229-601: The Liberty Theatre is a former Broadway theater at 234 West 42nd Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City . Opened in 1904, the theater was designed by Herts & Tallant and built for Klaw and Erlanger , the partnership of theatrical producers Marc Klaw and A. L. Erlanger . The theater has been used as an event venue since 2011 and is part of an entertainment and retail complex developed by Forest City Ratner . The theater
458-681: A " grindhouse " format, with films running continuously. This was part of a decline in the Broadway theater industry in the mid-20th century; from 1931 to 1950, the number of legitimate theaters decreased from 68 to 30. The box seats were removed when the Selwyn became a movie theater. Billy Rose considered restoring either the Selwyn or the Apollo to legitimate use in 1943. By then, the ten theaters along 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues were all showing movies; this led Variety to call
687-527: A 199-seat off-Broadway theater, on the second floor. It is named for philanthropist Doris Duke , who donated $ 3.5 million toward its construction. The Duke on 42nd Street is housed within an enclosure measuring 57 by 49.5 ft (17.4 by 15.1 m) across and 19.5 ft (5.9 m) high. The building's ground level contains 2,500 square feet (230 m ) of retail space next to the Todd Haimes Theatre's lobby. Times Square became
916-513: A 20-act revue entitled Folies Bergere . The theater presented only two legitimate shows during the 1932–1933 season. Masks and Faces , which closed on its opening night in March 1933, was the last legitimate show staged at the Liberty until the 1990s. After Masks and Faces closed, the Liberty continued to operate as a movie theater. This was part of a decline in the Broadway theater industry in
1145-472: 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
1374-509: A Crowd (1930). After Arch Selwyn's bankruptcy in 1934, the Selwyn became a cinema; the Brandt family took over the theater in 1937 and operated it for the next five decades. The Selwyn largely showed movies, except in 1949–1950, when legitimate plays alternated with film screenings. There were several proposals to redevelop theaters along 42nd Street in the 1980s. New 42nd Street took over the Selwyn and several neighboring theaters in 1990, leasing
1603-536: A Nation over 750 times during the next nine months. The Liberty again hosted live shows in early 1916, when it presented a week of variety performances by The Blue Pierrots troupe, as well as the musical Sybil . In August of that year, Griffith leased the Liberty Theatre again, this time for his film Intolerance . The Jerome Kern musical Have A Heart opened at the Liberty in January 1917, followed
1832-839: 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
2061-449: 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,
2290-663: 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
2519-434: 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
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#17327811495702748-493: A color scheme that was also used on the auditorium's seats, carpets, and other fabrics. The original design included eight boxes , four on either side of the stage. The boxes were painted in ivory and gold. Above each set of boxes was a motif of a bald eagle, which in turn flanked a depiction of the Liberty Bell. The proscenium opening is 36 ft (11 m) wide and 32 ft (9.8 m) high. Unlike in other theaters,
2977-540: 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
3206-565: 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
3435-906: 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
3664-434: A foyer with a carpeted floor, as well as a main area with a gold-and-blue ceiling and gilded wall mirrors. The Wall Street Journal reported in 2015 that the subscribers' lobby was often unused, since many subscribers instead gathered in the ground-floor lobby during intermissions. The private lounge is immediately above the subscribers' lobby. It was originally intended for donors who contributed over $ 1,500 annually to
3893-630: A frontage of 37 ft (11 m) on 42nd Street and 96 feet on 43rd Street, with a depth of 100 feet from both streets. The theater shares the block with the Hotel Carter building to the west, as well as the Lyric , Times Square , and New Victory theaters and 3 Times Square to the east. Other nearby buildings include 255 West 43rd Street , the St. James Theatre , and the Hayes Theater to
4122-534: A heavy rainstorm on December 30, 1997. The collapse destroyed several pieces of memorabilia in the Times Square visitor center, including pinball machines and sex-store advertisements. The building had been vacant at the time, but police cordoned the area off because the collapse had occurred just before the Times Square Ball drop. The Times Square visitor center was subsequently relocated to
4351-406: A large billboard. Joseph Giovaninni of New York magazine wrote of the design: "The architects may have designed only what is, in the end, a familiar glass box, but with their totally original use of light they infused it with new life." Elaine Louie of The New York Times wrote that the structure "proves that a glass building can have a 21st-century reason for its transparency and not just be
4580-476: 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
4809-561: A legitimate house within 24 hours' notice, but producers did not take up his offer. By the late 1950s, the Selwyn was classified as a "move-over house", displaying features immediately after they ran at the Lyric, one of the street's two first-run theaters (the other being the New Amsterdam). As a move-over house, the Selwyn charged less than the first-run theaters but more than the "reissue houses" that screened old films. The Selwyn and
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#17327811495705038-488: A mechanical core within the New 42nd Street Building. Three elevators and two staircases were built when the theater was reconstructed. One of the elevators is housed within an old fire escape shaft. On the 42nd Street side of the New 42nd Street Building, a 15 ft-deep (4.6 m) space was added for backstage areas. Two stories were built above the roof, with reception, kitchen/dining, and bar areas; they are supported by
5267-615: A monopoly on theatrical shows, and they had dissolved their partnership. A. L. Erlanger continued to produce shows at the Liberty Theatre, while Marcus Klaw developed his own venue on 45th Street, the Klaw Theatre . The Kern musical The Night Boat opened at the Liberty in February 1920 and ran for several months. It was followed by George White's Scandals of 1921 and the Otto Harbach musical The O'Brien Girl . During 1922,
5496-526: 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
5725-539: 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
5954-1152: 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
6183-443: A nod to old-fashioned Modernism". The Todd Haimes Theatre has a fan-shaped layout, which led one critic to observe that "a whisper in the farthest part of the stage may be heard at the most remote seat". While the theater originally had 1,180 seats, it has had 740 seats since the late 1990s. The modern theater has wider seats than the original Selwyn, necessitating the reduction in the number of seats. The original upholstery
6412-520: A rapid increase in the valuation of real estate along Times Square, the Criterion Center's owner notified Haimes that Roundabout's lease would be terminated in March 1999. The impending eviction prompted the company to intensify its search for a permanent home. Haimes wanted a theater that contained at least 500 seats, as well as fly space and wings . The Wooster Group brought a limited production of Eugene O'Neill 's The Hairy Ape to
6641-500: 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
6870-413: A rectangular lot covering around 7,538 sq ft (700.3 m ), with a frontage of 75 ft (23 m) on 42nd Street and a depth of 100 ft 5 in (30.61 m). The auditorium is also on a rectangular lot covering 9,708 sq ft (901.9 m ), with a frontage of 96 ft 8 in (29.46 m) on 43rd Street and a depth of 100 feet 5 inches. Originally, the theater had
7099-519: A report on 42nd Street's theaters in 1980. His report, in conjunction with a movement opposing the demolition of the nearby Helen Hayes and Morosco theaters, motivated the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) to survey fifty of Midtown Manhattan's extant theaters in the early 1980s. Hardy's firm Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates (HHPA) determined that the Liberty's superstructure and
Liberty Theatre - Misplaced Pages Continue
7328-443: A revival of The Man Who Came to Dinner in late 1999. New 42nd Street opened the studios in its new building on June 20, 2000. The American Airlines Theatre informally reopened on June 30, 2000, even though the subscribers' lobby was incomplete at the time. At the time, Roundabout had 46,000 subscribers; this was nearly three times the 17,000 subscribers it had in 1983. The theater formally reopened on July 27, 2000. Typically,
7557-438: A row of orchestra seating. A red house curtain and a fire curtain were also installed. The auditorium's roof is supported by four columns, two each in the front and in the back. When the theater was rebuilt in the 1990s, the columns were extended upward by 25 ft (7.6 m) to support two additional stories. The auditorium's dome is suspended from two trusses that run between the front and rear pairs of columns. The dome
7786-431: 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
8015-496: A separate plan. Ultimately, the 42nd Street Redevelopment Project was delayed for several years due to lawsuits and disputes concerning the towers. The New York Mart plan consisted of a garment merchandise mart on Eighth Avenue between 40th and 42nd Streets, opposite Port Authority Bus Terminal. The project was to be completed by the Times Square Redevelopment Corporation, comprising members of
