159-647: The Belasco Theatre is a Broadway theater at 111 West 44th Street, between Seventh Avenue and Sixth Avenue , in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City . Originally known as the Stuyvesant Theatre , it was built in 1907 and designed by architect George Keister for impresario David Belasco . The Belasco Theatre has 1,016 seats across three levels and has been operated by The Shubert Organization since 1948. Both
318-642: A frontage of 125 ft (38 m) on 44th Street and a depth of about 100 ft (30 m). On the same block, the Hotel Gerard , Hudson Theatre , and Millennium Times Square New York are to the west. Other nearby buildings include the Algonquin Hotel to the east, 1166 Avenue of the Americas to the northeast, the Americas Tower and High School of Performing Arts to the north,
477-589: A "favorable" lease agreement, paying only for taxes, fixed expenses, and utility use. The group's inaugural program included revivals of The Crucible , The Little Hotel on the Side , and The Master Builder . The National Actors Theatre's productions at the Belasco were mostly flops. The Belasco was then used to host the puppet show A Little More Magic in 1994. The Belasco then hosted other productions such as Hamlet , A Doll's House , Honour , and Ring Round
636-472: 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
795-492: A Murder (1961), Seidman and Son (1962), The Last Analysis (1964), Inadmissible Evidence (1965), and The Subject Was Roses (1966). The Killing of Sister George , which was hosted at the Belasco in 1966, was shown without incident, despite being more explicit about lesbian themes than Trio had two decades prior. The 1969 production Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie? featured the Broadway debut of Al Pacino . With
954-839: 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
1113-571: A Wise Child (1929) were among the other successful productions of the 1920s. His last-ever production at the theater was Tonight or Never , which premiered in November 1930. Since Belasco missed the original opening performance of Tonight or Never due to illness, a second one was hosted for his benefit in March 1931. David Belasco died in May 1931 after a long illness, and theatrical manager B. F. Roeder
1272-449: 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,
1431-521: A broadcast studio. NBC used the theater as a broadcast location for four years. At that time, several Broadway theaters had been converted to broadcast studios due to a lack of studio space in New York City. The studio broadcasts included plays from the Theatre Guild of the Air series and NBC Symphony Orchestra concerts. The game show Take It or Leave It was also broadcast from the Belasco while it
1590-663: 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
1749-434: 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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#17327721922181908-471: A common central wall. As such they are usually a mirror image of each other in layout. Also referred to as a maisonette in South Australia. A paired home is two homes that share a wall and have opposite side entries. The whole building is designed to look like one single larger home. Unlike a front to front duplex, the paired home helps provide more privacy for the homeowners. In urban planning ,
2067-540: 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
2226-471: A cornice with modillions. The wall surfaces above the entablature are designed to resemble leather. The side-wall panels have gilded sconces, and the ceiling has a chandelier suspended from it. The main entrance is from the south wall, above which are murals by Everett Shinn. The east wall contains doors to the auditorium. At the center of the north wall, directly opposite the entrance doors, is an ornate box office within an arched opening. The main ticket window
2385-497: A decline in the quality of productions hosted at the Belasco, it continued to show Broadway plays and musicals. The theater was renovated multiple times over the years, including in the 1920s, 1970s, and 2000s. The Belasco Theatre is on 111 West 44th Street, on the north sidewalk between Seventh Avenue and Sixth Avenue , near Times Square in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City . The rectangular land lot covers 12,552 sq ft (1,166.1 m), with
2544-415: A different dramatist, for a total of 21 people. The arms of Stuyvesant and Goethe were depicted in the shield to the left of the stage, while the arms of Greece and Shakespeare were depicted in those to the right. Concealed behind the stained-glass panels are 500 lamps. This illumination was meant to give an impression of "real daylight". George Keister designed the dome lighting. David Belasco intended
2703-585: A dining room, large baths, and narrow passages. Belasco had a collection of erotica and medieval art in a hidden Gothic-style room. Scattered across the duplex were banners, rugs, books, and what one biographer called "a vast, confusing medley of collectors' treasures". After Belasco died in 1931, Sardi's restaurant received some artifacts for its "Belasco Room". Some books went to the New York Public Library , but most objects were auctioned off. The Shubert Organization removed some decorations in
2862-565: 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
3021-906: 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
3180-441: A flat or apartment on two floors connected by an inner staircase though many newer apartments have open-plan designs including mezzanines. The far more commonly used term is 'maisonette' meaning two dwellings split horizontally, like flats, but each with their own separate external door, unlike flats which have a shared external door. In Australia , a duplex is often considered a residential building containing two homes that share
3339-408: A keystone. A rectangular terracotta panel with eared corners is placed above each window. Above the cornice, a brick triangular pediment rises over the center three bays. There is an oval window at the center of the pediment, with a terracotta frame and keystones, as well as a cornice with modillions above the pediment. The westernmost portion of the 44th Street elevation is the office section, which
