Uris Theatre | |
Address | 222 West 51st Street New York City, New York United States |
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Coordinates | 40°45′45″N 73°59′06″W / 40.76255°N 73.98510°W |
Owner | Paramount Group |
Operator | Nederlander Organization |
Type | Broadway theatre |
Capacity | 1,933 |
Production | Wicked |
Construction | |
Opened | November 28, 1972 |
Architect | Ralph Alswang |
Website | |
The Gershwin Theatre |
The Gershwin Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 222 West 51st Street in midtown-Manhattan in the Paramount Plaza building. The theatre is named after brothers George Gershwin, a composer, and Ira Gershwin, a lyricist. It has the largest seating capacity of any Broadway theatre, with 1,933 seats.
Designed in an Art Nouveau style by set designer Ralph Alswang, it is situated on the lower levels of a towering office complex built at an estimated cost of $12.5 million on the site of the historical Capitol Theatre. It opened as the Uris Theatre on November 28, 1972 (named for the building developer Uris Buildings Corporation) with the musical Via Galactica starring Raul Julia. It proved to be an inauspicious start for the venue, with the first show to lose a million dollars closing after only seven performances. From 1974-76 it served as a concert hall for limited engagements by a number of legendary pop music and jazz performers.
The American Theatre Hall of Fame is located in the lobby.
During the 37th Tony Awards ceremony held June 5, 1983, the theatre was rechristened to honor the Gershwins.
The Gershwin has been home to the blockbuster musical Wicked since 2003.
Wicked set a box office record for the Gershwin Theatre. The production grossed $3,201,333 over nine performances for the week ending December 29, 2013. This was also the highest one-week box office gross income made by any show in Broadway history, until that time.