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86-594: La Belle Paree was staged between 20 March 1911 and 10 June 1911 at the Winter Garden Theatre in New York, running for 104 performances. At first it was staged along with various companion pieces, including an overture, a one-act opera set in China, called Bow-Sing , an exotic dance sequence called Tortajada and Her Sixteen Moorish Dancing Girls in a Spanish Ballet , and an afterpiece. After opening night,

172-947: A competitor's theatre, French megastar Sarah Bernhardt vowed never to return to America until Lee Shubert convinced her to perform for his company in 1905. At his death in 1953, Shubert's estate was worth $ 16 million ($ 182 million in 2023). He boasted in 1924 of his family success: Shubert was married to Marcella Swanson, a former actress who was approximately 30 years younger. They had previously been secretly married on July 29, 1936, in Berlin and divorced in September 1948 in Reno, Nevada . They remarried in Miami in March 1949. Shubert died in New York City on December 25, 1953, and

258-474: A day, working in three shifts of eight hours. The theater's decorative scheme was changed to gold and white, and mulberry-colored damask panels were installed to give a perception of intimacy. Smoking, which had been allowed in the theater's early years, was banned after the 1922 renovation. The theater reopened on January 24, 1923, with the revue The Dancing Girl , which was followed by that year's edition of The Passing Show . The end of that year saw

344-401: A hundred horses. After the exchange was destroyed, Vanderbilt hired A. V. Porter to construct a new structure of two to four stories. The new building surrounded a covered ring measuring 160 by 80 feet (49 by 24 m). The new structure reused some of the old exchange's walls and had a brick facade with arched windows, as well as trusses over the ring. The Winter Garden Theatre's building

430-469: A month-long engagement, Eddie Fisher at the Winter Garden , during late 1962. For much of the rest of the decade, the Winter Garden presented two hits. Funny Girl , with Barbra Streisand , opened in 1964 and ran for two years before transferring. It was followed by Mame , with Angela Lansbury and Bea Arthur , which opened in 1966 and ran for three years. The first hit of the 1970s

516-722: A premiere in October 2001. Following the Shuberts' discussions with GM, the theater was renamed the Cadillac Winter Garden Theatre in May 2002. 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 Winter Garden. At the beginning of 2007, GM's sponsorship ended and

602-399: A renovation. The work was intended to make the theater suitable "more for revue than for extravaganza", as The New York Times described it. The proscenium arch was reduced in size and the ceiling was lowered under plans by Herbert Krapp. One hundred seats were installed in the former runway, and 50 boxes were added, 12 of them at orchestra level. Workers renovated the theater 24 hours

688-512: A restaurant space in the Flemish style. Over the years, it became a nightclub known as Palais de Danse, Montmartre, and Singapore. The ticket office is just inside the Broadway entrance. It leads to a rectangular inner lobby 20 by 50 feet (6.1 by 15.2 m). The inner lobby is a rectangular space, with doors on the west and east walls. The walls contain panels with foliate decorations in

774-455: A total of 25 boxes. The proscenium arch measures 24 feet 4 inches (7.42 m) high and 44 feet 10 inches (13.67 m) wide. It consists of a wide, molded band with foliated swags, rosettes, and molded figures. There are medallions within the spandrels at the corners of the arch. The present size and design of the proscenium arch dates to the 1922 renovation; an inner arch and drapes were installed to artificially reduce

860-456: Is raked . The rear (north) end of the orchestra contains a shallow promenade, which wraps around to the auditorium's sides. Pilasters with Corinthian capitals divide the promenade's rear wall into sections, and a cornice with dentils and modillions also runs along the wall, above the pilasters. The promenade is separated from the orchestra seating by a row of columns, also topped by Corinthian capitals. The orchestra promenade's coved ceiling

946-488: Is a Broadway theatre at 1634 Broadway in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City . Originally designed by architect William Albert Swasey , it opened in 1911. The Winter Garden's current design dates to 1922, when it was completely remodeled by Herbert J. Krapp . Due to the size of its auditorium, stage, and backstage facilities, it is favored for large musical productions. It has 1,600 seats and

