Joan Miró (sets and costumes) Coco Chanel (costumes) Juan Gris (costumes) When Sergei Diaghilev died of diabetes in Venice on 19 August 1929,

3393-610: The corps de ballet . Bronislava Nijinska was the younger sister of Vaslav Nijinsky . She trained at the Imperial Ballet School in St. Petersburg, joining the Imperial Ballet company in 1908. From 1909, she (like her brother) was a member of Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. In 1915, Nijinska and her husband fled to Kiev to escape World War I. There, she founded the École de movement, where she trained Ukrainian artists in modern dance. Her most prominent pupil

3510-495: The 1970 Tony Awards . The Hellinger next staged the flop Ari and the final performances of the long-running off-Broadway production Man of La Mancha in 1971. This was followed the same year by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice 's Jesus Christ Superstar , another classic, which ran for 720 performances over the next two years. A mixture of successes and failures followed. The Martha Graham Dance Company returned in 1974 and 1975 to critical acclaim. Conversely,

3627-469: The 51st Street Theatre and the Hollywood Theatre ) is a church building at 237 West 51st Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City , which formerly operated as a cinema and Broadway theater . Opened in 1930, the Hellinger Theatre is named after journalist Mark Hellinger and was developed by Warner Bros. as a movie palace . It was designed by Thomas W. Lamb with

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3744-502: The Georgian State Dance Company . The Hellinger hosted Shakespeare's Macbeth with Glenda Jackson and Christopher Plummer in early 1988. At the end of the year, the theater premiered its last-ever legitimate production, Legs Diamond . The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) had started to consider protecting the Hellinger as a landmark in 1982, with discussions continuing over

3861-700: The Petrograd Conservatory , graduating in 1923. During this time, he worked with the corps de ballet of the Mariinsky Theater . In 1924, Balanchine (and his first wife, ballerina Tamara Geva ) fled to Paris while on tour of Germany with the Soviet State Dancers. He was invited by Sergei Diaghilev to join the Ballets Russes as a choreographer. Diaghilev invited the collaboration of contemporary fine artists in

3978-691: The School of American Ballet , and later the New York City Ballet , many outstanding former Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo dancers went to New York to teach in his school. When they toured the United States, Cyd Charisse , the film actress and dancer, was taken into the cast. The Original Ballet Russe toured mostly in Europe. Its alumni were influential in teaching classical Russian ballet technique in European schools. The successor companies were

4095-566: The Shubert brothers . Generally, the Hollywood's films were not successful, and the venue stood empty for long periods. Warner Bros. announced in October 1934 that it would renovate the stage for theatrical use and add 32 dressing rooms. These changes were to accommodate Hollywood's first theatrical production: Calling All Stars , a musical revue with Martha Raye , which opened in December 1934 and ran 35 performances. In October 1935,

4212-768: The Tauride Palace . Frustrated by the extreme conservatism of the Russian art world, Diaghilev organized the groundbreaking Exhibition of Russian Art at the Petit Palais in Paris in 1906, the first major showing of Russian art in the West. Its enormous success created a Parisian fascination with all things Russian. Diaghilev organized a 1907 season of Russian music at the Paris Opéra . In 1908, Diaghilev returned to

4329-668: The 1920s, was starting to see the development of movie theaters alongside legitimate venues. The Warner Bros. Hollywood Theatre opened on April 22, 1930, with the Warner Technicolor musical film Hold Everything , starring Winnie Lightner and Joe E. Brown . The storefronts on Broadway were leased out for uses such as a Lindy's restaurant. For its first two years, the Hollywood only screened films. These included Moby Dick and The Beggar of Bagdad in 1930, as well as Bought and The Mad Genius in 1931. Lou Holtz announced his intention in early 1932 to lease

4446-619: The Ballets Russes was left with substantial debts. As the Great Depression began, its property was claimed by its creditors and the company of dancers dispersed. In 1931, Colonel Wassily de Basil (a Russian émigré entrepreneur from Paris) and René Blum (ballet director at the Monte Carlo Opera ) founded the Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo , giving its first performances there in 1932. Diaghilev alumni Léonide Massine and George Balanchine worked as choreographers with

4563-565: The Ballets Russes were Parade , El sombrero de tres picos , and Pulcinella . In all three of these works, he collaborated with Pablo Picasso , who designed the sets and costumes. Massine extended Fokine's choreographic innovations, especially those relating to narrative and character. His ballets incorporated both folk dance and demi-charactère dance, a style using classical technique to perform character dance . Massine created contrasts in his choreography, such as synchronized yet individual movement, or small-group dance patterns within