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#17327721922183498-476: 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
3657-595: A limited engagement from April to June. Ain't No Mo' was staged at the Belasco during December 2022, followed by Good Night, Oscar from April to August 2023. The musical How to Dance in Ohio opened at the Belasco in December 2023 for a limited run. The play Appropriate transferred to the Belasco in March 2024, following a run at the Hayes Theater , and ran until June. This was followed in November 2024 by
3816-444: A molding. At the tops of the boxes' wall sections are murals depicting love. A staircase connects the orchestra level to the boxes on the east wall. Next to the boxes is the proscenium arch, which consists of a wide band surrounded by foliate patterns, as well as a molding with brackets. The proscenium is small in comparison to other Broadway theaters, measuring about 32 ft (9.8 m) high and 30 ft (9.1 m) wide. There
3975-526: 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
4134-461: A more general multiplex . Because of the flexibility of the term, the line between an apartment building and a duplex is somewhat blurred, with apartment buildings tending to be bigger, while duplexes are usually the size of a single-family house. In dense areas like Manhattan and downtown Chicago , a duplex or duplex apartment refers to a maisonette , a single dwelling unit spread over two floors connected by an indoor staircase. Similarly,
4293-539: 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
4452-1152: 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
4611-421: A pair of Ionic terracotta pilasters at each end, as well as two single pilasters in the center. At the second story, each of the center bays contains tripartite casement windows . Above the windows are terracotta lintels, which are separated into three panels and are topped by a course of dentils . At the third story, each center bay has a round-arched window, surrounded by paneled terracotta blocks and topped by
4770-406: A pair of wood-and-glass doors flanked by pilasters; this provides access to the balcony. A large metal canopy hangs above the doorways. An egg-and-dart molding and a Greek key frieze runs above the ground story on 44th Street. The upper stories are asymmetrical. The office section of the theater is at the extreme western end of the facade, while a pair of pavilions flanks three vertical bays on
4929-500: 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
Belasco Theatre - Misplaced Pages Continue
5088-546: A restoration program for their Broadway theaters. To raise money for the Belasco Theatre's upkeep, the Shubert Organization leased some of the site's unused air development rights to Feldman Equities in November 1986. The air rights were used to increase the height of the adjacent skyscraper being built at 120 West 45th Street. Under the terms of the deal, the Belasco had to remain active for as long as
5247-431: 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
5406-481: 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
5565-412: A shower and bathtub on each floor. There were thirty-five rooms in total. The dressing rooms overlooked the side and rear alleys for natural light exposure, and the eastern wall was a thick fireproof wall separating the dressing rooms from the rest of the theater. The eastern portion of the theater contains a ten-room duplex apartment, which was built for Belasco in 1909. The apartment's design complements
5724-502: A terracotta keystone above the arch. Above the entablature, the fourth story of the office section has quoins at either corner. There are three arched windows at the fourth story, surrounded by terracotta frames and topped by terracotta keystones. The windows are separated by Ionic pilasters, supporting a frieze and egg-and-dart molding of the same material. The interior color scheme was devised largely by Wilfred Buckland, who worked for Belasco's studios. Everett Shinn designed murals for
5883-511: A thick wall, was constructed on the west side of the theater. The eastern part of the theater is topped by a private duplex apartment built in 1909. The primary elevation of the facade faces south on 44th Street and is made of red brick in Flemish bond , with terracotta decorative elements. It is split into an office section to the west and the main theater section to the east. The side walls are faced in plain brick. The 44th Street elevation
6042-596: A triplex apartment refers to an apartment spread out over three floors. These properties can be quite expensive and include the most expensive property in Manhattan as of 2006 (according to Forbes magazine ), a triplex atop The Pierre hotel. In this context, an apartment located on only one floor may be called a simplex. In the United Kingdom , the term duplex is sometimes used by property professionals such as architects and estate agents and refers only to
6201-580: 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
6360-513: Is a mural within the arch, measuring 35 ft (11 m) long by 8 ft (2.4 m) tall, except at the center where the mural is only 6 ft (1.8 m) tall. The mural has 29 pairs of figures, which depict emotions such as music, grief, tranquility, allurement, blind love, and poetry. Directly in front of the stage was an orchestra pit measuring 32 feet across and 7 ft (2.1 m) deep. The stage itself originally measured 80 ft (24 m) wide and 27 ft (8.2 m) deep. In
6519-404: Is about 60 ft (18 m) tall, while the rear elevation is cited as being 80 ft (24 m) or 90 ft (27 m) tall. To comply with fire regulations at the time of the Belasco's construction, the theater is surrounded by an alley measuring 10 ft (3.0 m) wide. Due to the presence of the alley, the theater only measures 105 by 100 ft (32 by 30 m). On 44th Street,
Belasco Theatre - Misplaced Pages Continue
