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110-565: The play was revived on Broadway in 2023 at the Music Box Theatre directed by Kenny Leon , marking the first major New York production of the play since the original production closed in 1962. The 2023 revival performs the show without intermission. Act I Purlie Victorious Judson returns to his small hometown in Georgia, with Lutiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins and a plan to win back his family inheritance from Ol’ Cap’n Cotchipee,

220-637: A crisis manager who runs her own crisis management firm called Olivia Pope & Associates in Washington, D.C. In this position, she worked for high-profile figures, most notably the President of the United States, who was also her on-off lover. The show was a commercial and critical success, and was called one of the most talked about drama series on Facebook and Twitter . Washington's performance earned positive reviews, and in 2013, she won

330-404: A gallery , which is shielded by decorative iron railings between the columns. The recessed gallery contains the auditorium's fire escape, with stairs leading down to ground level. There are also three double doorways with stone surrounds, which exit onto the gallery. Above each doorway is a frieze with urns and swags; there is a triangular pediment in the outer doorways and scrolled pediment in

440-861: A Drama Series and once for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama . She was further Emmy-nominated for her roles as Anita Hill in the HBO television political thriller film Confirmation (2016), and a troubled mother in the Hulu miniseries Little Fires Everywhere (2020). Washington made her feature film debut acting in the drama Our Song (2000). She has since taken roles in diverse films such as Ray (2004), Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), The Last King of Scotland (2006), I Think I Love My Wife (2007), Mother and Child (2009), For Colored Girls (2010), and Django Unchained (2012). She portrayed Alicia Masters in

550-825: A Kaufman-directed adaptation of the John Steinbeck novel Of Mice and Men . Two Hart and Kaufman productions were staged in 1938: a transfer of I'd Rather Be Right and the original Sing Out the News . The productions in 1939 began with the Noël Coward revue Set to Music , following which was From Vienna , produced by the Refugee Artists Group. The last hit of the 1930s was Hart and Kaufman's The Man Who Came to Dinner , which had 739 performances through 1941. Irving Berlin subsequently recalled that he and Harris had almost lost control of

660-541: A Star opened in 1995. The next year, the Music Box staged the musical State Fair , the latter of which was the final Broadway show produced by David Merrick . Subsequently, Barrymore ran 238 performances in 1997, and The Diary of Anne Frank opened later that year, running through the next year with 221 performances. Finally, the Music Box staged Closer in 1999, with 173 performances. The Music Box's tendency for short production runs continued into

770-426: A Television Drama Series . The Boston Globe ranked Scandal tenth place of its list of "Top 10 political TV shows" in 2015. In addition to Washington's acting, her costumes as Olivia Pope attracted positive attention, prompting Vanity Fair to name the character one of "The Top Ten Best-Dressed TV Characters" in 2013. According to the show's costume designer, Lyn Paolo, the success of Olivia Pope's wardrobe

880-449: A barroom brawl the previous night over his support of racial integration. Ol’ Cap’n Cotchipee does not share or respect his son’s progressive values and arrives to punish Charlie. Charlie distracts his father by delivering the cotton and commissary reports. Every negro family is in debt, and Charlie challenges his father’s “cheating” ways. Ol’ Cap’n becomes agitated, and Charlie holds his ground; Ol’ Cap’n runs him off and then collapses due to

990-469: A commercial endorsing Hillary Clinton for president. Washington emceed the third night of the 2020 Democratic National Convention . For the 2022 Georgia gubernatorial election , Washington endorsed Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams . Among her many accolades, Washington has received a Primetime Emmy Awards , five NAACP Image Awards , a Teen Choice Award , and nominations for two Golden Globe Awards and four Screen Actors Guild Awards . One of

1100-532: A large balcony, and two outwardly curved box seats within ornate archways. The theater was also designed with a comparatively small lobby, a lounge in the basement, and mezzanine-level offices. Harris proposed the Music Box Theatre in 1919 specifically to host his productions with Berlin, and the Shubert family gained an ownership stake shortly after the Music Box opened. The theater initially hosted

1210-479: A long time, since I was a little girl. I had this very inspiring teacher named Larry Maldonado, for anybody from my neighborhood in the Bronx, he was our role model. And he had an awesome substitute teacher named Jennifer, who would sometimes step in and teach. But, then she left to move to L.A. and be on In Living Color . I learned to dance from JLo!" In 2023, Washington revealed that she had an abortion when she

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1320-431: A magnificent Leslie Odom, Jr., in the title role, and featuring equally fine performances by an enchanting Kara Young, Billy Eugene Jones, Vanessa Bell Calloway and more, Purlie Victorious [...] has been given an urgent—and, oh yes, very, very funny—revival by Leon and his top-notch creative team. Music Box Theatre The Music Box Theatre is a Broadway theater at 239 West 45th Street ( George Abbott Way ) in

1430-412: A major hit in the early 1980s with the religious drama Agnes of God , which premiered in 1982 and had 599 performances with Geraldine Page and Amanda Plummer . By contrast, the theater mostly hosted flops during the mid-1980s. The Music Box hosted a revival of Hay Fever in 1985, followed the next year by a revival of Loot , which was Alec Baldwin 's first Broadway appearance. In 1987,

1540-552: A memorial service to the late Shubert chairman Philip J. Smith in March 2022. Due to poor ticket sales, Dear Evan Hansen closed in September 2022. The next month, the theater hosted a limited run of Gabriel Byrne 's solo show Walking with Ghosts . A revival of Bob Fosse 's Dancin' opened at the Music Box in March 2023, running for two months; it was followed by the play Purlie Victorious that September. Following

1650-621: A more successful production, Dear Me, the Sky Is Falling with Gertrude Berg , the next year. The theater's most successful play of the 1960s was the comedy Any Wednesday , which opened in 1964 and ran for 983 performances. The decade's other hits included Harold Pinter 's The Homecoming , which opened in 1967, and There's a Girl in My Soup , which opened later that year. The British play Sleuth opened in 1970, featuring Keith Baxter and Anthony Quayle ; it became

1760-738: A part of the ensemble in Tyler Perry 's 2010 drama film For Colored Girls . She starred in Quentin Tarantino 's film Django Unchained (2012), which received widespread critical acclaim. She was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in June 2012 along with 175 other individuals. From April 2012 to April 2018, Washington starred in the ABC drama series Scandal , created by Shonda Rhimes , as Olivia Pope ,

1870-653: A police station in the middle of the night looking for answers. In 2019, Washington directed the seventh episode of the second season of Showtime 's SMILF . She then starred in Live in Front of a Studio Audience on ABC in a recreation of The Jeffersons , portraying the role of Helen Willis. The same year, she reprised her role in the film adaptation of the Broadway play American Son , which she also executive produced, for Netflix . The film had its world premiere at

1980-439: A professor and educational consultant, and Earl Washington, a real estate broker . However, she wrote in her 2023 memoir that she found out that Earl Washington was not her biological father. Washington's family is of African American origin, having moved from South Carolina to Brooklyn . Her mother's family is from Manhattan , and Washington has said that her mother is from a "mixed-race background and from Jamaica, so she

2090-556: A role in Cars 3 . In 2018, Washington made her directorial debut on Scandal , directing the tenth episode of the seventh season. She also appeared as Olivia Pope in two episodes of How to Get Away with Murder , as part of a crossover with Scandal. Scandal concluded after seven seasons in April 2018. That same year, Washington starred in the Broadway play American Son written by Christopher Demos-Brown, following two parents arriving at

2200-411: A run of the melodrama The Spider in 1927, which transferred from a neighboring theater. By the end of 1927, Hassard Short had given up his stake in managing the Music Box. The play Paris Bound also premiered in 1927, followed the next year by the similarly named Paris with Irène Bordoni . The last show in the 1920s was The Little Show , which premiered in 1929. The Music Box staged

2310-518: A stone fireplace mantel. Below the auditorium is a basement lounge. Its lavish design contrasted with the lounges of other Broadway theaters, which generally received little attention. Architecture and Building magazine described the lounge as being in the Queen Anne style , "developed more as if in a dwelling than in a club or public place". The staircase to the basement lounge is made of marble and contains an intermediate landing. A tapestry

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2420-571: A wife of 1970s Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in the UK historical drama The Last King of Scotland (2006). Washington has also appeared in the recurring role of Chelina Hall on the ABC television series Boston Legal , and in several episodes of the A&;E cable-TV series 100 Centre Street . In 2007, she co-directed and appeared in the music video for hip-hop artist Common 's song, " I Want You ",

2530-478: Is a member of the Creative Coalition ; which is a board of actors, writers, musicians, and producers that explore issues that are at the forefront of national discourse. She is also a member of V-Day , a global movement that brings awareness to violence against women and girls. In March 2016, Washington and fellow ShondaLand colleagues, Ellen Pompeo , Viola Davis and Shonda Rhimes , appeared in

2640-429: Is accessed directly from the lobby, which measures 8 feet (2.4 m) wide and 25 feet (7.6 m) long. The lobby was decorated as a simple space, with pink marble baseboards , marble walls, and a plaster cornice. The cornice was decorated with neo-Georgian ornaments. A bronze box-office booth was placed in the lobby. The lobby has a box office because the theater had no dedicated box office when it opened. The floor

2750-667: Is also a supporter of LGBT rights . In August 2013, she was named an honorary chairperson of the GLSEN Respect Awards; and she received the GLAAD Vanguard Award on March 21, 2015. In June 2016, the Human Rights Campaign released a video in tribute to the victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting ; in the video, Washington and others told the stories of the people killed there. She

2860-436: Is made of limestone and is symmetrically arranged, with both Palladian and neo-Georgian motifs. At ground level, the eastern portion of the facade contains the theater's entrance, with a marquee over it, while the stage door is to the west. A double-height central colonnade at the second and third floors conceals a fire-escape staircase; it is flanked by windows in the outer bays. The auditorium contains Adam style detailing,

2970-418: Is mounted on the stair landing. The tapestry depicts a reclining figure of a nude woman next to a waterfall. A mirrored panel was hung on the lounge's wall, opposite the tapestry. Siena marble fireplace mantels, with mirrors above them, were placed at each end of the lounge. The basement also has the theater's restrooms. Times Square became the epicenter for large-scale theater productions between 1900 and

