Booth Theatre facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Booth Theatre

Address	222 West 45th Street Manhattan, New York City United States
Coordinates	40°45′30″N 73°59′13″W / 40.7584°N 73.9870°W / 40.7584; -73.9870
Public transit	Subway: Times Square–42nd Street/Port Authority Bus Terminal
Owner	Shubert and Booth Theatre, LLC
Operator	The Shubert Organization
Type	Broadway
Capacity	800
Construction
Opened	October 16, 1913
Years active	1913–present
Architect	Henry Beaumont Herts
New York City Landmark
Designated	November 4, 1987
Reference no.	1321
Designated entity	Facade
New York City Landmark
Designated	November 4, 1987
Reference no.	1322
Designated entity	Lobby and auditorium interior

The Booth Theatre is a famous Broadway theater located at 222 West 45th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It first opened its doors in 1913. The theater was designed by Henry Beaumont Herts in the beautiful Italian Renaissance style. It was built for the Shubert brothers, who are very well-known in the theater world.

The theater was originally run by Winthrop Ames, who named it after Edwin Booth, a famous American actor from the 1800s. The Booth Theatre has 800 seats spread across two levels. Today, it is operated by The Shubert Organization. The outside of the building (its facade) and parts of its inside are considered New York City landmarks. This means they are protected because of their history and special design.

The Booth Theatre's outside walls are made of brick and terracotta. It has cool sgraffito decorations made from stucco. Three large arches face 45th Street, and a curved corner points towards Broadway. On the side facing Shubert Alley, there are doors leading to the lobby and the stage area. Inside, the theater has a main floor (orchestra), one balcony, special box seats, and a coved ceiling (a ceiling with curved edges). The walls are decorated with wooden panels, which is unusual for Broadway theaters. There's also a large, oval-shaped arch called a proscenium arch at the front of the stage. The stage area is actually shared with the Shubert Theatre next door.

The Shubert brothers built the Booth and Shubert theaters as their first venues in this area. The Booth Theatre officially opened on October 16, 1913, with a play called The Great Adventure by Arnold Bennett. Winthrop Ames managed the theater and put on many of his own plays until 1932. After that, the Shuberts took over. Many early shows at the Booth were short, especially in the 1930s. But by the 1940s, longer-running shows became more common. Some very popular and long-running productions have included Luv, Butterflies Are Free, That Championship Season, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered ... / When the Rainbow Is Enuf, and The Elephant Man.

Where is the Booth Theatre?

Drawing of the theater's site in 1916. The Shubert and Booth theaters are at upper left.

The Booth Theatre is located at 224 West 45th Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It's on the north side of the street, between Eighth Avenue and Seventh Avenue. This area is known as the Theater District, close to Times Square.

The Booth Theatre shares its land with the Shubert Theatre, which is right behind it. Even though they share land, they are separate buildings. The entire area they sit on is about 25,305 square feet (2,351 square meters). It has a front of 126 feet (38 meters) on both 44th and 45th Streets. It also has a 200.83-foot (61.21-meter) side along Shubert Alley to the east. The Booth Theatre building itself takes up about 90 feet (27 meters) of the Shubert Alley side.

This block has the largest number of Broadway theaters in one place. The part of 45th Street where the Booth is located is also called George Abbott Way. Lots of people walking on this street helps the theaters sell more tickets. The Booth Theatre is very close to six other theaters: the Majestic and Broadhurst to the southwest; the John Golden, Bernard B. Jacobs, and Gerald Schoenfeld to the west; and the Shubert to the south.

The Shubert and Booth theaters were built together and are the oldest theaters on this block. Before they were built, there were several houses on 44th and 45th Streets. Shubert Alley, which was built at the same time as the theaters, was originally a narrow passage for fire escapes. This alley helped the theaters meet fire safety rules and allowed them to be designed as if they were on a corner.

How is the Booth Theatre Designed?

The Booth Theatre was designed by Henry Beaumont Herts and built in 1913 for the Shubert brothers. Herts was a very experienced architect who had designed many other theaters before. The Shubert and Booth theaters are in separate buildings. They have different inside designs and uses, even though their stage areas are close together. The Shubert Theatre was bigger and meant for musicals. The Shubert family's offices were even above its auditorium. The Booth, however, was designed to be smaller and more cozy. Today, The Shubert Organization runs the Booth Theatre.

The Outside Look (Facade)

The outside of both the Booth and Shubert theaters look similar. They are designed in an Italian Renaissance style. Both buildings have curved corners that face Broadway. This was because most people came to the theaters from that direction. The Booth's outside is made of white brick and terracotta.