6678-475: 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
6837-466: Is designed in a similar style as the main theater facade, though it is distinctly demarcated from the rest of the facade. which is flanked on either side by terracotta quoins. The second story of the office section has a tripartite window with a terracotta lintel . The third story of the offices contains a Palladian window , which consists of an arched window flanked by rectangular windows on each side. The Palladian window has Ionic terracotta pilasters and
6996-400: Is flanked by Corinthian-style colonnettes on either side, which support an arched pediment; there are also arched panels to the left and right of the ticket window. In addition, there are Corinthian columns placed on marble bases on either side of the box office opening. Above the opening is the cornice and a carved aedicule with a pediment and a brass figure. A brass standing rail originally
7155-462: Is on the fourth story above the eastern pavilion. On 44th Street, the apartment has quoins at either corner, a brick facade, and a Palladian window. Engaged columns and terracotta pilasters flank the center portion of the Palladian window, while multi-paned windows form the side portions of the window. An egg-and-dart molding runs above the apartment facade. The three center bays are delineated by
7314-430: Is used and defines as a "residential building that contains 2 dwelling units located on a single lot. The dwelling units must share a common wall or common floor/ceiling." Where cities do not define the relationship of the dwelling units to one another, units may be built one on top of the other, or one beside the other. The latter arrangement is more specifically referred to as a semi-detached building. Many cities in
7473-571: 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
7632-610: 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
7791-555: The Eden Theatre to the Belasco in 1971. Despite the quality of the productions, the Shubert Organization retained the Belasco in nearly original condition. For the production of The Rocky Horror Show (1975), the Shuberts added stands and temporarily removed some orchestra seating. This was followed by a series of short runs including An Almost Perfect Person (1977), The Goodbye People (1979), and Hide and Seek (1979). In
7950-540: The Group Theatre started showing its productions at the Belasco, relocating Gold Eagle Guy from another theater. The Group Theatre's subsequent productions included Awake and Sing! , Dead End , Golden Boy , and Rocket to the Moon . Dead End had 684 performances before closing in 1937, making it the Belasco's longest-running play, a record that stood for eight decades. The following decade commenced with
8109-580: 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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#17327721922188268-681: The Lyceum Theatre and 1540 Broadway to the northwest, 1500 Broadway to the southwest, and the Chatwal New York hotel and the Town Hall to the south. The Belasco Theatre was designed by George Keister , the architect of the neighboring Hotel Gerard, in the neo-Georgian style . It was constructed from 1906 to 1907 as the Stuyvesant Theatre and was originally operated by David Belasco . The neo-Georgian style
8427-503: 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
8586-570: The New York City Department of Buildings in September 1906, by which the excavation was nearly completed. On December 5, 1906, several hundred guests including Bronson Howard , Blanche Bates , and Frances Starr attended the theater's cornerstone-laying ceremony, and the theater was formally dedicated as David Belasco's Stuyvesant Theatre. The total cost of the theater was estimated at more than $ 750,000, including $ 300,000 for
8745-720: The New York Supreme Court . Meanwhile, Judy Holliday had her first major success in Kiss Them for Me (1945), while Marlon Brando had his first widely noticed success in Truckline Cafe (1946). Other productions during the 1940s included Home of the Brave (1945), Burlesque (1946) with Bert Lahr , Me and Molly (1948) with Gertrude Berg , and The Madwoman of Chaillot (1948) with Martita Hunt and Estelle Winwood . Jelin initially refused to leave
8904-476: 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
9063-502: The backstage areas to be clean and comfortable, even prohibiting stagehands from spitting onto the floor. There were chairs behind the stage for actors to rest, as well as padded floors behind the proscenium so actors could walk on and off stage without making noise. Adjoining the auditorium was a six-story wing for dressing rooms. Each of the dressing rooms were arranged similarly to contemporary residential apartments, with concrete floors natural light, ventilation, hot and cold water, and
9222-417: The facade and interior of the theater are New York City landmarks . The main facade on 44th Street is made of red brick in Flemish bond , with terracotta decorative elements. The ground floor contains the entrance, while the upper stories are asymmetrical and topped by a pediment . Belasco and his company had their offices in the western wing of the theater. A ten-room duplex penthouse apartment occupies
9381-573: The 1910s, an adjustable apron measuring 5 ft (1.5 m) wide was built in front of the curtain, which could be used to widen the stage to 85 ft (26 m). A gridiron was placed 76 ft (23 m) above the stage, while the fly galleries were on either side of the stage and 30 ft (9.1 m) above it. At the center of the stage is an elevator trap measuring about 10 ft (3.0 m) deep and either 20 ft (6.1 m) or 18 ft (5.5 m) wide. The trap could raise or lower an entire set to either of two basement levels below
9540-409: 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
9699-551: The 1980s, and air ducts were subsequently installed in the apartment. Times Square became the epicenter for large-scale theater productions between 1900 and the Great Depression . Manhattan's theater district had begun to shift from Union Square and Madison Square during the first decade of the 20th century. From 1901 to 1920, forty-three theaters were built around Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, including