8244-579: A series of short-lived plays and musicals in early 1930, including the Theatre Guild 's revival of the play Volpone . The musical comedy Brown Buddies opened at the Liberty that October, running for 113 performances. Although Erlanger died in March 1930, the executors of his estate continued to operate the theater. The executors were unable to manage the theater, and most of the estate was ultimately given away to various creditors. 234 West 42nd Street Inc., which Klaw and Erlanger had formed to manage
8473-481: 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
8702-529: A stand-up comedy show at the theater. Roundabout's first musical at the theater was The Boys from Syracuse at the beginning of the 2002–2003 season. The theater then hosted the plays Tartuffe and A Day in the Death of Joe Egg and the musical Big River in 2003. Additionally, Yakov Smirnoff performed the comedy show As Long As We Both Shall Laugh on nights when Joe Egg did not perform. Despite critical acclaim for these shows, Roundabout recorded
8931-580: 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
9160-417: A virtual-reality arcade in the theater, although the Liberty remained empty through the late 1990s. Forest City Ratner erected a Hilton hotel above the theater. The Liberty Theatre remained largely abandoned in the 2000s, and its facade and auditorium were hidden behind Madame Tussauds' entrance. The theater was briefly used for Deborah Warner 's site-specific art installation The Angel Project in 2003; at
9389-407: A year. By then, a lack of steady income led the Selwyn brothers to host shows on Sunday nights, when most other Broadway theaters did not operate. In addition to legitimate bookings, the Selwyn hosted events such as a debate about Benito Mussolini . Under Arch Selwyn, the theater became known for hosting revues. In November 1928, Arch Selwyn brought Noël Coward 's musical This Year of Grace to
Liberty Theatre - Misplaced Pages Continue
9618-599: 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
9847-475: 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
10076-426: Is at 229 West 42nd Street, on the northern sidewalk between Eighth Avenue and Seventh Avenue , at the southern end of Times Square in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City . The theater occupies two land lots . The main entrance and lobby are in the New 42nd Street Building on 42nd Street, while the auditorium is on a separate lot to the north on 43rd Street. The New 42nd Street Building occupies
10305-556: Is designed in a blue-and-gold color scheme and has a shallow balcony, box seats , and murals. There are lounges for Roundabout subscribers above the auditorium and technical spaces in the basement. In addition, the New 42nd Street Building contains offices, rehearsal rooms, and an off-Broadway theater above the lobby. The theater opened on October 2, 1918, with Jane Cowl 's Information Please , and it initially hosted legitimate musical and dramatic productions. Arch Selwyn presented revues such as Wake Up and Dream (1929) and Three's
10534-562: 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,
10763-448: Is even shallower than the orchestra, with seven rows of 40 seats each, or 280 seats in total. It has a continental seating configuration without any intermediate aisles. A technical booth is installed on the rear wall. The orchestra and balcony were connected by stairs with carved yellow marble balustrades. The walls were wainscoted in blue-veined marble. At mezzanine level, there are box seats within arched openings on either side of
10992-485: Is one of three Broadway theaters operated by the nonprofit Roundabout Theatre Company ; the others are Studio 54 and the Stephen Sondheim Theatre . The theater had originally been accessed from the six-story Selwyn Building on 42nd Street, which collapsed at the end of 1997. The building's 42nd Street elevation was made of brick with terracotta trim. One architectural publication described
11221-522: Is operated by Roundabout Theatre Company . The Selwyn Theatre was designed in the Italian Renaissance style, with a brick-and-terracotta facade . The auditorium, which is on 43rd Street, had been accessed from the six-story Selwyn Building on 42nd Street, which collapsed at the end of 1997. The modern theater is accessed through the ten-story New 42nd Street Building, which has an illuminated steel-and-glass facade. The fan-shaped auditorium
11450-402: Is owned by the city and state governments of New York and leased to New 42nd Street . Brookfield Asset Management , which acquired Forest City in 2018, subleases the venue from New 42nd Street. The Liberty Theatre consists of an auditorium facing 41st Street and a lobby facing 42nd Street. The facade on 42nd Street is largely hidden but was designed in the neoclassical style, similar to
11679-461: Is painted blue and has a chandelier at its center. Smaller blue domes are placed near the rear of the ceiling. In front of the proscenium is a truss and rigging points for theatrical equipment. The rigging system includes 35 line sets . The front of the theater contains a safety beam that can accommodate up to 300 lb (140 kg) of equipment; two motors can pull the beam along a truss measuring 40 ft (12 m) wide. The first floor of
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#173278114957011908-571: 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
12137-623: The American Airlines Theatre and originally the Selwyn Theatre ) is a Broadway theater at 227 West 42nd Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City . Built in 1918, it was designed by George Keister and developed by brothers Edgar and Archibald Selwyn , for whom the theater was originally named. The theater is owned by the city and state governments of New York and leased to New 42nd Street . It has 740 seats across two levels and
12366-610: 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
12595-496: The Biograph Company that allowed Biograph to produce two features weekly at the syndicate's theaters. Klaw and Erlanger leased the Liberty to movie-theater operator D. W. Griffith in February 1915, on the condition that movie tickets be sold at $ 2, the same price as tickets for plays. The next month, Griffith presented The Birth of a Nation , the first film to be screened at the theater. Griffith screened The Birth of
12824-576: The City University of New York 's Graduate Center hosted an exhibition with photographs of the Liberty and other theaters to advocate for the area's restoration. One plan for the site, in 1978, called for razing several buildings in the area, including the Liberty, to create a park. The New York City government announced the City at 42nd Street plan in December 1979 as part of a proposal to restore
13053-414: The City University of New York 's Graduate Center hosted an exhibition with photographs of the Selwyn and other theaters to advocate for the area's restoration. Another plan, in 1978, called for restoring the Selwyn, Apollo, and Harris for opera and dance, rather than for theatrical purposes. Other nearby buildings would have been razed to create a park. The Brandt family's Brandt Organization converted
13282-734: The Embassy Theatre . In August 1998, the DOB found that the Big Apple Wrecking and Construction Corporation, a contractor for the E-Walk project, was liable for the Selwyn Building's collapse. Big Apple had failed to underpin the building's foundation when it was excavating the E-Walk site, which contributed to the collapse. The DOB could only penalize Big Apple by issuing fines of several thousand dollars. The collapse of
13511-674: 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. At the beginning of that century, Klaw and Erlanger operated the predominant theatrical booking agency in the United States. They decided to relocate to 42nd Street after observing that the Metropolitan Opera House , the Victoria Theatre , and
13740-501: The Iroquois Theatre fire in 1903, where hundreds of people died in a Chicago theater that was allegedly fireproof. The auditorium is at the south end of the building and originally measured 72 ft (22 m) wide, with a depth of 60 ft (18 m) between the stage and the rear wall. The auditorium's seats were spread across the orchestra level and two balconies. The theater had 1,055 seats. Unusually for theaters of
13969-580: 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;
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#173278114957014198-464: The Liberty Bell and bald eagles , which have since been removed. The Liberty opened on October 10, 1904, and in its early years hosted several hit productions, which largely consisted of comedies, dramas, or musicals. D. W. Griffith briefly screened movies at the theater in the 1910s. After Klaw and Erlanger ended their partnership in 1919, Erlanger continued to operate the theater until 1931;
14427-607: The Madame Tussauds New York museum and the AMC Empire 25 movie theater. The complex's land lot covers 54,060 sq ft (5,022 m) and extends 200 ft (61 m) between its two frontages on 41st and 42nd Streets, with a frontage of 270 ft (82 m) on 41st Street and 350 ft (110 m) on 42nd Street. Originally, the theater occupied its own land lot; the main frontage on 42nd Street measured only 20 ft (6.1 m) wide, while
14656-503: 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
14885-600: The Prudential Insurance Company of America . The Brandt family planned to submit a bid to redevelop some of the theaters they owned on 42nd Street. In June 1982, the Brandts' five theaters on the north side of 42nd Street, including the Selwyn, were added to the redevelopment plan. In August 1984, the UDC granted Jujamcyn Theaters the right to operate the Selwyn, Apollo, and Lyric theaters; as part of