An old description said the theaters' outsides were made of white marble with special stucco and faience panels. The main part of the theater has a cornice (a decorative molding) at the top. This cornice has metal brackets that look like theater masks. There used to be a balustrade (a row of small columns) above the cornice. The wall on the west side is plain and has a fire escape.

The theaters use hand-carved sgraffito for decoration. This was a new idea at the time. Sgraffito is a technique where layers of plaster are scratched away to show different colors underneath. These decorations were light-gray on a purple-gray background. The sgraffito on these two theaters is one of the few examples left in New York City. People at the time said the theaters' outsides were "free from much of the flashy decorations that made some recent playhouses look ordinary."

45th Street Side

Cartouche above the Booth Theatre's entrance

On the 45th Street side, at ground level, there's a tall stone base called a water table. Above it is a band with rough-looking terracotta blocks. In the middle of the building, there are three arches. These arches are emergency exits from the lobby. Each arch used to have wooden doors, but now they are covered with posters. Inside the arches, above the doors, are sgraffito paintings of figures. A modern marquee (a sign over the entrance) hangs from the wall above, partly covering these paintings.

Above the arches, the theater's facade is made of brick. The words "The Booth Theatre" are written in metal letters above the arches. The brick part of the building is surrounded by a stucco band with sgraffito decorations. These decorations are beige and have bas reliefs (carvings that stick out slightly) of classical plant designs. The far left and right ends of the building have vertical rows of terracotta quoins (decorative blocks at corners). These have Corinthian-style tops decorated with griffins and shields.

Above the brick wall, there's another stucco section with sgraffito decorations. These show grotesque figures holding swags (draped decorations) and human figures holding urns and staffs. These decorations are mixed with octagonal terracotta panels. In the center of this stucco section is a terracotta aedicule (a small temple-like structure) with a cartouche (a fancy frame for an inscription).

Northeast Corner

Window atop the Booth Theatre's corner section

Because the theater is on the corner of 45th Street and Shubert Alley, this corner is curved. It has a doorway in the middle with glass-and-metal doors. A canopy stretches from these doors to the street. There are stucco bas-relief panels with plant designs on both sides of the doorway. Above the doors is an entablature (a decorative band) with a broken pediment (a triangular top) shaped like a segmental arch. The center of this broken pediment has an urn, and its sides have dolphin carvings.

A brick wall rises above the doorway. Like on 45th Street, there are vertical quoins with Corinthian tops on the left and right. At the top of the brick wall, there's a stucco frieze (a decorative band) that used to have sgraffito designs. Above the frieze is a window, with scrolls and brackets on its sides. This window has a broken pediment with swags draped from a theater mask in the center. The very top of the corner section has a cornice, with a metal sign above it.

Shubert Alley Side

Shubert Alley facade, 2007

On the Shubert Alley side, the building is split into the stage area (to the left) and the auditorium (to the right). The auditorium section has one set of glass-and-metal doors on the far right. Similar to the other sides, the right part of the auditorium facade has vertical quoins with Corinthian tops. Also like the 45th Street side, there's a brick wall above the first floor, surrounded by a stucco sgraffito band with carvings. At the top of the brick wall is another stucco section with sgraffito decorations and three octagonal terracotta panels.

The stage area, which is shared with the Shubert Theatre, is simpler. It's mostly made of brick. The ground floor has doorways, metal panels, and signs. A band of quoins separates the stage area from the Shubert auditorium and the Booth auditorium. The upper floors have windows, and the fifth floor has a terracotta shield in the middle. The top of the stage area has a parapet (a low protective wall), with a sgraffito panel above it. The stage door is in this section.

Inside the Theatre (Interior)

The Lobby

The Booth Theatre has two lobbies: a ticket lobby and a rectangular inner lobby. Having two lobbies helps to keep out air drafts and noise from the street, so the audience inside isn't disturbed. The inner lobby's east wall has exits with fancy doorways and lighted exit signs. On the north wall of the inner lobby, there's a special spot with a statue (a bust) of actor Edwin Booth, who the theater is named after. This statue is a copy of one found at the Players Club, where Booth was a member. The west wall has brass lights called sconces and doors that lead into the main seating area. At the top of the walls, there's a Doric-style frieze (a decorative band). The inner lobby also has a coffered ceiling (a ceiling with sunken panels), with chandeliers hanging from each section.

The Auditorium

View of the auditorium's left wall from the stage. The walls contain wood paneling that rises to about two-thirds of the auditorium's height. The top third of the balcony walls contains elliptical arches with casement windows. The left boxes and balcony hang over the orchestra.

