Neil Simon Theatre facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Neil Simon Theatre

Alvin Theatre (1927–1983)
Showing The Cher Show, 2019
Address	250 West 52nd Street Manhattan, New York City United States
Coordinates	40°45′47″N 73°59′04″W / 40.76306°N 73.98444°W / 40.76306; -73.98444
Owner	Nederlander Organization
Type	Broadway
Capacity	1,467
Production	MJ the Musical
Construction
Opened	November 22, 1927
Years active	1927–present
Architect	Herbert J. Krapp
New York City Landmark
Designated	August 6, 1985
Reference no.	1305
Designated entity	Facade
New York City Landmark
Designated	August 6, 1985
Reference no.	1306
Designated entity	Auditorium interior

The Neil Simon Theatre is a famous Broadway theater. It is located at 250 West 52nd Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The theater first opened in 1927. It was designed by Herbert J. Krapp. The theater was built for Alex A. Aarons and Vinton Freedley.

Its original name was the Alvin Theatre. This name was a mix of Aarons's and Freedley's first names. In 1983, the theater was renamed for the famous playwright Neil Simon. The Neil Simon Theatre has 1,467 seats. These seats are spread across two levels. The theater is run by the Nederlander Organization. Both the outside (facade) and the inside (auditorium interior) are special New York City landmarks.

The outside of the theater has two main parts. There is a six-story stage house on the west side. Then there is a five-story auditorium section on the east side. The bottom floor is made of terracotta blocks. It has an entrance with a large sign called a marquee. The upper parts are made of brick and terracotta. The auditorium side has arched windows and a central triangle shape called a pediment. The stage house looks simpler.

Inside, the theater is designed in the Adam style. It has two lobbies and a lounge area on the mezzanine level. The main seating area has a ground-level orchestra section. It also has one balcony with special boxes. The inside is decorated with panels and plasterwork. The auditorium ceiling is shaped like a dome. There were also offices above the auditorium.

Alexander Pincus and M. L. Goldstone built the Alvin Theatre. It opened on November 22, 1927. The first show was Funny Face. Aarons and Freedley first ran the theater. They owned it from 1930 to 1932. In its early years, the theater showed many musicals. These included Anything Goes, Lady in the Dark, and Something for the Boys. It also hosted many plays.

CBS took over the theater in 1946. They ran it until 1959. Then Max and Stanley Stahl bought it. The Alvin was sold again in 1967 to Rock-Time Inc. In 1975, the Nederlander family bought it. In the 1960s and 1970s, the Alvin had long runs of popular shows. Some of these were A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, High Spirits, and The Great White Hope. Other hits included Company, Shenandoah, and Annie. After it was renamed for Neil Simon, it showed many of his plays. It also hosted the musical Hairspray for many years in the 2000s.

About the Theater's Location

The Neil Simon Theatre is at 250 West 52nd Street. It is on the south side of the street. It sits between Eighth Avenue and Broadway. This area is in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The theater's lot is about 12,350 square feet. It has a front side of 123.50 feet on 52nd Street. It goes back about 100 feet.

The Neil Simon Theatre shares its block with the Mark Hellinger Theatre. It is also near Gallagher's Steakhouse. Other theaters close by include the August Wilson Theatre and the Broadway Theatre.

How the Theater Was Designed

The Neil Simon Theatre was first called the Alvin Theatre. It was designed by Herbert J. Krapp. It was built in 1927. The outside of the theater looks like the neo-Georgian style. The inside is designed in the Adam style. This style was common in many of Krapp's theater designs.

The Outside Look (Facade)

Main entrance doors

The outside of the theater has two main parts that are connected. The eastern part is five stories tall. It is wider and looks balanced. This part has the main entrance to the audience area. The western part holds the stage house. This section is six stories high. The upper parts of the building are made of red brick. They have terracotta decorations. The Neil Simon is one of only a few Broadway theaters with this neo-Georgian look. This style was meant to make people feel like they were "entering the producer's home."

The Bottom Part

The bottom part of both sections is made of terracotta blocks. These blocks look like marble. On the eastern side of the ground floor, there are two metal doors. In the middle of the audience entrance, there are two sets of metal and glass doors. Six doors on the east lead to the inner lobby. Eight doors on the west lead to the box office lobby. A modern marquee (a large sign) hangs above these doors. On the stage house side, there are several recessed doorways. This includes the stage door. A decorative band with panels runs above the bottom part.