3080-740: Is partly English and Scottish and Native American, but also descended from enslaved Africans in the Caribbean." Through her mother, she is a cousin of former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell . She was conceived via a sperm donor , which she only learned in 2018. Washington performed with the TADA! Youth Theater teen group and attended the Spence School in Manhattan from her pre-teen years until graduating from high school in 1994. At

3190-499: The Knives Out film series , titled Wake Up Dead Man . Washington wrote in her memoir that a boy inappropriately touched her when she was a child. She also wrote in her memoir that, "By the time I got to college, my relationship with food and my body had become a toxic cycle of self-abuse that utilized the tools of starvation, binge eating, body obsession and compulsive exercise", and that she had suicidal thoughts. Washington

3300-664: The Hulu miniseries Little Fires Everywhere , an adaptation of Celeste Ng 's 2017 novel of the same name . Washington directed the ninth episode of the fourth season of the HBO comedy series Insecure . In September 2020, she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Special (Live) as a producer of the television special Live in Front of a Studio Audience . In December 2020, Washington starred in The Prom , directed by Ryan Murphy for Netflix , as Mrs. Greene. From 2022, Washington will star in

3410-599: The Music Box Revue were hosted in as many years, and each subsequent edition gradually declined in quality. Among the performers who appeared multiple times were the Brox Sisters , Clark and McCullough , Florence Moore , Grace Moore , Joseph Santley , and Ivy Sawyer . One notable performance was the 1924 edition, which featured Fanny Brice of the Ziegfeld Follies . Earl Carroll's Vanities

Purlie Victorious - Misplaced Pages Continue

3520-540: The Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City . The square land lot covers 10,050 square feet (934 m ). The theater has a frontage of 100 feet (30 m) on 45th Street and a depth of about 100 feet. The adjoining block of 45th Street is also known as George Abbott Way , and foot traffic on the street increases box-office totals on the theaters there. The Music Box shares

3630-404: The Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City . Opened in 1921, the Music Box Theatre was designed by C. Howard Crane in a Palladian -inspired style and was constructed for Irving Berlin and Sam H. Harris . It has 1,025 seats across two levels and is operated by The Shubert Organization . Both the facade and the auditorium interior are New York City landmarks . The facade

3740-735: The Toronto International Film Festival on September 12, 2019, and was released on November 1, 2019. In 2020, Washington served as an executive producer on The Fight , a documentary film revolving around legal battles lawyers for the ACLU face during the Trump administration, which had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 30, 2020. That same year, she served as an executive producer and starred alongside Reese Witherspoon in

3850-528: The proscenium arch. The auditorium is wider than its depth, and the space is designed with plaster decorations in high relief . According to the Shubert Organization, the auditorium has 1,025 seats; meanwhile, The Broadway League cites a capacity of 1,009 seats and Playbill cites 984 seats. The discrepancy arises from the fact that there are 1,009 physical seats and 16 standing-only spots. The physical seats are divided into 538 seats in

3960-527: The $ 500 inheritance from Ol’ Cap’n, in exchange for Lutiebelle working at the house. Purlie fumes. Lutiebelle enters in a disheveled state. Ol’ Cap’n has cornered her in the pantry. Furious, Purlie heads up to the house to confront Ol’ Cap’n. Act III Later that night, Lutiebelle and Missy wait at the shack for Purlie to return. Gitlow arrives without news. He suspects Purlie has fled rather than confront Ol’ Cap’n. Lutiebelle and Missy worry. Finally, Purlie returns with $ 500 and Ol’ Cap’n’s bull whip. Purlie tells

4070-506: The 1900s and 1910s. According to one account, the name for the Music Box Theatre arose from a conversation between Sam H. Harris and Irving Berlin in 1919. Harris had suggested building a theater, to which Berlin suggested the name "Music Box". Harris liked the name and suggested that Berlin could write a song for the new theater. In March 1920, Harris and Berlin bought the properties at 239 to 245 West 45th Street from L. and A. Pincus and M. L. Goldstone. They then announced plans to build

4180-596: The 1940s was Summer and Smoke , which premiered in 1948. The next year, the Music Box showed Lost in the Stars , which was the last musical staged at the Music Box until the 1970s. The long-running comedy Affairs of State transferred to the Music Box from the Royale Theatre in 1950. The same year, Marin sold her one-third ownership stake in the Music Box Theatre to Harris and the Shuberts. In 1952,

4290-432: The 1959 plays Rashomon , featuring Claire Bloom and Rod Steiger , and Five Finger Exercise , featuring Brian Bedford and Jessica Tandy . In 1961, the Music Box staged A Far Country , featuring Kim Stanley and Steven Hill . The next year saw the opening of the comedy The Beauty Part with Bert Lahr , which flopped during the city's newspaper strike despite critical acclaim. The Music Box staged

4400-632: The 2000s. A revival of the Shakespeare play Macbeth closed in June 2000 after 13 performances, and a more successful production came later that year with The Dinner Party , which ran 364 performances. The 19th-century drama Fortune's Fool was staged in 2002, as was short-lived comedy Amour . 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

