The Theater at Madison Square Garden

Last updated

The Theater at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden (MSG) - Hulu Theater (48124242906).jpg
The theater in 2019
The Theater at Madison Square Garden
Full nameThe Theater at Madison Square Garden
Former names
  • Felt Forum (1968–89)
  • Paramount Theater (1991–97)
  • The Theater at Madison Square Garden (1997–2007; 2009–18; 2023–present)
  • WaMu Theater (2007–09)
  • Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden (2018–23)
Address4 Pennsylvania Plaza
Location New York City, New York
Coordinates 40°45′02″N73°59′37″W / 40.750630°N 73.993744°W / 40.750630; -73.993744
Owner Madison Square Garden Entertainment
Capacity 5,600
Construction
OpenedFebruary 14, 1968 (1968-02-14)
Renovated1989–91, 2011–13
Architect Charles Luckman Associates
Services engineer Syska Hennessy
General contractor Turner Construction and Del E. Webb Construction Company
Website
Venue Website

The Theater at Madison Square Garden is a theater located in New York City's Madison Square Garden (MSG). It seats between 2,000 and 5,600, and is used for concerts, shows, sports, meetings, and other events. It is located beneath the main Madison Square Garden arena that hosts MSG's larger events.

Contents

History

When the Garden opened in 1968, the theater was known as the Felt Forum, in honor of then-president Irving Mitchell Felt. [1] In the early 1990s, at the behest of then-owner Paramount Communications, the theater was renamed the Paramount Theater after the Paramount Theatre in Times Square had been converted to an office tower. [2] The theater received its next name, The Theater at Madison Square Garden, in the mid-1990s, after Viacom bought Paramount and sold the MSG properties. In 2007, the theater was renamed the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden through a naming rights deal with Washington Mutual. After Washington Mutual's collapse in 2009, the name reverted to The Theater at Madison Square Garden. [3] In 2018, the theater signed a deal with Hulu to become the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden. [4] In 2023, the theater reverted to the name The Theater at Madison Square Garden. [5]

Structure

No seat is more than 177 feet (54 m) from the 30-by-64-foot (9.1 by 19.5 m) stage. Due to its location beneath the main Madison Square Garden arena, the theater has a relatively low 20-foot (6.1 m) ceiling at stage level. [6] All of its seating except for boxes on the two side walls is on one level slanted back from the stage. There is an 8,000-square-foot (740 m2) lobby at the theater.

Events

It was the host for Mike Tyson's fourteenth professional fight against Sammy Scaff on December 6, 1985. [7] The theater occasionally hosts boxing matches on nights when the main arena is unavailable, or fights between promising boxers who management believe will not fill up "the big room". Notable fights include Sergio Martínez vs. Matthew Macklin in 2012, Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. Guillermo Rigondeaux in 2017, and Teófimo López vs. George Kambosos Jr. in 2021.

There were many concerts performed at the Felt Forum: in 1971, the Grateful Dead (along with the New RIders of the Purple Sage) had a run from Dec. 4th-7th. [8] [9] Menudo's February 5, 1983, concert at Madison Square Garden was held at the Felt Forum. It was member Xavier Serbiá's last official concert with the band (he would return to the band in 1983 for another Madison Square Garden show to substitute for an ill Ricky Melendez) and the first for member Ray Reyes. [10] This concert was transmitted live to most Latin American countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Venezuela, and to the United States.

In October 21–22, 1986, Philippine singer Sharon Cuneta performed her New York concert as part of her U.S. concert tour and received a standing ovation. This was also together with the taping of her latest movie Jack and Jill sa Amerika featuring the cities visited during the tour included as a story plot in the movie. The New York concert at the Felt Forum was opposite Elton John's concert at Madison.

In 1987, the comedy concert film Eddie Murphy Raw was filmed at the Forum and released in December of that year.

On December 8, 1991, the draw for the 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification was held at the theater.

WCW held two live events there, one on April 13, 1993, marking the first time an WCW event was ever held in New York City, and again on June 30, 1996. NXT held one event in the theater on November 16, 2016. Lucha Libre AAA and Impact Wrestling hosted Lucha Invades NY on September 15, 2019.

