207-592: The Longacre Theatre is a Broadway theater at 220 West 48th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City , United States. Opened in 1913, it was designed by Henry B. Herts and was named for Longacre Square, now known as Times Square . The Longacre has 1,077 seats and is operated by The Shubert Organization . Both the facade and the auditorium's interior are New York City designated landmarks . The ground-floor facade
414-500: A groin vault with a molded egg-and-dart border and decorative rosettes in the vault's ribs. There is a dome at the middle of the ceiling, with an egg-and-dart border, a hanging chandelier , and cove lights . The south doors lead to the street, while the north doors lead to the auditorium. Above the north and south walls are three small canvas murals by James Wall Finn . The murals depict female figures on either side of portraits of Sarah Siddons and David Garrick . Above
621-422: A stage behind the proscenium arch. The auditorium's width is slightly greater than its depth, and the space is designed with plaster decorations in relief . The Longacre's operator The Shubert Organization cites the auditorium as having 1,077 seats; meanwhile, Playbill cites 1,045 seats and The Broadway League cites 1,091 seats. These are divided into 508 in the orchestra, 304 in the first balcony, 249 in
828-674: A $ 1 million renovation. During the late 2000s, the Lyceum hosted plays and musicals such as Inherit the Wind , Is He Dead? , Macbeth , [title of show] , Reasons to Be Pretty , and In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play) . The Lyceum Theatre hosted numerous shows in the 2010s as well. These included Looped , The Scottsboro Boys , Venus in Fur , The Nance , The Realistic Joneses , Disgraced , The Visit , A View from
1035-524: A 44-performance run at the Longacre (though its 1980 Broadway revival was far more successful). In the early 1940s, the Longacre was generally filled by productions with less than 100 performances. The major exception to this was Three's a Family , which opened in 1943 and ran for 497 performances. By April 1944, the Shuberts were planning to relocate Three Is a Family so the Longacre could be leased to
1242-493: A 60-minute play targeted at tourists, should be produced at the Lyceum. Bertelsmann supported Spirit of Broadway , but Schoenfeld said it did not fall under the criteria for legitimate shows. Spirit of Broadway was ultimately determined to be legitimate. After the National Actors Theatre stopped producing at the Lyceum, the theater hosted Rose in 2000, a solo play with Olympia Dukakis . Subsequently,
1449-472: 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
1656-619: A Horse . There were few successful productions at the Lyceum during the 1970s, amid a decline in the Broadway theatrical industry. Among the longer runs in this era were the 1970 play Borstal Boy and the 1976 play Your Arms Too Short to Box with God . Phoenix also hosted some of its works at the Lyceum. During the early 1970s, Daniel Frohman's niece-in-law petitioned the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) to protect
1863-839: 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
2070-412: A balcony at the penthouse level. There are also six oval windows above the penthouse, which illuminate a former rehearsal hall. The roof also had four large urns that emitted gas at night. The urns were used to draw attention to the theater, since it was on a side street north of the other theaters of the time. At the theater's construction in 1903, the roof was described as being of "purple slate" with
2277-449: 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,
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#17327798655262484-405: A bronze statue. The Lyceum's roof had two water towers , collectively capable of storing 15,000 U.S. gallons (57,000 L; 12,000 imp gal). The stage door entrance is through the wing on 152 West 46th Street. Herts & Tallant designed the 46th Street wing with ten or eleven stories. The wing has a utilitarian design and contains vestiges of a slit that carried backdrops between
2691-546: A carriage factory, while the Union Methodist Church was across 48th Street. The Longacre Theatre was designed by Henry B. Herts and constructed for baseball personality Harry Frazee . Herts had designed several Broadway theaters with his partner Hugh Tallant, including the New Amsterdam Theatre and Lyceum Theatre , but the partnership dissolved in the early 1910s. The Longacre was one of
2898-663: 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
3105-434: 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
3312-540: 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
3519-629: A contractor. Philip Bartholomae made an unsuccessful offer of $ 400,000 for the theater in December 1912, and work resumed shortly afterward. The delays nearly doubled the cost to $ 275,000. The Longacre opened on May 1, 1913, with Are You a Crook? , a farce about criminals that closed after 12 performances. It was one of nine theaters to open in Times Square during the 1912–1913 theatrical season. The musical Adele , which opened in August 1913,
3726-585: A cornice with modillions and lions' heads. Above the cornice is an attic story with two recessed sash windows in each bay. The interiors of the recessed window openings are decorated with medallions and foliate motifs. The attic story's bays are separated by projecting pilasters with urns and foliate decoration. There is an architrave and a parapet just below the roof. The theater was intended to be fireproof, with stone, brick, steel, terracotta, and reinforced concrete being used in its construction. The auditorium has an orchestra level, two balconies, boxes , and
3933-743: A depth of 100 feet. The Longacre shares the block with the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre to the west, the Ethel Barrymore Theatre to the south, and the Morgan Stanley Building to the east. Other nearby buildings include the Eugene O'Neill Theatre and Walter Kerr Theatre to the north; Crowne Plaza Times Square Manhattan to the northeast; 20 Times Square to the east; the Hotel Edison and Lunt-Fontanne Theatre to
4140-565: 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
4347-906: 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
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#17327798655264554-470: A full storage warehouse as well as rooms to store scenery. According to contemporary media, the dressing rooms could fit 200 people. Each dressing room had a bathroom, and there were large rooms for supernumerary actors as well. The old scenery rooms have also become part of the Shubert Archive and contain artifacts such as librettos , orchestrations , and cash books. Times Square became
4761-467: A large rehearsal room with its own stage, directly above the main auditorium. The room measured 80 feet (24 m) long and 40 feet (12 m) wide, and it had a miniature stage. In the basement were storage rooms, where sets originally could be swapped onto the movable stage. The 46th Street annex housed the scene-painting studio, a carpenter shop, a costume department, and storage spaces, along with dressing rooms. The scene-painting studio faced
4968-476: 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
5175-526: 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
5382-539: 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
5589-1152: 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
5796-411: A pair of outer pavilions that have no ornament at all. The colonnade and marquee were particularly intended to attract a "more cultured audience" than similar theaters. The theater contains a mansard roof above the entablature. The mansard roof contains three windows within triangular pediments , which illuminate a penthouse in the roof. A balustrade , directly on top of the entablature, encloses
6003-417: A porcelain duct, a set of silk filters, and water sprayers. The auditorium floor had "mushrooms" for air intake and outflow. The heating and ventilation system could change the auditorium's air every six minutes. The entrance lobby is a rectangular space, with elliptical arches on the north and south walls. The space measures 65 feet (20 m) long. The lobby floor is made of marble from Maryland, which