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1032-487: Is a Paradise for Coons , about the freedoms African-Americans supposedly enjoyed living in Paris rather than in "Yankee Land". They also sang another song together, Jolson gave a monologue and sang a third song during the evening. Many of the critics had already left before Jolson came on, to make their publication deadlines, but the critics that mentioned Jolson and Mayhew, including The New York Times , praised them. During

1118-503: Is divided by Adam-style bands with foliate decorations. Each cove has circular decorative elements at their centers, which contain coffers and swags . The promenade forms part of a "grand promenade" connecting Broadway and Seventh Avenue. A standing rail is placed behind the rearmost row of seats. The orchestra level previously had 12 boxes extending along the sides of the auditorium. The walls originally contained latticework, behind which were lights. One architectural critic said that

1204-535: Is operated by The Shubert Organization . The auditorium interior is a New York City landmark . The Winter Garden Theatre was adapted from the old building of the American Horse Exchange, completed in 1896. Its original façade consisted of several arches on Broadway, which were subsequently converted to a brick wall with a large sign. The interior is covered with detailing in the Adam style . Though

1290-399: Is titled "The Shepherd's Dream". The depth of the auditorium to the proscenium is 40 feet 0 inches (12.19 m), while the depth to the front of the stage is 44 feet 2 inches (13.46 m). When the theater originally opened, the stage had a semicircular apron with a 5-foot (1.5 m) radius, as well as a runway . The runway, added in 1912, was intended to bring

1376-423: The Adam style . These are separated by Adam-style pilasters , topped by Corinthian -style capitals . The west doors lead to the ticket lobby and are made of bronze. The east doors lead to the auditorium and are made of bronze with glass frames; these doors are separated by pilasters that hold up an arched entablature . The walls also have lighting sconces . The lobby's ceiling contains Adam-style bands that split

1462-558: The American Horse Exchange , which was built by William K. Vanderbilt . The Horse Exchange, on the east side of Broadway between 50th and 51st Streets, was designed by D. & J. Jardine. The exchange sold thoroughbreds at a time when bad horses were commonly being offered. Though the first sale took place in 1880, the Horse Exchange was not completed until the next year. The original exchange building

1548-559: The Follies ran longer than any previous edition. This was followed in 1944 by Cole Porter 's Mexican Hayride and Olsen and Johnson's Laffing Room Only . After the operetta Marinka played in 1945, the Winter Garden again became a cinema for three years. United Artists started negotiating for the rights to use the Winter Garden for motion pictures in August 1945, but there were disputes over sound equipment. An agreement

1634-766: The Marquis Theatre in 2022. During its closure, a stagehand at the Winter Garden died after falling while taking down props for Beetlejuice in November 2020; the Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined the Shuberts as a result. The theater also hosted the 74th Tony Awards in September 2021. The Winter Garden reopened on December 20, 2021, with previews of The Music Man , which officially opened in February 2022. The production ran for 374 performances through January 2023. Back to

1720-530: The United States and settled in Syracuse, New York , where a number of Jewish families from their hometown already were living. His father's alcoholism kept the family in difficult financial circumstances, and Lee Shubert went to work selling newspapers on a street corner. With borrowed money, he and younger brothers Sam and Jacob eventually embarked on a business venture that led to them to become

1806-517: The "Independent National Theatre Owner's Association", which brought about the defection of many theaters from all around the country that previously had been affiliated with the Syndicate. In 1922, it was announced that "Lee Shubert and A. L. Erlanger ... rivals for twenty years" had reached a working understanding. Lee Shubert was a hard nosed businessman who has been criticized for being money and power oriented with little interest in culture. He

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1892-455: The Adam style. The vaults themselves are divided into panels by Adam-style moldings and bands. The center of the ceiling contains a panel with a dome, surrounded by latticework and foliate decoration. At each of the dome's four corners, there are medallions, which depict mythical fauns playing lyres and pipes . In the theater's original design, the ceiling trusses remained exposed, a vestige of

