Princess Theatre
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For Melbourne's Princess Theatre, see Princess Theatre, Melbourne
- For Toronto's Princess Theatre, see Princess Theatre, Toronto
- For Decatur, Alabama's Princess Theatre, see Princess Theatre, Decatur
- For London's Princess's Theatre, see Princess's Theatre, London
| Princess Theatre | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 1913 | The Switchboard |
| 1913 | Fancy Free |
| 1913 | Phipps |
| 1913 | Fear |
| 1913 | A Pair of White Gloves |
| 1913 | The Neglected Lady |
| 1914 | Marrying Money |
| 1914 | The Forest of Happy Dreams |
| 1914 | The Goal |
| 1914 | The Denial |
| 1914 | Nettie |
| 1914 | Across The Bordersa |
| 1915 | Maternity |
| 1915 | Nobody Home |
| 1915 | The Mask Of The Beast |
| 1915 | Hobson's Choice |
| 1916 | Go To It |
| 1916 | Such Is Life |
| 1916 | Margery Daw |
| 1916 | Nevertheless |
| 1916 | The Golden Doom |
| 1917 | Oh, Boy! (musical) |
| 1918 | Oh, Lady! Lady! |
| 1918 | Jonathan Makes a Wish |
| 1919 | Toot Sweet |
| 1920 | Tick-Tack-Toe |
| 1920 | Mrs. Jimmie Thompson |
| 1921 | The Mask of Hamlet |
| 1921 | Suzette |
| 1922 | Desert Sands |
| 1922 | The First Fifty Years |
| 1922 | Six Characters in Search of an Author |
| 1923 | Mister Malatesta |
| 1923 | White Desert |
| 1924 | The Steam Roller |
| 1925 | The Little Poor Man |
| 1925 | Brother Elks |
| 1926 | The Unchastened Woman |
| 1926 | Buy, Buy, Baby |
| 1927 | The Virgin Man |
| 1927 | Bottomland |
| 1928 | Meek Mose |
| Lucille La Verne Theatre | |
| 1928 | Sun-Up |
| 1929 | Hot Water |
| Assembly Theatre | |
| 1929 | Lolly |
| 1929 | A Ledge |
| 1929 | The Novice and the Duke |
| 1930 | Everything's Jake |
| Labor Stage Theatre | |
| 1930 | Pins and Needles |
| 1939 | Once Upon A Time |
| Princess Theatre | |
| 1947 | The Wanhope Building |
| 1947 | O'Daniel |
| 1947 | As We Forgive Our Debtors |
| 1947 | The Great Campaign |
| 1947 | Virginia Reel |
The Princess Theatre (same name used by off-Broadway 50th Street Theatre in 1980s) was a joint venture between The Shubert Brothers, (Lee Shubert, Samuel S. Shubert, and Jacob J. Shubert) producer Ray Comstock and actor-director Holbrook Blinn. It was built on a narrow slice of land on 39th Street, just off 6th Avenue, and sat 299, one of the smallest Broadway theaters built when it opened in early 1913. The architect was William A. Swasey, who designed the Winter Garden two years earlier.
Though fairly drab on the outside, looking like a six-story office building except for its marquees and gaudy electric sign over the main entrance, the Princess was quite elegant inside. A blend of Georgian and French Renaissance styles, the auditorium contained fourteen rows of seats, twelve boxes off the proscenium arch, and was hailed for its excellent acoustics and sight-lines. The decor included neoclassical inspired plasterwork and antique French tapestries hung from the side walls.
Contents |
[edit] 1910s
Originally planned as a venue for short dramatic plays, the Princess failed to attract an audience.[1] Theatre agent Elisabeth Marbury asked Jerome Kern and Guy Bolton to write a series of musicals specifically tailored to its smaller setting, with an intimate style and modest budgets, that would provide an alternative to the star-studded extravaganzas of Ziegfield and others.[1]
Kern and Bolton's first "Princess Theatre musical" was Nobody's Home (1915), an adaptation of a London show called Mr. Popple of Ippleton. Their second, with P. G. Wodehouse joining the team as one of the lyricists, was an original musical called Very Good Eddie (1915). The little show ran for 314 performances on a modest budget.[2] The series of musicals, including Oh, Boy! (1917), Oh, Lady! Lady! (1918), and Oh, My Dear! (1918), featured modern American settings and simple scene changes (one set for each act) to more aptly suit the small theatre, eschewing operetta traditions of foreign locales and elaborate scenery.[1] After Kern left the team in 1918 before Oh, My Dear!, which proved to be the last of the "Princess Theatre musicals".[2]
[edit] 1920s
In 1922, drama returned to the Princess for another seven years, but, unfortunately, success did not, and after a brief stint as the Lucille La Verne Theatre in 1928, the Shuberts sold the theater. In 1929, the New York Theatre Assembly took over the Princess, and renamed it The Assembly Theatre. However, within half a year, the theater was closed, and remained unused until 1933, when it reopened as the Reo Theatre, and was, like so many other former legitimate houses, now being used as a movie theater. A year later, the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) acquired the theater, and used it as a recreation center for neighborhood workers.
[edit] 1930s
However, in 1937, legitimate theater returned to the theater, now called the Labor Stage, in a big way, with Pins and Needles, which was the longest running Broadway show of the day, running for 1108 performances. When the show moved to the Windsor Theatre, the ILGWU reclaimed the theater briefly as its recreation hall.
[edit] 1940s and 1950s
In 1947, movies returned to the theater, now renamed the Cinema Dante, screening foreign features. A year later, it got another name change, The Little Met, and in 1952, yet one final name, the Cine Verdi. By the mid-50s, the old Princess was on the outskirts of the theater district, and in 1955, the little theater was torn down.
[edit] Notes
[edit] References
- Bloom, Ken and Vlastnik, Frank. Broadway Musicals: The 101 Greatest Shows of all Time. Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, New York, 2004. ISBN 1-57912-390-2