15114-484: The Prudential Insurance Company of America . The Brandt family planned to submit a bid to redevelop some of the theaters they owned on 42nd Street. In June 1982, the Brandts' five theaters on the north side of 42nd Street were added to the redevelopment plan. Despite the Brandts' insistence that the Empire and Liberty theaters also be included in the redevelopment, the two theaters were leased to New York Mart Inc. as part of
15343-476: 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
15572-522: The Tony Awards ' administration committee ruled that the Selwyn counted as a Broadway theater, so productions there would be eligible for the Tonys. By that September, Roundabout had raised $ 15 million of a $ 21.5 million endowment for the theater. The Selwyn was renamed in March 2000 after American Airlines (AA), which would pay $ 850,000 annually over at least ten years. AA's name would be placed on
15801-407: The fly loft was 70 ft (21 m) above the stage. The Liberty's stage curtain was made of asbestos , as at many other theaters at the time, and contained a mural of Half Moon , the ship belonging to Dutch explorer Henry Hudson . The curtain, measuring 35 by 25 ft (10.7 by 7.6 m), was probably designed by F. Richards Anderson and was decorated in blue, green, and brown hues. With
16030-409: 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
16259-497: The 41st Street frontage measured 100 ft (30 m) wide. This is because the developers, Abraham L. Erlanger and Marcus Klaw , wanted the more prominent 42nd Street frontage as the main entrance. The city block includes the Candler Building , New Amsterdam Theatre , and 5 Times Square to the east, as well as Eleven Times Square to the west. The E-Walk entertainment complex is directly across 42nd Street to
16488-512: The American Airlines hosted two to five Broadway productions per season due to Roundabout's subscription format; most shows ran for fewer than 100 performances. In the first decade of the 21st century, the theater had the most new productions of any Broadway venue, since all productions had limited runs regardless of their success. Actors at the theater were originally paid a lower rate than those at for-profit Broadway theaters, but this
16717-451: The Apollo to legitimate use in 1979; the company also planned to convert the Lyric and Selwyn, but there were few bookings for either theater. Another plan, called the City at 42nd Street, was announced in December 1979 as part of a proposal to restore West 42nd Street around Times Square. Under the plan, the Selwyn would have been preserved, and some of the other theaters would have been modified. Mayor Ed Koch wavered in his support of
16946-536: 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,
17175-619: 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
17404-686: The COVID-19 shutdown, the Shubert Organization, the Nederlander Organization, and Jujamcyn had pledged to increase racial and cultural diversity in their theaters, including naming at least one theater for a Black theatrical personality. The August Wilson Theatre , owned by Jujamcyn, had been renamed after Black playwright August Wilson in 2005. The Shuberts announced in March 2022 that the Cort Theatre , which
17633-574: 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
17862-577: The Cinema circuit operated the other three. The Brandt theaters included the Selwyn , Apollo , Times Square , Lyric , and Victory theaters on the north side of 42nd Street, as well as the Eltinge and Liberty theaters on the south side. The Liberty Theatre screened films that had previously been shown at the Selwyn. Several producers offered to stage legitimate productions in the Brandt theaters, but none of
18091-552: The Eltinge Theatre in October 1928 to make way for the comedy Mr. Moneypenny , which lasted 61 performances. The Liberty then hosted Subway Express , which premiered in October 1929 and ran for 270 performances. By then, increasing competition between producers had resulted in many flops . Furthermore, with the onset of the Great Depression , many Broadway theaters were impacted by declining attendance. The theater hosted
18320-456: 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
18549-410: 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
18778-498: The Liberty Diner. Parts of the auditorium were still visible from the restaurant. During 2015, Cynthia von Buhler staged the immersive play Speakeasy Dollhouse : Ziegfeld's Midnight Frolic , whose storyline investigates the death of actress Olive Thomas , at the theater. The Liberty Diner and the auditorium closed after the operators lost the lease in 2015. Brookfield Asset Management took over Forest City's properties at
19007-510: The Liberty Theatre hosted the comedy To the Ladies with Helen Hayes , as well as Cohan's musical Little Nellie Kelly . The theater's shows the next year included the play Magnolia with Leo Carrillo and The Magic Ring with Jeanette MacDonald . The firm of Mandelbaum & Lewine, along with Max N. Natanson, bought the Liberty and Eltinge theaters in November 1923 and immediately resold
19236-465: The Liberty Theatre would be completely renovated after Tip-Toes ended that June, and the theater reopened that September. Lew Fields 's revue Blackbirds of 1928 , featuring an all-Black cast, premiered in May 1928 and had 518 total performances over two theaters. It was one of several revues with Black casts to be presented at the Liberty Theatre in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Blackbirds relocated to
19465-455: The Liberty Theatre, as landmarks in 1982, with discussions continuing over the next several years. While the LPC granted landmark status to many Broadway theaters starting in 1987, it deferred decisions on the exterior and interior of the Liberty Theatre. Further discussion of the landmark designations was delayed for several decades. In late 2015, the LPC hosted public hearings on whether to designate
19694-533: The Liberty Theatre, was evicted from the theater in 1931 after failing to pay rent. The theater hosted another all-Black revue in 1931, Singin' the Blues , which was unsuccessful. Max Rudnick leased the theater in February 1932 for three years and presented the Black revue Blackberries of 1932 that April. Rudnick also presented movies in the theater, and he began showing vaudeville as well in mid-1932, when he presented
19923-536: The Liberty and six other theaters as landmarks. The LPC rejected the designations in February 2016 because the theaters were already subject to historic-preservation regulations set by the state government. The Urban Development Corporation (UDC), an agency of the New York state government, proposed redeveloping the area around a portion of West 42nd Street in 1981. The plan centered around four towers that were to be built at 42nd Street's intersections with Broadway and Seventh Avenue, developed by Park Tower Realty and
20152-461: The Liberty from New 42nd Street, although the development company did not use the theater itself. Though the theater was not protected as a city landmark, the city and state governments had required that significant portions of the facade be preserved. The Liberty was used for a staged reading of T. S. Eliot 's poem The Waste Land , a solo performance by Fiona Shaw , in late 1996. The same year, GameWorks negotiated with Forest City Ratner to open
20381-430: The Liberty was leased the next year to Max Rudnick, who presented movies and vaudeville . The Liberty hosted its last legitimate show in 1933, and the Brandt family took over the venue, operating it as a movie theater until the 1980s. The city and state governments of New York acquired the theater as part of the 42nd Street Redevelopment Project in 1990. Forest City Ratner developed an entertainment and retail complex on
20610-506: The Liberty. Martin Levine and Richard Brandt took over the 42nd Street Company in 1972. At the time, the Liberty was presenting "subrun action fare", showing second runs of action films that had premiered at other theaters. The other six theaters showed a variety of genres, though Levine said none of the company's 42nd Street theaters showed hardcore porn . The Brandts' theaters had a combined annual gross of about $ 2 million and operated nearly
20839-524: The New Amsterdam Theatre in 1994, most of the other theaters around 42nd Street were quickly leased, but the Selwyn remained empty. The Times Square Business Improvement District opened a visitor center in the Selwyn's lobby in April 1996, and Jujamcyn again considered leasing the theater at that time. Though Jujamcyn was a for-profit operator, the New York City government had specified that
21068-504: The New Amsterdam, Lyceum , and German theaters), although the Liberty's architectural detail was smaller in scale than in the other theaters. The Liberty Theatre originally had a three-story-tall neoclassical facade on 42nd Street, similar to the neighboring New Amsterdam Theatre (also designed by Herts and Tallant). The entrance was through an arch, which was flanked by sign boards and topped by an electric sign. On either side of
21297-426: The New York state and city governments. Under this plan, the Empire and Liberty theaters would be renovated, with the Liberty Theatre likely becoming a nonprofit theater, although the extent of the renovations was unclear. David Morse and Richard Reinis were selected in April 1982 to develop the mart, but they were removed from the project that November due to funding issues. Subsequently, the state and city disputed over
21526-604: 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
21755-535: 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
