Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre

Plymouth Theatre
Come From Away at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre (2019)
Address	236 West 45th Street Manhattan, New York City United States
Coordinates	40°45′31″N 73°59′15″W / 40.7585°N 73.9874°W / 40.7585; -73.9874
Public transit	Subway: Times Square–42nd Street/Port Authority Bus Terminal
Owner	Schoenfeld Theatre, LLC
Operator	The Shubert Organization
Type	Broadway
Capacity	1,079
Production	The Notebook
Construction
Opened	October 10, 1917
Years active	1917–present
Architect	Herbert J. Krapp
New York City Landmark
Designated	December 15, 1987
Reference no.	1368
Designated entity	Facade
New York City Landmark
Designated	December 15, 1987
Reference no.	1369
Designated entity	Auditorium interior

The Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre is a famous Broadway theater in New York City. It's located at 236 West 45th Street in the busy Theater District of Midtown Manhattan. The theater first opened its doors in 1917. It was designed by Herbert J. Krapp for the Shubert brothers, who were very important in theater history.

Originally, the theater was called the Plymouth Theatre. In 2005, it was renamed to honor Gerald Schoenfeld. He was the longtime president of the Shubert Organization, which still runs the theater today. The Schoenfeld Theatre has 1,079 seats spread across two levels. Both the outside (facade) and the inside (auditorium) are protected as important New York City landmarks. This means they are special and can't be changed much.

The theater's outside looks simple but elegant. It's made of light-colored brick and terracotta. The inside is decorated in a classic style called Adam style, with beautiful plaster designs. There are special box seats near the stage. Over the years, the theater has shown many different types of performances. These include musicals, comedies, and serious plays (dramas).

Where the Theater Is Located

The Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre is at 236 West 45th Street. This street is in the heart of New York City's Theater District. It's between Eighth Avenue and Seventh Avenue, close to Times Square. The theater block is very important for Broadway. It has the largest number of Broadway theaters on one block.

The Schoenfeld Theatre is right next to several other famous theaters. These include the Majestic, John Golden, Bernard B. Jacobs, Booth, Shubert, and Broadhurst. The Shubert brothers built the Broadhurst and Schoenfeld theaters together. They share a small alleyway to the east.

How the Theater Was Designed

The Schoenfeld Theatre was designed by Herbert J. Krapp in 1917. It was one of his first theater designs as an independent architect. The outside of the Schoenfeld and the nearby Broadhurst theaters look similar. However, their insides are quite different. The Shubert Organization still operates the Schoenfeld Theatre.

Outside Look (Facade)

Krapp designed the outside of the Schoenfeld and Broadhurst theaters to be simple. He used brick and stone, making the patterns of the bricks the main decoration. The eastern corner of the Schoenfeld's facade is curved. This was common for theaters at the time, as many people came from Broadway.

The outside of the Schoenfeld is split into two main parts. The eastern part is where the audience enters. The western part is the stage house, where sets and equipment are kept.

Audience Entrance Area

Architectural details of the auditorium facade

Lobby

Fire escape on third story, with parapet above

Cartouche and window on curve

The bottom part of the entrance area is made of granite. The rest is mostly architectural terracotta with light-colored bricks. On 45th Street, there are three glass and bronze double doors. These lead into the lobby. A large sign, called a marquee, hangs above the doors. The curved corner has another entrance for tickets.

The second and third floors on 45th Street have a fire escape made of metal. It has doors and windows leading to it. Above the third floor, there's a terracotta decoration called a cartouche. It has designs like swags. A decorative edge, called a cornice, runs along the top of the building.

Stage House

Stage house

The stage house is six stories tall. Its front on 45th Street is made of light-colored brick with diamond patterns. The side walls are plain brick. The ground floor has two metal doors. One is extra tall to bring in large stage sets. The stage house also has windows on its upper floors. A metal fire escape connects to the one on the auditorium side.

Inside the Theater (Auditorium)

The inside of the theater has an orchestra level (main floor), one balcony, and special box seats. The stage is at the front, framed by a large arch. The auditorium is wider than it is deep. It's decorated with plaster designs that stick out from the walls.

The Shubert Organization says the theater has 1,079 seats. Another source, Playbill, says it has 1,046 seats. Most seats are on the orchestra level (653), then the balcony (392), and 24 in the boxes. There are also 15 spots for standing. The orchestra level is good for wheelchairs, but the balcony can only be reached by stairs. Restrooms are in the basement.

The Schoenfeld and the nearby Jacobs theaters are popular with producers. This is because they offer great views of the stage from almost every seat. The theater's interior is decorated in the Adam style. This style uses low-relief plasterwork. The decorations often show classical figures playing musical instruments.

Seating Areas

View of the right-wall boxes, with the sounding board rising above them, as depicted in Architecture and Building (1918)

At the back of the orchestra level, there's a wide walkway called a promenade. It has four decorated columns that hold up the balcony. Chandeliers hang from the promenade ceiling. Two staircases with metal railings lead from the promenade up to the balcony. The orchestra floor slopes down towards the stage. This helps everyone see the performance better.

The balcony also has a promenade at the back. It has decorated columns with Corinthian-style tops. These columns support a decorative band showing sphinxes and urns. The side walls of the balcony also have plaster panels. There are doorways with decorative tops, similar to those downstairs.

On each side of the stage, there are three box seats at the balcony level. These boxes step down towards the stage. The front of the boxes has decorative designs. The underside of each box has a light fixture. Above the boxes, there are arched panels that help support the ceiling.