6210-500: 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
6417-557: A rear lot on 152 West 46th Street, measuring 16 by 100 feet (4.9 by 30.5 m). These lots formerly contained houses. On the same block, the Museum of Broadway adjoins the theater; additionally, 1540 Broadway is to the west, and Americas Tower and High School of Performing Arts are to the east. Other nearby buildings include the Church of St. Mary the Virgin to the northeast;
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6624-416: A result of a shortage of studios in New York City, MBS rival CBS had started broadcasting This is Broadway from the Longacre. Ultimately, the Longacre was used as a radio and television studio for nine and a half years. The Broadway theatre industry had improved by mid-1953, when a shortage of available theaters prompted the Shuberts to return the Longacre to legitimate productions. The first production at
6831-431: 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
7038-519: A settlement with the United States Department of Justice in 2003, the Shuberts agreed to improve disabled access at their 16 landmarked Broadway theaters, including the Longacre. The Longacre then had two major flops: The Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All (2003), which closed after one performance, and Prymate (2004), which lasted five performances. A revival of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? opened in 2005, followed by
7245-481: 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
7452-434: A single step; each opening contains a metal-and-glass double door topped by a transom . On either side of the central doors is a recessed doorway containing metal double doors. A frieze decorated with foliate moldings , as well as a horizontal band with facets, runs above the first floor. Above all of these openings is a metal marquee . The stage door is to the left of the main entrance doors. According to early photographs,
7659-535: A solo appearance by Gilbert Bécaud . Holbrook, Teresa Wright , and Lillian Gish starred in Robert Anderson 's play Never Sang for My Father at the Longacre in 1968. The National Theatre of the Deaf also performed at the Longacre for a limited engagement in 1969. William Goldman 's 1969 book The Season: A Candid Look at Broadway had specifically cited the Longacre as a flop theater. Goldman wrote that
7866-407: A stair and elevator from the lobby. Frohman's offices contained Chippendale furniture as well as a reproduction of playwright David Garrick's library. The adjacent rooms contained stenographers' offices and other rooms. A small window from his dining room's northern wall allowed Frohman to look at the performances in the auditorium. The window measured 18 inches (460 mm) wide and was above
8073-411: A technical booth behind the second balcony's rear wall. The balcony fronts were originally decorated with plasterwork swags and fleurettes . The ornamentation on the undersides and front railings of both balconies was removed at some point after the theater's opening, then restored in 2008. The balconies are shallow and placed at a low height, a deliberate design choice that brought these seats closer to
8280-520: A transfer of the off-Broadway hit Well in 2006. The Longacre had no productions for about a year until Talk Radio opened in March 2007. After Talk Radio ended, the Longacre was closed for a $ 12 million renovation by Kostow Greenwood Architects . The marquee was replaced and the climate control system was refurbished. The interior spaces were extensively rebuilt with new seats and lounges, as well as restored decorations, including an approximation of
8487-580: 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
Longacre Theatre - Misplaced Pages Continue
8694-533: Is a Broadway theater at 149 West 45th Street , between Seventh Avenue and Sixth Avenue , in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City . Opened in 1903, the Lyceum Theatre is one of the oldest surviving Broadway venues, as well as the oldest continuously operating legitimate theater in New York City. The theater was designed by Herts & Tallant in the Beaux-Arts style and
8901-400: Is a curved railing with leaf moldings. There is a cartouche with an "L" motif atop the boxes' arches, and a swag shaped like a leaf is suspended from the cartouche. The proscenium arch measures 33 feet 0 inches (10.06 m) high and 31 feet 8 inches (9.65 m) wide. The proscenium arch consists of a wide, molded band with foliate and egg-and-dart decorations. Above
9108-599: 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 the highest commercial level of live theater in the English-speaking world . While the Broadway thoroughfare
9315-458: Is an entablature with foliate motifs and a cornice with dentils. An Adam-style band surrounds each box's arch. In addition, there is an oval medallion depicting a helmet and shield, which interrupts the Adam-style band. Next to the boxes is a flat proscenium arch. The inner edge of the archway contains a molded band of shells. A wider band with foliate and latticework motifs also surrounds
9522-475: 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
9729-562: 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,
9936-461: Is greater than its depth, and the space is designed with plaster decorations in high relief . The Lyceum's auditorium generally has plain plaster walls, and much of the decoration is concentrated on the proscenium and boxes. The juxtaposition of plain walls and ornamented openings was intended to draw the audience's attention toward the stage. The auditorium took up about one-third of the entire theater building. The auditorium has 922 seats, making
10143-402: Is made of rusticated blocks of terracotta . The theater's main entrance is shielded by a marquee . The upper stories are divided vertically into five bays , which contain niches on either side of three large windows. The auditorium contains ornamental plasterwork, a sloped orchestra level, two balconies, and a coved ceiling . The balcony level contains box seats topped by flat arches, and
10350-468: Is placed at the front of the ceiling. Two chandeliers hang from either side of this panel. The rear section of the ceiling is semicircular and is surrounded by a band with foliate decorations. 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
10557-415: Is the oldest continuously operating legitimate theater in New York City. The primary elevation of the facade is on 45th Street and is made of limestone. A promotional brochure from the theater's opening in 1903 said that the facade "recalls in its style and amplitude the best period of Roman art". The street-level facade is made of rusticated blocks of limestone. Three large archways lead into
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#173277986552610764-497: Is through 152 West 46th Street, a 10-story wing designed by Herts & Tallant, which also houses the dressing rooms and some backstage facilities. The current Lyceum replaced Frohman's earlier Lyceum on Fourth Avenue , which closed in 1902. The current theater opened on November 2, 1903, with the play The Proud Prince . Frohman's brother Charles served as the theater's manager until dying in 1915, and Daniel Frohman subsequently partnered with David Belasco to show productions at
10971-571: 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
11178-610: 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
11385-580: 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;
11592-491: The Mutual Broadcasting System (MBS) for use as a broadcast studio. The next month, MBS signed a five-year lease. A year after moving into the theater, MBS added some offices on the Longacre's top story to alleviate crowding at its other buildings. The Longacre also served as the home of AM radio station WOR , which used the theater for shows like Broadway Talks Back , as well as The American Forum of
11799-503: 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
12006-698: The Palace Theatre , Embassy Theatre , and I. Miller Building to the north; the Millennium Times Square New York and Hudson Theatre to the south; and the Hotel Gerard and Belasco Theatre to the southeast. The Lyceum Theatre was designed by Herts & Tallant in the Beaux-Arts style and constructed from 1902 to 1903 for impresario Daniel Frohman . Operated by the Shubert Organization , it