21984-574: The Roundabout Theatre Company. It is known as the Langworthy Lounge, after donor Norma S. Langworthy. The space can fit 40 people seated for a dinner or 70 people standing for a cocktail reception. The building also contains 84,000 sq ft (7,800 m ) of rehearsal and performing space for New 42nd Street. There are two studio/reception spaces and 14 rehearsal rooms. The New 42nd Street Studios, as
22213-628: The Selwyn Building had forced New 42nd Street to redesign its proposed building. According to New 42nd Street president Cora Cahan, the original plans "had been more than 75 percent drawn". The New York State Council on the Arts, which had pledged funding for the Selwyn's restoration, instead allocated the money toward a new design for the New 42nd Street Building. In September 1998, the Doris Duke Foundation donated $ 3.5 million to New 42nd Street. The project also received $ 11.9 million from
22442-441: The Selwyn Building was almost entirely occupied by the theater's lobby, lounges, and restrooms, while the other five floors were used as offices. The lounges and lobby were decorated in the same way as the auditorium, with ornate foyers, lounges, and restrooms. The Selwyn Theatre's design had several innovations, including separate smoking rooms for men and women, as well as a shower and telephone in each dressing room. The theater
22671-547: The Selwyn Theatre was developed, the brothers operated the Harris Theatre on 42nd Street. At the beginning of January 1917, the Selwyn brothers announced their intention to build a theater on 240–248 West 43rd Street, with an entrance on 42nd Street. The theater was planned to have 1,100 seats and, according to The New York Times , "novel features" such as rehearsal rooms and a women's lounge. In May 1918,
22900-481: The Selwyn Theatre, with discussions continuing over the next several years. While the LPC granted landmark status to many Broadway theaters starting in 1987, it deferred decisions on the exterior and interior of the Selwyn Theatre. Further discussion of the landmark designations was delayed for several decades. In late 2015, the LPC hosted public hearings on whether to designate the Selwyn (by then American Airlines) and six other theaters as landmarks. The LPC rejected
23129-489: The Selwyn Theatre, designed by George Keister and constructed in 1918 for brothers Edgar and Archibald Selwyn . The Selwyn was originally decorated in the Italian Renaissance style. The original design plans are preserved at the Shuger Archives. The current design dates to a late-1990s renovation, when the New 42nd Street Building (designed by Platt Byard Dovell ) was constructed around it. The Todd Haimes
23358-566: The Selwyn brothers agreed to give the exclusive booking rights for their plays to the Shubert family . Thereafter, the Shuberts held a partial interest in the three theaters that the Selwyns were constructing. The gangster Arnold Rothstein reportedly provided some financing for the project. Work was halted temporarily in early 1918 due to legal issues and material shortages. Construction of
23587-519: The Selwyn brothers purchased the site of the Selwyn Building on 42nd Street from Mary Cassidy. Most of the Selwyn's productions in 1922 and early 1923 were not hits. The musical The Blue Kitten opened in January 1922 with Joseph Cawthorn and Lillian Lorraine , followed by Partners Again that May. At the end of that year, the theater installed a Teleview projection system for screening stereoscopic motion pictures . The theater hosted three short-lived productions in early 1923. The next hit
23816-522: The Selwyn in April 1997 for an eight-week run. By that time, the buildings to the west were being demolished to make way for the E-Walk project, requiring motion detectors to be installed on the Selwyn Building. Roundabout committed to renovating the Selwyn in September 1997. At the time, Roundabout had raised about half of the $ 10–12 million required for the Selwyn's restoration. Roundabout did not receive any of New 42nd Street's $ 18.2 million grant, as
24045-424: The Selwyn operate as a nonprofit venue. There was still no long-term plan for the Selwyn, even as plans had been announced for all the other theaters on the block. The Roundabout Theatre Company had submitted a bid for one of the six theaters on 42nd Street, but its artistic director Todd Haimes initially rejected the area as being too rundown. Instead, Roundabout leased one Broadway and one off-Broadway space at
24274-484: The Selwyn to the Roundabout Theatre Company in 1997. Following the collapse of the Selwyn Building, the theater was redesigned as part of the New 42nd Street Building. The theater reopened on June 30, 2000, after being renamed for American Airlines , which had bought the theater's naming rights . In June 2023, Roundabout announced that the theater would be renamed after Roundabout's artistic director, Todd Haimes , who had died in April of that year. The Todd Haimes Theatre
24503-406: The Selwyn's facade, which rose straight from the street. The building's 42nd Street elevation would have been covered with a projecting angular steel-and-glass "armature". Lighting designer Anne Militello had also been hired to design color-changing illumination for the New 42nd Street Building. A marquee and entrance to the Selwyn Theatre, as well as a storefront, would have been placed at the base of
24732-524: The Selwyn's films moved to the Liberty afterward. Several producers offered to stage legitimate productions in these theaters, but none of the offers were successful. William Brandt indicated in 1946 that he might replace the theaters on the north side of 42nd Street with a skyscraper. By then, there was a shortage of new films in the theaters along 42nd Street, which led to decreased attendance. In August 1949, George Brandt suggested running live shows in their 42nd Street theaters, though his father William
24961-462: The Selwyn, Apollo, Lyric, and Times Square were to be converted to commercial use. By the end of the year, the plans were threatened by a lack of money. In early 1989, several dozen nonprofit theater companies submitted plans to the UDC for the takeover of six theaters. Most of the bids were for the Liberty and Victory, but the Selwyn, Apollo, Lyric, and Times Square theaters received 13 bids between them. That year, The Durst Organization acquired
25190-457: The Selwyn, Apollo, Lyric, and Times Square were to be converted to commercial use. By the end of the year, the plans were threatened by a lack of money. In early 1989, several dozen nonprofit theater companies submitted plans to the UDC for the takeover of six theaters. Most of the bids were for the Liberty and Victory, but the Selwyn, Apollo, Lyric, and Times Square theaters received 13 bids between them. That year, The Durst Organization acquired
25419-523: The Selwyn, to the Cine 42nd Street Corporation in 1986. From 1987 to 1989, Park Tower and Prudential hired Robert A. M. Stern to conduct a study on the Apollo, Lyric, Selwyn, Times Square, and Victory theaters on the north side of 42nd Street. Stern devised three alternatives for the five theaters. City and state officials announced plans for the five theaters, along with the Liberty Theatre on
25648-421: The Selwyn. Martin Levine and Richard Brandt took over the 42nd Street Company in 1972. The Selwyn still operated as a move-over house, screening films that had previously played at the Lyric. The other five theaters showed a variety of genres, though Levine said none of the company's 42nd Street theaters showed hardcore porn. The Brandts' theaters had a combined annual gross of about $ 2 million and operated nearly
25877-469: The Selwyns filed plans with the Manhattan Bureau of Buildings for their theater, to be designed by George Keister. In addition, Keister designed a renovation for the existing three-story building on 42nd Street, owned by Mary L. Cassidy, into an office structure. Crosby Gaige would oversee the theater and office building's construction. The project was expected to cost $ 200,000 in total, and
26106-639: The Theatre Republic (now New Victory Theater) had been developed around that area. Klaw and Erlanger hired Herts and Tallant to design the New Amsterdam Theatre at 214 West 42nd Street, which opened on October 26, 1903. Klaw and Erlanger then decided to build a second theater on the block, also designed by Herts and Tallant, which would host musicals by the Rogers Brothers . By early 1904, the Murphy Construction Company
26335-489: The Times Theatre, on Eighth Avenue and 42nd Street. The Brandt family acquired the Liberty Theatre, along with the neighboring Eltinge (now Empire) Theatre, in December 1944. By the mid-1940s, the ten theaters along 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues were all showing movies; this led Variety to call the block the "biggest movie center of the world". The Brandt family operated seven of these theaters, while
26564-541: The Victory and Liberty theaters be restored for nonprofit use; they estimated that it would cost between $ 7 million and $ 7.8 million to renovate the Liberty. City and state officials announced plans for the Liberty Theatre, along with five theaters on the north side of 42nd Street, in September 1988. The UDC opened a request for proposals for the six theaters that October. The Liberty and Victory were to be converted into performing-arts venues for nonprofit organizations, while
26793-421: The auditorium; the rear box is higher than the front box. Above the boxes, sail vaults ride to the ceiling. There were five Italianate murals above the boxes and the proscenium opening. Arthur Brounet had painted the murals, which depicted various performers in classical garb, such as jesters. The murals were painted over in the mid-20th century before EverGreene Architectural Arts restored them in
27022-492: 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