4680-495: The Ballets Russes. These included the Polovtsian Dances (from Prince Igor ), Le Pavillon d'Armide (a revival of his 1907 production for the Imperial Russian Ballet), Les Sylphides (a reworking of his earlier Chopiniana ), The Firebird , Le Spectre de la Rose , Petrushka , and Daphnis and Chloé . After a longstanding tumultuous relationship with Diaghilev, Fokine left the Ballets Russes at

4797-596: The Broadway entrance had been "discontinued". The Broadway lobby was then leased out to a clothier in late 1953. The Girl in Pink Tights , the final show of the late composer Sigmund Romberg , premiered in 1954 and closed after 115 performances. The Ballets Espagnols also performed at the Hellinger that November for a four-week run. The Amish-themed musical Plain and Fancy opened in January 1955 and

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4914-741: The Cabaret Tropicana. Other dancers included Tamara Grigorieva, Nina Verchinina, Anna Leontieva, Genevieve Moulin, Tatiana Leskova, Anna Volkova, Your Lazowski, Dimitri Romanoff, Roman Jasinski , Paul Petroff, and Oleg Tupin. In 1947, the Original Ballet Russe gave its last season in London before disbanding. The company was revived in 1951 by family members G. Kirsta and the Grigorievs, after Col. de Basil died. The company proved to be financially unstable, and folded while on tour in Europe in 1952. A feature documentary about

5031-497: The Faun, the ballet's frankly erotic nature caused a sensation. The following year, Nijinsky choreographed a new work by Debussy composed expressly for the Ballets Russes, Jeux . Indifferently received by the public, Jeux was eclipsed two weeks later by the premiere of Igor Stravinsky 's The Rite of Spring ( Le Sacre du printemps ), also choreographed by Nijinsky. Nijinsky eventually retired from dance and choreography, after he

5148-503: The Hellinger from the Lunt-Fontanne for the last seven months of the musical's run. The Italian-language Rugantino was staged in 1964 with live supertitles on the proscenium, though it flopped in spite of critical acclaim. Styne, Betty Comden , and Adolph Green 's musical Fade Out – Fade In also opened in 1964, featuring Jack Cassidy and Carol Burnett . On a Clear Day You Can See Forever opened in 1965 with

5265-466: The Hellinger in 1980 and 1981 . After the closure of Sugar Babies in 1982, Comden and Green produced A Doll's Life , which closed after five performances. Magician Doug Henning costarred with Chita Rivera in the 1983 musical Merlin , which ran for 199 performances. Merlin ended to make way for Chaplin , a musical that never opened. Afterward, the British musical Oliver! had

5382-457: The Hellinger to the Times Square Church , headed by the Rev. David Wilkerson , for $ 1 million per year on a five-year lease. At the time, the church occupied the 1,150-seat Nederlander Theatre , which was at standing-room only capacity five days a week. In addition, the Broadway theatrical industry was struggling to stage works, and James M. Nederlander said: "It's a short-term lease—five years

5499-404: The Hellinger was built as a cinema , the theater's large stage could also be used to present large musical shows. Below the ceiling, wrapping around the whole auditorium, is an entablature with a leaf molding. The edges of the ceiling are split into numerous coves, separated by console brackets with cartouches at their centers. Each of the coves contains a painted mural with a round frame and

5616-443: The Hollywood Theatre name and again began showing films. A renovation of the Hollywood Theatre was announced in mid-1941, when Eddie Cantor 's musical Banjo Eyes was booked. Banjo Eyes opened in December 1941 and ran for 129 performances, ultimately closing after Cantor became ill. Following Banjo Eyes , the Hollywood returned to showing films exclusively for several years. The film Casablanca , which subsequently became

5733-462: The Hollywood hosted the premiere of the Warner Bros. film A Midsummer Night's Dream , starring James Cagney and Olivia de Havilland . The following March, Earl Carroll negotiated with Warner Bros. to rename the Hollywood Theatre for himself and stage musicals there. The theater was leased to George Abbott and renamed the 51st Street Theatre in late 1936. The theater's main entrance

5850-732: The LPC in June 1988 to overturn the landmark designations of 22 theaters, including the Hellinger, on the merit that the designations severely limited the extent to which the theaters could be modified. The lawsuit was escalated to the New York Supreme Court and the Supreme Court of the United States , but these designations were ultimately upheld in 1992. In February 1989, the Nederlander Organization leased

