Belasco Theatre
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Belasco Theatre | |
 |
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| Address |
111 West 44th Street
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|---|---|
| City | |
| Country | USA |
| Designation | Broadway |
| Architect | George Keister |
| Owned by | The Shubert Organization |
| Capacity | 1,016 |
| Opened | October 16, 1907 |
| Previous names | Stuyvesant Theatre |
| shubertorganization.com/theatres/belasco.asp | |
The Belasco Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 111 West 44th Street in midtown-Manhattan.
Designed by architect George Keister for impresario David Belasco, the interior featured Tiffany lighting and ceiling panels, rich woodwork and expansive murals, and a ten-room duplex penthouse apartment that Belasco utilized as combination living quarters/office space. Technically it was outfitted with the most advanced stagecraft tools available, including extensive lighting rigs, a hydraulics system, and vast wing and fly space. Meyer R. Bimberg was the actual owner of the Stuyvesant/Belasco. He made his fortune selling political campaign buttons.[1]
It opened as the Stuyvesant Theatre on October 16, 1907 with the musical A Grand Army Man with Antoinette Perry. Three years later Belasco attached his own name to the venue. After his death in 1931, it was leased first by actress Katharine Cornell and then playwright Elmer Rice. The Shuberts bought it in 1949 and leased it to NBC for three years before returning it to legitimate use.
This theater is the subject of an urban legend that David Belasco's ghost haunts the theater every night. Some performers in the shows that played there have even claimed to have spotted him or other ghosts during performances.
[edit] Notable productions
- 1927: Hit the Deck
- 1935: Awake and Sing!
- 1937: Golden Boy
- 1940: Johnny Belinda
- 1948: The Madwoman of Chaillot
- 1953: The Solid Gold Cadillac
- 1955: Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?
- 1955: Fanny
- 1959: A Raisin in the Sun
- 1966: The Subject Was Roses; The Killing of Sister George
- 1968: Don't Drink the Water
- 1971: Oh! Calcutta!
- 1975: The Rocky Horror Show
- 1981: Ain't Misbehavin'
- 2000: James Joyce's The Dead
- 2002: Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune
- 2004: Dracula, the Musical
- 2005: Julius Caesar
- 2006: Awake and Sing!
- 2007: Journey's End
- 2008: Passing Strange
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Belasco Theatre at the Internet Broadway Database
- Belasco Theatre history
- Broadway Theatre Guide
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