The Upper Stories

Upper stories (east to west)

Eastern (left) pavilion of auditorium

Central section of auditorium

Stage house

Above the bottom part, vertical terracotta bands divide the audience section into three parts. The middle part has three rows of windows. Each row has a tall, arched window on the second floor. These windows have terracotta decorations. On the fourth floor, each of the three middle rows has a rectangular window. Above these are broken triangle shapes with scrolls and an urn. The fifth-floor windows are also rectangular. A triangular gable rises above these windows. It has a round window called an oculus in the center. This oculus is surrounded by wreaths and flowers.

The outer parts of the audience section are like small buildings. They are almost the same. Both sides have fluted terracotta pilasters (flat columns). Between these columns are tall niches on the second floor. Each niche has terracotta urns and seashell designs. Above each niche, the fourth floor has two rectangular windows. Each pair of columns holds up a terracotta frame and a triangle shape on the fifth floor. The eastern side has a low wall called a parapet on top. The western side goes up one more story, matching the stage house.

The stage house is to the right of the audience section. Vertical terracotta bands divide the stage house into sections. The windows here are rectangular. They have terracotta tops. The middle sections of the stage house also have terracotta panels. There is a decorative top edge and paneling above the fifth floor. A low wall with a railing is above the sixth floor. The far-left section of the stage house goes up to a seventh story. The far-right section of the stage house has a tall sign with the theater's name.

Inside the Theater

Lobbies

The ticket lobby is right inside the main entrance. It has dark marble walls. The right wall has ticket windows. The left wall has a recessed area leading to the inner lobby. This area has glass and bronze double doors. Small lights called sconces are on either side. Eight glass and bronze doors on the north wall lead from the street. The south wall has wooden doors to the main seating area. A decorative edge goes around the ceiling. The ceiling is decorated with plasterwork in the Adam style. Two crystal lamps hang from the middle of the ceiling.

Decorative detail of the inner lobby

The inner lobby is also rectangular. You can get to it from the ticket lobby. Six glass and bronze doors on the north wall also lead to it from the street. The south wall has wooden doors to the main seating area. The east wall has stairs to the mezzanine lounge. The inner lobby's ceiling has Adam-style plasterwork. It also has two crystal chandeliers.

When the Alvin was built, the mezzanine lounge was designed as an English lounge. It was about 100 feet long and 35 feet wide. The lounge walls have wood panels on the lower part. They also have lighting sconces. This area originally had a fireplace. Four "retiring rooms" led off the lounge. These included smoking rooms for men and women. The lounge ceiling has an oval dome with plaster decorations. A central chandelier hangs there. From the mezzanine lounge, stairs go down to the north (to the inner lobby) and south (to the orchestra). These stairs were placed in the lounge. This helped to keep latecomers from disturbing the show.

Auditorium (Seating Area)

The main seating area, called the auditorium, has an orchestra level. It also has one balcony and special boxes. The stage is behind a large arch called the proscenium arch. The auditorium is almost square. It is decorated with plaster. The Nederlander Organization says the auditorium has 1,445 seats. Other sources say it has 1,467 or 1,380 seats. The theater first had 1,400 seats. It had 702 in the orchestra, 674 in the balcony, and 24 in the boxes. The original colors were ivory, blue, gray, and gold. Many of the original decorations are now covered with white paint. There were also offices above the auditorium.

Seating Areas

The orchestra level slopes down toward the orchestra pit in front of the stage. At the back of the orchestra, there is a walkway. It has a paneled wall on the east side with sconces. A marble railing separates the walkway from the back rows of seats. Two columns, looking like marble pillars, separate the walkway and seats. They have Doric-style tops. The left wall of the orchestra has metal doorways. These alternate with paneled sections that have sconces. The right wall has two sets of wooden doors. The back doors lead to the inner lobby. The front doors lead to the ticket lobby. The exit signs above each door have decorations of lyres and griffins.

The balcony level is split into front and back parts by an aisle. This aisle has a metal railing. The aisle connects to exit doors on both side walls. These doors also have decorations of lyres and griffins. Other exit doors with similar decorations are near the front balcony. The rest of the balcony's side walls are divided by flat columns called pilasters. These pilasters have Ionic tops. They hold up a decorative band around the auditorium. Each side-wall section has crystal and brass lighting sconces. The front railing of the balcony has decorative swags, urns, and cameo patterns. Some of these are now covered by light boxes. The underside of the balcony has Adam-style panels with crystal lights. The back wall of the balcony has panels with lighting sconces. There are also air-conditioning vents on the walls.

