Lyceum Theatre (Broadway)

This memorable theatre, now owned by the Shubert Organization, was built by impresario Daniel Frohman in 1903 and has been declared a landmark theatre building. Mr. Frohman's stately apartment above the theatre now houses the Shubert Archive. Still visible is the famous peephole from which Frohman could see actors onstage and wave a handkerchief to his actress/wife Margaret Illington if she was overacting.

Recent tenants at the Lyceum have been The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Souvenir, Steel Magnolias, Whoopi, Marc Salem's Mind Games on Broadway, I Am My Own Wife, The Play What I Wrote, Invention of Love and Lonesome West.

This house was also the home of Tony Randall’s National Actors Theatre. Here they presented Night Must Fall, The Sunshine Boys, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Saint Joan, Three Men on a Horse and Timon of Athens.

The 1980's brought a radiant new production of Paul Osborn's "Morning's at Seven," which won three Tony Awards; Jules Feiffer's "Grown Ups;" Athol Fugard's "'Master Harold"...and the boys with "Zakes Mokae" winning a Tony for his performance; Edward Albee's "The Man Who Had Three Arms;" Whoopi Goldberg in a one-woman show; two plays about AIDS: "As Is" and "Safe Sex"; and "Michael Feinstein in Concert."

Highlights of the 1970's included the Gospel musical "Your Arms Too Short to Box with God;" "Borstal Boy," Frank McMahon's adaptation of Brendan Behan's book about his early years in prison, with the play winning a Tony Award and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Foreign Play of the Season; "Cold Storage," a play with Len Cariou and Martin Balsam as patients in a terminal ward; and Constance Cummings giving a Tony Award performance in Arthur Kopit's "Wings," a harrowing study of a woman who suffered a stroke.

From 1965 to 1969 the Lyceum was the home of the Phoenix Theatre and the APA Repertory Company with Ellis Rabb as Artistic Director. During this time the combined companies staged a rich variety of theatre, including stimulating revivals of "You Can't Take It with You," "War and Peace," Helen Hayes in "The Show-Off," "The Cherry Orchard," "The Cocktail Party" and "The Misanthrope."

Two British hits played this theatre in the 1960's: "A Taste of Honey" by Shelagh Delaney starred Angela Lansbury and Joan Plowright (who won a Tony for her performance); and Harold Pinter's eerie "The Caretaker," starring Alan Bates, Robert Shaw and Donald Pleasence. "Nobody Loves an Albatross" with Robert Preston and Constance Ford was about an overpowering TV star, said to be based on Lucille Ball.

The 1950's brought Clifford Odets back to Broadway with "The Country Girl," starring Paul Kelly and Uta Hagen, who won a Tony for her acting; Melvyn Douglas in two fluffy comedies--"Glad Tidings" and "Time Out for Ginger;" Jean Kerr and Eleanor Brooke's comedy, ^King of Hearts~, with Jackie Cooper, Donald Cook and Cloris Leachman; ^Anastasia~ with thrilling performances by Viveca Lindfors and Eugenie Leontovich; "A Hatful of Rain," a powerful drama about a drug addict; Walter Pidgeon in "The Happiest Millionaire;" and John Osborne's explosive "kitchen sink" drama, "Look Back in Anger" about an angry young man.

The Lyceum's biggest hit to this day was Garson Kanin's brilliant "Born Yesterday" with unforgettable performances by Judy Holliday and Paul Douglas. It ran for 1,642 performances.

Theatre Information:
149 West 45th Street
New York, NY 10036
US

Box Office: Telecharge (212) 239-6200/(800) 432-7250

Public Transportation:
SUBWAY: Take the N,Q,R,W or 1,2,3,9 to 42nd Street, walk North on Broadway to 45th Street and walk East on 45th Street to the theatre; Take the B,D,F,V to 42nd Street, walk North on Sixth Avenue to 45th Street and walk West on 45th Street to the theatre.

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