5967-423: The Nederlanders sold the Hellinger to the church for a reported $ 17 million. Wilkerson then spent several years renovating the theater for his congregation. In the years after the Times Square Church's purchase, the church became so popular that the Hellinger could not accommodate all congregants, despite the theater's 1,600-seat capacity. The congregation at the theater numbered 4,000 in 1997 and doubled within

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6084-484: The Paris Opéra with six performances of Modest Mussorgsky 's opera Boris Godunov , starring basso Fyodor Chaliapin . This was Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov 's 1908 version (with additional cuts and re-arrangement of the scenes). The performances were a sensation, though the costs of producing grand opera were crippling. In 1909, Diaghilev presented his first Paris "Saison Russe" devoted exclusively to ballet (although

6201-410: The Warner Theatre in June 1948 for about $ 1.5 million; the sale was finalized the next month. Farrell planned to rename the theater for Mark Hellinger , a Broadway journalist and critic who had died the year before, and he proposed renovating the theater for legitimate plays and musicals. The theater was dedicated under its new name on January 16, 1949, and Farrell's musical All for Love opened

6318-612: The all-male revival of As You Like It (1974), The Skin of Our Teeth (1975), and 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue (1976) were all flops that managed less than ten performances each. Meanwhile, the Stahls had unofficially put the Hellinger on the market by 1975, and the Nederlander Organization bought the theater the next year. The Hellinger was not successful in its 1978 productions of Timbuktu! with Eartha Kitt or Platinum with Alexis Smith . This

6435-403: The balcony's ceiling into panels, and there are moldings along the border of both the ribs and the panels. Candelabras and globe chandeliers are suspended from the balcony ceiling. There was originally furniture along the balcony. The auditorium has an orchestra level, one balcony, boxes , and a stage behind the proscenium arch. The auditorium is slightly wider than its depth, and the space

6552-627: The best and most beautiful theaters for musicals, was a sad symbol of both the state of Broadway and of the Nederlander organization." The Times Square Church moved to the Hellinger in March 1989. That August, the LPC held a hearing on whether the westernmost 26-foot-wide (7.9 m) section of the theater could be demolished to make way for a hotel developed by Silverstein Properties . The planned hotel would have used air rights from above

6669-400: The boxes is an inverted proscenium arch. The proscenium arch contains Corinthian-style fluted piers and columns on either side, topped by console brackets. The top of the arch is designed as an ornate entablature. The center of the proscenium contains a large plaster-of-Paris crown, supported by a broken pediment with winged figures. The stage has a depth of 45 feet (14 m). Although

6786-511: The columns is a marble entablature with cherubs . The ceiling has paneled arches and coves , which converge at a rope molding that surrounds the oval dome at the ceiling's center. A classical mural is painted in the middle of the ceiling; the mural was intended to symbolize arts and learning. A large multi-tiered candelabra hangs from the middle of the dome. The lobby's walls contain marble bases, above which are panels surrounded by ornamental moldings. Lighting sconces are mounted onto

6903-453: The company and Tamara Toumanova was a principal dancer. Artistic differences led to a split between Blum and de Basil, after which de Basil renamed his company initially "Ballets Russes de Colonel W. de Basil". Blum retained the name "Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo", while de Basil created a new company. In 1938, he called it "The Covent Garden Russian Ballet" and then renamed it the " Original Ballet Russe " in 1939. Col de Basil's company

7020-463: The company did not use the name "Ballets Russes" until the following year). Most of this original company were resident performers at the Imperial Ballet of Saint Petersburg , hired by Diaghilev to perform in Paris during the Imperial Ballet's summer holidays. The first season's repertory featured a variety of works chiefly choreographed by Michel Fokine , including Le Pavillon d'Armide ,

7137-701: The company had no formal ties there. Originally conceived by impresario Sergei Diaghilev , the Ballets Russes is widely regarded as the most influential ballet company of the 20th century, in part because it promoted ground-breaking artistic collaborations among young choreographers, composers, designers, and dancers, all at the forefront of their several fields. Diaghilev commissioned works from composers such as Igor Stravinsky , Claude Debussy , Sergei Prokofiev , Erik Satie , and Maurice Ravel , artists such as Vasily Kandinsky , Alexandre Benois , Pablo Picasso , and Henri Matisse , and costume designers Léon Bakst and Coco Chanel . The company's productions created