On each side of the stage, there is a wall section with three boxes. These boxes are on the balcony level. They step down towards the stage. The front box curves into the proscenium arch. The back box curves into the balcony. At the orchestra level, there is an opening on each wall where the boxes are above. The undersides of the boxes have crystal lamps and decorative brackets. The front railings of the boxes have swags, urns, and cameo patterns. Paneled pillars separate the boxes. They support a smaller decorative band above the boxes. Above this band, there are small columns with female grotesques. These go up to the main decorative band around the auditorium.

Other Design Features

Next to the boxes is a flat proscenium arch. It has fluted Ionic pilasters on each side of the opening. There is also a decorative band above. This band has an Adam-style frieze. Above the arch is a half-moon shaped panel with a painting. It shows a peaceful scene with characters from myths. When the theater was built, the opening was 40 feet wide. The stage behind it was 100 feet wide and 35 feet deep. The orchestra pit in front of the stage could hold 48 people. Backstage, there were 20 dressing rooms for 150 performers. There were also chorus "rest rooms" and a rehearsal room.

The ceiling has curved sections on the side walls. These are separated by decorative ribs. At the front of the auditorium, there is a round dome. It is surrounded by decorative bands. A crystal chandelier hangs from the center. Behind the dome, the ceiling has panels with Adam-style plasterwork. Above the back balcony, there is a half-dome with decorative bands. It also has openings for technical booths. Air-conditioning vents are in the ceiling.

History of the Theater

Times Square became a major center for big theater shows between 1900 and the Great Depression. The Alvin Theatre was one of the last theaters built before the Depression. The theater's name came from the first names of its original owners: Alex A. Aarons and Vinton Freedley. Both men were from Philadelphia. Aarons produced musical comedies. Freedley was a well-known Broadway producer. They worked together from 1923 or 1924 until 1933. Since 1983, the theater has been named after Neil Simon. He was one of Broadway's most successful playwrights. The Nederlander Organization runs the Neil Simon Theatre today.

How it Started and Early Years

View from the west

In January 1927, Alexander Pincus and M. L. Goldstone bought the land at 244–254 West 52nd Street. They planned to build a legitimate theater there. Pincus had built other theaters before. They planned for the theater to cost $1.4 million. That same month, Pincus submitted plans for the theater. It was designed by Herbert J. Krapp. By October 1927, Aarons and Freedley had leased the theater. They planned to show George and Ira Gershwin's musical Funny Face. It starred Fred and Adele Astaire. The Alvin opened on November 22, 1927, with Funny Face. That show ran for 250 performances. A critic from The New York Times said the audience might have enjoyed the new theater more if Funny Face had been less interesting.

View of niche (left) and stage house (right)

The Alvin's first few musicals did not run for very long. In 1928, the theater hosted the Gershwin musical Treasure Girl. It starred Gertrude Lawrence. Even though tickets cost $6, which was a lot then, it only ran for 69 performances. Next was Wings Over Europe, which moved from another theater. In January 1929, Aarons and Freedley got a large loan for the theater. The musical Spring Is Here opened in March 1929. It ran for 104 performances. Another musical, Heads Up!, opened in November 1929. It ran for 144 performances. In 1930, Ethel Merman made her Broadway debut in Girl Crazy. That show had 272 performances. Aarons and Freedley bought the Alvin and its land in April 1930.

Changes in Ownership

A Flag is Born at the Alvin in 1946

Pincus and Goldstone took over running the Alvin in May 1932. That year, the theater hosted a play called Mourning Becomes Electra. It also showed Jerome Kern's musical Music in the Air. In May 1933, The Players brought their show Uncle Tom's Cabin to the Alvin. It was so popular that it ran for two extra weeks. That same year, the play Mary of Scotland opened. It starred Helen Hayes. Next, Freedley produced Cole Porter's musical Anything Goes in 1934. It starred Ethel Merman and ran for 420 performances.

By the mid-1930s, the Alvin Theatre and the nearby Guild Theatre were the northernmost theaters still showing plays. The first production of the opera Porgy and Bess opened at the Alvin in October 1935. It closed after 124 performances. But later revivals of Porgy and Bess were very successful. In October 1936, Porter's Red, Hot and Blue opened. It starred Merman and Jimmy Durante. It ran for 181 performances. The Alvin hosted two musicals by Rodgers and Hart in the late 1930s. I'd Rather Be Right opened in 1937 and ran for 289 performances. The Boys from Syracuse opened in 1938 and ran for 235 performances.

