Times Square Theater
217 West 42nd Street | also 215 West 42nd Street | Times Square | built 1919
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The city photographed every building for its tax records around 1940 and again in the 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives.
Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.
- 1918
The Selwyn brothers buy the site of the failing Bryant Theatre for the Times Square Theater
The Selwyns, who already ran the Harris and Selwyn theaters, bought two sites east of their new Selwyn Theatre. One was a 105-foot-wide plot on 42nd Street holding George Sturges's unprofitable Bryant Theatre. In July 1918 they leased the eastern site from Sperry and Hutchinson, after it had been excavated, and planned to use the new houses only for their own productions.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1920
The Times Square Theater opens with Edgar Selwyn's play The Mirage, starring Florence Reed
Playbill's record shows the new house opening on September 30, 1920, with The Mirage, which Edgar Selwyn both wrote and directed. Florence Reed played the lead role of Mrs. Irene Moreland, with Florence Nash, Alan Dinehart and Reginald Mason among the cast. The Selwyns produced it themselves, and it closed on March 1, 1921, after 192 performances.
Source: playbill.com
- 1921
Katharine Cornell's hit A Bill of Divorcement moves to the Times Square Theater
Clemence Dane's A Bill of Divorcement opened on Broadway on October 10, 1921, at George M. Cohan's Theatre with Katharine Cornell as Sydney Fairfield. Audiences were slow to arrive at first, but as the play caught on, it transferred to the Times Square Theater on November 7. Its Broadway run ended in March 1922 with 173 performances in all.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1926
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes opens at the Times Square Theatre with June Walker as Lorelei Lee
Anita Loos and John Emerson's play opened on September 28, 1926, staged and produced by Edgar Selwyn. June Walker played Lorelei Lee, Edna Hibbard was Dorothy Shaw, and Frank Morgan appeared as Henry Spoffard. Playbill's listing gives a closing date of March 19, 1927, and a total of 199 performances.
Source: playbill.com
- 1928
Jed Harris presents The Front Page, Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur's newspaper comedy, at the Times Square
Producer Jed Harris leased the Times Square Theater in mid-1928 and staged the first Broadway production of The Front Page, a comedy by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur. It opened in August 1928 and played 276 performances, running into April 1929. It was one of the hits the theater still managed to land while other houses on 42nd Street struggled to book long runs.
“Jed Harris leased the theater in mid-1928 and presented the original Broadway production of Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur's comedy The Front Page... ran for 276 performances through April 1929.”
Source: Wikipedia
- 1930
The Gershwins' Strike Up the Band opens in a rewritten Broadway version
The revised Strike Up the Band, with a book by Morrie Ryskind and music and lyrics by George and Ira Gershwin, opened at the Times Square Theatre on January 14, 1930. It replaced George S. Kaufman's original book, softening the political overtones, adding romance and a happy ending, and turning the war plot into a dream sequence. The show ran 191 performances.
“…opened on Broadway at the Times Square Theatre on January 14, 1930, and closed on June 28, 1930, after a moderately successful run of 191 performances…”
Source: Wikipedia
- 1931
Noel Coward and Gertrude Lawrence open in Private Lives, with Laurence Olivier in a supporting role
Noel Coward directed and starred in his comedy Private Lives, which opened here on January 27, 1931. He played Elyot Chase opposite Gertrude Lawrence as Amanda Prynne, while Jill Esmond was Sybil and Laurence Olivier played Victor Prynne. Playbill records 256 performances, ending on September 12, 1931.
Source: playbill.com
- 1934
The Brandt family leases the Times Square Theater and turns it into a movie house
After the 1932-33 season, the last with live shows, the theater sat dark for a year. In May 1934 the owner leased it to the Brandt family, who ran films continuously. The owner lost the building in foreclosure the next year, and in June 1935 the Times Square and the neighboring Apollo were auctioned to Timap Inc. for $110,000. In 1939 the stage house was converted into a haberdashery.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1998
Livent drops its plan for a theater, restaurant and shops in the Times Square Theater
Three months after agreeing to redevelop the theater, the troubled company Livent dropped the project, which would have included a 500-seat theater, a restaurant and shops. Its chief executive, Roy Furman, said the plan did not deliver sufficient returns. In August the nonprofit New 42nd Street had chosen Livent over a wrestling-themed restaurant proposed by the World Wrestling Federation.
Source: Internet Archive
- 2000
A gondola restaurant fails and the Times Square Theater is left as the last empty frontage on 42nd Street
By late 2000 New 42nd Street had still found no tenant for the Times Square Theater, the only frontage still available on the street. Restaurateur Warner LeRoy had failed to win backing for a restaurant with floating gondolas. The agency's president, Cora Cahan, said that because the theater has no back entrance for scenery, it would probably become commercial space rather than an active stage.
Source: Internet Archive
- 2004
Ecko Unlimited announces plans for a clothing showcase inside the old theater, keeping its proscenium and dome
Playbill reported in July 2004 that the hip-hop clothing company Ecko Unlimited planned a four-level, $25 million showcase for clothing, art, video games and electronics in the Times Square Theatre building. The plan was to preserve key features of the old auditorium, including its 25-foot proscenium arch, domed ceiling and ornamental plasterwork, with move-in expected in early 2006.
Source: playbill.com
- 2018
Stillman announces a $100 million renovation that would add stories to the Times Square Theater
In 2018 Stillman Development International announced, with partner Daishin Securities, a $100 million renovation of the Times Square Theater building. Beyer Blinder Belle was hired to design the work, which called for adding several floors and lifting the facade five feet. The project was supposed to take two years, but by January 2023 the project had stalled for lack of tenant interest.
Source: Wikipedia
Further reading
- Times Square TheaterWikipedia
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