Broadway Theatre (Broadway)

The Broadway Theatre at Broadway and Fifty-third Street is one of the few legitimate theatres that was built as a movie house. B.S. Moss, a mogul who operated a chain of movie houses that also featured vaudeville, built this theatre in 1924. Designed by architect Eugene DeRosa, the house had one of the largest seating capacities (1,765) of any theatre on Broadway, thus making it ideal, in later years, for the staging and performing of musical comedies.

When this movie/vaudeville palace opened on Christmas Eve, 1924, it was called B.F. Moss's Colony Theatre. By 1930 Moss realized that the talkies were killing vaudeville and he converted his house to a legitimate theatre called the Broadway. At this time, he placed an ad in PLAYBILL in which he stated that his new playhouse "embodies an ideal not only for the theatrical profession, but equally for the public it serves. This ideal combines the magnitude, luxury and courtesy of the theatre with the comforts and charm of the drawing room. Every modern device for the production of greater entertainment has been incorporated into the physical perfection of the New Broadway. This insures not only more pretentious productions, but a price scale that is within the reach of every man's pocketbook. It is the aim of the management to make this theatre the last word in theatrical entertainment--the brightest spot on Broadway."

After that credo, Moss had to come up with something glittering for his first legitimate show. He chose "The New Yorkers," a very sophisticated "sociological" musical by Cole Porter and Herbert Fields in which a Park Avenue woman (played by the true blue-blood Hope Williams) dreams that she's in love with a bootlegger. The show opened on December 8, 1930, and the critics liked it, especially the outlandish clowning of Jimmy Durante. The gold-plated cast also included Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanians, Ann Pennington, Frances Williams, Charles King, and Rags Ragland, who sang a Porter song called "I Happen to Like New York" that Bobby Short popularized years later. Another song from this show, the sensuous "Love for Sale," was banned on the radio as obscene. Despite Moss's claim that his price scale would suit every man's pocketbook, he charged a $5.50 top, which was quite high in 1930. He soon had to lower his prices, but the depression was on, and after twenty weeks "The New Yorkers" closed at a financial loss.

The Broadway's next show was a new edition of the "Earl Carroll Vanities" (1932), with the upcoming comic Milton Berle, deadpan comedienne Helen Broderick and the beautiful ballerina Harriet Hoctor. An outstanding feature of this revue were the spectacular neon effects by a young genius named Vincente Minnelli, plus a hit tune--"I've Got a Right to Sing the Blues," by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler--but times were bad and the show ran for only eleven weeks (1932).

After a dud called "The O'Flynn" in 1934, the Broadway went back to showing talkies. Then, in 1940, it went legit again and began a policy that it was to pursue on and off during the rest of its history. It became the last stop for big, hit Broadway musicals that were nearing the end of their runs. They would then move to the huge Broadway Theatre and offer seats at lower prices until their runs came to an end. This began with the Rodgers and Hart musical "Too Many Girls," which moved here from the Imperial in 1940.

A great theatrical event occurred at the Broadway on July 4, 1942. America was at war, and Irving Berlin, who had written a famed World War I soldier show called Yip Yip Yaphank, now came up with another. It was "This Is the Army," and its opening night at the Broadway was one of the greatest in the history of the theatre. Singer Kate Smith, who had immortalized Berlin's "God Bless America, " paid $10,000 for two seats. All proceeds from the show went to Army Emergency Relief. Berlin himself appeared in the revue, repeating his world-famous number ''Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning," from his earlier soldier show. The cast of "This Is the Army" was composed of professional actors who were in the armed services and their wives. Many of these performers later became famous on stage and screen. Berlin's score had such standout numbers as "I Left My Heart at the Stage Door Canteen," "I'm Getting Tired So l Can Sleep, " and the rousing title tune.

Later in 1942, the hit comedy "My Sister Eileen" moved in from the Biltmore; and in 1943, Gertrude Lawrence returned from a tour in her historical musical Lady in the Dark, and played for three months at the Broadway in this Moss Hart/Kurt Weill/Ira Gershwin classic. This was followed by a revival of "The Student Prince" and the San Carlo Opera Company in repertory.

On December 2, 1943, Billy Rose brought his production of "Carmen Jones" to this theatre and it flipped the critics. Oscar Hammerstein II, who was back on top with " Oklahoma!," conceived the off-beat notion of doing an all-black "Carmen" set in a parachute factory in America's South during World War II. The experiment worked and the jazz opera ran for 502 performances. The policy of moving hit shows to the Broadway continued with Mike Todd's "Up in Central Park," which moved from the Century Theatre in 1945 and stayed for nine months. The operetta "Song of Norway" moved from the Imperial in 1946, and the propaganda play "A Flag Is Born" transferred from the Music Box.

Late in 1946 Duke Ellington's version of "The Beggar's Opera," which he called "Beggar's Holiday," opened, with book and lyrics by John Latouche. It starred Alfred Drake and featured Avon Long and Zero Mostel (who got panned); it was not a success. The year 1948 brought a revival of "The Cradle Will Rock," also starring Alfred Drake, which moved from the Mansfield. Leonard Bernstein appeared in this as a clerk. The Habimah Players from Palestine presented a repertory of "The Golem," " The Dybbuk," "Oedipus Rex," and other plays in 1948.

