The 39th Street Theatre was a playhouse in New York City located at the corner of 39th Street and Broadway. Originally called Nazimova's 39th Street Theatre after the actress Alla Nazimova, it was in operation from 1910 to 1925 when it was demolished to make way for an office building. Throughout its existence, it was owned by the Shubert family. Its architect was William Albert Swasey, who had designed or remodelled several other Broadway theatres for the family. [1]
In 1906 the theatrical entrepreneur Lee Shubert had presented Alla Nazimova in matinee performances of three Ibsen plays and was reportedly "bewitched" by the beautiful Russian actress. Hoping to become a major producer of serious drama in New York and to continue promoting Nazimova, he built a new theatre on 39th Street and Broadway which he named Nazimova's 39th Street Theatre. After a two-week delay from the announced date of April 4, 1910, the theatre finally opened on April 18 with Nazimova starring as Rita Allmers in Ibsen's Little Eyolf . While her acting was praised by the critics, the play was not. The New York Times , pronounced it "peculiar" and The Evening Post termed it "dreary, unprofitable, and obnoxious." [2] [3]
Nazimova's business relationship with the theatre and Shubert was short-lived. By February 1911, she had signed with Charles Frohman instead. According to The Morning Telegraph , Shubert had offered her a guaranteed weekly salary of $1,500 and a 50% share of the profits as an inducement to remain with his organization, but to no avail. When Nazimova signed with Frohman, Shubert immediately removed her name from the theatre, and it was known as simply the 39th Street Theatre for the remainder of its existence. [2]
Despite its parting of the ways with Nazimova, the 39th Street Theatre became a popular theatrical landmark. According to The New York Times, it was Diamond Jim Brady's favorite playhouse. Among the plays presented there were The Second Mrs. Tanqueray starring Mrs. Leslie Carter; A. E. W. Mason's Green Stockings. starring Margaret Anglin; and Believe Me, Xantippe starring John Barrymore, Mary Young, and Douglas Fairbanks. One of its longest-running plays was Cosmo Hamilton's Scandal which ran for thirty-nine weeks. The shortest was A Little Bit of Fluff . According to The New York Times, it opened and closed on the same night in August 1916. [4]
In May 1925 the Shubert Organization sold the theatre to A. E. Lefcourt, a real estate developer who was to erect a 20-story building with offices and showrooms on the site. The 39th Street Theatre was demolished in December of that year. During its existence, it had seen over 21,600 performances. [4] [5]
The architect of the 39th Street Theatre was William Albert Swasey, who had designed or remodelled several other Broadway theatres for the Shubert family. The construction work carried out by John McKeefry who had also built Maxine Elliott's Theatre. The theatre's exterior was designed in Italian Renaissance style while the interior decorations and fittings were described as being in Louis XVI style. The interior's color scheme was in old rose and antique gold. The ceiling of the auditorium was illuminated by four gold sunbursts, each containing fifty lights, while the floor and walls of the vestibule were finished in imported marble. [1]
The theatre was small by Broadway standards, seating approximately 675 people on three levels. The plan was to present plays "in an intimate setting." The stage was 26 feet deep with a proscenium opening 80 feet wide by 30 feet tall. There was an elevator to bring playgoers to the balcony and gallery floors. The theatre was also equipped with a sprinkler system and fourteen exits in addition to the main entrance which meant that it could be evacuated in under a minute in case of a fire. Both Lee Shubert and his brother J.J. Shubert had private offices in the building which were finished in antique oak wainscotting. [1]
The Winter Garden Theatre is a Broadway theatre at 1634 Broadway in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Originally designed by architect William Albert Swasey, it opened in 1911. The Winter Garden's current design dates to 1922, when it was completely remodeled by Herbert J. Krapp. Due to the size of its auditorium, stage, and backstage facilities, it is favored for large musical productions. It has 1,600 seats and is operated by The Shubert Organization. The auditorium interior is a New York City landmark.
The Shubert Organization is a theatrical producing organization and a major owner of theatres based in Manhattan, New York City. It was founded by the three Shubert brothers in the late 19th century. They steadily expanded, owning many theaters in New York and across the United States. Since then it has gone through changes of ownership, but it is still a major theater chain.
Alla Nazimova was a Russian-American actress, director, producer and screenwriter.
Henry Miller was an English-born American actor, director, theatrical producer and manager.
Starting in 1896, the Theatrical Syndicate was an organization in the United States that controlled the majority of bookings in the country's leading theatrical attractions. The six-man group was in charge of theatres and bookings. The Syndicate's power would peak in 1907.
Abraham Lincoln Erlanger was an American theatrical producer, director, designer, theater owner, and a leading figure of the Theatrical Syndicate.
The Shubert Theatre is a Broadway theater at 225 West 44th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1913, the theater was designed by Henry Beaumont Herts in the Italian Renaissance style and was built for the Shubert brothers. Lee and J. J. Shubert had named the theater in memory of their brother Sam S. Shubert, who died in an accident several years before the theater's opening. It has 1,502 seats across three levels and is operated by The Shubert Organization. The facade and interior are New York City landmarks.