12213-476: 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
12420-593: The Whitehall Palace , while a New York Times article said the theater's exterior "gives a cheerful touch of snap and cheer to the old-time structures formerly characteristic of this block". The west and east elevations contain brick walls with window openings and fire escapes. At ground level along 48th Street, there is a water table made of granite, above which are rusticated blocks of terracotta. The ground level contains five doorways, separated by sign boards. The three center openings are each approached by
12627-476: The proscenium opening is also a flat arch. In addition, the Longacre contains two lounges, and the top story formerly had offices. Theatrical personality Harry Frazee acquired the site in 1911 and developed the Longacre Theatre to accommodate musicals. The Longacre opened on May 1, 1913, with the play Are You a Crook? , but the theater housed several flops in its early years. Frazee, who co-owned
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#173277986552612834-466: The sinking of the RMS Lusitania , and his company, which had an ownership stake in the Lyceum, was subsequently acquired by Paramount Pictures . David Belasco announced in March 1916 that he would become one of the managers of the Lyceum Theatre. Contemporary media said the move was borne out of sentimental considerations, as Belasco had frequently collaborated with Charles Frohman. Among
13041-409: 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
13248-477: The 1970s, the interior was painted over in a cream color. In 1978, the Fats Waller revue Ain't Misbehavin' opened at the Longacre, ultimately seeing 1,604 performances over three theaters. The Longacre's next hit was Children of a Lesser God with Phyllis Frelich and John Rubinstein , which opened in 1980 and had 887 performances. The Longacre often remained dark for several consecutive months during
13455-457: The 1980s, and a 1987 New York Times article reported that the theater had been empty for 201 of the past 208 weeks. Shows during the decade included Passion , Play Memory , Harrigan 'N Hart , A Day in the Death of Joe Egg , Precious Sons , The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940 , Don't Get God Started , and Hizzoner! . A video for the song The Rum Tum Tugger , from the musical Cats ,
13662-548: The 1990s. The Lyceum Theatre is on 149 West 45th Street , between Seventh Avenue and Sixth Avenue near Times Square , in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City . The land lot covers 10,125 square feet (940.6 m ), with a frontage of 85.73 feet (26.13 m) on 45th Street and a depth of 200.84 feet (61 m). A wing runs northward to 46th Street . The modern theater's site covers five land lots at 149 to 157 West 45th Street, collectively measuring 88 by 100 feet (27 by 30 m), as well as
13869-471: The APA-Phoenix era, the Lyceum hosted classical revivals such as War and Peace , The Show-Off , The Cherry Orchard , The Cocktail Party , The Misanthrope , and Hamlet . The Lyceum also operated as a repertory theatre for films in mid-1968. The APA and Phoenix dissolved their partnership in early 1969 due to a lack of funding. Afterward, the theater hosted plays such as Three Men on
14076-657: The Actors' National Memorial Fund in 1919. Frohman administered the Actors' Fund from his office. The Lyceum hosted many romantic comedies and other successful productions in the 1920s. Frohman leased the theater to Famous Players–Lasky , which was to present Belasco's works there for ten years starting in October 1921. The same year, the theater hosted The Easiest Way with Frances Starr , as well as The Grand Duke with Lionel Atwill and Lina Abarbanell . The Lyceum's stage and decorations were restored in 1922, prior to
14283-449: The Air starting in 1947. The Longacre was the only MBS studio that allowed audiences, but WOR (which was operated by MBS) did not allow audiences at its broadcasts. Because the theater was being used as a studio, the Shuberts refused to comply with a 1948 ordinance that would have required any theater showing legitimate plays to give 2 percent of profits to the city government. By 1949, as
14490-705: The Belasco to the Lyceum, despite the smaller size of the latter. The Lyceum was used by the National Actors Theatre for most of the 1990s, but most of its productions were unsuccessful. The first season of the National Actors Theatre opened with performances of The Seagull , Saint Joan , and Three Men on a Horse . The National Actors Theatre went on to host Timon of Athens , The Government Inspector , and The Flowering Peach in 1994; Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and The School for Scandal in 1995; and The Gin Game and The Sunshine Boys in 1997. Additionally,
14697-569: The Bridge , Fully Committed , Oh, Hello , The Play That Goes Wrong , Be More Chill , and A Christmas Carol . In addition, the NBC television series Smash used the theater in 2012 as the home of their fictional musical Bombshell . The theater closed on March 12, 2020 , due to the COVID-19 pandemic . It reopened on October 11, 2021, with Is This A Room and Dana H. playing in repertory. Subsequently, A Strange Loop opened at
14904-536: 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,
15111-619: 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
15318-614: 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
15525-574: 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
15732-456: 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
15939-550: The Grass (1972), limited the audience to 499 because a 500-seat house would require negotiations with Broadway theatrical unions. The Longacre finally saw a hit in 1975 with the opening of The Ritz , which featured Moreno, Jerry Stiller , and Jack Weston for 400 performances. Julie Harris starred in the solo The Belle of Amherst in 1976. This was followed by revivals of No Man's Land , The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel , and Jesus Christ Superstar . At some point during
16146-695: The Great Depression, sometimes with a several-month gap between productions. In March 1935, the Group Theatre premiered Clifford Odets 's Till the Day I Die and Waiting for Lefty , which starred Odets, Elia Kazan , and Lee J. Cobb for 135 performances. That December, the Group Theatre staged Paradise Lost , another Odets play, at the Longacre. The Works Progress Administration (WPA)'s Federal Theatre Project had planned to rent
16353-457: 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
16560-526: The Longacre in 1936, but the WPA rescinded its plan due to protests from stagehand unions. Artef, a Yiddish theatre group, was also negotiating for the Longacre. The Longacre's productions during this time included a Hedda Gabler revival with Alla Nazimova , followed by The Lady Has a Heart with Elissa Landi . The Longacre hosted Paul Osborn 's On Borrowed Time in 1938, which ran for 321 performances. Another Osborn play, Morning's at Seven in 1939, had
16767-578: The Longacre in 1997, followed by David Henry Hwang 's Golden Child the next year. The Longacre then hosted The Gershwins' Fascinating Rhythm in April 1999 and John Pielmeier 's Voices in the Dark that August. In 2001, the Longacre hosted two brief runs: Judgment at Nuremberg and A Thousand Clowns . The musical One Mo' Time ran for only three weeks in 2002, while Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam opened later that year and ran six months. As part of
16974-404: The Longacre was not near many other theaters, especially as compared with venues on 45th Street , and claimed that the Longacre hosted weak shows because its owners "could only get dreck to play there". According to theatrical historian Louis Botto, this reinforced "the notion that no hits open there", creating a cycle of flops in the early 1970s. Some productions during this time, such as Keep Off
17181-511: The Longacre's facade and interior as a landmark on December 8, 1987. This was part of the LPC'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 Shuberts, the Nederlanders , and Jujamcyn collectively sued the LPC in June 1988 to overturn the landmark designations of 22 theaters, including
17388-544: The Longacre's productions included Inside the Lines with Lewis Stone , A Full House with May Vokes , and The Great Lover with Leo Ditrichstein . In April 1916, Frazee and G. M. Anderson bought the Longacre Theatre; previously, they had leased it from Pincus and Goldstone. The Longacre's next hit was Nothing but the Truth , which opened in 1916 and starred William Collier Sr. for 332 performances. In November 1916, during
17595-699: The Longacre, 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. The Longacre hosted the musical Truly Blessed , a showcase of Mahalia Jackson 's music, for a month in 1990. No other shows had been staged when, in November 1991,
17802-448: The Longacre. Construction started in May 1912 at an estimated cost of $ 150,000. By August 1912, the theater was reportedly near completion and scheduled to open that October. The opening was then delayed to November, and the scaffolding in front of the theater was disassembled by October. The theater's completion stalled due to "strikes and contractors' difficulties", including the bankruptcy of
18009-427: The Lyceum as a city landmark. The LPC designated the theater's facade, but not its interior, as an official city landmark in 1974, requiring the LPC to review and approve all proposed modifications to the facade. Gerald Schoenfeld of the Shubert Organization had opposed the landmark status, believing the small theater to be a liability. A landmark plaque was installed on the facade in 1978. Major productions during
18216-404: The Lyceum as an independent playhouse. By then, Frohman was no longer an active producer. The Lyceum Theatre suffered in general because of the Great Depression , and most shows generally closed after a small number of performances. Among the longer productions was Payment Deferred (1931), which had 70 performances, as well as Sailor, Beware! (1933), which had 500 performances. In 1934,
18423-565: The Lyceum equally. Instead of distributing stock, the company issued six promissory notes of $ 118,328 each, which could not be collected for as long as each partner lived. The new Lyceum Theatre (also formally capitalized as the New Lyceum Theatre ) opened on November 2, 1903, with The Proud Prince . E. H. Sothern , who starred in The Proud Prince , had also appeared in the first production that Frohman had shown at
18630-425: The Lyceum from 1965 to 1969. In March 1965, the Shuberts leased the theater to the partnership of APA and Phoenix for $ 100,000 a year, which the lessees considered a nominal fee . The APA and Phoenix originally did not have enough money to transfer their works to the Lyceum for the 1965–1966 season, but ultimately it opened a revival of the play You Can't Take It with You at the Lyceum in November 1965. During
18837-436: The Lyceum hosted productions such as The Invention of Love in 2001, The Play What I Wrote and I Am My Own Wife in 2003, and The Lieutenant of Inishmore in 2006. As part of a settlement with the United States Department of Justice in 2003, the Shuberts agreed to improve disabled access at their 16 landmarked Broadway theaters, including the Lyceum. The roof and 45th Street facade were repaired in 2005 as part of
19044-413: The Lyceum in April 2022 and ran until January 2023. This was followed in May 2023 by the play Grey House , which ran for two months. The play My Son's a Queer (But What Can You Do?) was expected to open at the Lyceum in March 2024 for a three-month run, but it was postponed to the 2024–2025 season with new dates and a new theater. Subsequently, the off-Broadway play Oh, Mary! transferred to
19251-491: The Lyceum in July 2024. Productions are listed by the year of their first performance. Macbeth previously set the Lyceum Theatre's box-office record with a gross of US$ 584,033 over seven performances in 2008. Be More Chill beat the seven-performance box-office record in 2019, grossing US$ 738,384, while Oh, Hello set an eight-performance record of US$ 804,513 during the week ending January 22, 2017. A Strange Loop broke
19458-569: The Lyceum in its early years. Burke starred or co-starred in some plays during the Lyceum's first decade, including Love Watches in 1908, Mrs. Dot and Suzanne in 1910, and The Runaway in 1911. The Lyceum also hosted the U.S. premiere of the French silent film The Loves of Queen Elizabeth , featuring Sarah Bernhardt , in 1912. Barrymore, meanwhile, was featured in Our Mrs. McChesney (1915). Charles Frohman died in May 1915 during
19665-470: The Lyceum one of the smaller Broadway theaters. These are divided into 409 seats in the orchestra, 287 on the first balcony, and 210 on the second balcony, as well as 16 box seats. As designed, the seats were upholstered in dark yellow leather, which has since been replaced. Each seat measured 22 inches (560 mm) wide, larger than in comparable theaters. The backs of different rows of seats were spaced 38 inches (970 mm) apart. The large width of
19872-419: The Lyceum's facade was successfully designated as a landmark, the LPC started considering a similar protection for the interior in 1982, with discussions continuing over the next several years. The Lyceum was designated as an interior landmark on December 8, 1987. This was part of the LPC's wide-ranging effort in 1987 to grant landmark status to Broadway theaters. The New York City Board of Estimate ratified
20079-604: 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
20286-535: 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
20493-418: The Shubert Archive, which contains the Shubert Organization's theatrical collection. The archive was organized in 1976 and opened at the Lyceum in 1986. Initially, it contained four million items from the Shuberts' history between 1900 and World War II, including 2,000 costume designs, 8,000 blueprints, and 12,000 manuscripts. There is also some space inside the mansard roof. Originally, this space included
20700-412: The actor Mandy Patinkin performed a limited engagement at the Lyceum in March 1997. The National Actors Theatre closed out the 1990s with the plays Night Must Fall and The Lonesome West in 1999. During the late 1980s, the Shubert Organization had leased 124,000 square feet (11,500 m ) of the site's unused air development rights . German firm Bertelsmann used the air rights to increase
20907-487: The archway. News sources from 1913 describe the band being made of gold and "breccia violet marble". Above the center of the arch is a cartouche, which is decorated with foliate motifs; the cartouche overlaps both the wide band and the entablature above it. The entablature is decorated with helmets and symbols of laurel bands, spears, and shields. The proscenium measures 34 feet 10 inches (10.62 m) high and 35 feet 0 inches (10.67 m) wide. The depth of
21114-420: The auditorium compensated for the relatively small number of rows. The rear (south) end of the orchestra contains a shallow promenade, which has wood-paneled walls, arched "L" motifs, and cartouches. The orchestra has a raked floor and painted wood paneling on the side walls. Above the paneling are ornamented pediments with foliate and egg-and-dart decorations. The orchestra level is wheelchair-accessible via
21321-501: The auditorium to the proscenium is 29 feet 7 inches (9.02 m), while the depth to the front of the stage is 32 feet 3 inches (9.83 m). The stage measures 70 feet (21 m) wide and either 36 feet (11 m) or 46 feet (14 m) deep. The ceiling is slightly coved at its edges, though the rest of the ceiling is flat. A coved, molded band separates the ceiling into front and rear sections. A wide panel containing cartouches, foliate decoration, and latticework
21528-492: 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
21735-449: The balconies are leaf moldings topped by brackets and foliate decoration. All three levels have sconces on the side walls. On either side of the stage is a wall section with one box at the first balcony level. Each wall section consists of Ionic -style fluted and banded columns, which support an elliptical arch. The boxes themselves are supported on large brackets, which in turn rest above piers with foliate capitals. In front of each box
21942-560: The basement and cellar were largely complete and the theater was to be completed early the following year. The theater was supposed to open in September 1903 but encountered so many delays that the inaugural play, The Proud Prince , could only be scheduled at the Lyceum for two weeks. Daniel Frohman, his brother Charles Frohman , and William Harris formed the New Lyceum Theatre Company and divided ownership of