1978-780: The Future: The Musical opened at the theater in August 2023 and is scheduled to close in January 2025 after over 500 performances. This will be followed by the stage adaptation of the film Good Night, and Good Luck , which is scheduled to open in April 2025. Productions are listed by the year of their first performance. Shows that have had multiple editions are listed by the year of the first performance of each edition. This list only includes Broadway shows; it does not include films. Lee Shubert Lee Shubert (born Levi Schubart ; March 25, 1871 – December 25, 1953)

2064-410: The Horse Exchange. Though the exchange was far north of the established Broadway theater district at the time, the raked balcony above the horse-auction ring appealed to Jacob, even after he learned that Vanderbilt was the landlord. With the horse transportation declining in favor of automobiles, Vanderbilt leased the Horse Exchange site to the Shuberts in 1910. While Vanderbilt did not want to sell, he

2150-584: The LPC designated only the interior as a landmark in January 1988. This was part of the LPC's wide-ranging effort to grant landmark status to Broadway theaters, which had commenced in 1987. The New York City Board of Estimate ratified 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

2236-525: The Shuberts announced the same December that Beetlejuice would be relocated to make way for a revival of Meredith Willson 's The Music Man . All Broadway theaters temporarily closed on March 12, 2020 , due to the COVID-19 pandemic . Beetlejuice 's run, which had been scheduled to end that June, ended prematurely due to an extension of the COVID-19 closure. The musical eventually relocated to

2322-495: The Shuberts closed the Winter Garden Theatre for a major renovation of both the exterior and the interior. The auditorium was gutted to accommodate the show's junkyard setting, under the supervision of designer John Napier . In addition, the interior was painted black, as was the billboard outside. Cats opened on October 7, 1982, and quickly became successful, winning multiple Tony Awards. Cats became

2408-499: The Shuberts. In May 1910, the Shubert brother filed plans for a theater called Lew Fields' Winter Garden, which would be built on the Horse Exchange site at a cost of $ 500,000. William Albert Swasey would be the architect while John McKeefrey would be the builder. The Winter Garden was originally intended to host operas, ballets, dances, and other large performances, similar to variety and music halls. During mid-1910, while Fields

2494-613: The Sondheim musical Gypsy , featuring Lansbury, was staged later in 1974, and the Winter Garden hosted the 29th Tony Awards the following year. Yet another Sondheim musical, Pacific Overtures , was staged at the Winter Garden in 1976. It was followed the same year by a series of concerts by Natalie Cole , as well as a 167-performance run of Fiddler on the Roof . The musical Beatlemania opened in 1977 and ran for two years, despite initial expectations of bad reviews. In

2580-462: The United States". A portion of the old American Horse Exchange facade was visible on Seventh Avenue until the late 1990s, when it was refaced in brick. The theater's relatively small entrance on Broadway allowed the Shubert family to place storefronts along the rest of the Broadway frontage. The corner of Broadway and 50th Street was leased out as an eatery. It was originally designed as

2666-489: The Winter Garden could be rebranded for Cadillac , a division of GM. Early the same year, theatrical media announced that Cats would close that June, having played to more than 10 million guests and grossing over $ 380 million. Cats closed on September 10, 2000, and objects from the production were auctioned at the Winter Garden. Afterward, architect Francesca Russo restored the theater to its 1920s appearance. The $ 10 million project entailed restoring many of

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2752-426: The Winter Garden staged Life Begins at 8:40 in 1934, as well as Earl Carroll's Sketch Book and At Home Abroad in 1935. At the end of 1936, Vincente Minnelli staged The Show Is On , a popular revue with Bert Lahr and Beatrice Lillie . This was followed the next year by Hooray for What! , an antiwar musical. The late 1930s ended with a relatively short run of You Never Know in 1938. It

2838-608: The Winter Garden, on the merit that the designations severely limited the extent to which the theaters could be modified. The lawsuit was escalated to the New York Supreme Court and the Supreme Court of the United States, but these designations were ultimately upheld in 1992. In 2000, the Shubert Organization and General Motors (GM) began discussions over a possible sponsorship, in which