Charles Bancroft Dillingham was an American theatre manager and producer of over 200 Broadway shows.
The Lyceum Theatre is a Broadway theater at 149 West 45th Street, between Seventh Avenue and Sixth Avenue, in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1903, the Lyceum Theatre is one of the oldest surviving Broadway venues, as well as the oldest continuously operating legitimate theater in New York City. The theater was designed by Herts & Tallant in the Beaux-Arts style and was built for impresario Daniel Frohman. It has 922 seats across three levels and is operated by The Shubert Organization. The facade became a New York City designated landmark in 1974, and the lobby and auditorium interiors were similarly designated in 1987.
The Morosco Theatre was a Broadway theatre near Times Square in New York City from 1917 to 1982. It housed many notable productions and its demolition, along with four adjacent theaters, was controversial.
The Merle Reskin Theatre is a performing arts venue located in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois. Originally named the Blackstone Theatre it was built in 1910. Renamed the Merle Reskin Theatre in 1992, it is now part of DePaul University, and is also used for events and performances of other groups. It serves as the home of the Chicago Playworks for Families and Young Audiences series produced by The Theatre School of DePaul.
Ida Conquest was a leading lady of Broadway in the late 19th century and early 20th century.
The 44th Street Theatre was a Broadway theater at 216 West 44th Street in the Theater District of Manhattan in New York City from 1912 to 1945. It was originally named Weber and Fields' Music Hall when it opened in November 1912 as a resident venue for the comedy duo Weber and Fields, but was renamed to the 44th Street Theatre in December 1913 after their tenure at the theatre ended. It should not be confused with the Weber and Fields' Broadway Music Hall, often referred to as simply Weber and Fields' Music Hall and also known as Weber's Music Hall or Weber's Theatre, which was used by both Weber and Fields or just Weber from 1896 through 1912.
The Casino Theatre was a Broadway theatre located at 1404 Broadway and West 39th Street in New York City. Built in 1882, it was a leading presenter of mostly musicals and operettas until it closed in 1930.
Shubert Alley is a pedestrian alley in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The alley, a privately owned public space, connects 44th and 45th Streets and covers about 6,400 square feet (590 m2). It runs through the middle of a city block, parallel to Eighth Avenue to the west and Broadway to the east. The western half of the alley abuts the Shubert and Booth theaters, while the eastern half is adjacent to One Astor Plaza. Because it is near several major theaters, the alley has been considered the geographical center of Broadway theatre.
The Garrick Theatre was a 910-seat theatre built in 1890 and located on 67 West 35th Street in Manhattan, New York City. Designed by Francis Hatch Kimball, it was commissioned by Edward Harrigan, who also managed the theatre, originally named Harrigan's Theatre, until 1895. Richard Mansfield took over from Harrigan, renaming it the Garrick. Charles Frohman assumed management from 1896 until 1915. The Shuberts bought it in 1916 and leased it to Otto Kahn, who named it Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier, after a theatre in Paris of the same name. Kahn later gave it to the Theatre Guild and it resumed the name Garrick Theatre in 1919. The Shuberts resumed management in 1925 and the theatre closed as a playhouse in 1929. After a short run of burlesque, the building was demolished in 1932.
Central Theatre was a Broadway theatre in New York City built in 1918. It was located at 1567 Broadway, at the southwest corner with 47th Street, and seated approximately 1,100 patrons. The architect was Herbert J. Krapp. The theatre was built by the Shubert family on a site previously occupied by the Mathushek & Son piano factory.
Klaw and Erlanger was an entertainment management and production partnership of Marc Klaw and Abraham Lincoln Erlanger based in New York City from 1888 through 1919. While running their own considerable and multi-faceted theatrical businesses on Broadway, they were key figures in the Theatrical Syndicate, the lucrative booking monopoly for first-class legitimate theaters nationwide.
William Albert Swasey was an American architect who designed domestic and commercial buildings in St. Louis, Missouri. His work includes theaters for the Shubert family in New York City.
The 49th Street Theatre was a Broadway theater at 235 West 49th Street in the Theater District of Manhattan in New York City. The 750-seat neo-Renaissance style theater was designed by the architect Herbert J. Krapp for the Shubert Organization. It opened on December 26, 1921, with a performance of Face Value, a comedy by Laurence Grass. Although it had some popular productions, such as the revue La Chauve-Souris and the Aaron Hoffman play Give and Take, the venue was one of the Shuberts' less successful locations. They lost control of the property during the Great Depression. It continued to operate as a playhouse until April 1938. The final theatrical performance at the venue was a production of Henrik Ibsen's The Wild Duck. The venue was then converted to show movies and reopened as Cinema 49. The cinema was also unsuccessful and closed in 1940; the building was demolished that December.