Industry NewsGo Behind the Curtain of the St. James Theatre With Jennifer Ashley Tepper March 30The Untold Stories of Broadway author offers a virtual tour of the home to Frozen, Hello, Dolly!, and Gypsy.
From landmark musicals like Oklahoma!, Hello, Dolly!, and The Producers to ghost stories and hilarious backstage legends, Tepper takes audiences through the history of this storied Broadway venue. What ushers who worked at the St. James later became famous? How have 44th Street neighbors like Sardi's and Angus McIndoe become fascinating parts of the theatre's history?
A scene from the 1943 Broadway production of Oklahoma!Photo by Imagem/Rodgers & Hammerstein
Dress Circle Publishing recently released Tepper's The Untold Stories of Broadway, Volume 4, the latest in the series by the acclaimed historian and producer. The books tell the stories of all of the theaters on Broadway. The newest edition includes the beloved houses the Imperial, Jacobs, Studio 54, Minskoff, Friedman, and Golden Theatres, as well as the five Broadway theatres that were destroyed in 1982, changing the course of New York City history.
Tepper is also producer of the musicals Be More Chill, Broadway Bounty Hunter, and Love In Hate Nation, recent projects that are part of a decade-long collaboration with the group known as Joe Iconis & Family. She is the creative and programming director at Feinstein's/54 Below, where she has curated or produced over 3000 shows. On Broadway, Tepper has worked on [title of show], The Performers, Godspell, Macbeth, and The Parisian Woman. She is the conceiver and director of The Jonathan Larson Project, historian consultant on the upcomingtick, tick… BOOM! movie.
Inside the Theatre, the series that documents Broadway’s historic playhouses, continues with the St. James.
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St. James Theatre auditorium
Built in 1927, The St. James Theatre originally opened as Erlanger’s Theatre, named after Broadway booking Abraham Erlanger who built it.
According to The New York Times, it cost $1.5 million to build, featuring a Georgian interior design, "the color scheme coral and antique gold.”
With an ample capacity of 1,600 seats, Erlanger’s Theatre was aimed primarily at the production of musicals and when it opened on September 26, 1927, the opening attraction was George M. Cohan’s musical The Merry Malones.
Marc J. Franklin
From May 1931 until March 1932, the theatre was taken over by the Civic Light Opera Company, which presented a successful repertory of Gilbert and Sullivan operettas and other musical entertainments.
St. James Theatre auditorium
The dark period followed, during which it was decided to rename the theatre the St. James, inspired by the St. James Theatre in London.
The theatre reopened on December 7, 1932 with a production of Walk A Little Faster, starring London’s favorite revue comedienne, Beatrice Lillie.
The Broadway alum's golden vocals brought Old Deuteronomy from Cats and the Lion from The Wiz to life, along with Oogie Boogie in The Nightmare Before Christmas.
When the play premiered in London in 1912, it was considered controversial, but was praised for its depiction of two young people seeking pleasure before marriage.
Surrounded by period-accurate, 19th-century holiday decorations lit via candlelight, the 70-minute production is based on Dickens' own script of the classic.
Audra McDonald, Julian Ovenden, Marisha Wallace, and Patrick Wilson are among the 2023 concert's starry line-up celebrating the Oklahoma! and South Pacific creators.
The 2021 West End production was filmed with four different casts, including Omari Douglas, Russell Tovey, Sheila Atim, Zoë Wanamaker, Chris O'Dowd, and more.
Audra McDonald, Julian Ovenden, Marisha Wallace, and Patrick Wilson are among the 2023 concert's starry line-up celebrating the Oklahoma! and South Pacific creators.
Celebrating the iconic musical theatre writing duo's 80th anniversary, My Favorite Things is screening in U.K. movie theatres and will broadcast in the U.S. on PBS.
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