22149-435: 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
22356-476: 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
22563-550: 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
22770-438: The center door on the north wall is a segmentally-arched pediment, supported on console brackets flanking the doorway; these pediments contain the "L" motif. To the west and east are curving stairs leading up to the first balcony level. The staircases are covered in marble but are actually made of steel. The outer walls of the staircases contain marble dados, as well as bronze railings attached to them. The inside edges of
22977-427: The center of the arch is a console bracket with swags, above which is a broken pediment, as well as a pair of swag-filled console brackets on either side of the pediment. The broken pediment has a figure of Pallas Athene , which is flanked by female representations of drama and music. These figures were also carved by J. W. Finn. The stage measures 37 feet (11 m) deep and 89 feet (27 m) wide. The depth of
23184-419: The center. Each column contains fluting, bands with foliate ornament, and ornate capitals . Within each bay is a French window with a three-centered arched surround. There were also statues within each bay, which have since been removed. A frieze runs above the windows, containing six stone faces that signify both comedy and tragedy. An entablature runs above the columns. The three bays are flanked by
23391-510: The city and state government officials proposed setting up a community courtroom in the theater to process misdemeanor summonses. The Shubert Organization was to donate the space for three years. Theatrical personalities heavily opposed the plan, not only because it would require extensive renovations, but also because another Broadway house (the Mark Hellinger Theatre ) had been converted to non-theatrical use. Another site for
23598-546: The condition that Frohman be allowed to keep his residence. The Bowery Savings Bank acquired the theater at a foreclosure auction in December 1939 for $ 100,000. Shortly afterward, Samuel Briskman leased the theater and used it to show When We Are Married . In May 1940, the Bowery Savings Bank announced it would sell the Lyceum to a syndicate that included playwright George S. Kaufman , producer Max Gordon , and playwright Moss Hart for $ 250,000. Frohman
23805-436: The court was eventually identified, and the Longacre returned to legitimate use with a short run of Tango Pasion in April 1993. Frank D. Gilroy 's Any Given Day also had a short run of 32 performances the same year. A revival of Medea with Diana Rigg was hosted in 1994, followed by a short run of Phillip Hayes Dean 's Paul Robeson with Avery Brooks in 1995. Horton Foote 's The Young Man from Atlanta opened at
24012-422: 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
24219-413: The decorative scheme was described in one source as "extremely simple", the decorative motifs that did exist were highly elaborate, and some motifs were repeated multiple times. The auditorium's current color scheme, which consists of gold and green hues, dates to 2008. The theater's lobby was originally decorated in gray-green colors, with highlights of gold and serpentine marble. The dressing rooms behind
24426-575: The designations in March 1988. The Shuberts, the Nederlanders , and Jujamcyn collectively sued the LPC in June 1988 to overturn the landmark designations of 22 theaters, including the Lyceum's interior, 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. The National Actors Theatre , led by Tony Randall , announced in 1992 that it would relocate from
24633-478: The early 2010s included La Cage aux Folles in 2010, Chinglish in 2011, Magic/Bird and The Performers in 2012, First Date the Musical in 2013, and Of Mice and Men and You Can't Take It with You in 2014. This was followed by the musicals Allegiance in 2015, A Bronx Tale in 2016, The Prom in 2018, and The Lightning Thief in 2019. A Bronx Tale achieved the box office record for
24840-628: 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,
25047-599: The end of the same year. The Longacre also hosted Henry Denker 's A Case of Libel in 1963, with Sidney Blackmer , Larry Gates , and Van Heflin , followed in 1964 by Lorraine Hansberry 's The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window with Gabriel Dell and Rita Moreno . In 1966, the theater hosted a short run of Tennessee Williams 's Slapstick Tragedy (composed of The Mutilated and The Gnadiges Fraulein ), Hal Holbrook 's solo show Mark Twain Tonight! , and
25254-501: 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. Lyceum Theatre (Broadway) The Lyceum Theatre ( / l aɪ ˈ s iː ə m / ly- SEE -əm )
25461-517: The entrances, as well as a colonnade with three arched windows. The lobby has a groin-vaulted ceiling, murals above the entrances, and staircases to the auditorium's balcony levels. The auditorium has an ornately decorated proscenium and boxes , but the ceiling and walls are relatively plain. An apartment above the lobby, originally used by Frohman, was converted to the headquarters of the Shubert Archives in 1986. The stage door entrance
25668-508: 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. These venues were developed following the construction of the Empire Theatre on 41st Street in 1893 and Hammerstein's Olympia in 1895. The Lyceum, Hudson, and New Amsterdam , which all opened in 1903, were among
25875-456: 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,
26082-415: The facade marquee in 1986 after the original marquee began to fall apart. According to Schoenfeld, the Shuberts had to pay $ 350,000 to replace the marquee due to the commission's demands, though the highest bid was only about $ 150,000 and the theater was often unoccupied. The Shubert Archive also opened in 1986. In the dozen years after 1987, the Lyceum was idle for about 70 percent of the time. To increase
26289-522: The facade with metal rods. The modern canopy has moldings of pressed metal, medallions above each archway, and glass panels hanging underneath the canopy. The design of the Lyceum's canopy was subsequently replicated by that of the Paramount Theatre . Above the entrance, the 45th Street elevation contains a colonnade of three bays. The bays are delineated by a pair of neoclassical fluted columns at each end, as well as two single columns in
26496-413: The first Broadway theaters that Herts designed alone. The main elevation of the facade faces north on 48th Street and is arranged symmetrically with classical French details. Early news articles about the theater described it as having a facade of gray limestone and terracotta, with the terracotta pieces being painted in several colors. A contemporary New-York Tribune article compared the theater to
26703-497: The first decade of the 20th century. From 1901 to 1920, forty-three theaters were built around Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, including the Longacre Theatre. Harry Frazee was a theatrical personality (and later a baseball executive) from Peoria, Illinois , who entered the industry as a 16-year-old theater usher in 1896. Frazee subsequently moved to Chicago , operating theaters and producing several shows. In late 1911,
26910-467: 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
27117-403: The first theaters to make this shift; the Lyceum is one of the oldest surviving Broadway theaters. From 1901 to 1920, forty-three theaters were built around Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, including the current Lyceum. Daniel Frohman had operated an earlier Lyceum Theatre on Fourth Avenue , near Madison Square, which had been built in 1885 by Steele MacKaye . Metropolitan Life acquired
27324-472: The ground-floor facade was originally composed of colored terracotta tiles, the color of which complemented the upper stories. The upper stories are divided into five bays , separated by fluted pilasters . The lower section of each pilaster contains a floral decoration, an urn , and a niche with a female statue personifying Drama; the statues hold masks and scrolls. The pilasters are topped by Corinthian -style capitals . The three inner bays (directly above