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7254-497: The company that season. Finally, in 1939, Col. de Basil gave the company its final name, the Original Ballet Russe . The company toured extensively throughout Europe and Australia , visiting Australia in 1936–37, 1938–39, and 1939–40. During his visit to Australia, de Basil commissioned work from Australians, especially from designers, who included Sidney Nolan and Kathleen and Florence Martin. He also instigated

7371-725: The company to the United States . In 1937, Massine left, joining with Blum to form their own company, recruiting several dancers from their previous group. However, the ballets which Massine had choreographed while under contract with Col. de Basil were owned by his company. Massine sued de Basil in London to regain the intellectual property rights to his own works. He also sued to claim the Ballet Russe de Monte-Carlo name. The jury decided that de Basil owned Massine's ballets created between 1932 and 1937, but not those created before 1932. It also ruled that both successor companies could use

7488-616: The company's first season, starting May 1938, was at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Massine's Ballet Russe de Monte-Carlo had a season at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane a few hundred yards away, and this season was known as the "London Ballet Wars". After London, Hurok booked both of the companies to perform in New York (with de Basil's company playing the Hollywood Theatre ), for a total of fifteen weeks, making it

7605-522: The company's season at the Théâtre de Monte-Carlo, presenting her ballets Bolero, Variations, Etude , and Les Comediens Jaloux . Nijinska created Les Cent Baisers for the company's London season in 1935. The company struggled financially in the wake of the Great Depression , and was on the verge of bankruptcy. Sol Hurok , an American, took over the management of the Ballet Russe and brought

7722-498: The company), and the " baby ballerinas " Irina Baronova , Tamara Toumanova , and Tatiana Riabouchinska . The company conductor was Efrem Kurtz , who stayed until 1942, touring with them extensively, and the librettist was Boris Kochno . The company gave its first performance in Monte Carlo in 1932. Without consulting Blum, Col. de Basil dropped Balanchine after one year – ostensibly because he thought that audiences preferred

7839-413: The company, featuring interviews with many of the dancers, was released in 2005, with the title Ballets Russes . A Thousand Encores: Ballets Russes in Australia was a documentary screened on ABC Television on November 3, 2009, about the company's three visits to Australia between 1936 and 1940. The documentary claims that there is more footage of the Ballets Russes in Australia than anywhere else in

7956-399: The company, including Ekaterina Galanta and Valentina Kachouba . Prima ballerina Xenia Makletzova was dismissed from the company in 1916 and sued by Diaghilev; she countersued for breach of contract, and won $ 4500 in a Massachusetts court. The Ballets Russes was even more remarkable for raising the status of the male dancer, largely ignored by choreographers and ballet audiences since

8073-601: The company: Les biches , Les Fâcheux , and Le train bleu . Born Giorgi Melitonovitch Balanchivadze in Saint Petersburg, George Balanchine was trained at the Imperial School of Ballet. His education there was interrupted by the Russian Revolution of 1917 . Balanchine graduated in 1921, after the school reopened. He subsequently studied music theory, composition, and advanced piano at

8190-451: The construction of movie palaces. Relatively few architects were responsible for these theaters' designs, including legitimate theater architects Thomas Lamb, C. Howard Crane , and John Eberson . In April 1929, Warner Bros. leased the lots at 217 to 233 West 51st Street and 234 West 52nd Street at an annual rate of $ 40,000. The lease was to run for 17 years, with options for two 21-year extensions. Warner Bros. immediately started planning

8307-453: The design of sets and costumes. These included Alexandre Benois , Léon Bakst , Nicholas Roerich , Georges Braque , Natalia Goncharova , Mikhail Larionov , Pablo Picasso , Coco Chanel , Henri Matisse , André Derain , Joan Miró , Giorgio de Chirico , Salvador Dalí , Ivan Bilibin , Juan Gris , Pavel Tchelitchev , Maurice Utrillo , and Georges Rouault . Hollywood Theatre (New York) The Mark Hellinger Theatre (formerly

8424-511: The early 19th century. Among the male dancers were Michel Fokine , Serge Lifar , Léonide Massine , Anton Dolin , George Balanchine , Valentin Zeglovsky , Theodore Kosloff , Adolph Bolm , and the legendary Vaslav Nijinsky , considered the most popular and talented dancer in the company's history. After the Russian Revolution of 1917 , in later years, younger dancers were taken from those trained in Paris by former Imperial dancers, within