The main seating area, called the auditorium, has an orchestra level (the main floor), one balcony, special boxes on the sides, and a stage behind the proscenium arch. The auditorium is wider than it is deep. The Shubert Organization says the theater has 800 seats. Other sources say 766 or 770 seats. The seats are divided into 514 on the orchestra level, 252 on the balcony, and 12 in the boxes. There are also 22 spots for standing and 30 seats that can be removed in the orchestra pit.

The theater has restrooms in the basement and on the orchestra level, plus water fountains. The orchestra level is accessible for wheelchairs, but the balcony is not.

The original colors for the inside were gray and a rich mulberry (a reddish-purple). The interior was also decorated with items related to Edwin Booth, like his favorite armchair, posters, and playbills from his shows. Architecture magazine said the Booth's interior was "unusually good in design, tasteful, quiet and charming."

Seating Areas

You enter the orchestra level from doors at the back (east). The back of the orchestra has a walkway called a promenade. Decorative columns support the balcony above and separate the promenade from the seats. The top of the orchestra promenade's walls has a Doric-style frieze. Brass lanterns hang from the promenade's ceiling. The orchestra level slopes down towards the stage, where there's an orchestra pit. The balcony also slopes, and its back has a promenade, just like the orchestra. The balcony promenade has a frieze on its ceiling with brass-and-crystal chandeliers. Arches, with columns on their sides, lead from the balcony promenade to the balcony seats. There's also a technical booth at the back of the balcony. At the front of the balcony, there's a box seat on each side, supported by brackets. The underside of the balcony is covered with wood panels. The front railing of the balcony and boxes has paneled sections with strapwork patterns, and a light box is installed in front of the balcony railing.

The orchestra has wooden side walls that curve towards the stage. These paneled walls continue up to the balcony level, reaching about two-thirds of the auditorium's height. Above the paneling is a Doric-style frieze and cornice. At the top of the balcony walls, there are oval-shaped arches with casement windows above paneling. There are three such windows on each wall. Between these arches are wall sections with wall sconces (lights) flanked by engaged columns (columns that are partly attached to the wall). A decorative band runs across these wall sections and above the back of the balcony seating. Having casement windows above paneled walls is a rare design feature in Broadway theaters.

Other Design Features

View of the boxes on the right side of the auditorium

Next to the box seats is an oval-shaped proscenium arch, which has molded decorations around it. The opening of the proscenium is about 36 feet 2 inches (11.02 meters) wide and 25 feet 1 inch (7.65 meters) tall. The sides of the proscenium arch continue the wall paneling from the lower two-thirds of the auditorium. The top of the proscenium opening has plasterwork that matches the top third of the auditorium walls. The distance from the back of the auditorium to the proscenium is 29 feet 9 inches (9.07 meters), and to the front of the stage is 33 feet 4 inches (10.16 meters).

The coved ceiling rises above the decorative band at the top of the auditorium's walls. The coved ceiling is broken up by the arched openings on the side walls and at the back of the balcony seating. In these spots, there are groined ceiling sections (where two arched ceilings meet) with molded borders. The main part of the ceiling has a wide band of latticework (a crisscross pattern). This latticework band surrounds the central ceiling panel. Four chandeliers hang from the ceiling.

Other Rooms Inside

The dressing rooms are separated from the stages of both the Booth and Shubert theaters by a strong fireproof wall. The two theaters are also separated from each other by a 2-foot-thick (0.61 m) wall. In 1979, a gift shop called One Shubert Alley opened between the Shubert and Booth theaters. It was created from three of the Booth's old dressing rooms. The emergency exits of both theaters were designed as "fire- and smoke-proof towers" instead of outside fire escapes.

History of the Booth Theatre

Times Square became the main area for big theater shows between 1900 and the the Great Depression. New York City's theater district had started to move from other areas like Union Square in the early 1900s. From 1901 to 1920, 43 theaters were built around Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, including the Shubert Theatre. The Shubert brothers from Syracuse, New York, built these theaters. After one of the brothers, Sam S. Shubert, died in 1905, his brothers Lee and Jacob J. Shubert greatly expanded their theater business. By 1925, the brothers controlled a quarter of all plays and three-quarters of all theater ticket sales in the U.S.

Meanwhile, Winthrop Ames, who came from a rich publishing family, didn't get into theater until 1905, when he was 34. After working on two large theaters, Ames decided to focus on building smaller, more intimate venues.

Building the Theatre

Construction and Early Plans

Early view of the theater

In the early 1910s, as the Shuberts were building theaters, Ames was planning a new theater to replace the New Theatre. The New Theatre, built in 1909, was too big and too far from Times Square. In March 1911, the New Theatre's founders bought buildings on West 44th and 45th Streets to build a "new New Theatre." This project was canceled in December 1911. Ames then announced he would build the Little Theatre (now the Hayes Theater) across 44th Street.