27251-432: The bays, as well as globe-shaped lanterns affixed to the piers. The facade does not have any other decoration. The theater was mechanically advanced for its time, with heating, cooling, ventilation, and fire-suppression systems. The structural frame was made of skeletal steel, while the floors were made of concrete and tile. The theater's sprinkler system was supplied by a 15,000 US gal (57,000 L) water tank on
27480-435: 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
27709-476: 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
27938-550: 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
28167-516: The block the "biggest movie center of the world". The Brandts owned seven of these theaters, while the Cinema circuit operated the other three. The Brandt theaters included the Selwyn, Apollo, Times Square, Lyric, and Victory theaters on the north side of 42nd Street, as well as the Eltinge and Liberty theaters on the south side. The Brandts used the Selwyn as their flagship theater on 42nd Street, screening first runs of Loews movies; some of
28396-541: The brothers could produce a hit. Arch Selwyn hired Crosby Gaige to produce several shows, but none of them lasted for very long; one play, Ragged Army , ran for just two days. The theater was leased in April 1934 to the Anru Amusement Corporation, which started operating the Selwyn as a movie house the following month. The Selwyn brothers never again hosted a show at the theater. Arch Selwyn filed for bankruptcy shortly afterward; one of his debts
28625-454: The brothers never performed at the Liberty again. Margaret Mayo 's play Polly of the Circus opened in December 1907 and was a hit, running for 160 performances. Other shows in the Liberty Theatre's early years included The Redskins in 1906 with Tyrone Power Sr. , as well as Wildfire in 1908 with Lillian Russell . The musical The Arcadians opened at the Liberty in 1910, followed at
28854-529: The building as also containing "generous glass surfaces to light the interior". A marquee overhung the theater's entrance on 42nd Street. Six windows on the second story, directly above the marquee, were grouped together within a wide window frame. On each of the third through fifth stories, the windows were divided vertically into five bays , with the center bay being separated from the outer two bays on each side by piers . The windows on different stories were separated by decorated spandrels . An entablature with
29083-412: The building. Plans for the facade of the New 42nd Street Building were modified slightly after the Selwyn Building's facade collapsed. The 13,000 sq ft (1,200 m ) facade is illuminated by 300 computer-controlled lamps, part of an illumination scheme created by Anne Militello . The building's 42nd Street elevation is covered in stainless steel bars, which act as brises soleil , screening
29312-536: The comedy-drama The Clansman , the Christmas musical The Gingerbread Man , and the musical Lincoln in early 1906. During the 1906–1907 season, Eleanor Robson produced several plays at the Liberty, and the theater also hosted The Follies of 1907 , the first edition of the annual Ziegfeld Follies revue. The Rogers Brothers presented The Rogers Brothers in Panama in 1907, but, amid decreasing popularity,
29541-576: The construction of the four towers around 42nd Street, Broadway, and Seventh Avenue. In 1992, New 42nd Street received $ 18.2 million for restoring the six theaters as part of an agreement with Prudential and Park Tower. Artists Kristin Jones and Andrew Ginzel placed an art installation in the empty theater the next year. By 1994, the Warner Music Group considered leasing the Selwyn as a recording studio. After Disney committed to restoring
29770-500: The curtain] trails on the stage and is damaged by trash and plywood stacked there." Even as the estimated renovation cost increased to $ 16 million, the Times still predicted in 1992 that the Liberty and Victory were "most likely to be renovated". After Disney committed to restoring the New Amsterdam Theatre in 1994, most of the other theaters around 42nd Street were quickly leased. By 1995, real-estate development firm Forest City Ratner
29999-422: 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
30228-438: The decorative plasterwork were still intact. However, the stage facilities were extremely rundown, and HHPA estimated that the theater required at least $ 2 million worth of restoration. In addition, the facade was deteriorating; the Liberty Bell and bald-eagle decorations had been removed from the facade, and a plain marquee had been placed in front of the theater's facade. The LPC started to consider protecting theaters, including
30457-474: The designations in February 2016, as the theaters were already subject to historic-preservation regulations set by the state government. The Urban Development Corporation (UDC), an agency of the New York state government, then proposed redeveloping the area around a portion of West 42nd Street in 1981. The plan centered around four towers that were to be built at 42nd Street's intersections with Broadway and Seventh Avenue, developed by Park Tower Realty and
30686-510: The deterioration of the theater in the late 20th century, parts of the asbestos curtain began to flake off. The theater's lobby led from 42nd Street. It consisted of a vestibule with aluminum and gold decorations, as well as an ivory-and-white hallway that acted as a foyer. The vestibule had a domed ceiling measuring 30 ft (9.1 m) across, and the foyer was 50 ft (15 m) long. The two spaces were separated by doors covered in leather. The original lobby has been heavily modified. At
30915-541: The developers of the 42nd Street Redevelopment's four large towers; $ 4 million from the city government; and $ 1 million from the LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust . The next month, the organization announced that it had finalized plans for its building and would start construction immediately. The ten-story building was to cost $ 22.9 million and was planned to be completed by the end of the next year. In February 1999, Roundabout announced that it would raise $ 17 million for
31144-628: 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,
31373-649: The end of 2018. Ripley's closed permanently in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic , and real-estate agency Cushman and Wakefield was marketing the Liberty Theatre for lease. During late 2022, the Terror Haunted House operated within the space formerly used for Ripley's. The theater was then leased in October 2024 to Broadway 4D for an entertainment attraction. Productions are listed by the year of their first performance. This list only includes Broadway shows; it does not include films screened there. Broadway theatre Broadway theatre , or Broadway ,
31602-416: The end of the same year by the operetta The Spring Maid , which stayed for six months. The theater's other productions in the early 1910s included the play The Fascinating Widow in 1911, the play Milestones in 1912, and the operetta Rob Roy and the musical Sweethearts in 1913. Around the same time, Klaw and Erlanger had become involved in the film industry; in 1913, they signed an agreement with
31831-469: 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. Todd Haimes Theatre The Todd Haimes Theatre (previously known as
32060-499: The entire day. However, the area was in decline; the Brandts' theaters only had three million visitors by 1977, about half of the number in 1963. The Brandts' movie theaters on 42nd Street continued to operate through the mid-1980s, at which point the Selwyn was primarily screening successful mainstream films, interspersed with double bills of exploitation films. The 42nd Street Development Corporation had been formed in 1976 to discuss plans for redeveloping Times Square. The same year,
32289-415: The entire day. However, the area was in decline; the Brandts' theaters only had three million visitors by 1977, about half of the number in 1963. The Brandts' movie theaters on 42nd Street continued to operate through the mid-1980s, at which point the Liberty was showing horror films. The 42nd Street Development Corporation had been formed in 1976 to discuss plans for redeveloping Times Square. The same year,
32518-750: The epicenter for large-scale theater productions between 1900 and the Great Depression . Manhattan's theater district had begun to shift from Union Square and Madison Square during the first decade of the 20th century. From 1901 to 1920, forty-three theaters were built around Broadway in Midtown Manhattan. George Keister had designed several of these Broadway theaters, including the Selwyn, Astor , Belasco , and Earl Carroll theaters, in addition to other commissions such as Harlem 's Apollo Theater . The Selwyn brothers, meanwhile, developed several Broadway theaters on 42nd Street. Before
32747-456: 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,
32976-467: 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
33205-474: The first two decades of the 20th century, eleven venues for legitimate theater were built within one block of West 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues. The New Amsterdam, Harris , Liberty, Eltinge (now Empire), and Lew Fields theaters occupied the south side of the street. The original Lyric and Apollo theaters (combined into the current Lyric Theatre), as well as the Times Square, Victory, Selwyn (now Todd Haimes), and Victoria theaters, occupied
33434-497: The four columns in the auditorium. The additional stories are placed on a separate structure that does not touch the roof of the auditorium. The upper stories contain a subscribers' lobby facing 43rd Street, as well as a smaller private lounge for large donors. The subscribers' lobby, covering 3,500 sq ft (330 m ) or 4,000 sq ft (370 m ), was originally named for snack company Nabisco , which had paid $ 500,000 for naming rights . This lobby consists of
