Gershwin Theatre

Gershwin Theatre
Uris Theatre
Address 222 West 51st Street
New York City, New York
United States
Coordinates 40°45′45″N 73°59′06″W / 40.76255°N 73.98510°W / 40.76255; -73.98510
Owner Paramount Group
Operator Nederlander Organization
Type Broadway theatre
Capacity 1,933[1]
Production Wicked
Construction
Opened November 28, 1972
Architect Ralph Alswang
Website
The Gershwin Theatre

The Gershwin Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 222 West 51st Street in midtown-Manhattan in the Paramount Plaza building. The theatre is named after brothers George Gershwin, a composer, and Ira Gershwin, a lyricist. It has the largest seating capacity of any Broadway theatre with 1,933 seats.[2]

Designed in an Art Nouveau style by set designer Ralph Alswang, it is situated on the lower levels of a towering office complex built at an estimated cost of $12.5 million[3] on the site of the historical Capitol Theatre. It opened as the Uris Theatre on November 28, 1972 (named for the building developer Uris Buildings Corporation) with the musical Via Galactica starring Raul Julia. It proved to be an inauspicious start for the venue, with the first show to lose a million dollars closing after only seven performances. From 1974-76 it served as a concert hall for limited engagements by a number of legendary pop music and jazz performers.

The American Theatre Hall of Fame is located in the lobby.

During the 37th Tony Awards ceremony held June 5, 1983, the theatre was rechristened to honor the Gershwins.[4]

The Gershwin has been home to the blockbuster musical Wicked since 2003.

Notable productions

Box office record

Wicked set a box office record for the Gershwin Theatre. The production grossed $3,201,333 over nine performances for the week ending December 29, 2013. This was also the highest one-week box office gross income made by any show in Broadway history, until that time.[5]

References

  1. "Seating Chart". The Gershwin Theater. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  2. "Theatre 101". The Theatre Development Fund. Archived from the original on October 18, 2007. Retrieved 2009-06-09.
  3. "At This Theatre". Nederlander Organization. Retrieved 2014-11-06.
  4. Lawson, Carol (June 6, 1983). "'Cats' And 'Torch Song Trilogy' Win Top Tonys". The New York Times. p. C11. Retrieved 2014-11-06.
  5. Piepenburg, Erik (30 December 2013). "A Record-Setting Week on Broadway". The New York Times. Retrieved 2014-11-06.
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