8541-457: The early part of the 20th century, it was sometimes referred to as "The Russian Ballet" or "Diaghilev's Russian Ballet." To add to the confusion, some publicity material spelled the name in the singular. The names Ballet Russe de Monte-Carlo and the Original Ballet Russe (using the singular) refer to companies that formed after Diaghilev's death in 1929. Sergei Diaghilev , the company's impresario (or " artistic director " in modern terms),

8658-403: The early twentieth century, not least the development of Art Deco . The French plural form of the name, Ballets Russes , specifically refers to the company founded by Sergei Diaghilev and active during his lifetime. (In some publicity the company was advertised as Les Ballets Russes de Serge Diaghileff. ) In English, the company is now commonly referred to as "the Ballets Russes", although in

8775-619: The end of the 1912 season. Vaslav Nijinsky had attended the Imperial Ballet School , St. Petersburg since the age of eight. He graduated in 1907 and joined the Imperial Ballet where he immediately began to take starring roles. Diaghilev invited him to join the Ballets Russes for its first Paris season. In 1912, Diaghilev gave Nijinsky his first opportunity as a choreographer, for his production of L'Après-midi d'un faune to Claude Debussy 's symphonic poem Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune . Featuring Nijinsky himself as

8892-417: The landings. Underneath the balcony, next to the columns on the north wall, are segmental arches that are supported by console brackets . The balcony itself has a balustrade with motifs of scallops and cherubs, while the underside of the balcony has moldings. The walls of the balcony also have panels with moldings; there are doorways decorated with cartouches and swags , which lead to lounges. Ribs divide

9009-461: The large community of Russian exiles. Recruits were even accepted from America and included a young Ruth Page who joined the troupe in Monte Carlo during 1925. The company featured and premiered now-famous (and sometimes notorious) works by the great choreographers Marius Petipa and Michel Fokine , as well as new works by Vaslav Nijinsky , Bronislava Nijinska , Léonide Massine , and

9126-472: The longest ballet season of New York. Along with management, the two companies also shared dancers. Hurok continued to have the companies perform near each other; he hoped to reunite the companies, but ultimately was unsuccessful. The company then spent some weeks on a " whistle stop " tour of America, sleeping on the special train hired to transport them. In 1939, the company spent a six-week season at Covent Garden . English ballerina Mona Inglesby danced with

9243-452: The main balcony by decorated vertical piers. The balcony and promenade walls contain flat pilasters and panels with molded borders. The side walls contain arched doorways with molded frames. The rear wall has a standing rail and lighting sconces. The balcony level is divided into front and rear sections by a crossover aisle, which runs between metal railings on either side. The balcony's front railing has foliate motifs, which are aligned on

9360-520: The name Ballet Russe – but only Massine and Blum's company could be called Ballet Russe de Monte-Carlo . Col. de Basil renamed his company again, calling it the Covent Garden Russian Ballet and bringing on Michel Fokine as resident choreographer. Sol Hurok ended up managing Blum and Massine's company as well. The Ballet Russe de Monte-Carlo and the Original Ballet Russe often performed near each other. Under its new name,

9477-458: The next several years. The LPC designated the Hellinger's interior as a landmark on November 17, 1987, followed by the facade in January 1988. This was part of the commission's wide-ranging effort in 1987 to grant landmark status to Broadway theaters. The New York City Board of Estimate ratified the designations in March 1988. The Nederlanders, the Shuberts , and Jujamcyn collectively sued

9594-410: The next week on January 22, with Paul Hartman , Grace Hartman , and Bert Wheeler . All for Love lost money but ran 121 performances. This was followed by S. M. Chartock 's three-week-long showcase of Gilbert and Sullivan productions in late 1949. Despite a string of early losses, as well as a weekly expenditure of $ 4,500 to $ 5,000 for the Hellinger's maintenance, Farrell was optimistic about

9711-803: The next year. Also staged in 1967 was Illya Darling with Melina Mercouri , which ran 319 performances without turning a profit. A third flop followed in 1968, the Biblical musical I'm Solomon with Dick Shawn and Karen Morrow . The same year, the Hellinger hosted ballet performances from Les Ballets Africains ; a premiere of the documentary New York City—The Most ; and a limited concert engagement by Marlene Dietrich . Two productions followed in 1969: Jerry Herman 's Dear World , featuring Angela Lansbury , and Alan Jay Lerner and André Previn 's Coco , starring Katharine Hepburn in her only Broadway musical. The Hellinger hosted its first Tony Awards ceremony in 1969 ; it also hosted