27531-423: The height of the adjacent skyscraper at 1540 Broadway, paying $ 600,000 a year. The Shuberts had to maintain the Lyceum as a legitimate theater as part of the agreement concerning the theater's air rights. Bertelsmann had an option to buy the theater, raising concerns that the archives in the theater would have to be relocated. In 1999, there was a dispute over whether Spirit of Broadway , a theatrical museum with
27738-556: The late 1920s included Jarnegan with Richard and Joan Bennett , Hawk Island with Clark Gable , and A Primer for Lovers with Alison Skipworth . In general, the Longacre did not hold any long runs in 1930 or 1931. The shows during this time included The Matriarch in 1930 with Constance Collier and Jessica Tandy , as well as Nikki in 1931 with Fay Wray . The next hit came in 1932, when Blessed Event opened with Roger Pryor . The Longacre then staged Nine Pine Street , and Wednesday's Child . The Longacre hosted many flops during
27945-481: The late 1920s, the Lyceum hosted productions such as the comedy Fanny (1926) with Fanny Brice and Elmer the Great (1928) with Walter Huston . The decade ended with the 1929 romance Berkeley Square , which had over 200 performances. Frohman and Belasco's partnership ended when Belasco died in May 1931 after a long illness. The lease on the theater was set to expire later that year, and Frohman planned to rent
28152-450: The late 1970s included Cold Storage in 1977 and Wings in 1979. The Lyceum hosted a revival of Morning's at Seven in 1980. The theater then hosted productions such as "Master Harold"...and the Boys (1982), The Man Who Had Three Arms (1983), a set of monologues by comedian Whoopi Goldberg in 1984, and As Is (1985) The LPC gave the Shuberts permission to replace
28359-434: The lease to Bettelheim was "a sentimental gesture", since Bettelheim's father was Frohman's old friend. Bettelheim then announced a renovation of the interior, including new seats. Long-running productions during the late 1930s included Pre-Honeymoon (1936) with Jessie Royce Landis ; St. Helena (1936) with Maurice Evans ; and Having Wonderful Time (1937) with John Garfield and Katherine Locke . The theater
28566-404: The lobby; their doors are made of painted wood and contain arched panels of glass. The street level entrances are shielded by a sinuous marquee canopy made of iron and glass. When the theater opened, the entrance had a self-supporting canopy that could shield either five or eight carriages unloading their passengers. In 1986, the canopy was replaced with a replica that was cantilevered from
28773-533: The lots at 220 to 228 West 48th Street were sold to Frazee and George W. Lederer. The site would be redeveloped with a theater known as the Longacre, after Times Square's former name. Several architects had already proposed designs for the theater. By January 1912, Henry B. Herts had been selected as the architect, and he filed plans for the theater that month with the New York City Department of Buildings . Frazee planned to house his own musicals at
28980-465: The main doors, but the balcony levels can only be accessed by steps. Unusually for theaters of the time, the balconies are cantilevered from the structural framework, which obviated the need for columns that blocked audience views. The balcony levels have paneled wooden dados on both the side and rear walls; the first balcony has blind openings and cartouches. The balconies have foliate bands on their undersides, with light fixtures underneath. In front of
29187-404: The major productions at the Lyceum in the late 1910s were Tiger Rose (1917), featuring Lenore Ulric; Daddies (1918), featuring Jeanne Eagels and George Abbott ; and The Gold Diggers (1919), featuring Ina Claire. These shows all had several hundred performances, including The Gold Diggers , which had 720 performances. In addition, the theater held events such as a charity dinner for
29394-446: The marquee) contain double-height openings, each with a window and a transom bar that is divided horizontally into three sections. The bottoms of each window contain sills with brackets and reeded panels, while the spaces above contain curved pediments . A triangular sign is placed over the center window. The outermost two bays contain paneling, as well as corbels that support empty niches. Large billboards were originally hung over
29601-557: 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
29808-442: The music for two of the Longacre's next works: Moonlight and Mercenary Mary . Also in 1925, George S. Kaufman produced The Butter and Egg Man , the only play Kaufman wrote without collaborating. The Longacre then staged An American Tragedy in 1926, featuring Morgan Farley and Miriam Hopkins for 216 performances, and the comedy The Command to Love the next year, which ran for 236 performances. The Longacre's offerings in
30015-489: The new theater, while the Fuller Construction Company was hired as the general contractor. The old Lyceum ultimately closed on March 22, 1902. Work on the new theater began on April 1, a week after the old Lyceum was closed. The cornerstone was laid on October 16, 1902. Frohman, who considered 13 to be a lucky number , placed thirteen of the old Lyceum's bricks into the new theater. By then,
30222-469: The newly reopened Longacre was Dorothy Parker and Arnaud d'Usseau 's Ladies of the Corridor , which opened in October 1953. Ladies of the Corridor was not a success, and neither was Jean Anouilh 's Mademoiselle Colombe in 1954. More successful was Lillian Hellman 's version of Anouilh's The Lark , which opened in 1955 and featured Julie Harris , Boris Karloff , and Christopher Plummer . This
30429-420: 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
30636-417: The next year. Ethel Barrymore then leased the theater in June 1922, appearing in three plays there: Rose Bernd , Romeo and Juliet , and The Laughing Lady . Another hit in 1923 was Little Jessie James , with music by Harry Archer and Harlan Thompson , which ran for 385 performances. The Shubert brothers acquired the Longacre in May 1924 for $ 600,000. William B. Friedlander and Con Conrad wrote
30843-557: 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
31050-449: The occupancy of the Lyceum and other little-used Broadway theaters, the League of American Theaters and Producers negotiated with Broadway unions and guilds during the late 1980s. Among the shows of the late 1980s were the 1986 puppet show A Little Like Magic , as well as Safe Sex (1987) and Our Town (1988). During the 1980s, the Shuberts renovated the Lyceum as part of a restoration program for their Broadway theaters. After
31257-500: The old Lyceum in 1902 to make way for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower , and Frohman sought to develop a new venue further north. In February 1902, shortly after the old Lyceum was acquired, Frohman announced he had purchased six lots on 45th and 46th Streets near Times Square. He planned to build a 900-seat theater on the site after the leases on the lots expired. Frohman chose
31464-467: The old Lyceum. At the theater's opening, an architectural publication praised the theater's design as "being intended for a high-class dramatic performance before a refined and cultured audience". Conversely, because of its relatively remote location, the New-York Tribune said that there were "many who refused to believe that a theater so far up town would be successful". Charles Frohman was
31671-486: The opening of Shore Leave , which featured Starr and James Rennie . The Lyceum also hosted revivals of classical plays, including The Merchant of Venice (1922), The School for Scandal (1923), and Antony and Cleopatra (1924). During 1925, the theater hosted The Grand Duchess and the Waiter , with Elsie Ferguson and Basil Rathbone , and the romantic comedy Naughty Cinderella , with Irène Bordoni . In
31878-419: The orchestra contain plasterwork paneling, as well as doorways with eared frames. The promenade ceiling has molded ribs. Staircases with wrought-iron railings lead from the promenade to the balcony levels. The orchestra is raked , sloping down toward an orchestra pit in front of the stage. The front walls of the auditorium curve inward toward the proscenium opening. The ground floor formerly had three boxes near
