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Current Broadway Theatres: A to C

Compiled by John Kenrick

(Coyright 2009)

(The images below are thumbnails – click on them to see larger versions.)

Martin Beck program coverAl Hirshfeld

302 West 45th Street
Previous Name: Martin Beck
Built: 1924
Seats: originally 1,214 - now 1,422
Owners/Managers: Martin Beck Family (1924-1966), Jujamcyn Theatres
Architect: G. Albert Alnsburgh
History: Built by and originally named for Martin Beck, onetime owner-manager of vaudeville's Orpheum circuit. It is the only Broadway house with a Byzantine-themed interior.
Noteworthy Musicals: Mme. Pompadour (1924), Milk and Honey (1961), The Grass Harp (1971), Into the Woods (1985), Grand Hotel (1989), Guys and Dolls (Revival - 1992), Sound of Music (Revival - 1998), Kiss Me Kate (Revival 1999), Sweet Smell of Success (2002), Man of La Mancha (Revival - 2002), Wonderful Town (Revival - 2003), The Wedding Singer (2006), Curtains (2007)

Ambassador

215 West 49th Street
Built: 1921
Seats: originally 1,193 - now 1,080
Owners/Managers: The Shubert Organization
Architect: Herbert J. Krapp
History: Built by the Shuberts, the house was given a generic name.
Noteworthy Musicals: The Rose Girl (1921), Blossom Time (1921), The Straw Hat Revue (1929), Eubie (1978), Ain't Misbehavin' (Revival - 1988), Bring in 'Da Noise (1996), Chicago (Revival - Moved 2003)

American Airlines Theatre

229 West 42nd Street
Previous Name: Selwyn
Built: 1918
Seats: originally 1,051 - now 493
Owners/Managers: Arch and Edgar Selwyn (1918-1934), currently The Roundabout Theatre Company
Architect: George Keister
History: Built by producers Arch and Edgar Selwyn as part of a six story office building. A movie grind house from 1934 through the 1990s, it was remodeled in 2000 for use by the Roundabout Theatre Company using funds provided by American Airlines.
Noteworthy Musicals: Three's a Crowd (1931), Boys From Syracuse (Revival - 2002), Big River (Revival - 2003), The Pajama Game (Revival - 2006)

Apollo

- see Ford Center

Belasco

111 West 44th Street
Previous Name: Stuyvesant
Built: 1907
Seats: originally 1,030 - now 1,037
Owners/Managers: David Belasco (1907-1931), Katherine Cornell Productions (1931-1933), Hazel Rice (1934), Group Theatre (1934-1938), The Shubert Organization (1948-present)
Architect: George Keister
History: Built by producer David Belasco, who renamed this theatre for himself in 1910. Belasco maintained offices and a duplex apartment on the upper floors until his death in 1931. Belasco's ornate apartment and offices now sit abandoned on the upper floors, housing the theatre's air conditioning system.
Noteworthy Musicals: Oh! Calcutta! (Moved - 1971), Ain't Misbehavin (Moved - 1981), James Joyce's The Dead (2000), Dracula (2004)

Biltmore

- see Samuel J Friedman
261 West 47th Street
Built: 1925
Seats: originally 903 - 948 (as of 1984)
Owners/Managers: Irwin & Henry Chanin (1925-1933), Federal Theatre Project (1935-1936), Warner Brothers (1936-1952), CBS (1952-1958), David Cogan (1958-1986), Nederlanders & Stewart Lane (1993-??), currently owned by The Manhattan Theatre Club
Architect: Herbert J. Krapp
History: Given a generic name, this intimate house was a favorite for dramas and comedies until the rock musical Hair had its long run here in the late 1960s. Dark since 1987, this theatre was looted and torched by vandals. It has been beautifully restored and now serves as the home of the Manhattan Theatre Club.
Noteworthy Musicals: Hair (1968), Stardust (1987)

Booth

222 West 44th Street
Built: 1913
Seats: originally 704 - now 785
Owners/Managers: Winthrop Ames and Lee Shubert (1913-1932), The Shubert Organization (1932-present)
Architect: Henry B. Herts Office
History: Named for the acclaimed American tragedian Edwin Booth, this intimate oak-paneled treasure was built by producer Winthrop Ames in partnership with the Shuberts. They took over full management after Ames died in 1932. One of Broadway's most intimate houses, the Booth has been home to a few musical productions.
Noteworthy Musicals: Sunday in the Park With George (1984), The Most Happy Fella (Revival-1992), Bea Arthur on Broadway (2002)

Broadhurst TheatreThe Broadhurst Theatre's exterior is grimy, and its metallic marquee is a fairly recent addition, but the interior has been handsomely restored.