An annual staging of The Wizard of Oz played at the theater from 1997 to 1999. Notable actors in the musical included Roseanne Barr, Eartha Kitt, and Jo Anne Worley as the Wicked Witch of the West; [11] [12] [13] Mickey Rooney as the Wizard, and Ken Page and Lara Teeter as the Cowardly Lion and Scarecrow, respectively. [12]

The theater was home to an annual staging of A Christmas Carol from 1994 to 2003. [14]

In 2001, the national tour of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella starring Jamie-Lynn Sigler in the title role, Eartha Kitt as the Fairy Godmother, and Paolo Montalban as Prince Christopher played at the theater. [15]

In 2003, popular Australian children's group The Wiggles performed a record 12 sold-out shows in a row at the theater, breaking the previous record held by Bruce Springsteen. [16] The current record belongs to Billy Joel, who has sold out more than 76 consecutive shows at the theater. [17]

In 2004, it served as the venue of the Survivor: All-Stars finale. [18]

In 2005 and 2011, Peter Pan starring Cathy Rigby in the title role returned to New York City at the theater. [19] [20]

It was the home of the NFL draft from 1995 until 2004. In 2005, the NFL Draft moved to the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, after MSG management opposed a new stadium for the New York Jets. It also hosted the NBA draft from 2001 to 2010.

From 2004 to 2006 and in 2008 Theatre of MSG hosted the Jammy Award honoring improvisational music. [21]

In 2013, A Christmas Story: The Musical was revived at the theater for a limited engagement. [22]

The first-ever mixed martial arts event held at the theater was World Series of Fighting 34: Gaethje vs. Firmino on December 31, 2016.

The first darts event held at the theater was the 2022 US Darts Masters.

In 2021, the theater hosted two Verzuz hip-hop battles: The Lox against DipSet and Fat Joe against Ja Rule.

The theater hosted its first Esports event in 2022 with the main event group stage and quarterfinals of the League of Legends World Championship. [23]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madison Square Garden</span> Multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City, U.S.

Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth Avenues from 31st to 33rd Street above Pennsylvania Station. It is the fourth venue to bear the name "Madison Square Garden"; the first two, opened in 1879 and 1890 respectively, were located on Madison Square, on East 26th Street and Madison Avenue, with the third Madison Square Garden (1925) farther uptown at Eighth Avenue and 50th Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eartha Kitt</span> American singer (1927–2008)

Eartha Mae Kitt was an American singer and actress known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 recordings of "C'est si bon" and the Christmas novelty song "Santa Baby".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kia Forum</span> Multi-purpose indoor arena in Inglewood, California, U.S.

Kia Forum is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Inglewood, California, United States, adjacent to Los Angeles. Located on West Manchester Boulevard, with Pincay Drive to the south and between Kareem Court and Prairie Ave to the east and west, it is north of SoFi Stadium and the Hollywood Park Casino, and about 3 miles (4.8 km) east of the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

James Lawrence Dolan is an American businessman who currently serves as the executive chairman and chief executive officer of Madison Square Garden Sports and Madison Square Garden Entertainment, and executive chairman of MSG Networks. As the companies' chairman, Dolan oversees all operations within the company and supervises day-to-day operations of its professional sports teams, the New York Knicks and New York Rangers as well as their regional sports networks, which include MSG Network and MSG Plus. Dolan was previously CEO of Cablevision, founded by his father, until its sale in June 2016 to European telecom conglomerate Altice.

West Side Stadium was a proposed football and Olympic stadium to be built on a platform over the rail yards on the West Side of Manhattan in New York City.