In February 1940, the Alvin showed a limited run of The Taming of the Shrew. It was staged by Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne. In April, Lunt and Fontanne appeared in There Shall Be No Night. This play ran for several months. The next year, the Alvin hosted Lady in the Dark. This musical was about psychiatry. It starred Gertrude Lawrence and had 467 performances. In January 1943, Porter's musical Something for the Boys opened with Ethel Merman. It ran for 422 performances. After that, the musical Jackpot ran for 67 performances. The Alvin's shows in 1944 and 1945 mostly closed quickly. These included Helen Goes to Troy and Hollywood Pinafore. More successful was Billion Dollar Baby. It opened in late 1945 and ran for 200 performances.

CBS Ownership and Cullman's Management

Attic

By December 1945, CBS was trying to buy the Alvin. They wanted to use it as a studio. CBS bought the Alvin for $825,000 in February 1946. In June 1946, CBS agreed to let Howard S. Cullman lease the Alvin. Cullman would present shows there. That same year, the Alvin hosted Joan of Lorraine with Ingrid Bergman. In 1947, the play Life with Father moved to the Alvin. It finished its long run of 3,224 performances there. George Bernard Shaw's play Man and Superman opened in October 1947. It moved in February 1948. Then Mister Roberts opened with Henry Fonda. It ran for 1,157 performances.

In 1951, Cullman and CBS agreed to swap theaters again. This allowed the Alvin to be used for plays. Three shows opened at the Alvin that year. These were Darkness at Noon, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, and Point of No Return. Point of No Return was followed in December 1952 by Two's Company. This show starred Bette Davis but only ran for about 90 performances. The next year, Kind Sir opened with Mary Martin and Charles Boyer.

The musical The Golden Apple moved to the Alvin in April 1954. It ran for 173 performances. The musical House of Flowers opened in December 1954. It ran for 165 performances. The comedy No Time for Sergeants opened the next year. It ran for 796 performances over two years. The theater hosted several successful shows in the late 1950s. These included Oh, Captain! in 1958 and First Impressions in 1959. Also, Jerome Robbins brought his dance show Ballet U.S.A. in 1958. The musical Bells Are Ringing moved to the Alvin that year.

Stahl and Rock-Time Ownership

CBS sold the Alvin in 1959 to Max and Stanley Stahl. They also owned the nearby Hellinger Theatre. The Stahls quickly hired a new manager for the Alvin. In 1960, the theater hosted the musical Greenwillow. It also had the dance group Les Ballets Africains. The musical West Side Story moved there from another theater. The musical Wildcat opened in December 1960. It starred Lucille Ball in her only Broadway appearance. The musical Irma La Douce moved to the Alvin in 1961. The next year, the musical A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum opened. It ran for 967 performances. In October 1962, Lester Osterman leased the Alvin for five years.

The musical comedy High Spirits opened in 1964. It starred Beatrice Lillie and Tammy Grimes. It ran for 367 performances. Maurice Chevalier performed a solo show in April 1965. This was followed by Flora the Red Menace in May. Liza Minnelli made her Broadway debut in this show. Flora the Red Menace and the next few shows had short runs. These included The Yearling (1965) and It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Superman (1966). Rock-Time Inc. bought the Alvin from Osterman in July 1967.

The play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead opened at the Alvin in October 1967. It ran for 421 performances. In 1968, the drama The Great White Hope opened. It starred James Earl Jones and Jane Alexander. It had 557 performances. The Alvin then hosted the first production of the musical Company. It opened in 1970 and ran for over 700 performances. A couple of short runs followed. These included Molly (1973) and The Freedom of the City (1974). The Alvin's next success was the musical Shenandoah. It opened in 1975 and stayed for two years. By July 1974, the theater's mortgage was not paid. The Bowery Savings Bank took over the Alvin. The theater was then put up for sale for $1.2 million.

Nederlander Ownership

1970s and 1980s

Vertical sign

The Nederlander Organization bought the Alvin in 1975. It became their fourth Broadway theater. The original Broadway production of Annie opened in 1977. It ran for five years before moving. The next five musicals in 1981 and 1982 had short runs. The Little Prince and the Aviator closed during previews. Merrily We Roll Along and others closed in less than two weeks. The producers of The Little Prince and Little Johnny Jones sued the Nederlanders. They said the company had unfairly removed their shows. The Alvin's next successful show was Your Arms Too Short to Box with God. It starred Al Green and Patti LaBelle. It opened in September 1982.

Brighton Beach Memoirs opened at the Alvin in March 1983. This was the first play in Neil Simon's Eugene trilogy. The Nederlanders renamed the theater for Simon on June 29, 1983. This renaming was not related to Brighton Beach Memoirs. The Nederlanders had offered to rename the theater after Simon in 1982. But the playwright had said no at that time. Neil Simon was the second playwright to have a Broadway theater named for him. He was the first living playwright to receive this honor. Some people in the theater community felt the Alvin should have been renamed for the Gershwins.