In April 1912, Winthrop Ames and Lee Shubert decided to rent the site from the Astor family. They planned to build two theaters there, along with a private alley to the east. Shubert's theater would be larger, on 44th Street, while Ames's theater would be on 45th Street and have half the seats. The larger theater was named the Sam S. Shubert Theatre, after Lee's late brother. The smaller one was named after Edwin Booth. The Booth Theatre became the second theater in New York City to be named after Booth.

Several architects were considered for the design, but the Shuberts chose Henry B. Herts. Construction on the two theaters began in May 1912. The project faced several delays and arguments over costs. Ames also asked for changes to the Booth's design in mid-1912, which caused more delays.

Ames Runs the Booth Theatre

Stucco band of sgraffito decorations on the 45th Street facade

Ames wanted the new theater to be a cozy place that was still "large enough to make possible the usual scale of orchestra and balcony prices." The Booth was supposed to open on October 10, 1913, but a heavy rain flooded the basement, delaying it by six days. The theater finally opened on October 16 with the play The Great Adventure. It ran for 52 performances.

The first really successful show at the Booth was Experience, which opened in late 1914 and ran for 255 performances. Ames also held a competition for the best play by an American writer about an American topic. He gave the $10,000 prize to Alice Brown's play Children of Earth, which was shown at the Booth in January 1915.

In the late 1910s, the Booth hosted many successful plays by famous writers. These included George Bernard Shaw's Getting Married in 1916 and Clare Kummer's A Successful Calamity in 1917. Seventeen, based on a Booth Tarkington novel, opened in 1918. In 1919, the theater showed the mystery The Woman in Room 13 and the W. Somerset Maugham comedy Too Many Husbands.

In the 1920s, the Booth continued to host popular shows. The Green Goddess opened in 1921 and ran for 440 performances. A. A. Milne's play The Truth About Blayds opened in 1922. Seventh Heaven premiered later that year, running for 683 performances. In 1924, the Booth hosted Dancing Mothers with Helen Hayes. This was followed by George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber's play Minick.

Many shows at the Booth in 1925 and 1926 were not very successful. However, the Booth had another hit in early 1927 with the Maxwell Anderson comedy Saturday's Children, which ran for 310 performances. Ames announced his retirement from producing plays in October 1929, but he said he would still control the Booth Theatre.

The Shuberts Take Over

1930s and 1940s

Canopy

The Booth Theatre hosted about 50 productions in the 1930s. Many of these shows were short-lived, but the theater was always quickly rebooked because of its great location. In 1932, Ames completely gave up his management of the Booth, and the Shuberts took over.

In 1934, the theater had some moderate successes like No More Ladies and The Shining Hour. Plays in 1935 included J. B. Priestley's Laburnum Grove and Edward Chodorov's Kind Lady. In 1936, the Chinese drama Lady Precious Stream was shown, and Rex Harrison made his Broadway debut in Sweet Aloes.

A very famous play, You Can't Take It with You, premiered in December 1936 and ran for 837 performances. It even won a Pulitzer Prize. Another Pulitzer-winning play, The Time of Your Life, opened at the Booth in late 1939.

Shows at the Booth in the 1940s generally ran for longer periods. In 1941, the Rose Franken play Claudia ran for a year. The Noël Coward comedy Blithe Spirit moved to the Booth in May 1942 and ran until June of the next year. Another long run was The Two Mrs. Carrolls, which opened in 1943 and had 585 performances.

In 1947, the Norman Krasna play John Loves Mary was a hit. In 1949, At War with the Army was presented, and The Velvet Glove opened at the end of that year.

1950s to 1970s

A sign on the 45th Street facade

William Inge's play Come Back, Little Sheba opened in 1950. It was Inge's first Broadway production. Another success was Beatrice Lillie's show An Evening with Beatrice Lillie in 1952, which ran for 278 performances. In 1953, the Booth hosted the world premiere of the film Caesar, which was unusual for a theater.

The Booth's next big success was a ten-month run of Jerome Chodorov's Anniversary Waltz, starting in late 1954. Gore Vidal's comedy Visit to a Small Planet opened in February 1957 and ran for a year. Later, William Gibson's two-person play Two for the Seesaw opened in January 1958 and ran until late 1959.

Paddy Chayefsky's play The Tenth Man started at the Booth in November 1959 and ran for 623 performances. In 1961, the comedy A Shot in the Dark was very successful. A comedy by Murray Schisgal, Luv, opened in 1964 and ran for about 900 performances.