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#17327721922189858-543: The Belasco Theatre. David Belasco himself had been involved in operating Oscar Hammerstein 's Republic Theatre (now the New Victory Theater ), in the Theater District on 42nd Street , since 1902. Belasco was heavily focused on theatrical lighting; in many cases, he invested more money and devoted more time to a production's light rehearsal than to the combined total of all other production costs. By
10017-485: The Belasco hosted The Concert (1910) and Return of Peter Grimm (1911), both with over 200 performances. The Belasco also hosted some musical performances, such as a wind instrument ensemble led by Georges Barrère , as well as a performance by the Trio de Lutece. In 1914, the theater hosted Molnár's The Phantom Rival , which introduced the concept of blacking out the lights to change sets and costumes, rather than lowering
10176-561: The Belasco in May 1944 and leased it to Max Jelin for two years that July. A particularly controversial production was Trio , which discussed the topic of lesbianism when it opened in December 1944, but which was forced to close two months later in February 1945. In the aftermath of the Trio controversy, the theater's owners evicted Jelin, who was only reinstated in January 1946 after suing in
10335-474: The Belasco's first film screening in its history, the theater was retrofitted with a production booth, surround sound, and a projection screen. The theater staged Girl from the North Country in early 2020 before it closed on March 12, 2020 , due to the COVID-19 pandemic . The theater reopened on October 13, 2021, with Girl from the North Country . That show closed in January 2022 before returning for
10494-495: The Belasco, Nederlander , and Walter Kerr theaters. The Belasco hosted The Speed of Darkness in 1991. The National Actors Theatre , led by Tony Randall , began showing productions at the Belasco later the same year. The Shuberts had leased the Belasco to the National Actors Theatre so the venue could remain active as part of the agreement concerning the theater's air rights. The National Actors Theatre had
10653-820: The Belasco, on the merit that the designations severely limited the extent to which the theaters could be modified. The lawsuit was escalated to the New York Supreme Court and the Supreme Court of the United States , but these designations were ultimately upheld in 1992. The Shuberts, the Nederlanders, and Jujamcyn formed the Broadway Alliance in June 1990, wherein each company set aside one of its theaters to present dramas and comedies at reduced ticket prices. The program covered
10812-681: The Belasco. Other shows to play the Belasco in the 2010s included End of the Rainbow , Golden Boy , a double bill of Twelfth Night and Richard III , Blackbird , The Glass Menagerie , The Terms of My Surrender , Farinelli and the King , Gettin' the Band Back Together , and Network . During November 2019, Netflix leased the theater to screen the Martin Scorsese film The Irishman . For The Irishman ,
10971-544: The Belasco. There were two short productions in that year: Enchanted April and Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks . More productions followed later in the 2000s, including Dracula, the Musical , Julius Caesar , Awake and Sing! , Journey's End , Passing Strange , American Buffalo , and Joe Turner's Come and Gone . During the production of Awake and Sing! in 2006 and Joe Turner's Come and Gone in 2009,
11130-536: 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,
11289-619: 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
11448-614: The COVID-19 shutdown, the Shubert Organization, the Nederlander Organization, and Jujamcyn had pledged to increase racial and cultural diversity in their theaters, including naming at least one theater for a Black theatrical personality. The August Wilson Theatre , owned by Jujamcyn, had been renamed after Black playwright August Wilson in 2005. The Shuberts announced in March 2022 that the Cort Theatre , which
11607-574: 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
11766-456: 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
11925-457: The League confirmed that performances would begin to resume in the fall season. Springsteen on Broadway became the first full-length show to resume performances, opening on June 26, 2021, to 1,721 vaccinated patrons at the St. James Theatre . Pass Over then had its first preview on August 4, and opened on August 22, 2021, becoming the first new play to open. Hadestown and Waitress were
12084-616: The Moon in the late 1990s. Feldman Equities considered buying the Belasco in 1996 but ultimately did not do so. The first musical to play the Belasco in the 2000s was James Joyce's The Dead . This was followed by the musical Follies in 2001 and Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune in 2002. As part of a settlement with the United States Department of Justice in 2003, the Shuberts agreed to improve disabled access at their 16 landmarked Broadway theaters, including
12243-604: 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
12402-535: 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
12561-483: The Shuberts agreed in 1985 to let the New York Shakespeare Festival use the Belasco rent-free. The festival opened in November 1986 and hosted students' Shakespeare productions at the theater through 1987. Joseph Papp led the program, whose $ 2.5 million cost was partly funded by the city government and several local newspapers. During the 1980s, the Shuberts renovated the Belasco as part of
12720-428: The Stuyvesant Theatre. It opened on October 16, 1907, and was expanded in 1909 with Belasco's apartment. Belasco renamed the venue for himself in 1910. After his death in 1931, Katharine Cornell and then the wife of playwright Elmer Rice leased the space. The Shuberts bought the theater in 1948 and leased it to NBC for three years before returning it to legitimate use in 1953. Through the late 20th century, despite