32085-513: The original color scheme. Original decorative elements, removed in previous renovations, were restored to the balcony and boxes. The theater reopened in May 2008 with the farce Boeing Boeing , which ran until the following January; Boeing Boeing 's 279-performance run was the longest of any production at the Longacre in almost three decades. The next hit was Burn the Floor , which opened in August 2009 and ran for five months. Productions in
32292-411: The outermost bays. Near the top of each bay, between the pilasters' capitals, is a frieze panel in each bay. Each panel consists of an oval plaque, which is flanked by circular medallions with scallop and mask motifs. Above this, an entablature wraps across the width of the facade; it contains fluted tiles on either side of an inscription with the words "The Longacre Theatre". The entablature is topped by
32499-556: 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
32706-515: The play Macbeth opened in April 2022, followed by the play Leopoldstadt in October 2022. The Broadway transfer of the musical Lempicka , based on the life of Tamara de Lempicka , opened at the theater in April 2024. This was followed in November 2024 by the musical Swept Away . Productions are listed by the year of their first performance. This list only includes Broadway shows; it does not include programs broadcast from there. Broadway theatre Broadway theatre , or Broadway ,
32913-468: 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
33120-425: The price had increased to $ 450,000. The first major production in the 1950s was the original The Country Girl , which opened in 1950. Melvyn Douglas then appeared in two successful comedies: Glad Tidings in 1951 and Time Out for Ginger in 1952. The New York Times reported in 1952 that the Shubert Organization had taken over the Lyceum. During 1954, the theater hosted the comedy King of Hearts and
33327-423: 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
33534-645: 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
33741-561: The proscenium is 29 feet 6 inches (8.99 m), while the depth to the front of the stage is 31 feet 0 inches (9.45 m). The coved ceiling is distinguished by console brackets with swags, and there are decorations of bellflowers within the cove. The ceiling is divided into ribs, containing bands with fruits and flowers. The center of the ceiling contains a rectangular panel with modillions around it, as well as floral cartouches and latticework inside. Around this panel are circular "L" motifs. Guilloche moldings hang over
33948-433: The proscenium. Promenades also exist behind both balcony levels. The balcony walls have similar plasterwork paneling and eared doorway frames to the orchestra level. An entablature runs atop the front portion of the second balcony's walls; it wraps above the boxes on both sides of the auditorium, as well as above the proscenium arch. There are light fixtures and air conditioning vents underneath both balcony levels, as well as
34155-739: The romance drama Anastasia , both of which ran for over 200 performances. This was followed by A Hatful of Rain (1955), The Happiest Millionaire (1956), and Look Back in Anger (1957). Notable productions of the late 1950s also included The Gazebo in 1958 and The Billy Barnes Revue in 1959. Subsequently, the Lyceum showed the British dramas A Taste of Honey in 1960 and The Caretaker in 1961. The Lyceum then had several short-lived works before showing Nobody Loves an Albatross in 1963. The Association of Producing Artists (APA) and Phoenix Theatre showed their productions at
34362-531: 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
34569-652: The run of Nothing but the Truth , Frazee sold his interest in the Longacre to Anderson, L. Lawrence Weber , and F. Ray Comstock . Frazee wished to focus on managing the Boston Red Sox , which he had just acquired. The Longacre then hosted two popular shows in the late 1910s. Guy Bolton , Jerome Kern , and P. G. Wodehouse provided music for the intimate musical Leave It to Jane in 1917, while Bolton and George Middleton collaborated on Adam and Eva in 1919. The Longacre hosted Pitter Patter with William T. Kent in 1920 and The Champion with Grant Mitchell
34776-473: 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
34983-432: The second balcony level. During the mid-1920s, The New York Times described Frohman's office as, "in a manner, the headquarters of the theatrical profession in the city". The office contained portraits of numerous oil paintings, drawings, photographs, and lithographs of show personalities. Frohman's office also had a phone line for contacting the stage manager directly. Frohman's offices were subsequently converted into
35190-442: The second balcony, and 16 in the boxes. The 1,077-seat capacity dates to a 2008 renovation, when 18 seats were removed to improve wheelchair accessibility and sight lines. The orchestra level is wheelchair-accessible via the main doors; the balcony levels are primarily accessed by steps, but there is a small wheelchair lift . The original color scheme contained Roman gold, with topaz carpets, wisteria seats, and gold draperies. Though
35397-476: The second balcony. The ceiling lacked a chandelier, as the designers thought it would be distracting to the performers and audience. Instead, there are recessed light fixtures in the ceiling. Daniel Frohman's "penthouse", comprising his office and apartment, was on the south side of the theater building, facing 45th Street. It was not part of his original plans but became his primary residence; he also had another residence in New York City. They were accessed by
35604-432: The site specifically because it was on a less crowded side street while also being close to the then-under-construction New York City Subway . The auditorium would be on 45th Street, while a narrow wing with mechanical equipment and dressing rooms would be placed on 46th Street. The site cost Frohman $ 110,000, and he expected to spend another $ 230,000 on the new Lyceum Theatre. Frohman hired Herts & Tallant to design
35811-484: The south; and the Lena Horne Theatre and Paramount Hotel to the southwest. Before the Longacre Theatre was developed, the surrounding area generally had a mixture of low-rise residences and industrial buildings. The site of the Longacre Theatre was previously occupied by a row of four residences, each of which was three stories high. At the time of the theater's construction, the site to the east contained
36018-407: The stage and the upper-story studios. Frohman had offices on the upper portion of the main 45th Street structure, while the rear annex on 46th Street contained auxiliary facilities such as storage and dressing rooms. The color scheme of the interior was compared in contemporary media to autumn foliage, with a range of hues from "deep yellow to warm red and brown". From the outset, the auditorium
36225-402: The stage are completely insulated from the auditorium by a heavy steel wall. In addition, Frazee's offices were placed above the auditorium. In a 2008 renovation, a 1,600-square-foot (150 m) basement lounge was excavated, and the attic was turned into an upper lounge with a bar and bathrooms. The rear of the orchestra contains a promenade. The rear wall of the promenade and the side walls of
36432-402: The stage could be increased by up to 40 feet (12 m). The stage contains a lift that could descend to 30 feet (9.1 m) below the auditorium. The lift, no longer operational, divided the stage into several sections. It could be used not only to raise and lower scenery, but also to create sets with terrain elements, such as cliffs, terraces, and rivers. The depth of the auditorium to
36639-470: 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
36846-434: The stage. On either side of the proscenium is one curved box at the first balcony level. The boxes are housed within flat-arched openings. As with the balconies, the boxes' fronts were originally decorated with plasterwork swags and fleurettes , but the original ornamentation on the boxes' undersides and front railings was removed after the theater's opening. The boxes' ornamentation was also restored in 2008. Above each box