In the summer of 1949 concert impresario Sol Hurok brought a dancing/singing show from Madrid called "Cabalgata" for a three-month engagement.

Olsen and Johnson of Hellzapoppin and other zany revues tried a new one out here called "Pardon Our French" in 1950, but even with French beauty Denise Darcel in the show it only ran for 100 performances. "Where's Charley?," the Ray Bolger smash from the St. James Theatre, ended its run here; then a revival of Marc Connelly's Pulitzer Prize play "The Green Pastures" arrived in 1951, but could only last for 44 performances. Mae West wiggled in with a revival of her play "Diamond Lil" (1951), which didn't fare too well, nor did revivals of the Gertrude Stein/Virgil Thompson opera "Four Saints in Three Acts" (1952) and the black revue "Shuffle Along" (1952). The Pulitzer Prize musical "South Pacific," from the Majestic ended its run here, chalking up 1,925 performances.

Les Ballets de Paris and Spanish dancer Jose Greco played the Broadway in 1954, and there was a premiere engagement of Gian-Carlo Menotti's opera "The Saint of Bleeker Street," a powerful religious work that ran for 92 performances. More dance companies paid visits--Katherine Dunham, Azuma Kabuki Dancers and Musicians--before Sammy Davis, Jr., and Sr. opened in the popular musical "Mr. Wonderful" in 1956. With comic Jack Carter, Chita Rivera, and Pat Marshall in the cast, the musical recorded 383 performances.

Mel Brooks and Joe Darion made a musical of Don Marquis's archy and mehitabel, called "Shinbone Alley," but Eartha Kitt, Eddie Bracken, and others could not turn it into gold. The "Most Happy Fella" dropped in to end its long run from the Imperial and stayed for three months. A new musical, "The Body Beautiful," with a score by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick, went nowhere, and closed to make room for Les Ballets de Paris, the Beryozka Russian Dance Company, and the Old Vic imported by Sol Hurok, "doing Henry V," "Twelfth Night," and "Hamlet."

In May 1959 one of the Broadway Theatre's milestones arrived. It was Ethel Merman in "Gypsy" and it offered the great singer her most memorable part--Rose, the incredibly pushy mother of Gypsy Rose Lee and June Havoc. With a book by Arthur Laurents, soaring score by Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim, choreography and direction by Jerome Robbins, this tough show about show business has become a classic of the American musical theatre. Merman's 11:00 o'clock spot--"Rose's Turn"--was electrifying, as was her belting of "Everything's Comin' Up Roses." The Broadway Theatre was extensively renovated for this engagement and the house had one of its most impressive bookings.

In 1963 Tovarich was notable for offering Vivien Leigh in her musical comedy debut with Jean Pierre Aumont as her costar. Ms. Leigh won a Tony for her delightful performance and the show ran for 264 performances. Noel Coward's "The Girl Who Came to Supper" (1963) was a musical that was almost as boring as the play from which it was adapted ("The Sleeping Prince"). It starred Florence Henderson and Jose Ferrer, but it was music hall singer Tessie O'Shea who woke up the audience and was awarded with a Tony for her efforts.

The Obratsov Puppets, the Folies-Bergere, and dancer Zizi were booked in the 1960s, and Alexander Cohen opened his lavish musical "Baker Street" in 1965 with Fritz Weaver as Sherlock Holmes, Peter Sallis as Dr. Watson, Martin Gabel as the nefarious Professor Moriarty, and Inga Swenson as the love interest. Hal Prince directed the show, which had a rare four-color PLAYBILL cover and ran for nine months.

"The Devils," a dramatization of Aldous Huxley's nightmarish book about diabolism in seventeenth-century France, scared theatregoers away from the box office in 1966, although it starred Jason Robards, Jr., and Anne Bancroft. A musical version of the famed novel "How Green Was My Valley," retitled "A Time for Singing," was also unsuccessful that year. The Lincoln Center revival of Irving Berlin's "Annie Get Your Gun," with its original star, Ethel Merman, and a new Berlin show-stopper, "Old Fashioned Wedding," was so popular that it moved here in 1966, to be followed by the Winter Garden hit "Funny Girl," which ended its long run here.

After the Harkness Ballet played an engagement, a new musical version of the hit comedy "The Happy Time" (1968) opened and offered a Tony Award winning performance by Robert Goulet. It was brilliantly directed by Gower Champion and attracted much publicity because of an incident that occurred on opening night. Clive Barnes, the critic for the New York Times, was delayed on a plane, and the first-night curtain was held until he arrived. His critical colleagues were highly critical about this excessive favoritism.