2924-432: The Winter Garden. Also presented at the Winter Garden were Gay Paree (1925 and 1926), The Great Temptations (1926), and The Circus Princess (1927). Warner Bros. took over the Winter Garden Theatre in 1928 and used it as a cinema for the next five years. The first film shown was The Singing Fool , featuring Al Jolson, which was screened in September 1928. Warner Bros. ended its lease in 1933. After

3010-409: The architectural features that had been heavily modified for Cats , as well as restoring the lobby, lounges, seats, and ticket areas. Historical design features, such as light fixtures and plasterwork, were restored or replaced. The stage, which had been disassembled for the run of Cats , also had to be reconstructed. Mamma Mia! was booked for the Winter Garden shortly after Cats closed, with

3096-548: The audience on the runway, as did 80 lightly clothed showgirls, leading the runway to be nicknamed the "bridge of thighs". (From) Broadway to Paris premiered in November 1912, and Jolson, Deslys, and Fanny Brice appeared in The Honeymoon Express the next year. Jacob's son, John Shubert, subsequently recalled that after The Honeymoon Express , Jolson returned to the Winter Garden once every 18 months on average. Jolson's shows typically premiered early in

3182-455: The auditorium contains a single balcony above the orchestra level, the boxes are arranged in two levels above the orchestra. The auditorium contains a ribbed ceiling, which originally had exposed trusses prior to Krapp's renovation. The proscenium and stage also date to Krapp's renovation, when they were scaled down from their original size. The Winter Garden was originally operated by brothers Lee and Jacob J. Shubert . In its early days,

3268-415: The balcony level and directly above the balcony. Both levels have three boxes on either side, which are curved outward. The fronts of the boxes have similar molded bands, swags, and foliate ornament as the balcony's front. In addition, the centers of the boxes have rosettes and oval panels. Pilasters with Adam-style decoration, running the full height of the auditorium, flank the boxes' wall sections. Each of

3354-428: The boxes' pilasters is topped by a Corinthian capital. There are griffin motifs and cartouches above the higher level of boxes. The present boxes and pilasters date from the 1923 renovation. The original design had only one level of boxes, which was at the balcony level. In the original design, the entire balcony front was occupied by a row of 21 boxes, and the wall sections on each side had two large party boxes, for

3440-415: The ceiling into Adam-style quadrilateral panels. Adjoining the inner lobby was a smoking room, measuring 30 by 35 feet (9.1 by 10.7 m), with an attached men's restroom. There was also a bar and a service room. The auditorium has an orchestra level; two levels of boxes above the orchestra; one balcony; and a stage behind the proscenium arch. The auditorium's width is greater than its depth, and

3526-690: The cinema lease was terminated, the first legitimate play to be presented was Hold Your Horses , which opened in September 1933. This was followed by the 1934 edition of the Ziegfeld Follies , to which the Shuberts had acquired the rights after Florenz Ziegfeld died. Another edition of the Follies was hosted in 1936. These two editions featured performers such as Passing Show stars Willie and Eugene Howard, as well as Eve Arden , Josephine Baker , Fanny Brice , Buddy Ebsen , Bob Hope , Gypsy Rose Lee , The Nicholas Brothers , Gertrude Niesen , and Jane Pickens . Between these performances,

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3612-543: The east, and 51st Street to the north. The lot covers 22,744 square feet (2,113.0 m ), with a frontage of 160 feet (49 m) on Broadway, 144 feet (44 m) on 50th Street, and 145 feet (44 m) on Seventh Avenue. Nearby buildings include the Mark Hellinger Theatre ( Times Square Church ) to the northwest; Axa Equitable Center to the northeast; The Michelangelo to the east; The Theater Center , Brill Building , and Ambassador Theatre to

3698-634: The first decade of the 20th century. After the death of Sam S. Shubert in 1905, his brothers Lee and Jacob J. Shubert expanded their theatrical operations significantly. The brothers controlled a quarter of all plays and three-quarters of theatrical ticket sales in the U.S. by 1925. Both Sam and Lee Shubert had prevented Jacob from taking a full role in the operation of the Shubert syndicate, and Lee had often sent Jacob to oversee productions outside New York City after Sam died. This prompted Jacob to develop his own theater; he subsequently recalled that, while walking up Broadway in early 1910, he looked at