12879-408: The auditorium onto the street or the alley, including ten from orchestra level. According to news reports published when the theater opened, the entire theater could be evacuated in three minutes. The Belasco's color scheme consisted largely of blue, green, and brown hues. The theater was also mechanically advanced for its time, with heating, cooling, and ventilating systems. There were no radiators in
13038-419: The auditorium. In addition, the cellar contained a fire pump capable of 250 U.S. gal (950 L; 210 imp gal) per minute, supplied by a 15,000 U.S. gal (57,000 L; 12,000 imp gal) water tower on the roof and a 10,000 U.S. gal (38,000 L; 8,300 imp gal) reserve tank in the basement. Below the stage was a mezzanine with heating coils. Each side of
13197-492: 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
13356-435: 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
13515-476: 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
13674-483: 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
13833-401: The building itself. David Belasco's Stuyvesant Theatre opened on October 16, 1907, with the musical A Grand Army Man featuring Antoinette Perry . One critic called the theater "the most complete and satisfactory playhouse in existence". Another publication said that the interior was "much the most beautiful in New York". Belasco served as the producer or director of almost 50 productions at
13992-451: The chains of Belasco's private elevator, which had long since been abandoned. Other accounts have described unexplained footsteps; doors and curtains moving randomly; and the elevator moving while not in use. Sightings of a second ghost, called the "Blue Lady", have been reported at the theater. This ghost, reported as an "icy cold blue mist", was supposedly an actress that fell to her death in an elevator shaft. After Oh! Calcutta! played at
14151-453: The curtain. The following year, the Belasco premiered The Boomerang , and the stage apron was adjusted for The Boomerang . Other notable productions in the 1910s included Seven Chances (1916) and Polly With a Past (1917). In the 1910s and 1920s, David Belasco was particularly involved in the theatrical development of several actresses, including Blanche Bates, Ina Claire , Katharine Cornell , Jeanne Eagels , and Lenore Ulric . Among
14310-422: 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
14469-548: The decline of the Broadway-theater industry in the late 1960s, the quality of the Belasco's productions also decreased. A New York Times article in 1975 said the theater had "not seen the opening night of a hit since 1966", though the Belasco was still the second-oldest remaining Broadway theater, after the Lyceum. The off-Broadway production Oh! Calcutta! , a revue in which all the cast members were nude, moved from
14628-476: The doors on the rear wall. The orchestra has a raked floor and painted wood paneling on the side walls. Four boxes, each with six seats, flanked the stage at the orchestra level, though these have since been removed. Staircases on either side of the rear doors connect the orchestra to the first balcony level. The orchestra level is wheelchair-accessible via the side doors, but the balcony levels can only be accessed by steps. The balcony levels have wainscoting on both
14787-510: The duplex apartment above the eastern part of the theater. The same year, Belasco made an agreement with Klaw and Erlanger , enabling their respective firms to display products at each other's theaters. Just a Wife was produced at the Stuyvesant in early 1910. The Stuyvesant Theatre was renamed the Belasco Theatre on September 17, 1910, and the first Belasco Theatre on 42nd Street became Hammerstein's Republic Theatre. Not long afterward,
14946-679: 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,
15105-558: 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. Duplex (building) A duplex house plan has two living units attached to each other, either next to each other as townhouses , condominiums or one above
15264-456: 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,
15423-476: The films in which they starred were Polly With a Past , featuring Claire; Daddies (1918), with Eagles; and The Son-Daughter (1919), with Ulric. During the 1920s, Ulric appeared in Kiki (1921), The Harem (1924), Lulu Belle (1926), and Mima (1928). Theatrical historian Ken Bloom characterized the actresses as "Belasco heroines". Belasco initially paid close attention to accurate representation of details in
15582-415: The first balcony level, and emergency exit doors on the east wall. The columns are placed behind the last row of seats. Other than those columns, the two balcony levels are cantilevered, allowing all rows an unobstructed view of the stage. Four pairs of exit doors on the rear wall of the orchestra lead directly to the central doors on the sidewalk. There are gilded wall sconces next to and between two sets of
15741-467: 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
15900-428: The fly galleries. The switchboard had 65 or 75 dimmers. There is a large gilded-and-glass chandelier hanging from the auditorium's main ceiling. The ceiling was designed with 22 stained-glass panels, each depicting two shields and being illuminated from above. Twenty of these panels depicted Shakespeare in the dexter (right) position and various dramatists in the sinister (left) position. Each of these panels depicted
16059-419: The fourth story of the office wing to the west. The unit had its own small private elevator, as well as a living room with a 30-foot ceiling. The duplex contained eccentric items including a collection of ancient pieces of glass; a room containing Napoleon memorabilia, such as a strand of Napoleon's hair; and a bedroom designed with Japanese furnishings. Also in the duplex were a dining room, a library leading to