The MSG Network (MSG) is an American regional cable and satellite television network, and radio service owned by MSG Entertainment, Inc.—a spin-off of the main Madison Square Garden Company operation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irving Azoff</span> American entertainment executive

Irving Azoff is an American entertainment executive and chairman of Full Stop Management, which represents recording artists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paramount Theatre (Manhattan)</span> Former movie theater in Manhattan, New York

The Paramount Theatre was a 3,664-seat movie palace located at 43rd Street and Broadway on Times Square in New York City. Opened in 1926, it was a showcase theatre and the New York headquarters of Paramount Pictures. Adolph Zukor, founder of Paramount predecessor Famous Players Film Company, maintained an office in the building until his death in 1976. The Paramount Theatre eventually became a popular live performance venue. The theater was closed in 1964 and its space converted to office and retail use. The tower which housed it, known as the Paramount Building at 1501 Broadway, is in commercial use as an office building and is still home to Paramount Pictures offices.

Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. is an American entertainment holding company based in New York City. The company was established in 2020 when The Madison Square Garden Company spun off its non-sports assets as an independent, publicly traded company.

Madison Square Garden Sports Corp. is an American sports holding company based in New York City.

<i>The Wizard of Oz</i> (1987 musical)

The Wizard of Oz is a musical with a book by John Kane, music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by E. Y. Harburg. It has additional background music by Herbert Stothart. It is based on the 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum and the 1939 film version written by Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madison Square Garden (1925)</span> Former arena in Manhattan, New York

Madison Square Garden was an indoor arena in New York City, the third bearing that name. Built in 1925 and closed in 1968, it was located on the west side of Eighth Avenue between 49th and 50th streets in Manhattan, on the site of the city's trolley-car barns. It was the first Garden that was not located near Madison Square. MSG III was the home of the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League and the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association, and also hosted numerous boxing matches, the Millrose Games, the National Invitation Tournament, concerts, and other events. In 1968 it was demolished and its role and name passed to the fourth Madison Square Garden, which stands at the site of the original Penn Station. One Worldwide Plaza was built on the arena's former 50th Street location.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Joel in Concert</span> Ongoing international concert tour

Billy Joel in Concert is a current concert tour by the American singer-songwriter Billy Joel. After several concerts beforehand, in the fall of 2013, the concert tour began in Sunrise, Florida, and is ongoing, scheduled to continue into July 25, 2024, in New York City, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dead & Company 2015 Tour</span> 2015 concert tour by Dead & Company

The Dead & Company 2015 Tour was a tour by the band Dead & Company that took place between October and December 2015. It was the band's debut tour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Intuit Dome</span> Indoor arena under construction in Inglewood, California, US

Intuit Dome is an arena under construction in Inglewood, California, United States. Located south of SoFi Stadium, it will be the home of the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), moving from the Crypto.com Arena.

Richard H. Evans is an American sports and entertainment executive.

In 1977 Madison Square Garden (MSG) announced Gold Ticket Awards would be given to performers who had brought in more than 100,000 unit ticket sales to the venue. Since the arena's seating capacity is about 20,000, this would require a minimum of five sold-out shows. To publicize the announcement, the first Gold Ticket Award was given to WNEW-FM, in recognition of the station's tenth anniversary, during intermission at the October 17, 1977 Emerson, Lake & Palmer concert at the venue. It was also announced that performers who had already hit the 100,000-plus mark would receive the award at future dates. Artists in that group included Chicago, John Denver, Peter Frampton, the Rolling Stones, The Jackson 5, Elton John, Led Zeppelin, Sly Stone, Jethro Tull, The Who, and Yes. Typically, artists received their awards during their appearances at Madison Square Garden. In a 2014 interview, Graeme Edge, drummer for the Moody Blues, said his gold ticket from Madison Square Garden was his "most interesting piece of memorabilia" from his career. He explained that what made it interesting is that the ticket can be used to attend any event at the Garden. He has never used it for that, mainly because he doesn't live close to the venue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucha Invades NY</span> 2019 Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide event

Lucha Invades NY was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced and scripted by the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA), in partnership with Impact Wrestling. The event took place on September 15, 2019, at Madison Square Garden's Hulu Theater in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano</span> 2022 boxing match

Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano, billed as For History, was a women's lightweight professional boxing match contested between the undisputed world champion Katie Taylor and seven-division world champion Amanda Serrano. The bout was held on April 30, 2022, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, with Taylor's undisputed lightweight titles on the line. It was the first women's boxing match to headline Madison Square Garden, and was described as the 'biggest women's fight of all time'. Taylor defeated Serrano by split decision.