3784-494: The first decade of the 20th century. From 1901 to 1920, forty-three theaters were built around Broadway in Midtown Manhattan. The Winter Garden Theatre was predated by an earlier theater of the same name , which opened in 1850 and was further downtown, at Broadway and Bond Street . The current Winter Garden was developed by the Shubert brothers of Syracuse, New York , who expanded downstate into New York City in

3870-538: The first edition of another revue at the Winter Garden, the Greenwich Village Follies . The Greenwich Village Follies reappeared in 1924 and 1928, and the Winter Garden also hosted the Artists and Models revue in 1925 and 1927. In addition to these revues, the musical Innocent Eyes was staged in 1924, followed by Big Boy in 1925, which was Al Jolson's last live appearance at

3956-482: The foundations for what was to become the largest theatre empire in the 20th century, including the Winter Garden and Shubert Theatres . The all-powerful Theatrical Syndicate essentially excluded competition. Since the Shuberts were not permitted to use Syndicate-controlled theaters, they put on shows in rented circus tents, holding "three times as many customers as the typical theater." In 1910, they formed

4042-403: The late 1970s and early 1980s, the Winter Garden was used mostly for several minor shows and live appearances. This included Zoot Suit in early 1979, followed in June by Bruce Forsyth concerts and in August by Gilda Radner 's Live From New York appearances. Next to be staged, in 1980, was Twyla Tharp 's dance series. The musical 42nd Street premiered later in 1980, though

4128-402: The latter of whom was making his Broadway debut as a lyricist. The Winter Garden's last productions of the 1950s were Juno and Saratoga in 1959. West Side Story returned to the Winter Garden briefly in 1960, having transferred the previous year. This was followed later that year by The Unsinkable Molly Brown with Tammy Grimes , which ran 732 performances. Eddie Fisher had

4214-435: The longest-running Broadway show in history in June 1997, when it hit 6,138 performances. Ultimately, Cats ran 7,485 performances spanning nearly eighteen years. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) had started considering protecting the Winter Garden as an official city landmark in 1982, with discussions continuing over the next several years. Though both the exterior and interior were considered,

4300-483: The musicals Cats and Mamma Mia! . The theater was renovated in 2000 and was known as the Cadillac Winter Garden Theatre from 2002 to 2007. The Winter Garden Theatre is on 1634 Broadway , near Times Square , in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City . The land lot takes up much of the city block bounded by Broadway to the west, 50th Street to the south, Seventh Avenue to

4386-556: The old Horse Exchange. The ceiling was finished in wooden latticework, and the ceiling was painted blue, giving an impression of an open-air venue. The original ceiling had poor acoustics. During the 1922 renovation, Krapp had lowered the ceiling to below the trusses. 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

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4472-445: The opening of the musical coincided with the death of its director, Gower Champion . This was followed by Camelot in 1981 and a revival of Othello in 1982. During the 1980s, the Shuberts renovated the Winter Garden as part of a restoration program for their Broadway theaters. Andrew Lloyd Webber 's musical Cats had been booked for the Winter Garden in April 1982, with a premiere scheduled for that October. In mid-1982,

4558-410: The original arch's size. In the proscenium's original configuration, it measured 30 feet (9.1 m) high and about 50 feet (15 m) wide. A sounding board curves onto the ceiling above the proscenium. It contains a panel that shows dancing and music-playing figures in a forest. These figures are surrounded by an Adam-style foliate band. The panel measures 30 by 40 feet (9.1 by 12.2 m) and

4644-404: The original theater had 150 box seats. The original decorative elements were designed by John Wanamaker . The theater was initially designed with latticework rather than Adam-style detailing, since latticework was commonly used as a design motif in Broadway theaters of the 1910s. The theater's name, as well as its original design, was meant to evoke an English garden. The orchestra floor