16218-604: The ghost appears. Productions are listed by the year of their first performance. This list only includes Broadway shows; it does not include programs broadcast from there. Broadway theatre Broadway theatre , or Broadway , 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
16377-530: The ground-story facade consists of a water table made of granite, above which is burnt brick in Flemish bond . There are four pairs of doors at the center of the facade, above which is an entablature made of terracotta . These doors are separated by terracotta pilasters in the Tuscan style. On either side of the central doorways are wood-framed display boards. The facade's westernmost portion corresponds to
16536-798: The highest commercial level of live theater in the English-speaking world . While the Broadway thoroughfare is eponymous with the district, it is closely identified with Times Square . Only three theaters are located on Broadway itself: Broadway Theatre , Palace Theatre , and Winter Garden Theatre . The rest are located on the numbered cross streets, extending from the Nederlander Theatre one block south of Times Square on West 41st Street, north along either side of Broadway to 53rd Street , and Vivian Beaumont Theater , at Lincoln Center on West 65th Street. While exceptions exist,
16695-415: The late 1970s, there were also plans to convert the Belasco to a cabaret venue. Through the late 20th century, the Shuberts generally used the theater for the final runs of productions that had previously played at other Shubert venues. These productions included Ain't Misbehavin ' (1981) and Accidental Death of an Anarchist (1984). Afterward, the Belasco remained inactive for two years, though
16854-465: The lobby. It originally was decorated in a walnut-brown and gold color scheme, but this was changed to black and gold sometime in the 20th century. The floor is made of mosaic tiles and terrazzo. The walls of the lobby are wainscoted in Rouge Duranche marble, with paneling and Corinthian pilasters above the wainscoting. Partway up the wall is an entablature around the entire room, which contains
17013-630: The mid-1900s, Belaso sought to develop a new theater where he could control all aspects of design. What is now the Belasco Theatre was developed by Meyer R. Bimberg , who organized the Stuyvesant Theatre Company in 1906 with $ 275,000 in capital . In June 1906, Belasco announced he would manage the theater and name it after Peter Stuyvesant, the New Amsterdam director-general. The theater would be designed by George Keister and would cost about $ 300,000. Keister filed plans with
17172-557: 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
17331-432: The musical Maybe Happy Ending . The Belasco Theater is the subject of an urban legend that David Belasco's ghost haunts the theater every night. According to actors and backstage personnel, the ghost would be seen in clerical-like wear, sitting in an empty box during the opening night of a production. Several actors have reported that the ghost would try to speak to them. One caretaker reportedly also heard rattling from
17490-551: The next several years. The LPC designated both the facade and the interior as landmarks on November 4, 1987. This was part of the LPC's wide-ranging effort in 1987 to grant landmark status to Broadway theaters. The New York City Board of Estimate ratified the designations in March 1988. The Shuberts, the Nederlanders , and Jujamcyn collectively sued the LPC in June 1988 to overturn the landmark designations of 22 theaters, including
17649-420: 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
17808-557: 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
17967-421: The office stories and has a granite stoop with two steps. The steps are flanked by iron railings and lead to two pairs of wood-and-glass doors, which connect to the ticket lobby. These doorways are set within the same opening, with Doric terracotta pilasters on either side and an entablature above. A metal gate leads to an alley on the west. The easternmost section contains a stoop with three steps, which lead to
18126-570: The other like apartments . By contrast, a building comprising two attached units on two distinct properties is typically considered semi-detached or twin homes but is also called a duplex in parts of the Northeastern United States , Western Canada , and Saudi Arabia . The term "duplex" is not extended to three-unit and four-unit buildings, as they would be referred to with specific terms such as three-family (or triplex ) and fourplex (or quadplex / quadruplex ) or
18285-449: The other, with each having a separate entrance". Toronto proposes in their new Zoning Bylaw to define 'Duplex Building' as a building that has only two dwelling units, and one dwelling unit is entirely or partially on top of the other dwelling unit. Halifax defines Duplex Dwelling as "the whole of a dwelling that is divided horizontally into two separate dwelling units, each of which has an independent entrance". Other major cities use
18444-556: 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
18603-468: 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
18762-430: The production My Dear Children in 1940. The play featured John Barrymore 's last Broadway appearance and was generally negatively panned, even though its $ 50,000 of advance ticket sales was among the largest such figure of any Broadway show. More successful were Johnny Belinda (1940), Mr. and Mrs. North (1941), and Dark Eyes (1943). The Belasco Theatre Corporation, a syndicate headed by John Wildberg, purchased
18921-423: 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
19080-645: 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
19239-431: The rest of the facade. The entire third story is topped by an entablature with a molded frieze, a set of dentils, and a heavy cornice with modillions . The cornice wraps around to the side elevations of the facade. The pavilions are made of burnt brick and generally lack windows. A metal sign assembly hangs in front of the west pavilion. The eastern corner of the east pavilion has a terracotta quoin . Belasco's apartment