References

  1. ↑ Blair; William G. (January 27, 1989). "Garden to Close The Felt Forum For Two Years". The New York Times . Retrieved July 18, 2014.
  2. ↑ Holden, Stephen (September 11, 1991). "New Paramount Theater to Give Radio City a Run for Its Music". The New York Times. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
  3. ↑ Fraser, Tim (September 30, 2008). "WaMu Theaters name likely to change due to financial crisis". ticketnews.com. Archived from the original on January 10, 2009. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  4. ↑ "The Theater at Madison Square Garden Is Now the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden". MSG. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  5. ↑ "The Theater at Madison Square Garden | Unforgettable Starts Here".
  6. ↑ "Wintuk created exclusively for WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden" (PDF) (Press release). Cirque Du Soleil. November 7, 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 27, 2009.
  7. ↑ Anderson, Dave (July 8, 1993). "Sports of The Times; The Garden Throws Its Last Punch". The New York Times . Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  8. ↑ Ashes, Light Into (December 3, 2020). "Grateful Dead Sources: December 5, 1971: Felt Forum, NYC". Grateful Dead Sources. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  9. ↑ Grateful Dead (December 5, 1971), Grateful Dead Live at Felt Forum, Madison Square Garden on 1971-12-05 , retrieved November 8, 2023
  10. ↑ Mendoza, Victor Sangama (December 28, 2010). MENUDO APERTURA AL CONCIERTO EN EL MADISON SQUARE GARDEN.wmv (YouTube). Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  11. ↑ Marks, Peter (May 16, 1997). "Pushing the Speed Limit On the Yellow-Brick Road". The New York Times.
  12. 1 2 Viagas, Robert; Lefkowitz, David (May 6, 1998). "Mickey Rooney/Eartha Kitt Oz Opens in NY, May 6". Playbill.
  13. ↑ Jones, Kenneth; Ehren, Christine (May 5, 1999). "Worley & Rooney Bring Oz Back to MSG, May 6-16". Playbill.
  14. ↑ Hernandez, Ernio (November 28, 2003). "Ghosts Lead Scrooge in A Christmas Carol for Final MSG Staging, Nov. 28-Dec. 27". Playbill. Archived from the original on April 26, 2021. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  15. ↑ Jones, Kenneth (May 3, 2001). "Tour of R&H's Cinderella, With Sigler, Kitt and Quinton, Lands in NYC May 3–13". Playbill. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
  16. ↑ Johnston, Tim (October 30, 2006). "Fans left feeling blue by yellow Wiggle's retirement". The New York Times . Retrieved December 1, 2022.
  17. ↑ Magnotta, Andrew (January 2, 2020). "Billy Joel Adds 76th Consecutive Madison Square Garden Concert". q1043. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
  18. ↑ Staff, Reality TV World (March 9, 2004). "'Survivor: All-Stars' finale to air live from Madison Square Garden on Sunday May 9". Reality TV World. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  19. ↑ Jones, Kenneth (July 29, 2005). "Rigby's Peter Pan Will Land at NYC's Theater at Madison Square Garden Nov. 30-Dec. 30". Playbill. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
  20. ↑ Jones, Kenneth (May 10, 2011). "Cathy Rigby's Peter Pan Will Fly Into Theater at Madison Square Garden for the Holidays". Playbill. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
  21. ↑ Greenhaus, Mike; Ray, Randy (May 8, 2008). "Trey, Mike, Page and Fish Appear Together at the Jammys". Jambands.com.
  22. ↑ Genzlinger, Neil (December 15, 2013). "Boyhood Longing (and Lobbying) for a BB Gun". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  23. ↑ "League of Legends Worlds 2022 Dates and Seeding". League of Legends eSports. Riot Games. July 21, 2022. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
Preceded by Venues of the
NFL Draft
1995–2004 		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.