After several shorter runs, the Booth hosted the Leonard Gershe play Butterflies Are Free, which had an amazing 1,128 performances through 1972.

The Booth's first new show of the 1970s was Joseph Papp's version of Jason Miller's Pulitzer-winning play That Championship Season. It moved from The Public Theater in September 1972 and ran for 844 performances. Another big hit was For Colored Girls Who Have Considered ... / When the Rainbow Is Enuf, which opened in 1976 and ran for 742 performances.

In 1979, the Shuberts hired Melanie Kahane to redesign the Booth Theatre. She worked to bring back the Booth's original look. The auditorium was redecorated with beige and brown colors. Also, three old dressing rooms were turned into the One Shubert Alley store. The Booth ended the decade with a transfer of Bernard Pomerance's play The Elephant Man, which opened in 1979 and ran for 916 performances.

1980s and 1990s

Doorways to the theater on Shubert Alley

Bill C. Davis's play Mass Appeal moved to the Booth in 1981. The Royal Shakespeare Company presented the C. P. Taylor play Good in 1982. In 1984, Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Pulitzer-winning musical Sunday in the Park With George opened. The Herb Gardner play I'm Not Rappaport moved to the Booth in November 1985 and ran for 890 performances. The last big hit of the decade was Shirley Valentine, which opened in 1989 and had 324 performances.

The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) began looking into protecting the Booth as an official city landmark in 1982. Both the Booth's outside and part of its inside were named landmarks on November 4, 1987. This was part of a big effort by the LPC to protect many Broadway theaters. The Shuberts and other theater owners sued the LPC in June 1988 to try and stop these landmark designations. They argued that the designations made it too hard to change the theaters. However, these designations were eventually upheld in 1992.

In October 1990, Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty's musical Once on This Island opened at the Booth, running for 469 performances. This was followed in 1992 by Frank Loesser's The Most Happy Fella and Frank McGuinness's play Someone Who'll Watch Over Me. In 1995, the Booth hosted Emily Mann's production of Having Our Say, which ran for 308 performances. The Booth then hosted two solo shows: Love Thy Neighbor by Jackie Mason in 1996, and Defending the Caveman.

2000s to Today

The Glass Menagerie at the Booth Theatre in 2013

Lily Tomlin performed her solo show The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe in 2000. Another solo show, Bea Arthur's Bea Arthur on Broadway, followed in 2002. A 2002 revival of I'm Not Rappaport closed after 51 performances, and Thornton Wilder's play Our Town was also revived that year.

The drama The Pillowman opened in 2005, followed by revivals of Faith Healer and Butley in 2006. Joan Didion's solo play The Year of Magical Thinking and Conor McPherson's drama The Seafarer both ran for several months in 2007. Laurence Fishburne also starred in the solo drama Thurgood for over a hundred performances in 2008.

The play Next to Normal opened at the Booth in April 2009 and ran until January 2011. After a short run of the play High in April 2011, a longer run of Other Desert Cities premiered later that year. The Booth mostly hosted straight plays (non-musicals) during the 2010s. These included Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? in 2012, I'll Eat You Last: A Chat with Sue Mengers and The Glass Menagerie in 2013, and The Velocity of Autumn and The Elephant Man in 2014.

Hand to God was the most successful production during this time, opening in 2015 and running for 337 performances. Other plays at the Booth included Hughie, An Act of God, and Les Liaisons Dangereuses in 2016. Significant Other and Meteor Shower were staged in 2017. The Boys in the Band and American Son were shown in 2018.

The Booth hosted Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus in early 2019, followed by a limited run of Freestyle Love Supreme later that year. The theater closed on March 12, 2020, because of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City. A revival of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, which had only played previews, was then canceled. The Booth reopened on October 7, 2021, with another limited run of Freestyle Love Supreme. A short revival of For Colored Girls Who Have Considered ... / When the Rainbow Is Enuf opened in April 2022. It was followed by Kimberly Akimbo in November 2022.

Famous Shows at the Booth Theatre

Here are some notable productions that have been performed at the Booth Theatre, listed by the year they first opened:

Box Office Records

Bette Midler set a box-office record for the Booth Theatre with her show I'll Eat You Last: A Chat with Sue Mengers. It earned $865,144 in May 2013. Then, The Elephant Man, starring Bradley Cooper, broke Midler's record. It made $1,058,547 in one week ending December 28, 2014. As of 2023, the record is held by The Boys in the Band. This production earned $1,152,649 over eight performances for the week ending August 12, 2018.

Images for kids

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  The Booth Theatre in New York City.

See also

In Spanish: Teatro Booth para niños

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