"Cabaret" and "Mame" moved in from other theatres to finish their long runs (1968-69), and a new black musical, "Purlie," based on the hit play "Purlie Victorious," opened in 1970 and ran for 690 performances. Cleavon Little and Melba Moore won Tony Awards for their engaging performances. In 1972 "Fiddler on the Roof," the multi-award-winning musical, came here to end its run, and on the evening of June 17, 1972, it became the longest-running musical in Broadway history up to that time (3,225 performances). By the time it ended its run, it had reached 3,242 performances.

The creators of "Hair," the enormously popular rock (and nude) musical, opened their newest, "Dude" (1972), which required that the Broadway Theatre be drastically renovated, with tons and tons of dirt (to simulate the earth) brought in, and bleachers constructed to replace theatre seats. It was all for naught. The critics buried this disaster and the Broadway had to be restored to normalcy.

In 1974 "Candide," Leonard Bernstein's musical version of Voltaire's classic which had flopped on Broadway in 1956, came to the Broadway in a revised version. With additional lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a new book by Hugh Wheeler, it was tried out first at the Chelsea Theatre Center of Brooklyn, with dynamic, arena-style staging by Harold Prince. It was so successful that it was transferred to the Broadway Theatre, where it triumphed for almost two years. The house was renovated into a labyrinth, with the audience seated on many levels and the action occurring all over the theatre. Mr. Prince won a Tony Award for his galvanic staging.

An all-black revival of "Guys and Dolls," with new orchestrations, proved popular in 1976-77. This was followed by another hit black musical, "The Wiz," which transferred here from the Majestic and stayed for over a year and a half. A new musical, "Sarava," which moved from the Mark Hellinger, played for four months in early 1979 and was followed by the longest-running show in the Broadway's history--the phenomenal "Evita," by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, with revolutionary staging by Harold Prince. It won seven Tony Awards.

After Evita ended its long run, a new production of the musical "Zorba" moved in, starring Anthony Quinn. Lila Kedrova, a featured actress in the show, won a Tony Award for her performance. In 1984, Yul Brynner made his last Broadway appearance in a revival of "The King and I," which had honored him with a Tony Award in 1952. On this occasion, he was awarded a Special Tony. Another 1984 musical did not fare as well at this theatre. It was a new version of the old Ziegfeld show, "The Three Musketeers" (with a revised book by Mark Bramble). It only lasted 9 performances. Also ill-fated was "Big Deal" in 1986, which was Bob Fosse's last Broadway show. He wrote the book, directed and chore-ographed the musical, which was based on the film "Big Deal in Madonna Street." The score was composed of hit songs of the past by a battery of composer/lyricists. Although Fosse wan a Tony Award for his choreography, the musical only danced for 62 performances.

In 1987, a blockbuster from London, "Les Miserables," opened and won eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical of the season. Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg the French team who wrote the book for this musical version of the Dumas' classic and the score (with Herbert Kretzmer), also provided the next megahit at this theatre: "Miss Saigon" (with co-lyricist Richard Maltby, Jr.). It opened in April 1991 (Les Miserables moved to the Imperial Theatre and continued to flourish) and it won Tony Awards for its leading actor (Jonathan Pryce), its leading actress (Lea Salonga) and its featured actor (Hinton Battle).

The Broadway Theatre's most recent tenants have been Bombay Dreams; Sexaholix; La Bohème; and Blast!.

When B.S. Moss built this theatre in 1925, he had no idea that its large capacity would ensure its durability through the years. Today, when new theatres are designed, they are geared toward musical comedy proportions, with seating capacities over the 1,500 mark. The Broadway, with 1,765 seats, is still one of the largest legitimate houses in Manhattan, and it has thrived on booking new musicals, musicals from other theatres, dance companies, and other spectacle-type shows. For a brief time in the 1950s it showed Cinerama films, but since then it has adhered to legitimate show bookings. It is currently owned by the Shubert Organization, which has kept it in perfect condition.

Theatre Information:
1681 Broadway
New York, NY 10019
US

Box Office: Tele-charge: (212) 239-6200
Outside NY: (800) BROADWAY

Group Sales: Group Sales: (212) 541-8457

Public Transportation:
SUBWAY: Take the N,R,W to 49th Street, walk north on Broadway to the theatre.

Handicap Access:
ACCESS INTO THEATRE: Theatre is not completely wheelchair accessible. There are no steps into theatre from the sidewalk. Please be advised that where there are steps either into or within the theatre, we are unable to provide assistance. ORCHESTRA LOCATION: Seating is accessible to all parts of the Orchestra without steps. There are no steps to the designated wheelchair seating location. MEZZANINE LOCATION: Located on the 2nd Level, up 2 flights of stairs (31 steps). 11 steps/landing - 9 steps/landing (with restrooms) - 3 steps/landing - 8 steps. Please Note: On the Mezzanine level, there are approximately 2 steps up/down per row. Entrance to Mezzanine is behind Front Mezzanine row F, and in front of row A of Rear Mezzanine. RESTROOM: Wheelchair accessible unisex restroom located on Lobby Level. Additional restrooms located down 1 flight of stairs (23 steps) to the Lower Lounge ) and up 1 1/2 flights of stairs (20 steps).

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