Belasco Theatre (Broadway)

Theatrical genius David Belasco built this historic theatre as the Belasco Stuyvesant in 1907. In 1910 he shortened it to the Belasco Theatre and produced and directed many famed plays, including some of his own authorship.

Now owned by the Shubert Organization, the Belasco’s most recent tenant was a revival of Awake and Sing!, the Clifford Odets’ classic that premiered here in 1935.

The Belasco’s other recent tenants have been The Mystery of Charles Dickens; Follies; James Joyce’s The Dead; Ring Round the Moon; Janet McTeer and Owen Teale (Tony winners) in A Doll’s House; Sacrilege; Ralph Fiennes (Tony Award) in Hamlet; three productions of Tony Randall’s National Actors Theatre (The Crucible, The Little Hotel on the Side and The Master Builder); The Speed of Darkness; The Prince of Central Park; New York Shakespeare Festival Repertory; Alexander H. Cohen’s production of Accidental Death of an Anarchist; Elizabeth Ashley in Hide and Seek; Uta Hagen in Charlotte; Your Arms Too Short to Box with God; and Ain’t Misbehavin’.

During the 1970's "Oh! Calcutta!" moved here from another theatre and ran for over a year. Other 1970's productions included "The Rocky Horror Show" and Colleen Dewhurst in "An Almost Perfect Person."

The 1960's brought Colleen Dewhurst, Lillian Gish, Arthur Hill and Aline MacMahon in "All the Way Home," Tad Mosel's Pulitzer Prize play. Other plays of that era were "Write MThe a Murder"; Sam Levene in "Seidman and Son;" Nicol Williamson in "Inadmissable Evidence;" Beryl Reid in "Killing of Sister George" for which she won a Tony; and Al Pacino in his Broadway debut in "Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie?"

From 1949 until November 1953 this theatre was leased to NBC as a radio playhouse. It returned to legitimacy with a huge hit: George S. Kaufman and Howard Teichman's "The Solid Gold Cadillac", starring the incomparable Josephine Hull. Other 1950's productions included Clifford Odets's "The Flowering Peach;" Jayne Mansfield, Orson Bean, Martin Gabel and Walter Matthau in "Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?;" Noel Coward's return to Broadway in two of his comedies: "Nude with Violin" and "Present Laughter."

During the 1940's John Barrymore made his last B'way appearance here in a flimsy comedy called "My Dear Children." Helen Craig was a hit in "Johnny Belinda;" "Mr. and Mrs. North" was an amusing detective team murder play; "Dark Eyes," starring Eugenie Leontovich, ran for 230 performances; "Trio," starring Richard Widmark, was a play about lesbians and ran into censorship trouble; "Kiss Them for Me" brought Judy Holliday to attention; Arthur Laurents was hailed for his play "Home of the Brave;" Bert Lahr and Jean Parker sparked the revival of "Burlesque;" Gertrude Berg made friends in "Me and Molly;" and Martita Hunt won a Tony as "The Madwoman of Chaillot."

When David Belasco died in 1931, his theatre was leased to Katharine Cornell Productions, Inc. The actress appeared there in "Lucrece" and "Alien Corn". But the 1930's here were noted for Sidney Kingsley's "Dead End" and the famed Group Theatre productions of "Gold Eagle Guy," "Awake and Sing, Golden Boy, Rocket to the Moon " and "The Gentle People."

Theatre Information:
111 West 44th Street
New York, NY 10036
US

Box Office: Tele-charge: (212) 239-6200/(800) 432-7250
Online at www.telecharge.com

Public Transportation:
SUBWAY: Take the N,Q,R,W or 1,2,3,9 to 42nd Street, walk North on Broadway to 44th Street and walk East on 44th Street to the theatre; Take the B,D,F,V to 42nd Street, walk North on Sixth Avenue to 44th Street and walk West on 44th Street to the theatre.

Handicap Access:

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