4510-572: The Days! was released in 1963. Davis, Dee, Cambridge, Richards, Alda, and Brooke reprised their roles from the Broadway production. In 1970, with little involvement from Davis, his play was turned into a Broadway musical, titled Purlie . The production was well received and was nominated for five Tony Awards including Best Musical . In 2002, an industry reading was held featuring Kerry Washington as Lutiebell, Whoopi Goldberg as Missy, Ruby Dee as Idella and Harold Perrineau as Purlie. The play

Purlie Victorious - Misplaced Pages Continue

4620-559: The French play Topaze with Frank Morgan in 1930, followed by the comedy The Third Little Show with Ernest Truex and Beatrice Lillie in 1931. The theater largely hosted works by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman , produced either individually or in partnership, during the 1930s. Immediately following Topaze was Hart and Kaufman's first-ever collaboration, Once in a Lifetime , which premiered in late 1930. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind collaborated in 1931 for Of Thee I Sing ,

4730-542: The Great Depression . During the 1900s and 1910s, many theaters in Midtown Manhattan were developed by the Shubert brothers , one of the major theatrical syndicates of the time. Meanwhile, Sam H. Harris was a producer and Irving Berlin was a songwriter. Prior to the development of the Music Box Theatre, Harris had partnered with George Cohan in the development of several theaters and productions in

4840-489: The Imperial Theatre's entrance, constitute the stage doors. Above the ground floor is a horizontal band course with motifs of swags , urns , and vertical bars. At the second and third floors is a colonnade between a pair of outer bays. The colonnade has four fluted columns, which are topped by Corinthian -style decorative capitals . The auditorium facade is slightly recessed behind the colonnade, creating

4950-731: The Last Dance (2001) and The Human Stain (2003). In 2002 she played Chris Rock 's love interest in the spy thriller Bad Company , a film that represented a turning point for her, in that it was the first time in her career that she had made enough money annually to qualify for health insurance under SAG. In 2004, she played the female lead in Spike Lee 's She Hate Me , and she received strong reviews for her performance. After 2004, she held parts in Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), Little Man (2006), I Think I Love My Wife (2007), and as

5060-762: The Mouthpiece on Back . She also appears in Maxwell 's "Bad Habits" video. In 2009, Washington performed in The People Speak , a documentary feature film that uses dramatic and musical performances of the letters, diaries, and speeches of everyday Americans, based on historian Howard Zinn 's A People's History of the United States . In 2010, Washington made her Broadway debut in the original production of David Mamet 's play Race , alongside James Spader (with whom she worked on Boston Legal ), David Alan Grier , and Richard Thomas . She also appeared as

5170-428: The Music Box Theatre on the site. By that May, Crane had prepared plans for the theater. Harris planned to stage twice-yearly revues, and he subsequently ended his long-running partnership with George M. Cohan . Hassard Short was named as the first general stage director, spending over $ 240,000 on the first show. The Music Box ultimately cost more than $ 1 million, $ 400,000 for the building itself and $ 600,000 for

5280-521: The Music Box as the "daintiest theatre in America" in Variety magazine. Other reviewers said the theater was "unparalleled" in design and had "dignified architectural decorations" in contrast to other theaters. The comedian Sam Bernard said simply, "It stinks from class." In his autobiography, producer Moss Hart said that the Music Box was "everybody's dream of a theatre", enhancing the quality of

5390-407: The Music Box in 1935. These were Rain , Ceiling Zero , If This Be Treason , a theatrical version of Pride and Prejudice , and finally Kaufman and Katharine Dayton's collaboration First Lady . Kaufman and Ferber collaborated again in the 1936 production Stage Door . This was followed the next year by a short run of Young Madam Conti with Constance Cummings , as well as

5500-557: The Music Box staged Sweet Sue with Mary Tyler Moore , as well as the Royal Shakespeare Company 's hit production Les Liaisons Dangereuses . This was followed by several short-lived productions, including Mail and Spoils of War in 1988, as well as Welcome to the Club in 1989. The decade ended with the hit A Few Good Men . Irving Berlin continued to co-own the theater until he died in 1989 at

5610-612: The Music Box staged a transfer of the hit The Male Animal . The playwright William Inge had three highly successful plays during the 1950s, all of which had over 400 performances. First among these was Picnic , which opened in 1953. This was followed by Bus Stop in 1955 and The Dark at the Top of the Stairs in 1957. Besides Inge's productions, the Music Box hosted a transfer of The Solid Gold Cadillac in 1954, as well as Separate Tables in 1956. The decade ended with

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5720-479: The Music Box. The Music Box hosted Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in 2003 and Dame Edna: Back with a Vengeance in 2004, as well as Antony Sher 's solo Primo and the musical In My Life in 2005. These were followed in 2006 by Festen and The Vertical Hour . Meanwhile, the Shubert Organization and Berlin's estate continued to operate the theater jointly. The unusual arrangement, which led to jokes that

5830-437: The Music Box. The theater also pivoted away from hosting revues and musicals because of its relatively low seating capacity; instead, it mainly hosted small dramas. The burlesque revue Star and Garter opened in 1942, eventually running 609 performances. This was followed in 1944 by a 713-performance run of the comedy I Remember Mama , which featured Marlon Brando in his Broadway debut. Another major production in