Other Design Features

Next to the box seats is the main arch around the stage, called the proscenium arch. It's decorated with vines and medallions. The opening for the stage is about 38 feet tall and 40 feet wide. A curved "sounding board" above the stage helps direct the sound to the audience. It has a large central panel and circular medallions with chandeliers.

The ceiling of the theater is mostly flat. It has decorative moldings with acanthus leaves and other designs. Around the edge of the ceiling, there's an Adam style band. It has small carved pictures (cameos) of mythical creatures like fauns and Pan. The center of the ceiling has a crisscross pattern with more chandeliers.

History of the Theater

The area around Times Square became the main place for big theater shows between 1900 and the Great Depression. Many theaters, including the Plymouth Theatre, were built during this time. The Shubert brothers were a big part of this. They built many theaters in New York City. By 1925, they controlled a huge part of the theater business in the U.S.

Early Years and Development

The facade as depicted in Architecture and Building (1918)

The Shubert brothers had already built the Shubert and Booth theaters in 1913. They decided to build two more theaters, the Broadhurst and the Plymouth, next to them. Arthur Hopkins, a theater producer, leased the new theater on 45th Street from the Shuberts in 1917. He named it the Plymouth. It was the Shuberts' fourth theater built in New York City that year.

The Plymouth Theatre opened on October 10, 1917. The first show was a comedy called A Successful Calamity. Later that year, the play The Gipsy Trail ran for 111 performances. In the early years, the theater hosted famous actors like Alla Nazimova and John Barrymore. Many successful plays were shown here, including The Jest and Little Old New York.

In the 1920s, the Plymouth continued to host popular shows. These included The Potters and the wartime drama What Price Glory?. In 1926, Winthrop Ames brought back classic Gilbert and Sullivan operettas like Iolanthe and The Pirates of Penzance. In 1927, Arthur Hopkins renewed his lease. The play Burlesque ran for 372 performances.

1930s and 1940s

The doorway at the northeast corner of the theater

The 1930s saw plays like Counsellor at Law with Paul Muni and Her Master's Voice. The theater also hosted Dark Victory and Accent on Youth. In 1935, a play based on Pride and Prejudice was very popular.

The theater had many long-running shows in the late 1930s and 1940s. Tovarich ran for almost a year. Susan and God with Gertrude Lawrence was also a hit. Robert E. Sherwood's play Abe Lincoln in Illinois, which won a Pulitzer Prize, ran for a year starting in 1938. In 1942, Thornton Wilder's famous play The Skin of Our Teeth with Tallulah Bankhead had 355 performances.

Other notable shows in the 1940s included Lute Song with Mary Martin and Yul Brynner. In 1948, Tallulah Bankhead and Donald Cook starred in Private Lives, which ran for 248 performances.

1950s to 1970s

View of a pilaster near the top of the facade

After Arthur Hopkins passed away in 1950, the Shuberts took over the theater. Happy Time ran for 614 performances. In 1952, the mystery play Dial M for Murder was a big success, running for 552 performances. The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial with Henry Fonda opened in 1954.

The musical Irma La Douce opened in 1960. In 1965, Neil Simon's famous comedy The Odd Couple premiered at the Plymouth. It starred Walter Matthau and Art Carney and ran for over a year. Simon had another hit with Plaza Suite in 1968, which ran for 1,097 performances.

In the 1970s, the Plymouth continued to host successful shows. Equus ran for two years starting in 1974. The musical Runaways moved to the Plymouth in 1978. The popular Fats Waller musical revue Ain't Misbehavin' also moved here in 1979 and stayed for two years.

1980s and 1990s

View of the auditorium facade, with fire escapes on it

In 1981, the theater hosted Piaf. Later that year, the very long (eight-hour!) play The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby was shown. Tickets for this special show cost $100, which was a lot at the time.

In 1984, The Real Thing by Tom Stoppard was a big hit, running for over a year and a half. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission decided to protect the Plymouth as a landmark in 1987. This meant its unique facade and interior could not be changed easily.

The 1980s and 1990s also saw plays like Burn This with John Malkovich and Joan Allen. The Heidi Chronicles moved to the Plymouth in 1989 and ran for a year and a half. The musical Passion opened in 1994. The theater's last big show of the 20th century was the musical Jekyll & Hyde. It opened in 1997 and ran for an amazing 1,543 performances.

2000s to Today

Plymouth Theatre, showing The Graduate, 2003

In the early 2000s, the Plymouth hosted a revival of Bells Are Ringing. The play The Graduate, based on the movie, ran for almost a year starting in 2002.

In 2004, the Shubert Organization decided to rename the Plymouth Theatre. They chose to honor Gerald Schoenfeld, who was their president at the time. The theater was officially renamed the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre on May 9, 2005.

After the renaming, the musical A Chorus Line opened in 2006 and ran for almost two years. In the 2010s, the Schoenfeld hosted many plays and musicals. These included The Best Man and Glengarry Glen Ross in 2012. The theater was also renovated in 2014.

In 2017, the musical Come from Away opened at the Schoenfeld. It became the theater's longest-running show. It closed in October 2022. After that, Take Me Out and Life of Pi were performed. The musical The Notebook is planned for early 2024.

Famous Shows at the Theater

Here are some of the most well-known shows that have played at this theater, listed by when they first opened.

Plymouth Theatre

Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre

Theater Ticket Sales Records

The Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre has set some impressive records for ticket sales.

• In 2009, the play A Steady Rain earned $1,292,210 in one week.
• This record was broken in 2015 by It's Only a Play, which made $1,455,818 in a week.
• The current record was set by the musical Come From Away in 2017. It earned $1,834,218 in just one week!

See also

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