19398-406: The roofline. Other major cities do not use the term duplex in their zoning or land-use bylaws. San Francisco and Vancouver use the term Two-family dwelling. Winnipeg uses the term Dwelling, two-family. The definitions of these terms do not specify the physical relationship between the two dwelling units in the building. In cities such as Buffalo , Detroit and Chicago , the term "two-flat"
19557-531: 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
19716-473: The season. This is done in order to maximize access to their target audience. Most Broadway producers and theatre owners are members of The Broadway League (formerly "The League of American Theatres and Producers"), a trade organization that promotes Broadway theatre as a whole, negotiates contracts with the various theatrical unions and agreements with the guilds, and co-administers the Tony Awards with
19875-536: The segregated entrance providing access to the second balcony was removed. Decorative elements such as the stained glass and murals were restored, and amenities such as restrooms and seats were replaced. The theater reopened on October 2, 2010, with a showing of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown . In 2014, Hedwig and the Angry Inch opened its first Broadway production and became the longest running show at
20034-629: The side and rear walls, as well as gilded wall sconces on the side walls. The balconies have paneled bands on their undersides, with light fixtures underneath. Small stained-glass chandeliers hang over the second balcony. In front of the balconies are bosses topped by foliate bands. Until 2010, the second balcony was accessed by a different entrance from the other seats. This arrangement was a vestige of an operation in which theater patrons were separated into two classes, an arrangement more common in West End theatre than Broadway theatre. On either side of
20193-411: The skyscraper used the air rights. To increase the occupancy of the Belasco and other little-used Broadway theaters, the League of American Theaters and Producers negotiated with Broadway unions and guilds during the late 1980s. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) had started considering protecting the Belasco as an official city landmark in 1982, with discussions continuing over
20352-470: 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
20511-438: The stage is a wall section, which originally contained two boxes on either balcony level. The first balcony boxes had been removed before the 1980s, but they were restored in 2010. The boxes are supported on console brackets and contain angled railings with foliate decoration; a colonnette separates each pair of boxes. The boxes' wall sections are flanked by octagonal columns with capitals of stained glass, which support an arch with
20670-490: The stage. The lower basement level is 30 ft (9.1 m) or 32 feet deep. A platform with the preceding scene's props, built similarly to a large wagon, could be loaded onto the trap, then swapped in the basement with another platform loaded with the next scene's props. Some 4,500 electric lights were distributed in the stage area. The footlights on the stage were arranged in seven sections. There were five sets of "border lights", with 270 lamps in each, as well as 88 sockets in
20829-434: 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
20988-493: The term duplex is used more specifically. Major Canadian cities sometimes use the term duplex to refer specifically to a building with one unit built above another . Edmonton defines 'Duplex Housing' as "development consisting of a building containing only two Dwellings, with one Dwelling placed over the other in whole or in part with individual and separate access to each Dwelling". Calgary defines Duplex Dwelling as "a building which contains two Dwelling Units, one located above
21147-408: The term duplex, but for dwelling units. Dallas defines the term duplex as "two dwelling units located on a lot". Philadelphia defines a duplex dwelling as "a dwelling occupied as the home or residence of two (2) families, under one (1) roof, each family occupying a single unit", a definition that excludes a pair of twin (semi-detached) houses, two dwellings separated by a firewall that extends above
21306-475: The theater for the next two decades; the majority of these ran for at least a hundred performances. Among the early productions at the theater were The Warrens of Virginia , which premiered in 1908, and The Devil , which premiered simultaneously at the Stuyvesant and the Garden that year. Also played at the Stuyvesant were The Fighting Hope (1908) and The Easiest Way (1909). During 1909, Belasco constructed
21465-413: The theater had three separate sets of fire escapes , and the western side had a marble-and-stone staircase leading directly into the alley there. The additional exits were constructed to prevent crowd crushes , such as happened in the 1876 Brooklyn Theatre fire , where hundreds had died. The entrance lobby is a nearly square space, accessed from the westernmost entrance on 44th Street. John Rapp designed
21624-417: The theater was leased by Lincoln Center Theater . In mid-2009, after Joe Turner's Come and Gone closed, the Belasco closed for a renovation. By then, producers considered the theater to be small compared to most other Broadway venues. Francesca Russo oversaw the restoration of the auditorium, while McLaren Engineering Group was the primary contractor. The boxes at the first balcony level were restored, and
21783-448: The theater when his lease expired in 1947, but the New York Supreme Court ultimately forced him to do so. The Belasco Theatre was sold in November 1948 for $ 442,000 in cash. Although the new owners planned to demolish the theater in the future, the Shubert Organization took over management in the interim. The Shuberts themselves were subsequently reported as having been the buyers; by mid-1949, they were negotiating to lease it to NBC as