5940-545: The PBS Great Performances series, with the revival Broadway cast. The 2023 Broadway revival received critical acclaim. Jesse Green of The New York Times wrote, "The Purlie Victorious that opened on Wednesday at the Music Box—unaccountably its first Broadway revival—is every bit as scathingly funny as the 1961 reviews said it was", referencing Howard Taubman's initial 1961 review calling

6050-679: The Shuberts owned sixteen and a half theaters, continued until 2007, when the Berlin estate sold its interest to the Shuberts. The Music Box's productions at the end of the 2000s included Deuce and The Farnsworth Invention in 2007; a transfer of the long-running August: Osage County from the Imperial Theatre in 2008; and Superior Donuts in 2009. This was followed by Lend Me a Tenor and La Bête in 2010; Jerusalem and Private Lives in 2011; and One Man, Two Guvnors and Dead Accounts in 2012. The musical Pippin opened in 2013 and ran for two years. Further productions in

6160-402: The age of 101; in his final years, Berlin would contact the Shuberts to ask them about the theater's receipts. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) had started to consider protecting the Music Box as a landmark in 1982, with discussions continuing over the next several years. The LPC designated the Music Box's facade and interior as a landmark on December 8, 1987. This

6270-673: The age of 13, she was taken to watch Nelson Mandela speak at Yankee Stadium upon his release from prison. She attended George Washington University , graduating Phi Beta Kappa in 1998 with a double major in anthropology and sociology . She also studied at Michael Howard Studios in New York City. In April 2016, Washington confirmed that, in the 1990s in New York, she learned to dance from Jennifer Lopez . During her appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon , she told host Jimmy Fallon : "I've been taking dance for

6380-412: The auditorium. There are wood-and-glass sign boards on either side of the central doors, with colonettes on either side and sheet metal-wood pediments above them. A bronze fire-escape gate, accessed by two granite steps, and two wide sign boards are to the west of the center doors. The westernmost part of the facade contains a double door, a narrow sign board, and a single door. These doors, adjacent to

6490-544: The award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series at the 44th NAACP Image Awards and was also presented with the NAACP President's Award . The same year, she was named "Favorite actress" and Scandal "Favorite Drama" of the year at TV Guide ' s Magazine Fan Favorite Awards and was also crowned 2013's "TV Star of the Year" by the editors of the magazine. For her work in the second season of Scandal , Washington

6600-540: The balcony, and a technical booth is at the rear. The balcony's soffit , or underside, is divided into panels that contain plaster medallions with light fixtures, as well as air-conditioning vents. The auditorium was originally lit by five-armed sconces on the walls, which were replaced in the 1960s with imitation brass sconces. The original sconces were described in American Architect and Architecture as "Dutch brass with amber crystals". On either side of

6710-860: The block with the Richard Rodgers Theatre and Imperial Theatre to the north, as well as the New York Marriott Marquis to the east. Other nearby buildings include the Paramount Hotel to the north; the Hotel Edison and Lunt-Fontanne Theatre to the northeast; One Astor Plaza to the southeast; the Gerald Schoenfeld , Booth , Shubert , and Broadhurst Theatres to the south; and the Majestic , Bernard B. Jacobs , and John Golden Theatres to

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6820-482: The boxes is a flat proscenium arch. The archway is flanked by fluted columns and pilasters in the Corinthian style. The top of the archways contains an entablature with Adam-style decorations of urns, vines, fans, and reeds. The proscenium measures about 26 feet (7.9 m) high and 40 feet (12 m) wide. Due to a lack of space backstage, a counterweight system was installed to lift sets and other objects onto

6930-414: The center doorway. A pair of pilasters flanks each of the outer bays, with Corinthian capitals atop each pilaster. The second-floor window of each outer bay is a Palladian window , which contains sash window panes. The tympanum is divided into three sections, with an arched tympanum above the center section. The third story has a rectangular sash window with a molded frame. A vertical sign hangs from

7040-479: The closure of Purlie Victorious in February 2024, the musical Suffs opened at the theater in April 2024. Productions are listed by the year of their first performance. The Music Box Revue , which has had multiple editions, is listed by the years of the first performances of each edition. Dear Evan Hansen achieved the box office record for the Music Box Theatre. The production grossed $ 2,119,371 over

7150-409: The easternmost bay on the upper stories. The top of the facade has a frieze with rosette motifs, as well as a cornice with dentils and modillions . Above the facade is a sloping slate roof with several projecting dormers for windows. There is also a roof balustrade with cast-iron and wrought-iron railings. The auditorium has an orchestra level, one balcony, boxes , and a stage behind

7260-456: The eight performances during the week ending December 31, 2017. The same production had also achieved a record earlier in the year, making that record the highest gross for a Broadway house that seats under 1,000. Kerry Washington Kerry Marisa Washington (born January 31, 1977) is an American actress. She has received several accolades , including a Primetime Emmy Award as well as nominations for two Golden Globe Awards . She

7370-626: The extent to which the theaters could be modified. The lawsuit was escalated to the New York Supreme Court and the Supreme Court of the United States , but these designations were ultimately upheld in 1992. In the 1990s, the Music Box continued to have many relatively short runs. The solo play Lucifer's Child with Julie Harris played a limited engagement in April 1991, and Park Your Car in Harvard Yard opened