4730-411: The performers much closer to the audience. The apron and runway were removed in the 1922 renovation, and seats were added in their place. The dressing rooms were placed in a separate structure directly behind the stage, separated from the auditorium by brick walls. There is an orchestra pit in front of and below the stage. The modern ceiling contains vaults, placed between ribs that are designed in

4816-406: The promenade from the balcony seating areas. The front railing of the balcony is decorated with molded bands, swags, and foliate ornament. There are lighting fixtures and other equipment in front of the railing. The underside of the balcony has Adam-style bands with foliate decorations, as well as air-conditioning vents. On either side of the stage is an outwardly splayed wall section with boxes at

4902-503: The rake of the orchestra "makes for poor visibility from most locations" due to its shallowness. The balcony level is also raked; the front section contains several curves, which resemble the curves of boxes. The rear of the balcony level contains a promenade, which starts behind the center of the balcony and extends around to either side. This promenade was originally designed as a foyer measuring 30 by 40 feet (9.1 by 12.2 m), which had balconies overlooking Broadway. Columns separate

4988-424: The same year, presenting several Shakespeare plays . The last Ziegfeld Follies at the Winter Garden was staged in 1957, featuring Beatrice Lillie and Billy De Wolfe , but it was not as successful as previous versions, closing after 123 performances. Later that year, the Winter Garden premiered the musical West Side Story featuring Carol Lawrence , with music by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim ,

5074-454: The second performance, Jolson interrupted the performance to talk to the audience about the poor reviews, and then asked them if they would rather hear him sing. When they agreed, Jolson launched into a series of his own numbers. This time the reviews were very positive, and the show played for the rest of the season to solid audiences. Featured players were: Citations Sources Winter Garden Theatre The Winter Garden Theatre

5160-469: The series nonetheless had notable acts such as Miller's dancing debut in 1914. In addition to Jolson's performances and The Passing Show , the Winter Garden hosted other musicals and revues. These included Cinderella on Broadway and the Broadway Brevities in 1920; The Whirl of New York in 1921; and Make It Snappy in 1922. In November 1922, the Winter Garden was closed for

5246-406: The show Revue of Revues , featuring Gaby Deslys , opened in September 1911 and ran for two months. That November, the revue Vera Violetta opened, with numerous performers including Jolson, Deslys, and Mae West . In its early years, the Winter Garden hosted a successful series of concerts on Sunday nights, which featured performers such as Jolson. Jacob Shubert soon realized that Jolson

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5332-502: The show was trimmed and reorganized, and the companion pieces were soon dropped. The show was produced by Lee Shubert and Jacob J. Shubert , staged by J. C. Huffman and William J. Wilson , and choreographed by Wilson. The production was briefly revived in September of the same year and then toured from September to November. The Shubert Brothers engaged Al Jolson for his first Broadway appearance in La Belle Paree , which

5418-414: The shows at the Winter Garden. The billboards date to at least the 1930s. The Seventh Avenue facade, originally unornamented, was decorated in the 1922 renovation because of the growing prominence of that avenue. Because of the number of exits to the surrounding streets, Architecture and Building magazine wrote in 1911 that the theater "is said to have more exits than any other auditorium of its size in

5504-480: The southwest; and Paramount Plaza to the west. An entrance to the New York City Subway 's 50th Street station , serving the 1 train, is just south of the theater's Broadway entrance. In the late 19th century, what is now Times Square was known as Longacre Square and was heavily frequented by the horse and carriage industry. The site of the Winter Garden Theatre was originally occupied by

5590-477: The space is designed with plaster decorations in high relief . According to the Shubert Organization, the auditorium has 1,600 seats; however, Playbill gives a different figure of 1,493 seats and The Broadway League cites 1,526 seats. There are 1,045 seats in the orchestra, 486 on the balcony, 36 in the boxes, and 33 standing-only spots. In its original configuration, the Winter Garden had 1,200 seats at orchestra level and 400 at balcony level. In addition,

5676-537: The successful operators of several theaters in upstate New York. The Shubert brothers decided to expand to the huge market in New York City , and at the end of March 1900 they leased the Herald Square Theatre at the corner of Broadway and 35th Street in Manhattan . Leaving younger brother Jacob at home to manage their existing theatres, Lee and Sam Shubert moved to New York City, where they laid

