Al Hirschfeld Theater
| Martin Beck Theatre | |
The Al Hirschfeld Theatre, showing the musical The Wedding Singer, 2006.
|
|
| Address | 302 West 45th Street New York City United States |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°45′33″N 73°59′21″W / 40.7592887°N 73.989178°W |
| Owner | Jujamcyn Theaters |
| Type | Broadway |
| Capacity | 1,424 |
| Production | Kinky Boots |
| Construction | |
| Opened | November 11, 1924 |
| Architect |
G. Albert Lansburgh Interior decoration - Albert Herter |
| Website | |
| www |
|
The Al Hirschfeld Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 302 West 45th Street in midtown Manhattan.
Designed by architect G. Albert Lansburgh for vaudeville promoter Martin Beck, the theatre opened as the Martin Beck Theatre with a production of Madame Pompadour on November 11, 1924. It was the only theatre in New York that was owned outright without a mortgage. It was designed to be the most opulent theatre of its time, and has dressing rooms for 200 actors. The theatre has a seating capacity of 1,424 for musicals.
Famous appearances include Basil Rathbone as Romeo with Katharine Cornell as Juliet in December 1934; Burgess Meredith as Mio in "Winterset" in 1935 Atkinson, The Lively Years; Richard Gere in Bent; Frank Langella in Dracula; Elizabeth Taylor in The Little Foxes; Christina Applegate as the title role in Sweet Charity; David Hyde Pierce as Lt. Coffi in the musical Curtains; and Daniel Radcliffe in the latest revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.
On June 21, 2003, it was renamed the Al Hirschfeld Theatre in honor of the caricaturist famous for his drawings of Broadway celebrities, and reopened on November 23, 2003, with a revival of the musical Wonderful Town.
This is one of five theatres owned and operated by Jujamcyn Theatres, who purchased it in 1965 from the Beck family.
In the Fall of 2002, Jujamcyn Theatres announced that the Martin Beck Theatre would be renamed in June 2003 in honor of illustrator Al Hirschfeld, as Hirschfeld approached his 100th birthday. Jujamcyn President Rocco Landesman described the renaming as “an important event for the history and heritage of Broadway.” Landesman stated that “No one working in our world is more deserving than Al Hirschfeld.” Notably, Hirschfeld has become the only visual artist to have a Broadway theater named after him.James H. Binger, Chairman of Jujamcyn, explained that because Hirschfeld “started working in New York only two years after the Martin Beck Theatre was built, it seems wholly appropriate that the building bear his name--they have shared the street during Broadway’s golden age and beyond.” In order to reflect how Hirschfeld’s career spanned the Martin Beck’s years of operation, a gallery was installed in the mezzanine which features 22 reproductions of the artist’s drawings portraying plays and actors who appeared at the theater.
...
Wikipedia