Broadhurst

235 West 44th Street
Built: 1917
Seats: originally 1,120 - now 1,190
Owners/Managers: George H. Broadhurst and the Shubert Brothers (1917-1952), The Shubert Organization (1952-present)
Architect: Herbert J. Krapp
History: Built by British-American playwright George Broadhurst in partnership with the Shuberts, this is an intimate house just large enough to profitably house musicals.
Noteworthy Musicals: Ladies First (1918), Hold Everything (1928), Follow the Girls (1946), Lend An Ear (1948), Pal Joey (Revival - 1952), Fiorello! (1959), Sail Away (1962), 110 in The Shade (1963), Half a Sixpence (1965), Cabaret (1966), Grease (1972), Godspell (Moved -1976), Dancin' (1978), Aspects of Love (1990), Kiss of the Spider Woman (1993), Fosse (1999), Into the Woods (Revival-2002), Les Miserables (Revival -2006)

Broadway

1681 Broadway (at West 53rd Street)
Previous name: Colony
Built: 1924
Seats: originally 1,890 - now 1,765
Owners/Managers: B.S. Moss (1924-1939), The Shubert Organization (1939-present)
Architect: Eugene DeRosa
History: Built as a movie palace by B.S. Moss, who initially ran the theatre as a showcase for Universal Pictures and occasional vaudeville bills. Moss converted the house to legitimate stage productions and renamed it the Broadway in 1930 – making it the eighth theatre to use this name. Its size makes it one of the most potrntially profitable houses on Broadway.
Noteworthy Musicals: The New Yorkers (1930), Earl Carroll Vanities (1932), This Is the Army (1942), Carmen Jones (1943), Gypsy (1959), Purlie (1970), Candide (Revival - 1974), Evita (1979), Les Miserables (1987), Miss Saigon (1991), La Boheme (2002), The Color Purple (2005)

Brooks Atkinson

256 West 47th Street
Previous name: Mansfield
Built: 1926
Seats: originally 1,075 - now 1,088
Owners/Managers: Irwin & Henry Chanin (1926-1933), Michael Myerberg (1945-1974), Myerberg & The Nederlanders (1967-1974), The Nederlanders (1974-present)
Architect: Herbert J. Krapp
History: Originally named for the respected American actor Richard Mansfield, this cozy theatre was built by the Chanin Brothers – who lost all their theatres in 1933 due to the Great Depression. Leased out to CBS as a TV studio in the 1950s, the house was restored to Broadway and renamed after esteemed New York Times theatre critic Brooks Atkinson in 1960. With just over a thousand seats, it has housed a handful of musicals.
Noteworthy Musicals: Present Arms (1928), Hello Daddy (1929), Shuffle Along of 1933 (1933), Jane Eyre (2000), Grease (Revival - 2007)

Circle in the Square

1633 Broadway (at 50th Street)
Built: 1972
Seats: 681
Owners/Managers: Circle in the Square
Architect: Allen Sayles
History: Off-Broadway's acclaimed Circle in the Square theatre company moved to this handsome semi-circular auditorium in 1972. Primarily noted for dramatic revivals, the company presented a few musical revivals over the years. The first independently produced musical to play in this house was a revival of Rocky Horror Picture Show (2000).
Noteworthy Musicals: Where's Charley (Revival - 1974), Pal Joey (Revival - 1976), Rocky Horror Picture Show (Revival - 2000), The 25th Annual Putman County Spelling Bee (2005)

Cort

138 West 48th Street
Built: 1912
Seats: originally 999 - now 1,089
Owners/Managers: John Cort (1912-1927), The Shuberts (1927-present)
Architect: Edward B. Corey
History: Built by and named for producer John Cort, this house was home to television's Merv Griffin Show from 1969 to 1972. It's longest running tenant to date was The Magic Show starring Doug Henning.
Noteworthy Musicals: The Princess Pat (1915), Jim Jam Jems (1920) The Magic Show (1974) A Year With Frog and Toad (2003)

Return to: Broadway Theatres: Past & Present