5762-440: The theater frequently hosted series of revues presented under the umbrella titles The Passing Show , Artists and Models , and the Greenwich Village Follies . The Winter Garden served as a Warner Bros. movie house from 1928 to 1933 and a United Artists cinema from 1945 to 1948. Aside from these interruptions, it has largely operated as a legitimate theater. From 1982 to 2013, the Winter Garden hosted only two productions:

5848-432: The time was a record. Michael Todd staged Michael Todd's Peep Show , a burlesque, in 1950. This was followed by the satire Top Banana in 1951, with Phil Silvers ; the musical Wonderful Town in 1953, with Rosalind Russell ; and a revival of Peter Pan in 1954. The 16th-century classic Tamburlaine The Great was staged at the Winter Garden in 1956. The Old Vic , a theater company from London, arrived

5934-425: The two-part musical La Belle Paree . The show featured the Broadway premiere of actor and singer Al Jolson . The New York Times wrote that the Winter Garden was "New York's latest plaything, a very flashy toy, full of life and go and color and with no end of jingle to it". Conversely, when flops were staged at the Winter Garden, critics said they could smell the horse stables. After La Belle Paree closed,

6020-571: The venue returned to its original name. Mamma Mia! was similarly long-running, transferring to the Broadhurst in 2013 to make way for Rocky the Musical . Rocky opened in 2014 and ran for 188 performances. This was followed in 2015 by a short run of Wolf Hall Parts One & Two , as well as a much longer run of School of Rock , which closed in early 2019 after over 1,300 performances. Beetlejuice opened in April 2019, but

6106-464: The year, then went on tour after a summer break. These shows included Dancing Around (1914), Robinson Crusoe, Jr. (1916), Sinbad (1918), and Monte Cristo, Jr. (1919). Though Jolson made the Winter Garden popular, the Shuberts had to fill the theater when Jolson was on tour. Jacob Shubert, who considered Florenz Ziegfeld as an adversary, rushed the production of his revue The Passing Show in mid-1912 after hearing that Ziegfeld

6192-514: Was Stephen Sondheim and James Goldman 's musical Follies , which opened in 1971. This was followed the next year by a revival of Much Ado About Nothing , produced by the New York Shakespeare Festival and featuring Sam Waterston and Kathleen Widdoes . In addition, Neil Diamond performed a series of solo concerts in October 1972, and Liza Minnelli performed in a concert run in January 1974. A revival of

6278-603: Was a Lithuanian-born American theatre owner/operator and producer. He was the eldest of three brothers of the notable Shubert family . Born to a Jewish family, the son of Duvvid Schubart and Katrina Helwitz, in Vladislavov , in the Suwałki Governorate of Congress Poland , a part of the Russian Empire (present-day Kudirkos Naumiestis , Lithuania ), Shubert was 11 years old when the family emigrated to

6364-503: Was a major factor in the Winter Garden's success. While on a trip to Europe, Lee had met with German producer Max Reinhardt , who had pioneered the idea of a runway extending from a stage into the audience. Lee copied Reinhardt's idea, adding a bridge above the orchestra seats. In early 1912, Jolson, Deslys, and Stella Mayhew starred in The Whirl of Society , the first show to use the Winter Garden's runway. Jolson performed near

6450-454: Was a two- and three-story structure covered three-quarters on the block, surrounding a covered horse ring measuring 100 feet (30 m) square. The Broadway wing had dealers' offices on the first floor and the exchange's offices on the second floor, as well as space for carriages and valuable horses. The 50th Street and Seventh Avenue wings had horses on each floor, with 187 box stalls total. The exchange burned down in June 1896, killing close to

6536-491: Was adapted from the rebuilt American Horse Exchange. In 1911 the Shubert family leased the building and architect William Albert Swasey redesigned the building as a theater. The Winter Garden was completely remodeled in 1922 by Herbert J. Krapp . The theater is still operated by the Shubert Organization . As designed, the main entrance was on Broadway and there were ten exits on Seventh Avenue. The Broadway facade