37053-418: The staircases have bronze balustrades with cast-iron and wrought-iron decorations, as well as newel posts containing nude figures. The east wall also has ticket windows. Another stair to the west leads down to the smoking room. At the balcony level was a foyer and smoking rooms. The auditorium has an orchestra level, boxes , two balconies, and a stage behind the proscenium arch. The auditorium's width
37260-455: The street, with natural light coming from the north, and could be used to paint up to four backdrops at a time. This room measured 35 feet (11 m) tall and 100 feet (30 m) deep, with a full-height glass wall facing north and slots in the floors. The carpentry shop could accommodate 25 workers. The costume department was housed in a separate room that could fit 50 seamstresses and a varying number of cutters. The storage spaces included
37467-434: 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
37674-555: The theater hosted Ode to Liberty , featuring Ina Claire. The Bowery Savings Bank moved to foreclose on a mortgage loan on the theater in mid-1935. Later that year, the Lyceum was leased for one year to Julius Stone for a presentation of Squaring the Circle . The next year, Frohman leased most of the theater, except for his own offices, to Spencer D. Bettelheim of the Lyco Company for five years. Contemporary newspapers said
37881-566: The theater until 1930. Afterward, Frohman lost the theater to foreclosure in the Great Depression , and a syndicate composed of George S. Kaufman , Max Gordon , and Moss Hart bought the theater in 1940. The Shubert Organization has operated the theater since 1950. The Lyceum was leased to the Association of Producing Artists (APA) and Phoenix Theatre in the late 1960s and to the National Actors Theatre during much of
38088-407: The theater with G. M. Anderson, sold his ownership stake in 1917 to focus on baseball. The Shubert brothers acquired the Longacre in 1924 and operated it for two decades before leasing it as a radio and television studio in 1944. The Shuberts returned the Longacre to legitimate theatrical use in 1953. The theater gained a reputation for hosting few successful productions in the late 20th century and
38295-420: The theater's first manager. From its inception, the new Lyceum was intended as a venue for "drawing-room comedies". Three weeks after the theater's opening, The Admirable Crichton premiered at the new Lyceum. The play The Other Girl and Granny appeared at the Lyceum in 1904, as did Mrs. Leffingwell's Boots and A Doll's House in 1905. The most successful production in the Lyceum's initial years
38502-406: The theater, grossing $ 1,293,125.32 over nine performances for the week ending January 1, 2017. During the run of The Prom , in 2019, Broadway's first known onstage wedding happened at the Longacre between two women. The theater temporarily closed on March 12, 2020 , due to the COVID-19 pandemic . It reopened on November 2, 2021, with previews of Diana , which ran seven weeks. A limited revival of
38709-534: 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
38916-481: 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
39123-461: 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
39330-568: 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 ,
39537-568: 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
39744-692: 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
39951-453: 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,
40158-539: 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
40365-644: 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
40572-399: Was also shot at the Longacre during one of its dark periods in 1984. During the late 1980s, the Shuberts renovated the Longacre as part of a restoration program for their Broadway theaters. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) had started considering protecting the Longacre as a landmark in 1982, with discussions continuing over the next several years. The LPC designated
40779-406: Was built for impresario Daniel Frohman . It has 922 seats across three levels and is operated by The Shubert Organization . The facade became a New York City designated landmark in 1974, and the lobby and auditorium interiors were similarly designated in 1987. The theater maintains most of its original Beaux-Arts design. Its 45th Street facade has an undulating glass-and-metal marquee shielding
40986-468: Was designed to resemble Athenian marble. The floor is made of marble mosaic tiles. The center of the floor has a panel with the theater's motif, a decorative letter "L" with foliate ornament around it. The walls contain a marble dado wrapping around the lobby, as well as piers topped by capitals with acanthus leaves . There are foliate moldings around each of the elliptical arches. The walls also have lighting sconces . The lobby's ceiling consists of
41193-411: Was designed to use electric lighting exclusively. A switchboard controlled the stage lighting, which could be controlled to be as bright as natural illumination. The theater was also mechanically advanced for its time, with heating, cooling, and ventilation systems, as well as a fireproof structural frame. The air-intake system consisted of blowers that drew air from the chimneys and passed the air through
41400-467: Was followed in 1957 by Fair Game , which featured Sam Levene and Ellen Burstyn . Another hit at the Longacre was Samuel Taylor 's 1958 comedy The Pleasure of His Company , which featured Cornelia Otis Skinner , Walter Abel , Dolores Hart , George Peppard , Cyril Ritchard , and Charlie Ruggles . Eugène Ionesco 's Rhinoceros opened at the Longacre in 1961 and featured Zero Mostel . A transfer of Ossie Davis 's Purlie Victorious followed at
41607-426: Was less financially stable after the Lyco Company dissolved in 1938. By March 1939, the Bowery Savings Bank was foreclosing on the Lyceum, which was in danger of demolition. After Stanley Howe, a friend of Frohman's and an aide to mayor Fiorello La Guardia , intervened, the bank promised that Frohman could stay in his apartment for the rest of his life. The Lyceum was leased to Victor Payne-Jennings that April, on
41814-425: Was much more successful. The Longacre hosted several flops afterward. In April 1914, the theater went into foreclosure to satisfy an outstanding mortgage of $ 70,000, though the foreclosure proceeding was subsequently withdrawn. The same year, the Longacre hosted the melodrama A Pair of Sixes , which lasted 188 performances, and the farce Kick In with John Barrymore , which had 207 total performances. During 1915,
42021-419: Was nearly converted to a court in the early 1990s. The Longacre was renovated in 2008. The Longacre Theatre is on 220 West 48th Street , on the south sidewalk between Eighth Avenue and Broadway , near Times Square in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City . The square land lot covers 9,990 square feet (928 m), with a frontage of about 100 feet (30 m) on 48th Street and
42228-506: Was the drama The Lion and the Mouse , which opened in 1905 and ran for 686 performances. Daniel Frohman's wife Margaret Illington appeared at some productions in the Lyceum. beginning with Mrs. Leffingwell's Boots and The Thief (1907). Frohman would gesture through the window from his office to signify when Illington was overacting. Actresses such as Ethel Barrymore , Billie Burke , Ina Claire , and Lenore Ulric also performed at
42435-410: Was the theater's longest-running production with 1,642 performances. Born Yesterday was transferred out of the Lyceum mid-run in 1948 and was followed by "a half-dozen flops". The Gordon syndicate agreed to sell the Lyceum to Harry Gould in April 1949 for $ 400,000, after having previously failed to sell the theater to Gould at twice that price. The sale was not finalized until that December, when
42642-505: Was to be allowed to live in the apartment above the theater for $ 1 per year, though Frohman died in December 1940, less than a year afterward. Among the syndicate's first works at the Lyceum was George Washington Slept Here in 1940, as well as The Beautiful People and Junior Miss in 1941. This was followed by The Doughgirls , which had 671 performances, and The Late George Apley , which had 384 performances. The Lyceum then hosted Born Yesterday , which opened in 1946 and
42849-663: 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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