Winter Garden Theatre

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Winter Garden Theatre is a Broadway theatre. It is located at 1634 Broadway between 50th and 51st Street in New York City. Owned by the Shubert family, the theatre was built on the site of the second American Horse Exchange in 1910-11. Instead of demolishing the Exchange, the Shuberts hired architect William Albert Swasey to convert the building for use as a theatre. The venue was completely remodeled and renovated in 1922 by Herbert J. Krapp. The large stage is significantly wider than most Broadway theaters, and the proscenium arch is relatively low, leading some to call the theater an example of "live cinemascope." It is uniquely situated on its lot; the auditorium is on 7th avenue, the rear wall of the stage is on 50th street, and the main entrance and marquee is on Broadway, connected to the auditorium via a long hallway.

Winter Garden Theatre, February 2003

The Winter Garden opened on March 10, 1911 with an early Jerome Kern musical, La Belle Paree. It is probably best known as the home to one of Broadway's longest-running musicals, Cats, which opened on October 7, 1981 and closed after 7,485 performances on September 10, 2000.

The Winter Garden also housed the Ziegfeld Follies of 1934, 1936, 1943, and 1957, and has been home to some of Broadway's greatest musicals, including Jerry Herman's Mame, Jule Styne's Gypsy and Funny Girl, Stephen Sondheim's Pacific Overtures and Follies, Leonard Bernstein's Wonderful Town and West Side Story, and Mary Rodgers's Once Upon a Mattress, as well as one of its biggest flops, the short-lived Georgy.

The theatre was home to Cats for many years until that musical finally ended its run on Broadway theatre. Since 2001, it has been the home of the musical Mamma Mia! which is based on songs by ABBA.

In 2002, the Winter Garden Theatre was renamed the "Cadillac Winter Garden Theatre" under an agreement between the Shubert Organization, which owns the theater, and General Motors. As of January 1, 2007, General Motors' sponsorship of the Shubert Organization ended, thus returning the name of the theatre to its original title, the Winter Garden Theatre.

[edit] Other theaters with the name

At least three other Broadway theatres at other locations had previously borne the name Winter Garden Theatre:

Tripler Hall at 624 Broadway was built in 1850 and immediately renamed Jenny Lind Hall. It became Metropolitan Hall in 1851, Laura Keene's Variety House in 1854, Burton's New Theatre in 1856, and the Winter Garden Theatre in 1859. Edwin Booth appeared there in several Shakespeare plays, and was manager of the theatre from 1863 to 1867, when fire raced through the Winter Garden, resulting in its demolition.
The Olympia Theatre: Roof Garden at 1514-16 Broadway near 44th Street opened in November, 1895 and was renamed the Winter Garden Theatre that same year. It was rechristened the Cherry Blossom Grove in 1900, the New York Roof in 1905, and as the Jardin de Paris hosted the Ziegfeld Follies of 1907, 1908, 1909, 1910, and 1911. It was demolished in 1935.
The New York Winter Garden Theatre housed the revival of Florodora in 1902.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

v • d • e Broadway theatres
Shubert	Ambassador Theatre · Ethel Barrymore Theatre · Belasco Theatre · Booth Theatre · Broadhurst Theatre · The Broadway Theatre · Cort Theatre · John Golden Theatre · Imperial Theatre · Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre · Longacre Theatre · Lyceum Theatre · Majestic Theatre · Music Box Theatre joint operation) · Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre · Shubert Theatre · Winter Garden Theatre
Nederlander	Brooks Atkinson Theatre · George Gershwin Theatre · Lunt-Fontanne Theatre · Marquis Theatre · Minskoff Theatre · Nederlander Theatre · Neil Simon Theatre · Palace Theatre · Richard Rodgers Theatre
Jujamcyn	Al Hirschfeld Theatre · Walter Kerr Theatre · Eugene O'Neill Theatre · St. James Theatre · August Wilson Theatre
Roundabout	American Airlines Theatre · Studio 54
Other	Vivian Beaumont Theatre · Biltmore Theatre · Circle in the Square Theatre · Helen Hayes Theatre · Hilton Theatre · New Amsterdam Theatre
Active but no longer Broadway houses	City Center of Music and Drama · Hammerstein's Theatre/Manhattan Theatre · Hudson Theatre · New Victory Theatre · Manhattan Opera House
Defunct and/or Demolished	39th Street Theatre · 44th Street Theatre · 48th Street Theatre · 49th Street Theatre · 52nd Street Theatre · Adelphi Theatre · American Theatre · Apollo Theatre · Astor Theatre · Bandbox Theatre · Belmont Theatre · Berkeley Lyceum Theatre · Bijou Theatre · Broadway Theatre (41st St.) · Casino Theatre · Center Theatre · Central Theatre · Century Theatre (46th St.) · Century Theatre (62nd St.) · Circle Theatre · Cosmopolitan Theatre · Criterion Theatre · Daly's Theatre (30th St.) · Daly's 63rd Street Theatre · Earl Carroll Theatre · Edison Theatre · Eltinge Theatre · Empire Theatre · Fifth Avenue Theatre · Frolic Theatre · Fulton Theatre · Gaiety Theatre · Garrick Theatre · George M. Cohan's Theatre · Hampden's Theatre/Harkness Theatre · Henry Miller's Theatre · Herald Square Theatre · Hippodrome Theatre · Jardin de Paris · John Golden Theatre/Cort's 58th Street Theatre · Klaw Theatre/Avon Theatre · Knickerbocker Theatre · Latin Quarter · Liberty Theatre · Lincoln Square Theatre · Manhattan Theatre (33rd St.) · Mark Hellinger Theatre · Maxine Elliott's Theatre · Mayfair Theatre (44th St.) · Mayfair Theatre (46th St.) · Mercury Theatre · Morosco Theatre · New Century Theatre · New York Theatre (44th St.) · Nora Bayes Theatre · Playhouse Theatre · Playhouse Theatre (6th Ave.) · President Theatre · Princess Theatre (29th St.) · Princess Theatre (39th St.) · Proctor's Theatre · Punch and Judy Theatre/Charles Hopkins Theatre · Rialto Theatre · Sam H. Harris Theatre · Savoy Theatre · Star Theatre · Theatre Republic · Times Square Theatre · Vanderbilt Theatre · Victoria Theatre · Waldorf Theatre · Wallack's Theatre/Harris Theatre · Wallack's Theatre/Palmer's Theatre · Wallack's Lyceum Theatre · Waverley Theatre · Winter Garden Theatre (Jenny Lind Hall) · Ziegfeld Theatre