7480-570: The facade design was inspired by that of the Chestnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia . The easternmost side on 45th Street includes four pairs of glass and bronze doors leading to the ticket lobby. There are bronze sign boards on either side, and the entrance is topped by a marquee . Just west of the ticket-lobby entrance is a single doorway. The center of the ground story includes three pairs of glass and bronze doors from

7590-423: The first Pulitzer Prize -winning musical, and Kaufman joined Edna Ferber the next year to produce Dinner at Eight , which ran 232 performances. The next year, Berlin and Hart staged the revue As Thousands Cheer , which with 400 performances was lengthy for a Great Depression -era musical. Hart and Kaufman again partnered in 1934 for the play Merrily We Roll Along . Five plays were performed at

7700-424: The fourth single from his album Finding Forever and became a spokesperson for L'Oréal , appearing in commercials and ads alongside fellow actresses, Scarlett Johansson and Eva Longoria , Gong Li , Michelle Yeoh , Dian Sastrowardoyo , Aishwarya Rai , Maya Karin and model Doutzen Kroes . Washington narrated the critically acclaimed documentary about the New Orleans–based teenage TBC Brass Band , From

7810-606: The highest-paid actors in television and was announced as the new face of Neutrogena skin care. Washington hosted Saturday Night Live on November 2, 2013, where she impersonated Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey in a cold opening sketch that satirized criticism of Saturday Night Live for not having had any black female cast members for many years. Washington played the lead role in Confirmation , an HBO movie directed by Rick Famuyiwa about Anita Hill 's testimony during Clarence Thomas Supreme Court nomination , which aired in 2016. For her role in Confirmation , Washington

7920-399: The land; the theater overran its original budget by about $ 300,000. The Music Box was one of the only Broadway theaters to be built for specific producers' work. The Music Box Theatre opened on September 22, 1921, with performances of Music Box Revue . The new theater was praised by both architectural and theatrical critics, and several architectural publications printed pictures of

8030-545: The live-action Fantastic Four films of 2005 and 2007 . On stage, she made her Broadway debut in David Mamet 's play Race (2009). She returned to the Broadway stage starring in the Christopher Demos-Brown play American Son and reprised her role in the 2019 television adaptation on Netflix . Washington was born in the Bronx , New York City, and was raised as the daughter of Valerie,

8140-674: The mid-2010s included The Heidi Chronicles and King Charles III in 2015, as well as Shuffle Along, or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed in 2016. The musical Dear Evan Hansen opened at the Music Box in December 2016. The theater closed on March 12, 2020 , due to the COVID-19 pandemic ; it reopened on December 11, 2021, with performances of Dear Evan Hansen . The theater also hosted

8250-453: The money and asks Lutiebelle to sign a receipt, which exposes their ruse, and a fight ensues. Purlie and Lutiebelle escape. Two days later, Purlie returns to Missy and Gitlow’s shack. Idella is there looking for Charlie, who is missing. Missy thanks her for getting Ol’ Cap’n to drop the charges against Purlie and encourages Purlie to ask Lutiebelle to marry him. He is determined to get his Church back. Gitlow returns bragging that he has secured

8360-453: The orchestra's aisles) has doorways with Corinthian-style piers , above which is an entablature in the Adam style . The north end of the promenade has a stair that rises to the balcony's foyer, as well as a double stair that leads down to a basement lounge. Both stairs have Adam-style railings. The orchestra and its promenade contain plasterwork panels on the walls. A standing rail is placed at

8470-414: The orchestra, 455 at the balcony, and 16 in the boxes. The orchestra seating includes 35 seats in the orchestra pit at the front of the stage. The original color scheme was ivory and dark green. The carpets and curtain were designed in a coral color. The rear (east) end of the orchestra contains a shallow promenade, and the orchestra level is raked . The rear wall of the promenade (corresponding with

8580-486: The others how he sought vengeance on Ol’ Cap’n. The others celebrate his victory until Idella arrives and reveals the truth about how Purlie has secured the money. During a final confrontation with Ol' Cap'n, it is revealed that when Charlie purchased Big Bethel, against his father's orders, he registered the deed in Purlie's name, shocking Ol' Cap'n into dying of a heart attack. Epilogue The play concludes with Purlie at

8690-554: The otherwise financially-successful Music Box Theatre during the Depression. In spite of this, all but three shows had at least 100 performances in the Music Box's first 25 years. The Music Box Theater underwent several changes in operation during the 1940s. Sam Harris died in July 1941, and his ownership stake in the theater went to his widow Kathleen Marin, pursuant to his will. Additionally, independent producers began to lease

8800-421: The partners' Music Box Revue nearly exclusively, presenting its first play, Cradle Snatchers , in 1925. Many of the Music Box's early productions were hits with several hundred performances. There were multiple productions by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman in the 1930s, including Once in a Lifetime and The Man Who Came to Dinner . After Harris died in 1941, Berlin and the Shuberts shared ownership of

8910-412: The plantation owner. Purlie’s dream is to buy back Big Bethel, the community’s church, so that he can preach freedom to the cotton pickers. Purlie shares his plan with his brother Gitlow and sister-in-law Missy, who despite their initial skepticism agree to help. Later that afternoon, in the back office of the village commissary, Idella is tending to Charlie, Ol’ Cap’n Cotchipee’s son, who got a black eye in

