The Longacre Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 220 West 48th Street in midtown Manhattan.
History
Designed by architect Henry Beaumont Herts in 1912, the theatre was named for Longacre Square, the original name for Times Square. The French neo-classical building was constructed by impresario Harry Frazee, better remembered as the owner of the Boston Red Sox who, needing money for his theatrical ventures, sold Babe Ruth's contract to the New York Yankees. A curse allegedly lingered on the theatre as a result, and there was a time in which superstitious producers avoided it for fear they would be backing a flop, as noted by William Goldman in his book The Season: A Candid Look at Broadway. Despite the rumor, a large number of performers who have appeared on stage here have taken home a Tony Award for their efforts.
The Longacre's first show was a production of the William Hurlbut-Frances Whitehouse comedy Are You a Crook?, which opened on May 1, 1913. With the exception of its use as a radio and television studio in the mid-1940s to early 1950s, the theatre has operated as a legitimate Broadway venue.
Notable productions
- 1913: Adele
- 1914: A Pair of Sixes
- 1916: Nothing But the Truth
- 1917: Leave It to Jane
- 1919: Adam and Eva
- 1921: Thank You
- 1923: Little Jessie James
- 1925: The Butter and Egg Man
- 1927: The Command to Love
- 1930: Overture
- 1935: Waiting for Lefty
- 1955: The Lark
- 1961: The Rhinoceros
- 1966: Mark Twain Tonight
- 1975: The Ritz
- 1976: The Belle of Amherst
- 1977: The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel
- 1978: Ain't Misbehavin'
- 1980: Children of a Lesser God
- 1985: A Day in the Death of Joe Egg
- 1994: Medea
- 1997: The Young Man From Atlanta
- 2001: Judgment at Nuremberg; A Thousand Clowns
- 2002: Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam
- 2005: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
- 2006: WELL
- 2007: Talk Radio
- 2008: Boeing Boeing
- 2009: Burn the Floor
- 2010: La Cage aux Folles
- 2011: Chinglish
- 2012: Magic/Bird; The Performers.
- 2013: First Date the Musical
- 2014: Of Mice and Men
- 2014: You Can't Take It with You
- 2015: Allegiance
- 2016: A Bronx Tale
Box Office Record
The second Broadway revival of La Cage aux Folles in 2010 achieved the box office record for the Longacre Theatre. The production grossed $687,824.90 over eight performances, for the week ending June 20, 2010.
See also
- Broadway theatre
References
- Parker, John, ed. (1947). Who's Who in the Theatre (10th ed.). London. p. 1184.Â
External links
- Broadway Theatre Guide
- Seating chart
- Longacre Theatre at the Internet Broadway Database