9828-447: The next year. As a result, in the late 1990s, an 800-person overflow room and eight secondary meeting rooms was leased in the neighboring Novotel hotel. By 2001, screens were installed both in the lobby and in a neighboring annex to allow additional congregants to view services. Theatrical producers have made several unsuccessful attempts to buy the theater from the Times Square Church. As early as 1993, Lloyd Webber had proposed buying

9945-760: The northeast; Axa Equitable Center to the east; the Winter Garden Theatre to the southeast; and Paramount Plaza (including the Circle in the Square Theatre and the Gershwin Theatre ) to the south. An entrance to the New York City Subway 's 50th Street station , serving the 1 train, is just south of the theater. The Mark Hellinger Theatre, originally the Hollywood Theatre, was designed by Thomas W. Lamb and

10062-422: The outer panels of the ceiling. A large globe-style chandelier hangs from the center of the oval panel. Directly below the lobby is an oval basement lounge. There are eight pairs of imitation-marble columns, topped by Tuscan-style capitals. The walls contain panels with molded borders, and there are molded doorway openings with entablatures. One wall contains a fireplace, the mantelpiece of which consists of

10179-431: The same year, he created Chopiniana to piano music by the composer Frédéric Chopin as orchestrated by Alexander Glazunov . This was an early example of creating choreography to an existing score rather than to music specifically written for the ballet, a departure from the normal practice at the time. Fokine established an international reputation with his works choreographed during the first four seasons (1909–1912) of

10296-463: The stage house and auditorium, is shorter but wider. Although the 51st Street facade serves as the building's current front entrance, this was originally a side entrance. The entrance section has a water table made of black granite. The entrance itself contains five double doors below transom windows, all made of glass with bronze frames. On either side are tall figures holding globe-shaped lanterns, as well as bronze display boxes. A modern marquee

10413-705: The subject of the 2005 documentary film Ballets Russes . The Ballets Russes was noted for the high standard of its dancers, most of whom had been classically trained at the great Imperial schools in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Their high technical standards contributed a great deal to the company's success in Paris, where dance technique had declined markedly since the 1830s. Principal female dancers included: Anna Pavlova , Tamara Karsavina , Olga Spessivtseva , Mathilde Kschessinska , Ida Rubinstein , Bronislava Nijinska , Lydia Lopokova , Sophie Pflanz , and Alicia Markova , among others; many earned international renown with

10530-768: The success of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes in Europe. In 1890, he enrolled at the Faculty of Law, St. Petersburg, to prepare for a career in the civil service like many Russian young men of his class. There he was introduced (through his cousin Dmitry Filosofov ) to a student clique of artists and intellectuals calling themselves The Nevsky Pickwickians whose most influential member was Alexandre Benois ; others included Léon Bakst , Walter Nouvel , and Konstantin Somov . From childhood, Diaghilev had been passionately interested in music. However, his ambition to become

10647-505: The theater for vaudeville. Holtz's vaudeville revues opened that February, but they stopped two months later because Holtz said his simultaneous acting and producing of these revues were "strenuous". Vaudeville returned in November 1932 when Arthur George Klein took over the theater for twice-a-day revue. By February 1933, the Hollywood was again dark, and the theater returned to hosting films afterward. During 1933, Warner Bros. acquired additional land at 235 to 239 West 51st Street from

10764-463: The theater from the Times Square Church for his production of Sunset Boulevard . In addition to Mackintosh and the Bennett estate, offers were reportedly made by former Canadian impresario Garth Drabinsky , theatrical operator Shubert Organization , and corporate producers Disney and Clear Channel . The Times Square Church maintains the theater's historic interior decor and opens the theater to

10881-542: The theater's potential to make money. Farrell's musical Texas Li'l Darlin ' , featuring Kenny Delmar , opened at the end of 1949. Texas Li'l Darlin ' was the first hit in the Hellinger's history, running for 293 performances. Tickets, Please! transferred from the Coronet Theatre in late 1950, followed by the Harold Rome revue Bless You All at the end that year. Premiering in 1951

10998-564: The theater, which would have necessitated restoring the Hellinger for legitimate use. The producer Cameron Mackintosh expressed interest in leasing the Hellinger for his production Miss Saigon in 1990, but he ultimately leased the nearby Broadway Theatre . Rocco Landesman of rival chain Jujamcyn Theaters had also offered to buy the theater, but he said high maintenance costs precluded him or any other producer from offering more than $ 7 million. Ultimately, in December 1991,