9020-470: The play "exhilarating," "uninhibited" and "uproarious," all in the first three paragraphs. Tim Teeman of The Daily Beast wrote, "Ossie Davis' Purlie Victorious (A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch) is both uproarious satire and cultural gut punch—with the biggest clue in its lead character's name and the play's title." Greg Evans of Deadline praised the casting, stating "Starring

9130-473: The productions staged in the Music Box in its first decade, only two flops with less than 100 performances were staged, both of which ran immediately after The Cradle Snatchers closed. The first was Gentle Grafters in October 1926, while the second was Mozart that November. This was followed by the comedy Chicago , which premiered in late 1926 with Francine Larrimore and Charles Bickford , and

9240-467: The productions staged there. Film executive Joseph M. Schenck originally was a partner in the Music Box Theatre with Berlin and Harris, though he transferred his stake to the Shubert brothers not long afterward. For the first three years of its operation, the Music Box exclusively hosted the Music Box Revue . The inaugural edition in 1921 starred Bernard and Berlin. Three subsequent editions of

9350-495: The proscenium is an archway with a single box at the balcony level. The boxes were described in American Architect as having "a very decided decorative charm to the motive of the proscenium treatment". Each box is semicircular and is cantilevered from the wall; they are accessed from stair halls leading from the orchestra. The boxes' archways are supported by six Corinthian columns, three on each side, and are additionally flanked by paired Corinthian pilasters. Within each archway,

9460-596: The pulpit in Big Bethel during a funeral for Ol' Cap'n, offering a unique and heartfelt blessing for unity and freedom for all. The play premiered in 1961 on Broadway, initially at the Cort Theatre , before finishing out its 261-performance run at the Longacre Theatre . The production was nominated for one Tony Award for Godfrey Cambridge in the category Best Featured Actor in a Play . The production

9570-454: The rear of the orchestra. No boxes were installed at orchestra level per Harris and Berlin's request. The balcony level is raked and contains plasterwork panels on the walls. An Adam-style entablature runs above the top of the balcony wall, wrapping around to the tops of the boxes and proscenium. The balcony front curves outward and has vine and flower motifs, as well as medallions depicting female characters. Modern light boxes are in front of

9680-548: The recurring role of fourth-grade teacher Rayshelle Peyton in The Simpsons . She plays Professor Clarissa Dovey in the film adaptation of Soman Chainani 's The School for Good and Evil . Washington will next star in the war drama The Six Triple Eight directed by Tyler Perry , and in the action thriller Shadow Force . She will also star alongside an ensemble cast in Rian Johnson 's third installment of

9790-405: The same year with Judith Ivey and Jason Robards . The next year, the Music Box staged A Small Family Business , which ran for a little over one month. A more successful production was Blood Brothers , opening in 1993 and running 893 performances over the next two years. In addition, a plaque commemorating Irving Berlin was installed at the Music Box in 1994. The musical Swinging on

9900-443: The southwest. The Music Box Theatre was designed by C. Howard Crane in a Palladian -inspired style and was constructed from 1920 to 1921 for Irving Berlin and Sam H. Harris . The interior was decorated by Crane and William Baumgarten, with many Adam style details. The Longacre Engineering and Construction Company built the theater, with M. X. C. Weinberger as consulting engineer. Numerous other contractors were involved in

10010-427: The stage. The ceiling contains Adam-style moldings and friezes, which divide it into sections. There are also air-conditioning vents in the ceiling, and four chandeliers originally hung from it. Above the front of the balcony is a wide circular medallion. The rear of the ceiling contains a cove that curves downward onto the wall, supported by modillions at the entablature of the wall. The Music Box's rear promenade

10120-489: The stress. Act II It is time for Purlie’s plan. Gitlow lets Purlie and Lutiebelle into the back door of the commissary. Lutiebelle is dressed up as Purlie’s deceased Cousin Bee, whom she will pretend to be to win back the family inheritance. Purlie and Lutiebelle rehearse one last time before Ol’ Cap’n arrives. All does not go according to plan, but Purlie jumps in and wins Ol’ Cap’n over with flattery. Ol’ Cap’n agrees to give

10230-438: The theater's development. The Music Box is operated by the Shubert Organization . The facade is made of limestone. It is symmetrically arranged, though the theater is shorter than its width. For the design of the facade, Crane drew from both Palladian and neo-Georgian motifs. The facade's largest feature is a double-height central colonnade at the second and third floors. According to theatrical historian Ken Bloom ,

10340-402: The theater's longest-running production with 1,222 performances. When the Music Box celebrated its 50th anniversary the next year, the theater was still largely successful. Berlin said at the time that he still held part-ownership in the Music Box for sentimental reasons. In 1974, the theater staged its first musical in 25 years: Rainbow Jones , which closed after its only performance. It

10450-469: The theater, and the Music Box largely showed dramas rather than musicals. The theater hosted several plays by William Inge in the 1950s. Though the length of production runs declined in later years, the Music Box has remained in theatrical use since its opening. The Shuberts acquired the Berlin estate's ownership stake in 2007. The Music Box Theatre is on 239 West 45th Street, on the north sidewalk between Eighth Avenue and Broadway , near Times Square in

