Broadhurst Theatre
235 West 44th Street | Times Square | built 1918
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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.
- 1917
George Broadhurst leases the unfinished theater and demands seating that shrinks for farces
Broadhurst, who had written nearly thirty plays, leased the new house while it was still under construction and meant to name it for himself. He asked for orchestra seating that could change from 680 to 550 seats, since farce comedy was hard to carry to the back rows of a big house. A movable barrier and a false platform turned the rear into a promenade.
“…a flexible seating arrangement for the orchestra level to change the number of seats from 680 to 550…”
- 1917
Herbert Krapp's Broadhurst Theatre opens on West 44th Street
The Shubert brothers built the neoclassical Broadhurst Theatre on land leased from the Astor estate, hiring architect Herbert J. Krapp. It opened on September 27, 1917, with George Bernard Shaw's comedy Misalliance and was named for theatrical producer George Broadhurst, who had leased the house before it opened.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1921
Broadhurst stages his Tarzan of the Apes with live lions and monkeys
Despite the theater's name, George Broadhurst did not stage a play of his own there until Crimson Alibi in 1919. In 1921 he offered his own American adaptation of Tarzan of the Apes, with Ronald Adair in the title role. Live lions and monkeys appeared on the stage.
“…in 1921 his American version of Tarzan of the Apes, starring Ronald Adair as Tarzan, with live lions and monkeys on stage…”
- 1926
Broadway, a gangster play by Philip Dunning and George Abbott, becomes the theater's first runaway hit
The Landmarks Commission calls this gangster play the first phenomenal hit at the Broadhurst. It opened in September 1926 and ran for 603 performances, well beyond Beggar on Horseback (224 performances in 1924) and Michael Arlen's The Green Hat with Katharine Cornell (237).
“The first phenomenal hit at the Broadhurst was Broadway by Philip Dunning and George Abbott.”
- 1929
The Shubert Organization takes full control of the Broadhurst
George Broadhurst's lease gave way in 1929, when the Shubert Organization acquired full control of the 1,218-seat theater it had built. The company has continued to operate the house on West 44th Street ever since.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1933
Lee Strasberg stages Men in White for the Group Theatre, and Sidney Kingsley wins a Pulitzer
In 1933 the Group Theatre brought Men in White to the Broadhurst, staged by Lee Strasberg. Sidney Kingsley, who wrote it, took that season's Pulitzer Prize.
“In 1933 Lee Strasberg staged Men in White for the Group Theatre at the Broadhurst.”
- 1935
Sherwood's The Petrified Forest opens in 1935, and Victoria Regina follows on December 26
Robert Sherwood's The Petrified Forest opened at the Broadhurst in 1935, with Leslie Howard and Humphrey Bogart among its cast. Victoria Regina arrived on December 26 of that year, starring Helen Hayes as the queen and Vincent Price as Prince Albert.
“Robert Sherwood's The Petrified Forest with Leslie Howard and Humphrey Bogart opened in 1935.”
- 1956
Auntie Mame gives Rosalind Russell her last Broadway role and runs 639 performances
Auntie Mame opened at the Broadhurst in 1956 and starred Rosalind Russell as Mame, her final Broadway appearance. Greer Garson, Beatrice Lillie and Sylvia Sidney each followed her in the part, and the show ran for 639 performances.
“Auntie Mame opened in 1956 with Rosalind Russell in the title role, her last Broadway appearance.”
- 1966
Cabaret opens at the Broadhurst with Joel Grey as the Master of Ceremonies
Cabaret opened here on November 20, 1966; John Kander wrote the score, Fred Ebb the lyrics and Joe Masteroff the book. Jill Haworth played Sally Bowles and Lotte Lenya played Fraulein Schneider. Walter Kerr of the Times called it stunning. It won eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and played 1,165 performances before closing in 1969.
Source: playbill.com
- 1987
The city designates the Broadhurst's facade and interior landmarks
New York's Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the Broadhurst Theatre's facade a city landmark on November 10, 1987, followed by the auditorium interior on December 15. Theater owners challenged similar Broadway theater designations in court, but the U.S. Supreme Court upheld them in 1992.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1990
Aspects of Love runs 377 performances yet loses its whole $8 million investment
Andrew Lloyd Webber's Aspects of Love began performances at the Broadhurst Theatre in April 1990. It ran for 377 performances but still lost its entire $8 million investment.
“Aspects of Love opened at the Broadhurst in April 1990; despite running for 377 performances, the show lost its entire investment of $8 million.”
Source: Wikipedia
- 2012
Hugh Jackman's Back on Broadway sets the theater's box-office record of $2,057,354
Hugh Jackman's concert show Back on Broadway opened in 2011 and broke the Broadhurst's box-office record several times. As of 2023 the record stood at $2,057,354, taken in during the week that ended January 1, 2012.
“…the current record as of 2023 was set on the week ending January 1, 2012, when the show earned $2,057,354…”
Source: Wikipedia
Further reading
- Broadhurst TheatreWikipedia
- The 1913 Shubert Theatre - 233 West 44th StreetDaytonian in Manhattan
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