Broadhurst Theatre

Coordinates: 40°45′29″N 73°59′15″W / 40.758146°N 73.987636°W

Broadhurst Theatre
Address 235 West 44th Street
New York City
United States
Owner The Shubert Organization
Designation Broadway theatre
Capacity 1,156
Production Mamma Mia!
Construction
Opened September 27, 1917
Architect Herbert J. Krapp
Website
www.shubertorganization.com/theatres/broadhurst.asp

The Broadhurst Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 235 West 44th Street in midtown Manhattan.

It was designed by architect Herbert J. Krapp, a well-known theatre designer who had been working directly with the Shubert brothers; the Broadhurst opened 27 September 1917. Built back-to-back with the Plymouth, it was meant to resemble the style of the neighboring Shubert and Booth theaters designed by Henry B. Herts, using less expensive brick and terra cotta materials on the discreetly neoclassical facades. Like all of Krapp's work during this period, it features minimal ornamentation, a single balcony, wide space, and excellent sightlines.

It was named after George Howells Broadhurst, an Anglo-American dramatist who came to America in 1886. In addition to writing plays, he managed theaters in Milwaukee, Baltimore, and San Francisco before he decided to open his own in association with the Shubert brothers. The theatre was constructed to house both musicals and plays, which it has done successfully for more than ninety years. It has been designated a New York City landmark.

The Broadhurst opened on September 27, 1917 with George Bernard Shaw's Misalliance, the first New York production of the philosophical 1910 comedy. It ran for only 52 performances and was not performed on Broadway again until 1953.

Recent tenants include Les Misérables, which in October 2006 began an intended six-month-long return engagement that finally closed in January 2008; and 2008 revivals of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, with an all-African American cast including Terrence Howard, Anika Noni Rose, James Earl Jones, and Phylicia Rashād, and Equus, starring Daniel Radcliffe and Richard Griffiths. The theatre is also notable for hosting Jerry Seinfeld's final performance of his original stand up material, which was filmed for an HBO special shortly after the finale of his long-running sitcom.

Other notable productions

The Broadhurst Theatre, 2007

References

Notes

    External links

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