10560-503: The theater. These included the American Architect and the Architectural Review , which called the theater's design "remarkable" both in design and layout. The New-York Tribune called the facade "singularly successful in its expression of the interior", while Architecture and Building said the "delicacy of domestic architecture" was fitting for the Music Box's design. Among theatrical critics, Jack Lait referred to

10670-492: The two center columns flank mirrored panels, which in turn are topped by broken pediments with urns. The fronts of the boxes contain Adam-style metal railings, originally ornamented in silver-gray. An entablature rises above the box seats, topped by a half-dome with a pastoral mural. These murals depict classical ruins. The half-domes are flanked by spandrels with decorations of eagles spreading their wings. Next to

10780-465: Was also staged in 1924, becoming the second production to be presented at the Music Box. Its producer, Earl Carroll , was briefly jailed in November 1924 after showing "obscene" photos outside the Music Box. The comedy The Cradle Snatchers , with Humphrey Bogart , was the first play to be staged at the Music Box, opening in 1925. With close to 500 performances, it was a hit. More generally, of

10890-571: Was based on "this idea of having [her character] wear such soft, feminine colors in a man's world". In 2014, Washington and Paolo won the Influencer Award at the 2014 Ace Fashion Awards for Olivia Pope's stylish clothes on the show. In 2013, Washington ranked No. 2 in People magazine 's 100 Most Beautiful people and was named Woman of the Year by Glamour magazine. The same year, she ranked No. 20 on Forbes magazine's annual list of

11000-657: Was directed by Howard da Silva , produced by Philip Rose , and costumed by Ann Roth . Martin Luther King Jr. was photographed with the cast after attending a performance. After the New York production closed in May 1962, Davis and Dee took the play on tour, premiering it in Chicago July 9 through August 5, 1962 at the Edgewater Beach Playhouse. A filmed version of the play, titled Gone Are

11110-485: Was engaged to actor David Moscow from October 2004 to March 2007. Washington married former NFL player Nnamdi Asomugha on June 24, 2013, in Hailey, Idaho . They have a daughter and a son. She is also a stepmother to Asomugha's daughter from a previous relationship. On May 19, 2013, she was the commencement speaker for her alma mater , George Washington University . Before giving her commencement address she

11220-482: Was followed the same year by the comparatively more successful Absurd Person Singular . The Music Box staged a revival of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? in 1976, and it hosted a range of Stephen Sondheim songs in the musical Side by Side by Sondheim the next year. The theater's last production of the 1970s was Deathtrap , which opened in 1978. Deathtrap was ultimately transferred four years later and ran 1,793 total performances. The Music Box had

11330-457: Was in her late 20s. Washington got her Screen Actors Guild (SAG) card as a requirement for a commercial that she starred in. Washington made her screen debut in the ABC telefilm Magical Make-Over (1994). She was in the cast of the 1996 PBS sketch comedy -style educational series Standard Deviants , and she appeared in the short "3D" and the feature film Our Song in 2000. She went on to appear in several movies, including Save

11440-448: Was included in Time' s 100 list of most influential people in 2014, and Forbes named her the eighth highest-paid television actress in 2018. Washington gained wide recognition for starring as crisis management expert Olivia Pope in the ABC drama series Scandal (2012–2018). For her role, she was twice nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in

11550-468: Was made of alternating gray and pink marble tiles. The lobby was separated from the auditorium itself by draped partitions, which removed the drafts that typically occurred behind the last row of seats. At the balcony level is a mezzanine. This level contained Berlin's studio, as well as ladies' retiring rooms, telephone rooms, and managers' offices. Berlin's studio was designed like an attic, with exposed ceiling rafters , as well as wainscoted walls and

11660-415: Was nominated for an Emmy at the 65th Primetime Emmy Awards and 66th Primetime Emmy Awards , becoming the first African-American woman to be nominated in the category of Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 18 years. She was also nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series as well as a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in

11770-623: Was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie at the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards , as well as the Critics' Choice Awards ' equivalent the same year. Confirmation was also nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie at the Emmys. That same year, Washington launched Simpson Street, a production company, which has an overall deal with ABC Studios . In 2017, Washington voiced

11880-512: Was part of the commission's wide-ranging effort in 1987 to grant landmark status to Broadway theaters. The New York City Board of Estimate ratified the designations in March 1988. The Shuberts, the Nederlanders , and Jujamcyn collectively sued the LPC in June 1988 to overturn the landmark designations of 22 theaters, including the Music Box, on the merit that the designations severely limited

11990-719: Was presented with an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts. In 2007, Washington and other celebrities joined for the 2007 Lee National Denim Day , supporting the Women's Cancer Programs of the Entertainment Industry Foundation . In September 2012, Washington spoke at the Democratic National Convention in favor of re-electing Barack Obama , with her speech focusing on addressing voter apathy. Washington has also used her celebrity to support voter registration drives. Washington

12100-404: Was revived on Broadway in a production directed by Kenny Leon that stars Leslie Odom Jr. , Kara Young , and Vanessa Bell Calloway . It began previews at the Music Box Theatre on September 7, 2023 and officially opened on September 27 for a limited engagement through January 7, 2024. It was later extended through February 4. A television film was created and aired on May 24, 2024 as part of

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