33663-508: The late 1990s. The murals on house right were restored using historical photographs, as no trace existed of the murals there. A New York Daily News critic said the restored murals have "a graciousness modern design seldom achieves". The stage measures 50 ft (15 m) deep and 75 ft (23 m) wide. The stage contains traps and three removable sections. The front of the stage can be disassembled to accommodate an orchestra pit measuring 40 by 10 ft (12.2 by 3.0 m) or
33892-626: The latter had already announced plans for its new building. The development of the New 42nd Street Building forced the closure of the Grand Luncheonette in the Selwyn's lobby in October 1997; the restaurant had operated in Times Square for 58 years. In late December 1997, E-Walk contractors noticed cracks on the Selwyn Building's facade but failed to notify the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) of any potential problems. The Selwyn Building collapsed during
34121-426: The leases to eight theaters in Times Square, including the Selwyn. It subsequently announced plans to renovate the eight theaters in February 1990. The New York state government acquired the theater sites that April via eminent domain . The city had planned to buy out the theaters' leases but withdrew after the 42nd Street Company indicated it would lease the theaters to another developer. Although Durst protested
34350-420: The leases to eight theaters in Times Square, including the Victory. It subsequently announced plans to renovate the eight theaters in February 1990. The New York state government acquired the theater sites that April via eminent domain . The city had planned to buy out the theaters' leases but withdrew after the 42nd Street Company indicated it would lease the theaters to another developer. Although Durst protested
34579-440: The lighting conditions. There is a "light pipe" along the western part of the facade, measuring 175 ft (53 m) tall; it was designed by James Carpenter . The building's illumination scheme allows it to blend in with other structures with billboards on Times Square. Under a zoning ordinance, the developers of new buildings had to install large signs facing Times Square, but New 42nd Street had not wanted to install
34808-441: The main entrance is through the current New 42nd Street Building. The stage door is also on 43rd Street. The new facade on 42nd Street is part of the New 42nd Street Building. Initial plans for the building in 1997 had called for the original terracotta facade of the Selwyn Building to be preserved as a separate structure. The New 42nd Street facade would have been constructed as a glass box with two setbacks , contrasting with
35037-452: The main entrance were caryatids representing comedy and song. The second and third floors, which contained the theater's offices, were spanned by a large archway. Above the arch was a stone shield, with a relief of the Liberty Bell carved into it. The facade was capped by a statue of a bald eagle with spread wings. There was an ornamental cornice above the top story. By the 1990s, most of the facade had been obscured or heavily modified, and
35266-471: The marquee as well as all advertisements and tickets. At the time, Broadway theaters were typically named for actors or theater operators rather than companies. The renaming was the most controversial part of the renovation. In total, the existing theater cost $ 25 million to renovate, while the new building cost $ 29.6 million. A revival of Uncle Vanya was originally scheduled as the renovated theater's first production, but Roundabout instead booked
35495-499: The mid-20th century; from 1931 to 1950, the number of legitimate theaters decreased from 68 to 30. The Liberty's owner, the Daniel Holding Corporation, agreed to lease the theater to William Brandt in 1933. That lease was not officially recorded until 1938, when Brandt leased the Liberty to 229 West 42nd Street Inc. The Liberty Theatre's operators screened second runs of Warner Bros. films that had premiered at
35724-557: 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
35953-410: The move, a New York Supreme Court judge ruled that the condemnation could occur. By then, the Selwyn was derelict; its marquee had the text "Enjoy a movie on 42d Street and bring the family." A nonprofit organization, New 42nd Street , was formed in September 1990 to restore six of the theaters and find uses for them. Government officials hoped that development of the theaters would finally allow
36182-476: The move, a New York Supreme Court judge ruled that the sites could be acquired by condemnation . A nonprofit organization, New 42nd Street , was formed in September 1990 to restore six theaters, including the Liberty, and find uses for them. Government officials hoped that development of the theaters would finally allow the construction of the four towers around 42nd Street, Broadway, and Seventh Avenue. In 1992, New 42nd Street received $ 18.2 million for restoring
36411-460: The murals. The orchestra level seats are arranged in 14 rows. The orchestra is more steeply raked than in the original design, and it contains two layers of sound insulation under the back rows. Two side aisles divide the orchestra seating into three sections. The Todd Haimes has a single balcony. At the time of the Selwyn's construction, many new theaters were being built with one balcony, rather than two, to make it appear more cozy. The balcony
36640-421: The nearby Criterion Center , but it still had no permanent building. In October 1996, Haimes and 42nd Street Development Corporation executive Rebecca Robertson began discussing the possibility of Roundabout leasing a theater on 42nd Street. By January 1997, the company was negotiating for the Selwyn Theatre, just as New 42nd Street was planning a six-story headquarters on the adjacent site. Two months later, amid
36869-512: The neighboring New Amsterdam Theatre , designed by the same architects. The lobby from 42nd Street led to the auditorium in the rear, as well as men's and women's lounges in the basement. The auditorium, designed in the Art Nouveau style, contains two balconies cantilevered above ground-level orchestra seating. The theater has a steel frame and was designed with advanced mechanical systems for its time. The original design included depictions of
37098-462: The next eight months. Oscar Hammerstein II , Otto Harbach, and Frank Mandel 's musical Tickle Me opened at the Selwyn in 1920. This was followed the next year by the revue Snapshots of 1921 , as well as W. Somerset Maugham 's comedy The Circle , the latter of which was the theater's first non-musical hit. The theater also hosted films around this time, including a Greek war film. In 1922,
37327-420: 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
37556-448: The north side. These venues were mostly converted to movie theaters by the 1930s, and many of them had been relegated to showing pornography by the 1970s. The Liberty Theatre was designed by architects Herts & Tallant and developed for Klaw and Erlanger in 1904. It was built by the Murphy Construction Company. Herts and Tallant designed the theater in the Art Nouveau style, similar to their earlier projects in New York City (namely
37785-664: The northwest. The Todd Haimes Theatre and Times Square Theater are to the north, while the Lyric Theatre , New Victory Theater , and 3 Times Square are to the northeast. In addition, the Port Authority Bus Terminal is to the west, the New York Times Building is to the southwest, and the Nederlander Theatre is to the south. The surrounding area is part of Manhattan 's Theater District and contains many Broadway theaters . In
38014-617: The northwest; 229 West 43rd Street and 1501 Broadway to the north; 5 Times Square and the New Amsterdam Theatre to the southeast; and the Candler Building to the south. The surrounding area is part of Manhattan 's Theater District and contains many Broadway theaters . In the first two decades of the 20th century, eleven venues for Legitimate theatre were built within one block of West 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues. The New Amsterdam, Harris , Liberty , Eltinge , and Lew Fields theaters occupied
38243-557: 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
38472-449: The offers were successful. William Brandt said in 1953 that any of his 42nd Street theaters could be converted to legitimate houses within 24 hours' notice, but producers did not take up his offer. By the late 1950s, the Liberty was classified as a "reissue house", displaying reruns of films and changing its offerings twice a week. Tickets cost 25 to 65 cents apiece, the cheapest admission scale for any theater on 42nd Street. The Liberty and
38701-413: The office building and theater in 1931. At the onset of the Great Depression , many Broadway theaters were impacted by declining attendance. The Selwyn Theatre was among the venues that suffered, hosting 11 consecutive flops from 1931 to 1933. The Dry Dock Savings Bank, which had given the Selwyn brothers a mortgage loan on the theater, had stipulated that it would not foreclose on the mortgage as long as
38930-515: The office building resumed that April, at which point the auditorium had been completed. The same month, the Selwyns announced that the theater's first production would be a play written by Jane Cowl . By that July, the Selwyn brothers' company Selwyn & Co. indicated it would relocate its offices to the new building. Edgar Selwyn's wife Margaret Mayo also had an office in the building. The theater informally opened for media tours on October 1, 1918, and Cowl's Information Please opened at
39159-432: The operation of the rebuilt theater. Roundabout hired Robert Ascione and Karlsberger Architecture to redesign the theater. In addition, Francesca Russo was the restoration architect, while Tony Walton was the scenic designer. The Selwyn was reduced to 740 seats as part of the renovation. After being evicted from the Criterion Center in March 1999, Roundabout had to rent temporary space for several months. In May 1999,