11115-416: The theater. Throughout the remainder of the 1980s, the Hellinger showed short runs, solo shows, and industry bookings. The musical Rags ran for just four performances in 1986, and dance production Flamenco Puro appeared later the same year. The Hellinger then hosted the 1987 Tony Awards , as well as personal appearances from Smokey Robinson / Jean Carne , Virsky Company , Rodney Dangerfield , and

11232-878: The time. Prior to the success of My Fair Lady , there was a rumor in the theatrical community that the Hellinger was destined to never host a hit. A year after My Fair Lady opened, Farrell sold the Hellinger to Max and Stanley Stahl , who had already purchased the neighboring building on Broadway. The new owners chartered a company called Mark Hellinger Theatre Inc. In the 1960s, the Hellinger continued to host several popular musicals. Richard Rodgers and Samuel Taylor tried to stage their musical No Strings , but My Fair Lady 's producer refused to move. The New York Supreme Court ruled in February 1962 that My Fair Lady had to relocate, but Rodgers and Taylor had booked another theater by then. The Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music then transferred to

11349-493: The upper stories, with plain brick behind it. The Hellinger's rococo interior was similar to that of other 1920s movie palaces. The interior spaces were designed by Leif Neandross, chief designer of the Rambusch Decorating Company . The original decorative scheme was gold with highlights of red and blue. The original lobby from Broadway (since demolished) was designed in a modern French style. It

11466-414: The walls to increase insulation. The auditorium curves inward near the proscenium. The rear (east) end of the orchestra contains a shallow, curving promenade. The walls of the orchestra promenade have doors, above which are exit signs with flanking volutes . Both the orchestra and the promenade contain flat pilasters on the walls, between which are panels with moldings on their borders. The orchestra

11583-475: The walls, and there are openings to the auditorium's orchestra level on the west wall. Doors on the south wall lead back to the ticket lobby. The north wall contains a grand staircase to a balcony at the auditorium's mezzanine level. Additional staircases connect to that level from the lobby's entrance. The balcony overlooks the lobby. The staircases from the lobby contain wall panels with ornamental moldings as well as lighting sconces; there are also mirrors at

11700-463: The width. While the Broadway entrance was narrow, it contained a bright marquee and a huge lighted vertical sign. The Broadway entrance was closed in 1934 and converted to retail space before being demolished completely prior to the late 1990s. The roof of the Hollywood Theatre's Broadway wing originally contained a V-shaped steel sign measuring 80 feet (24 m) tall and 210 feet (64 m) wide. Described in 1929 as "the largest electrical display in

11817-535: The works choreographed by Massine. Librettist Kochno was also let go, while dancer Toumanova left the company when Balanchine was fired. According to historian Katherine Sorley-Walker, however, Balanchine and Kochno left of their own volition, because they found Blum and De Basil "dictatorial." Col. de Basil and Blum had an acrimonious relationship, which ended in 1934 with Blum breaking up the partnership. Col. de Basil renamed his company Ballets Russes de Colonel W. de Basil . In April, 1934, Bronislava Nijinska directed

11934-430: The world", the sign weighed 115 tons. A dedicated generator illuminated the sign's 20,000 bulbs, which were arranged so that 8-foot-tall (2.4 m) letters could be flashed. The only surviving facade is on 51st Street and consists of two modern-style sections, both made of brick and designed with vertical motifs. The eastern section is a narrow tower containing the building's entrance. The other section, which contains

12051-460: The world. Some film was in colour, a rarity for that time. Ballets Russes The Ballets Russes ( French: [balɛ ʁys] ) was an itinerant ballet company begun in Paris that performed between 1909 and 1929 throughout Europe and on tours to North and South America. The company never performed in Russia, where the Revolution disrupted society. After its initial Paris season,

12168-500: The young George Balanchine at the start of his career. The choreography of Michel Fokine was of paramount importance in the initial success of the Ballets Russes. Fokine had graduated from the Imperial Ballet School in Saint Petersburg in 1898, and eventually become First Soloist at the Mariinsky Theater . In 1907, Fokine choreographed his first work for the Imperial Russian Ballet, Le Pavillon d'Armide . In

12285-607: Was Two on the Aisle with Bert Lahr and Dolores Gray , which had 279 performances. Three Wishes for Jamie opened the next year and lasted for 91 performances. Chartock returned in late 1952 with a four-week engagement of Gilbert and Sullivan productions, followed by Guthrie McClintic and the Greek National Theater with two plays by Sophocles . The musical Hazel Flagg by Jule Styne opened in 1953; The New York Times had reported by then that

