American Airlines Theatre (Broadway)

The American Airlines Theatre, originally the Selwyn, was built by brothers Arch and Edgar Selwyn, celebrated producers of the 1910’s and 1920’s. The Depression ended its years as a distinguished legitimate house, and it became a movie theatre until the late 1990’s, when—as part of the 42nd Street renaissance—the Roundabout Theatre Company, the 30-year-old, not-for-profit troupe that had been operating at the Criterion Center in Times Square, restored the theatre and made it the company’s permanent home. A beautiful new building, complete with rehearsal space, was built in its place, and Roundabout announced it would rechristen the Selwyn the American Airlines Theatre as part of a deal for the patron company to donate $8.5 million over ten years toward the project’s expected $21 million cost.The American Airlines Theatre opened on July 27, 2000, with a revival of Kaufman and Hart’s 1939 The Man Who Came to Dinner, starring Nathan Lane as Sheridan Whiteside, a thinly disguised portrait of the famed critic Alexander Woollcott. Both the comedy and the restored theatre were highly praised.

After the opening production, this theatre offered splendid revivals of such classics as Betrayal, Design For Living, Major Barbara and The Women. These were followed by the highly praised one-man show, An Almost Holy Picture; Arthur Miller’s first Broadway play, The Man Who Had All The Luck; and
a revival of Rodgers and Hart’s The Boys From Syracuse, Tartuffe and A Day in the Death of Joe Egg.

The Selwyn Theatre opened on October 3, 1918, with famed actress Jane Cowl starring in a flop play by her and Jane Murfin called Information Please. Although she redeemed herself in the next play at this theatre, The Crowded Hour, the Selwyn’s first real hit was a World War I musical called Buddies, starring Roland Young and Peggy Wood.

In 1920, the musical Tickle Me opened here and ran for six months, which in those days was considered a hit. In 1921, Somerset Maugham’s The Circle, starring Leslie Carter, John Drew, Estelle Winwood and John Halliday, also proved successful.

After a series of disappointing shows, Helen of Troy, New York, a pleasant musical by George S. Kaufman and Marc Connelly, proved a favorite. It starred two popular stars of that era, Paul Frawley and Queenie Smith, and ran for a healthy 191 performances.

In 1923, a musical called Battling Butler, starring Charles Ruggles, inspired The New York Times to proclaim: “Musical comedies are getting better.” The Selwyn had another winner with the second edition of the famed Charlot’s Revue from London. The sophisticated revue returned with three of its original stars—Beatrice Lillie, Gertrude Lawrence and Jack Buchanan. The show’s hit song was “A Cup of Coffee, A Sandwich and You.”

A fun musical, Castles in the Air, starring Vivienne Segal, J. Harold Murray, Bernard Granville and Gregory Ratoff, opened in 1926 (160 performances). After another series of failures, the Selwyn housed its greatest hit—The Royal Family. The comedy by George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber, a spoof of the Barrymores, is still revived today.

The Selwyn Theatre became the home of brilliant London revues, beginning in 1928 with Noël Coward’s triumphant This Year of Grace, in which he starred with Beatrice Lillie. It featured three classic Coward gems: “A Room with a View,” “Dance, Little Lady” and “World Weary.” Another stylish revue, 1929’s Wake Up and Dream, starred Jack Buchanan, Jessie Matthews and the exotic dancer Tilly Losch, who introduced Cole Porter’s “What Is This Thing Called Love?” The next revue here, Three’s A Crowd, was a classic. It starred Clifton Webb, Fred Allen, Libby Holman, Tamara Geva, Portland Hoffa and Fred MacMurray. It had a brilliant score by Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz and was the recipient of an award from G.E. for Hassard Short’s dazzling lighting.

Theatre Information:
227 West 42nd Street
New York, NY 10036
US

Box Office: Phone Tix: (212) 719-1300
Online at www.roundabouttheatre.org
At the box office at 227 W. 42nd Street

Public Transportation:
SUBWAY: Take the N,Q,R,W or 1,2,3,9 to 42nd Street, walk West on 42nd Street to the theatre; Take the A,C,E to 42nd Street, walk East on 42nd Street to the theatre.

Handicap Access:

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