39388-426: The other 42nd Street theaters operated from 8 a.m. to 3 a.m., with three shifts of workers. The ten theaters on the block attracted about five million visitors a year between them. The 42nd Street Company was established in 1961 to operate the Brandts' seven theaters on 42nd Street. By the early 1960s, the surrounding block had decayed, but many of the old theater buildings from the block's heyday remained, including
39617-423: The other 42nd Street theaters operated from 8 a.m. to 3 a.m., with three shifts of workers. The ten theaters on the block attracted about five million visitors a year between them. The 42nd Street Company was established in 1961 to operate the Brandts' seven theaters on 42nd Street. By the early 1960s, the surrounding block had decayed, but many of the old theater buildings from the block's heyday remained, including
39846-556: 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
40075-467: The plan, criticizing it as a "Disneyland on 42nd Street". Subsequently, Hugh Hardy conducted a report on 42nd Street's theaters in 1980. His report, in conjunction with a movement opposing the demolition of the nearby Helen Hayes and Morosco theaters, motivated the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) to survey fifty of Midtown Manhattan's extant theaters in the early 1980s. The LPC started to consider protecting theaters, including
40304-458: The plays had to be less than an hour long, though the Brandts had difficulty finding such short plays. Though ticket prices ranged from 38 cents in the morning to $ 1.10 on Sunday nights, the theater earned $ 24,000 during The Respectful Prostitute's first week, compared to $ 8,000 weekly before the new policy was implemented. Ninety percent of the audience members had never seen a play before. The Respectful Prostitute closed in February 1950 and
40533-468: 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
40762-423: 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
40991-645: 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
41220-414: The proscenium arch was not topped by a sounding board ; as a result, audiences at the rear of the auditorium did not receive amplified sound from the stage. By the 21st century, the rear walls of both balcony levels had been shifted forward significantly. The stage was designed to accommodate comedies and large musicals, measuring about 35 ft (11 m) deep and 72 ft (22 m) wide. The top of
41449-460: The rear of the orchestra-level promenade were stairs, which led to men's and women's lounges in the basement. The men's lounging and smoking room was decorated in the English style, with weathered-oak paneling as well as furniture covered with Spanish leather. The women's lounge was painted green, gold, and ivory. Times Square became the epicenter for large-scale theater productions between 1900 and
41678-537: The rehearsal rooms are called, span five stories. The studios contain 13-to-15 ft-high (4.0-to-4.6 m) ceilings, sprung floors, and full-height mirrors. The other stories were designed with lower ceilings. The office space in the building is leased to nonprofit theatrical groups. Roundabout has its offices there, as do the Williamstown Theatre Festival and Parsons Dance Company . The building also houses The Duke on 42nd Street ,
41907-508: The replacement development team, leading the city to withdraw from the partnership in August 1983. The state and city reached a compromise on the development team that October, wherein the mart would be developed by Tishman Speyer , operated by Trammell Crow , and funded by Equitable Life Assurance . The Brandts leased all their movie theaters on 42nd Street, including the Liberty, to the Cine 42nd Street Corporation in 1986. The Liberty Theatre
42136-462: The roof. All of the air in the theater could be changed within five minutes. In addition, there were 21 emergency exits within the theater building, excluding the fire escapes outside the dressing rooms, which allegedly allowed the theater to be cleared within two minutes. These emergency exits led to courtyards on either side of the theater, running between 41st and 42nd Streets. The structural frame and emergency exits may have been added in response to
42365-531: 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
42594-552: The same project, the Times Square Theatre would have become retail space. In response, Brandt and Cine Theater Corp. sued the UDC, claiming that the moves shut out independent theatrical operators, but a state court dismissed the lawsuit. Michael J. Lazar would have renovated the four theaters for Jujamcyn, but the city and state removed him from the project in 1986 following a parking scandal. The Brandts also leased all their movie theaters on 42nd Street, including
42823-598: The same year by the revue Hitchy-Koo of 1917 and the play The Wooing of Eve with Laurette Taylor and Lynn Fontanne . At the end of the year, George M. Cohan and Sam H. Harris 's musical Going Up opened at the Liberty, running for 351 performances. Following the success of the Ziegfeld Follies at the nearby New Amsterdam, Klaw and Erlanger presented two revues at the Liberty in 1919: George White's Scandals of 1919 and Hitchy-Koo of 1919 . By then, Klaw and Erlanger's Theatrical Syndicate no longer had
43052-414: 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
43281-412: The section of West 42nd Street around Times Square. Under the plan, five theaters would be converted back to legitimate use, and the facades of three other theaters, including the Liberty, would be restored. The Liberty's large stage made it suitable for dance companies. Mayor Ed Koch wavered in his support of the plan, criticizing it as a "Disneyland on 42nd Street". Subsequently, Hugh Hardy conducted
43510-478: The site in the 1990s, but the Liberty Theatre remained largely abandoned until the early 21st century, when it became a restaurant space and event venue. The Liberty Theatre is at 234 West 42nd Street , on the south side between Seventh Avenue and Eighth Avenue near the southern end of Times Square , in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City . The theater is part of an entertainment and retail complex at 234 West 42nd Street, which includes
43739-448: The six theaters as part of an agreement with Prudential and Park Tower. Meanwhile, the Liberty continued to deteriorate, leading theatrical critic Mel Gussow to write in 1990 that the orchestra level had been "almost entirely reduced to rubble". The interior of the theater caught fire the same year and was nearly destroyed. The asbestos curtain was still intact but was extremely rundown, as The New York Times observed: "The bottom part [of
43968-473: The south side of 42nd Street, in September 1988. Stern presented a model of his plan the next month. The plan called for reducing the size of the Selwyn Theatre to accommodate "intimate drama", as well as replacing the Selwyn Building with a structure containing rehearsal studios. The UDC opened a request for proposals for six of the theaters that October. The Liberty and Victory were to be converted into performing-arts venues for nonprofit organizations, while
44197-419: The south side of the street. The original Lyric and Apollo theaters (combined into the current Lyric Theatre), as well as the Times Square, Victory, Selwyn (now Todd Haimes), and Victoria theaters, occupied the north side. These venues were mostly converted to movie theaters by the 1930s, and many of them had been relegated to showing pornography by the 1970s. The Todd Haimes Theatre was originally named
44426-589: The southern elevation from sunlight. The steel bars contain uplights that can be illuminated in many colors; these reflect onto a blue background. There are 54 rows of bars in total. Behind the bars is the building's glass curtain wall , which overlooks the studios inside. The leftmost portion of the second through fourth stories, marking the former site of the Selwyn Building, is left bare. This section measures 32 by 32 ft (9.8 by 9.8 m) across and consists of translucent and reflective glass panels. It uses dichroic glass , which can change colors based on
44655-470: 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
44884-434: 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
45113-406: The theater for 158 performances. The revue Keep It Clean opened in June 1929 but lasted only a short time. More successful was Cole Porter 's Wake Up and Dream , which opened that December and ran for 138 performances. The Selwyn hosted the revue Three's a Crowd with Clifton Webb in October 1930, which lasted 272 performances. The Selwyn brothers received a $ 650,000 loan for
45342-427: The theater the next day. To mark the theater's official opening, the Selwyn brothers decorated the stage curtain with World War I Allied nations ' flags, and they played the United States' national anthem, " The Star-Spangled Banner ", before the first performance. Information Please flopped with 46 performances. This was followed the same November by The Crowded Hour , in which Cowl also starred. Because of
45571-497: The theater would be known as the Selwyn. At the time, it was one of three theaters being erected on the block of 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, which already had nine theaters. By September 1917, the site of the Selwyn Theatre was being cleared. The Selwyn brothers had announced two additional theaters on an adjoining site to the east, later the Apollo (42nd Street) and Times Square theaters. In February 1918,