6622-477: Was designed in a colonial style with plain gray stone. The original exterior used much of the existing facade of the Horse Exchange, though a cupola was added in the modification, as well as a heavy cornice . The facade had five Palladian-style arches and columns. The columns rose two stories, supporting a cornice and a pediment . Five mahogany doors led to the ticket lobby. The modern facade has large billboards, which have historically been used to advertise

6708-546: Was in charge of the Winter Garden's operation. Jacob wanted the new theater to produce musical revues , in effect competing with the Ziegfeld Follies operated by Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. The Winter Garden was to be the flagship venue for the Shuberts' own productions. The Winter Garden was supposed to open at the beginning of March 1911, but ticket sales did not even begin until March 6 due to difficulties in scheduling productions. It opened on March 20, 1911, with

6794-587: Was on tour, Jacob changed many of Fields's plans for the theater's physical specifications. Jacob also sent harsh letters to Fields about the latter's overspending, causing conflict between the two men. By the end of 1910, Fields had transferred his entire stake in the Winter Garden's operation to the Shubert brothers. A factor in Fields's withdrawal was Lee's lack of intervention in the dispute, implicitly favoring his less experienced brother over his longtime partner. Although Lee controlled bookings and financing, Jacob

6880-505: Was on vacation. The first edition of The Passing Show opened in July 1912. The series ran yearly through 1924, except for in 1920, when a specific edition for that year was not held. The series featured performers including Willie and Eugene Howard , Charlotte Greenwood , Marilyn Miller , Ed Wynn , Frank Fay , Fred and Adele Astaire , Marie Dressler , and Fred Allen . Jolson never appeared in any edition of The Passing Show , but

6966-475: Was overlong and dragged in places, continuing until almost 1:00 am, and some of the audience left before the end. The reviews were mixed, and Jolson was disappointed with his own performance. Jolson was scheduled late in the program, as La Belle Paris followed most of the companion pieces. Jolson played a phony "colored aristocrat", the boyfriend of Bridgeeta's Black maid, played by Mayhew. He wore blackface , and together they sang Jerome Kern 's coon song Paris

7052-481: Was reached later that month, with United Artists taking over that October. By the end of 1947, United Artists struggled to find films to screen, and it was paying $ 7,500 a week in rent. As the Girls Go , which opened in November 1948, was the first production to be staged after the Winter Garden again became a legitimate theater. The production, by Michael Todd , charged a top admission price of $ 7.20, which at

7138-490: Was succeeded the same year by a much longer run of Olsen and Johnson 's revue Hellzapoppin , which had transferred from the 46th Street Theatre and ran until 1941. That year, the Shuberts staged Sons o' Fun , another Olsen and Johnson hit, which ran at the Winter Garden for over a year before transferring in 1943. The Winter Garden hosted the Ziegfeld Follies once again in 1943, with Milton Berle , Jack Cole , Ilona Massey , and Arthur Treacher . This edition of

7224-519: Was the first show to play at their new Winter Garden Theatre. The piece concerned Bridgeeta McShane, a wealthy American widow visiting Paris for her health, who meets a number of suitors and eccentric characters, including Erastus Sparkler, played by Jolson. Jolson soon converted this supporting role into a star vehicle, and he would make a dozen further Broadway appearances (often at the Winter Garden) in his varied career. The first performance

7310-420: Was well-known for banning critics from all his theaters if they wrote something that upset him, to the point that the laws in the state of New York were changed to prevent the practice. Nonetheless, he recognized the need to attract some of the top stage actors from the long-established European theatres (as Gaby Deslys ) to perform at the new Broadway houses. After a disastrous production of Hamlet in 1901 at

7396-411: Was willing to lease the site for 40 years at an annual fee of $ 40,000. The plans for the Winter Garden itself dated to December 1909, when producer Lew Fields , a close associate of Lee Shubert, was planning a music hall-style venue. Despite Fields's greater expertise, Jacob Shubert had a greater advantage; because of large expenditures, Fields became indebted to Lee and ultimately became an employee of

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