The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) started thinking about protecting the Neil Simon as a landmark in 1982. The LPC named the outside of the Neil Simon as a landmark in August 1985. They also named the inside of the Neil Simon as a landmark. The theater owners did not like this. But the New York City Board of Estimate approved the landmark names in December 1985.

Brighton Beach Memoirs was followed by another play in the Eugene trilogy, Biloxi Blues, in 1985. The next year, the musical Into the Light opened. It closed after only six performances. Noël Coward's play Blithe Spirit opened in March 1987. The theater also hosted a tribute to one of the play's stars, Geraldine Page, who passed away during the run. Comedian Mort Sahl performed in October. The play Breaking the Code opened the next month. The Neil Simon hosted revivals of two O'Neill plays in June 1988. These were Long Day's Journey into Night and Ah, Wilderness!. Later that year, Kenny Loggins played some concerts. Two musicals were planned for the Neil Simon in early 1989. But Senator Joe closed during previews. The Tower of Babel did not even have previews. The play Orpheus Descending was then shown in September 1989.

1990s and 2000s

A dance group from Russia performed at the Neil Simon in January 1990. In October, comedian Jackie Mason started his solo show Brand New. It ran for eight months. Another Neil Simon play opened in March 1992, Jake's Women. It had 245 performances. In November, the Dutch show Cyrano: The Musical opened. It lasted 137 performances. The musical The Rise and Fall of Little Voice opened in May 1994. But it closed after only one week. This was followed by concerts from musicians Basia in November 1994 and Laurie Anderson in May 1995. Danny Gans also performed in November 1995. The musical The King and I was revived in 1996. The King and I closed in early 1998. Then the play A View from the Bridge by Arthur Miller was shown. It ran until August 1998. The Neil Simon hosted the dance show Swan Lake in late 1998. It also had a concert by Natalie Merchant and a new version of the musical The Scarlet Pimpernel in 1999.

A revival of the musical The Music Man opened in early 2000. It ran until the end of 2001. During its run, comedian Mandy Patinkin started a U.S. tour. He had a concert at the Neil Simon on September 10, 2001. Elaine Stritch's one-woman show Elaine Stritch at Liberty then opened in February 2002. After Elaine Stritch at Liberty closed, the Neil Simon was made bigger. It went from 1,328 seats to 1,467 seats. This was for its next show: the musical Hairspray. It opened in August 2002. Hairspray set a record for the theater. It closed at the beginning of 2009. Robin Williams was supposed to perform his comedy show in April 2009. But he canceled it due to surgery. A revival of Ragtime was booked instead. It opened in November 2009. Ragtime did not do as well as hoped. It closed in January 2010 after 57 performances.

2010s to Present

Marquee for the revival of Jesus Christ Superstar (2012)

Musician Harry Connick Jr. performed at the Neil Simon in July 2010. His show was recorded for an album. The concert Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles opened in October 2010. It moved to another theater in early 2011. The musical Catch Me if You Can opened in April 2011. It ran for 170 performances. A revival of Jesus Christ Superstar ran from March to July 2012. This was followed by the short-lived musical Scandalous at the end of that year. The musical Big Fish was planned for the Neil Simon in early 2013. But the theater was empty for most of that year. Big Fish only ran from October to December 2013. This was followed by two other short runs. These were the play All the Way (March to June 2014). And Sting's musical The Last Ship (October 2014 to January 2015).

A revival of the musical Gigi opened in April 2015. But it closed after two months. In July 2015, the Nederlanders sold some unused space above the Neil Simon for $8.9 million. The buyers were building a hotel a few blocks away. At the end of that year, The Illusionists performed a magic show. A revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Cats opened in August 2016. It ran until the end of the next year. Tony Kushner's play Angels in America then opened in March 2018. It ran for three months. The musical The Cher Show opened in December 2018. It ran until August 2019. The Illusionists returned in late 2019 for their magic show, Magic of the Holidays.

After The Cher Show closed, MJ the Musical was planned for mid-2020. The theater did not host another show for two years. This was because of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City. It reopened in December 2021 with previews of MJ the Musical. It officially opened in February 2022. MJ broke the theater's box-office record ten times in 2022. It set the current record in January 2023. The musical earned $2,223,069 that week.

Famous Shows

Here are some of the most famous shows that have played at the Neil Simon Theatre. They are listed by the year they first opened.

Alvin Theatre

Neil Simon Theatre

See also

• List of Broadway theaters
• List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan from 14th to 59th Streets