St. James Theatre
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Not to be confused with St James's Theatre or St. James Theatre (Wellington).
The St. James Theatre is located at 246 W. 44th St. Broadway, New York City, New York. It was built by Abraham L. Erlanger, theatrical producer and a founding member of the Theatrical Syndicate, on the site of the original Sardi's restaurant. It opened in 1927 as The Erlanger. Upon Erlanger's death in 1930, control of the venue was taken over by the Astor family, who owned the land on which the theatre stood. The Astors renamed it the St. James Theatre.
The theatre was purchased by the Shuberts in the late 1930s. They were forced to sell it to the William L. McKnight in 1957 following the loss of an antitrust case. McKnight renovated the St. James and reopened it in 1958. In 1970, McKnight then transferred the theatre to his daughter Virginia and her husband James H. Binger, who had formed the Jujamcyn Amusement Corporation
[edit] Notable productions with opening dates
- Merry Malones (September 26, 1927) - Inaugural Production
- Native Son (March 24, 1941)
- Oklahoma! (March 31, 1943)
- Where's Charley? (October 11, 1948)
- The King and I (March 29, 1951)
- The Pajama Game (May 13, 1954)
- Li'l Abner (November 15, 1956)
- Flower Drum Song (December 1, 1958)
- Becket (October 5, 1960)
- Do Re Mi (December 26, 1960)
- Hello, Dolly! (January 16, 1964)
- Two Gentlemen of Verona (December 1, 1970)
- Vieux Carré (May 11, 1977)
- On the Twentieth Century (February 19, 1978)
- Carmelina (April 8, 1979)
- Barnum (musical) (April 30, 1980)
- 42nd Street (August 25, 1980)
- The Secret Garden (musical) ((April 25, 1991)
- Tommy (April 22, 1993)
- A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (April 18, 1996)
- Swing! (Dec 9, 1999)
- The Producers (Apr 19, 2001)
- Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (November 23, 2007)
- Gypsy (March 27, 2008)
[edit] Trivia
- Both the interior and exterior of the theater were used in the filming of the season 4 finale of Curb Your Enthusiasm (episode 10, Opening Night) [1]
- The theater has only one men's lounge, making intermission traffic a logistical challenge.
[edit] External links
- Broadway Theatre Guide with full show details for the St James Theatre
- The St. James at the Internet Broadway Database
- St. James Theatre Unofficial Site
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