21942-583: The theater's productions. He was adamant that laundry scenes should contain functioning laundries capable of washing and ironing real clothes, and for one production he made a mockup of a Childs Restaurants franchise. The Belasco hosted several other productions in the 1920s. Lionel Atwill starred in Deburau during 1920, and Kiki ran 580 performances the following year. The Belasco hosted Laugh, Clown, Laugh! with Lionel Barrymore in 1923, as well as Tiger Cats with Katharine Cornell in 1924. Lulu Belle
22101-403: The theater, but the floor contained a plenum system with 350 ducts. The plenum system used to evenly distribute the heat from two boilers, either of which could heat the theater on its own. When a sufficient level of heat had been reached, the heat was shut off and fresh air was distributed through the plenum system, using large blowers. Air outflow passed through hidden openings in the ceiling of
22260-405: The theater, the ghost of David Belasco reportedly stopped appearing. By the 2000s, people reported that the ghost had reappeared. In Hedwig and the Angry Inch , Hedwig briefly discusses the history of the Belasco and references the ghost of Belasco, claiming that if the ghost appears on a show's opening night, then the show is blessed. She then asks audience members in one of the boxes to tell her if
22419-454: The theater. The Belasco was outfitted with the most advanced stagecraft tools available including extensive lighting rigs, a hydraulics system, and vast wing and fly space. Like the neighboring Lyceum Theatre, it was built with ample workshop space underneath the stage. Tiffany Studio designed lighting fixtures throughout the theater, which were executed by theatrical-lighting specialists Nimis & Nimis . Nineteen emergency exits lead from
22578-534: 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
22737-481: 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
22896-461: 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
23055-421: The top of the eastern wing and contained Belasco's collection of memorabilia. The interior features Tiffany lighting and ceiling panels, rich woodwork, and expansive murals by American artist Everett Shinn . The auditorium consists of a ground-level orchestra and two overhanging balconies, with boxes at the second balcony level. The theater was developed by Meyer R. Bimberg and operated by David Belasco as
23214-568: 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 ,
23373-568: 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
23532-692: 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
23691-571: 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,
23850-539: 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
24009-644: 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
24168-559: Was an NBC studio. The Belasco reopened as a legitimate Broadway venue on November 5, 1953, with The Solid Gold Cadillac . Other Broadway productions in the 1950s included The Flowering Peach (1954), Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1955), and Nude with Violin (1957). The Belasco's production of All the Way Home , which premiered in 1960, won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama . Other notable productions included Write Me
24327-491: Was another successful production at the Belasco, with 461 performances. The Belasco also hosted the musical Hit the Deck in 1927, one of the few to take place in the theater. David Belasco renovated the theater for the production of Mima. Though he redesigned the proscenium arch's decorations and added metal sheathing to the balconies and orchestra boxes, he lost $ 250,000 on the productions. The Bachelor Father (1928) and It's
24486-572: Was appointed as the executor of Belasco's estate, continuing to operate the theater. That August, Katherine Cornell and her husband Guthrie McClintic signed a lease to operate the theater for two years. At the time, the theater was appraised at $ 800,000. McClintic directed Brief Moment , the first production to take place at the theater under Cornell's management. Cornell herself appeared in two productions: Lucrece (1932) and Alien Corn (1933). Cornell and McClintic had six productions total, including Criminal at Large (1932). Hazel Rice, whose husband
24645-554: Was designed with 15 rows of seats. There were also twelve boxes in total. The seats were all made by the American Seating Company. Each seat was of heavy wood, upholstered in dark brown leather, and the back of each chair was embossed with an emblem of a bee. The auditorium is accessed from the ticket lobby at the southwest corner of the orchestra. The rear (south) end of the orchestra contains four octagonal columns containing capitals of stained glass, which hold up
24804-476: Was placed in front of the ticket window but was removed. The auditorium has a ground-level orchestra, boxes , two balconies, promenades on the three seating levels, and a large stage behind the proscenium arch. The auditorium's width is greater than its depth. The auditorium has 1,016 seats. These are divided into 527 seats at orchestra level, 283 on the first balcony, and 200 on the second balcony, as well as 24 box seats and 25 standing-only spots. The orchestra
24963-462: Was playwright Elmer Rice , purchased the Belasco in August 1934 for $ 330,000. She made minor alterations to the theater but generally found it in "good condition". Rice had two productions, Judgment Day (1934) and Between Two Worlds (1934), both of which were flops. The Belasco estate filed to foreclose upon the theater in February 1936 and reacquired the theater from Rice that March. In late 1934,
25122-400: Was selected because a similar style was used on many early government buildings of New York City. The original name was a homage to Peter Stuyvesant , a director-general of New Amsterdam , the 17th-century Dutch colony that later became New York City. Compared to its contemporaries, the Belasco is relatively small. A wing for offices and dressing rooms, separated from the rest of the theater by
25281-602: 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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