12402-419: Was Art Deco in design and led to the present main lobby. According to a contemporary account, the Broadway lobby had mirrored walls with bronze and marble decorations, in addition to a plaster ceiling. The Broadway lobby was designed to potentially support a taller building that was canceled during the Great Depression. The main lobby is a double-height oval rotunda with eight fluted columns holding up

12519-556: Was Serge Lifar (who later joined the Ballets Russes in 1923). Following the Russian Revolution, Nijinska fled again to Poland, and then, in 1921, re-joined the Ballets Russes in Paris. In 1923, Diaghilev assigned her the choreography of Stravinsky's Les Noces . The result combines elements of her brother's choreography for The Rite of Spring with more traditional aspects of ballet, such as dancing en pointe . The following year, she choreographed three new works for

12636-416: Was a hit with 461 total performances (some at the Winter Garden Theatre ). The same year, the Hellinger hosted Ankles Aweigh for 176 performances. The Hellinger had its greatest success with the musical My Fair Lady , with a score by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe . My Fair Lady opened in March 1956 and, with 2,717 total performances, was the longest-running Broadway production ever at

12753-602: Was able to book an entire cast of dancers on tour to Havana, Cuba , in 1941. Alberto Alonso and his first wife Patricia Denise danced all the principal roles on the Havana tour. The company could not pay the dancers adequately, and some took second jobs in nightclubs to survive. Principal dancers were forced to take roles that were not solos. While in Cuba, David Lichine and Tatiana Leskova appeared in Conga Pantera at

12870-549: Was briefly known as the 51st Street Theatre in 1936 and 1941 and as the Warner Theatre from 1947 to 1948. Anthony Brady Farrell bought the theater and renamed it after Hellinger, reopening it as a legitimate theater in 1949. The theater was subsequently acquired by the Stahl family in 1957 and the Nederlander Organization in 1976. The Hellinger hosted some hits from the 1950s to the 1970s, including My Fair Lady and Timbuktu! , but its later productions were mostly flops . By 1989,

12987-402: Was chiefly responsible for its success. He was uniquely prepared for the role; born into a wealthy Russian family of vodka distillers (though they went bankrupt when he was 18), he was accustomed to moving in the upper-class circles that provided the company's patrons and benefactors. It's indispensable to mention the name of the sponsor Winnaretta Singer which generous financial subsides ensured

13104-517: Was constructed in 1930 as a movie palace for Warner Bros. While the interior was designed in a Baroque style, the exterior was treated in a modern style. The Hollywood Theatre's main entrance was originally at 1655 Broadway, with a narrow lobby leading to a grand foyer on 51st Street. At the time of the theater's construction in 1930, cinemas that premiered films in the Times Square area typically had entrances on Broadway, regardless of

13221-419: Was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1919. Léonide Massine was born in Moscow, where he studied both acting and dancing at the Imperial School. On the verge of becoming an actor, Massine was invited by Sergei Diaghilev to join the Ballets Russes, as he was seeking a replacement for Vaslav Nijinsky. Diaghilev encouraged Massine's creativity and his entry into choreography. Massine's most famous creations for

13338-503: Was followed in 1979 by Sarava , a musical with a score by Mitch Leigh ; the Joffrey Ballet , with featured artist Rudolf Nureyev ; and The Utter Glory of Morrissey Hall , which closed on its opening night. The Hellinger finally saw a success in late 1979 when Ann Miller and Mickey Rooney costarred in the burlesque Sugar Babies , which ran 1,208 performances over the next three years. The Tony Awards returned to

13455-430: Was relocated from Broadway to 51st Street, as Warner Bros. wished to use the Broadway entrance for films and the 51st Street entrance for legitimate productions. Abbott's play Sweet River opened that October and closed after just five performances. The 51st Street Theatre reverted to film in 1937; Warner Bros. planned to either host its own films or rent the theater out for screenings. The Hollywood Theatre name

13572-532: Was restored in August 1937 with the screening of The Life of Emile Zola , the first premiere at the theater since A Midsummer Night's Dream . Further films followed until October 1938, when another live production opened, the Gilbert and Sullivan -themed musical Knights of Song . This was followed by the 1939 edition of George White's Scandals , a transfer from the Alvin Theatre , which ran for

13689-415: Was run by famed promoter Fortune Gallo for a year after losing their manager. After World War II began, the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo left Europe and toured extensively in the United States and South America. As dancers retired and left the company, they often founded dance studios in the United States or South America or taught at other former company dancers' studios. With Balanchine's founding of

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