45800-465: The theater's acoustic qualities, Selwyn & Co. announced in December 1918 that it would host concerts in the Selwyn on Sundays. The first such concert took place on December 30, 1918. This was followed in 1919 by Rudolf Friml and Otto Harbach 's musical Tumble In and Eugene Walter 's play The Challenge . The first hit at the theater was George V. Hobart 's musical Buddies , which opened in October 1919 and ran for 269 performances over
46029-481: The theater's bookings for one year. The play The Constant Nymph also opened at the Selwyn in 1926; despite a successful West End run, it stayed on Broadway for a relatively short 148 performances. The theater's bookings in 1927 consisted of several short runs, such as The Mating Season , The Manhatters , The Garden of Eden , and Nightstick . The next hit was Kaufman and Edna Ferber 's The Royal Family , which opened in December 1927 and ran for nearly
46258-402: The theater. At the time, $ 10 million had been raised. Roundabout hoped to raise the remaining funds by selling off "gift opportunities". Donors could pay $ 5,000 for a plaque affixed to one of the orchestra-level seats; $ 75,000 for a bathroom; $ 375,000 for the orchestra pit; and $ 10 million for naming rights to the entire theater. Roundabout was still negotiating with performers' unions over
46487-478: The theaters to Maximilian Zipkes. The Liberty hosted another Cohan musical at the end of that year, The Rise of Rosie O'Reilly , although Cohan's musicals had begun to decline in popularity by then. George and Ira Gershwin 's musical Lady, Be Good! opened at the theater in December 1924 and lasted 330 performances. This was followed in December 1925 by another Gershwin musical, Tip-Toes , which lasted for 194 performances. Erlanger announced in April 1926 that
46716-534: 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
46945-481: 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
47174-442: The third story had been completely stripped of ornamentation. The 42nd Street facade is no longer visible above the first floor. The rear facade on 41st Street remains intact, and The New York Times described it in 1996 as being in "good condition". Images indicate that the 41st Street facade is made of plain brick and has no windows. Projecting brick piers divide the facade into five bays . There are loading docks within three of
47403-460: The time, Warner called it the city's "most hidden, anchorite-like, beautiful, walled-upped" building. The Liberty's facade was integrated into the Ripley's Odditorium museum in the mid-2000s, while the auditorium was used by an adjacent Famous Dave's restaurant. The theater was renovated in 2011. The auditorium was converted to a rental event space, and the restaurant portion along 42nd Street became
47632-461: 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
47861-479: The time, the balconies are cantilevered from the structural framework, which eliminated the need for columns that blocked sightlines. The orchestra level had 546 seats, arranged in 15 rows. The balcony levels were smaller; the upper balcony only had 264 seats. At the rear of the auditorium, a wide staircase led from the lobby to the two balcony levels, while promenades ran behind the seating areas on all three levels. The promenades were decorated in amber, white, and gold,
48090-568: 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 ,
48319-568: 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
48548-692: 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
48777-492: The words "Selwyn Building" ran above the fifth story, with a triangular pediment in the center. The sixth story was grouped into two bays of three windows, and a sign with the letter "S" was hung in between these windows. Above was a cornice with modillions , as well as a stone balustrade . The 43rd Street elevation of the theater retains its original facade. Like the original Selwyn Building, it has brick, terracotta, and stonework. This elevation contains exit-only doors;
49006-453: 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,
49235-539: 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
49464-644: 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
49693-537: Was canceled in September 1925 because the Selwyn brothers felt they could manage the theater themselves. The hypnotist Fakir Rahman Bey performed at the Selwyn in May 1926, and the comedy The Man from Toronto had a short run the same year. George White took over the Selwyn's operation that July. Afterward, the theater hosted the musical Castles in the Air , which opened that September and ran for 160 performances. That October, Arch Selwyn assumed responsibility for
49922-485: Was changed in 2002 following negotiations with the Actors' Equity Association . The reopened theater featured the plays The Man Who Came to Dinner and Betrayal in 2000; Design for Living , Major Barbara , and The Women in 2001; and An Almost Holy Picture and The Man Who Had All the Luck in 2002. During mid-2002, on evenings when The Man Who Had All the Luck did not perform, Mario Cantone hosted
50151-466: Was constructing the theater's steel frame. The Liberty Theatre opened on October 10, 1904, with the revue The Rogers Brothers in Paris . This was followed the next month by Little Johnny Jones , the first large musical written by George M. Cohan . The Liberty hosted several hit productions in its early years, largely consisting of comedies, dramas, or musicals. The Liberty's second season included The Rogers Brothers in Ireland in late 1905, as well as
50380-474: Was followed by a dramatization of the film Ladies' Night in a Turkish Bath . This show ran for four weeks before going on tour. The Selwyn returned to showing movies exclusively in early 1950, after two months of alternating films and live shows. Though the stage-and-film format had the potential to be lucrative, there were not enough plays that fit the Brandts' criteria. William Brandt said in 1953 that any of his 42nd Street theaters could be converted to
50609-400: Was followed immediately afterward by the musical Kid Boots , which had transferred from the Earl Carroll and ran for 489 total performances. The Selwyn housed several flops in early 1925, including The Gorilla . Charlot hosted another edition of his revue later that year, which continued for 138 performances. The Shubert brothers also negotiated to operate the Selwyn, but that deal
50838-404: Was initially against it. Even so, the Brandts announced the same December that they would stage a live show at the Selwyn, The Respectful Prostitute , the first such show in 15 years. There were five performances on most days and four on Sundays, presented in conjunction with the film Flame of Youth . Two casts were hired, rotating between performances. To accommodate the mixed format,
51067-412: Was planning a $ 150 million entertainment and retail complex on the site of the Empire, Harris, and Liberty theaters. Madame Tussauds and AMC leased space in the complex that July. Madame Tussauds would occupy the eastern section of the site, using the entrance of the former Harris Theatre, while AMC would occupy the western section, with the Empire's facade being relocated westward. Forest City Ratner leased
51296-447: Was replaced with vinyl in the mid-20th century, then changed to dark red in the late 1990s. The Selwyn was originally decorated in old Italian blue and antique gold. The theater had also contained Alps-green and Pavanazzo marbles, as well as murals and gold-leaf ornamentation. In the mid-20th century, the theater was repainted in red and cream. It was later renovated to feature a dark red color scheme, with hues of blue and green from
51525-485: Was retrofitted with a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system when it was rebuilt. When the theater was rebuilt in the 1990s, new spaces were constructed both above and below the original theater. A 13 ft-deep (4.0 m) basement was built beneath the existing auditorium. It contains classrooms, lounges, restrooms, storage space, and technical rooms. The Todd Haimes' dressing and wardrobe room, mechanical spaces, green room , and public restrooms are in
51754-521: Was secured by a mortgage on the theater and office building. The theater was placed for sale at a foreclosure auction, and Dry Dock Savings Bank bought the theater in August 1934 for $ 610,000. Later the same year, Joseph Fitzula renovated the Selwyn Building. Among the office building's tenants at the time was the National Shakespearean Studio of Dramatic Art. The Brandt family bought the Selwyn Theatre and offices in 1937, subject to an existing first mortgage loan of $ 620,000. The theater operated under
51983-462: Was still part of the mart project in 1987. Though the theater was tentatively slated to be used as a nonprofit performing-arts theater, the city and state governments had not reached an agreement with private developers regarding the mart. The merchandise mart was ultimately never built; the northern part of the site became 11 Times Square, while the southern part became the New York Times Building. A committee of theatrical experts recommended in 1987 that
52212-410: Was the Marc Connelly and George S. Kaufman musical Helen of Troy, New York , which opened in June 1923 and ran for several months before moving to the Times Square Theater. Also popular was the musical Battling Buttler , which arrived that October and ran for nearly 300 performances. French impresario André Charlot hosted his popular Charlot Revue at the Selwyn during early 1924. It
52441-458: Was under renovation at the time, would be renamed after actor James Earl Jones . In June 2022, the Nederlanders announced that the Brooks Atkinson Theatre would be renamed after Lena Horne , The James Earl Jones Theatre was rededicated in September 2022, while the Lena Horne Theatre was rededicated that November. Although there are some exceptions, shows with open-ended runs generally have evening performances Tuesday through Saturday, with
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