The Hudson Theatre functioned as a Broadway theatre from 1903 until 1963, and then intermittently as a pornographic theatre and a legitimate theatre until the late 1970s. The last full Broadway production to open there was Mike Downstairs, which ran four performances April 18-20, 1968. It was briefly a disco called the Savoy, but after that failed, the theatre seemed slated for demolition until safeguarded by the New York Landmarks Preservation Commission, which landmarked both its exterior and interior.
The refurbished Hudson Theatre relighted February 8 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony that included Jake Gyllenhaal and Annaleigh Ashford, stars of the Sunday in the Park With George revival that is the first Broadway show at the theatre in nearly half a century.
Flip through the history of the Playbills from the theatre below:
