Longacre Theatre facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Longacre Theatre

The Prom, 2019
Address	220 West 48th Street Manhattan, New York United States
Coordinates	40°45′37″N 73°59′09″W / 40.76028°N 73.98583°W / 40.76028; -73.98583
Owner	The Shubert Organization
Type	Broadway theatre
Capacity	1,077
Production	Lempicka
Construction
Opened	May 1, 1913
Years active	1913–1942, 1953–present
Architect	Henry Beaumont Herts
New York City Landmark
Designated	December 8, 1987
Reference no.	1348
Designated entity	Facade
New York City Landmark
Designated	December 8, 1987
Reference no.	1349
Designated entity	Auditorium interior

The Longacre Theatre is a famous Broadway theater located at 220 West 48th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It first opened its doors in 1913. It was designed by Henry B. Herts and got its name from Longacre Square, which is now called Times Square.

The Longacre Theatre has 1,077 seats and is managed by The Shubert Organization. Both the outside (facade) and the inside of the theater are protected as special landmarks in New York City. The front of the theater has a cool design with special blocks and a large sign called a marquee. Inside, you'll find beautiful plaster decorations, a sloped seating area, two balconies, and a curved ceiling.

A theater owner named Harry Frazee bought the land in 1911 to build the Longacre Theatre for musicals. It opened on May 1, 1913, with a play called Are You a Crook?. However, many early shows at the theater were not very popular. Frazee later sold his share in 1917 to focus on baseball. The Shubert brothers bought the Longacre in 1924. They used it for plays for about 20 years before it became a radio and TV studio in 1944. The Shuberts brought it back to showing plays in 1953. For a while, the theater was known for not having many successful shows. It was almost turned into a courtroom in the early 1990s. The Longacre Theatre was updated and renovated in 2008.

Where is the Longacre Theatre?

The Longacre Theatre is at 220 West 48th Street. It's on the south side of the street, between Eighth Avenue and Broadway. This area is part of the Theater District in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It's also very close to Times Square.

The land the theater sits on is about 9990 square feet. It has a front side of about 100 feet on 48th Street and goes back about 100 feet. The Longacre Theatre is near other famous theaters like the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre and the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. Before the Longacre Theatre was built, this area had smaller homes and factories.

How the Longacre Theatre Looks

The Longacre Theatre was designed by Henry B. Herts for Harry Frazee. Herts had designed other Broadway theaters before, like the New Amsterdam Theatre. The Longacre was one of the first theaters Herts designed all by himself.

Outside Design (Facade)

Main entrance of the theater

The front of the theater, called the facade, faces north on 48th Street. It has a balanced and classic French style. Early descriptions said the facade was made of gray limestone and terracotta (a type of clay material). The terracotta parts were painted in different colors. One newspaper even compared the theater to a famous palace in England!

At the street level, the facade has special textured blocks made of terracotta. There are five doorways, with the main entrance covered by a large metal sign called a marquee. The stage door is to the left of the main entrance.

The upper parts of the building are divided into five sections, separated by decorative columns called pilasters. These pilasters have flower designs, urns, and niches (small alcoves). Inside these niches are statues of women representing Drama, holding masks and scrolls. The columns have fancy tops called Corinthian capitals.

The three middle sections above the marquee have tall windows. These windows have decorative sills and curved tops. The two outer sections have panels and brackets that once held large billboards.

A decorative niche on the outer part of the building

A window in the center of the facade

Windows near the top of the building

Near the top of each section, there's a decorative panel with an oval plaque and round designs. Above this, a decorative band goes across the whole facade. It has the words "The Longacre Theatre" written on it. The very top of the building has an attic story with more windows and decorative elements.

Inside Design (Interior)

The theater was built to be fireproof, using strong materials like stone, brick, steel, and concrete. The main seating area, called the auditorium, has a lower level (orchestra), two balconies, special box seats, and a stage. The auditorium is a bit wider than it is deep and has beautiful plaster decorations.

The Longacre Theatre has 1,077 seats. These seats are divided into 508 on the orchestra level, 304 in the first balcony, 249 in the second balcony, and 16 in the box seats. In 2008, some seats were removed to make it easier for people in wheelchairs to get around and to improve views of the stage. The orchestra level is wheelchair-friendly, and there's a small lift for the balcony levels.

The original colors inside were Roman gold, with purple carpets and gold curtains. While some said the decorations were "simple," they were actually very detailed. The current colors, gold and green, were added during the 2008 renovation.

The lobby used to be gray-green with gold and marble details. The dressing rooms behind the stage are separated from the audience by a thick steel wall. In 2008, a new lounge was added in the basement, and the top floor was turned into another lounge with a bar and restrooms.

Seating Areas

The inside of the theater, around 1910–1915

Behind the orchestra seating, there's a walkway called a promenade. The walls of this area and the sides of the orchestra have decorative plaster panels and doorways. Stairs with metal railings lead from the promenade to the balconies. The orchestra floor slopes down towards the orchestra pit in front of the stage.

There are also walkways behind both balcony levels. The walls here have similar plasterwork and doorways. Lights and air conditioning vents are located under both balconies. There's also a technical booth behind the second balcony. The fronts of the balconies used to have fancy plaster decorations, which were removed at some point but brought back in 2008. The balconies are not very high, which was a design choice to bring the seats closer to the stage.

On each side of the stage, there is a curved box seat area on the first balcony level. These boxes are set inside flat-arched openings. Like the balconies, the box seats also had their original decorations removed and then restored in 2008. Above each box, there's a decorative band with leaf designs and a cornice.

Other Design Features

Next to the box seats is a flat arch that frames the stage, called the proscenium arch. The inside edge of this arch has a molded shell design. A wider band with leaf and crisscross patterns also surrounds the arch. Old reports from 1913 said this band was made of gold and marble.

Above the center of the arch is a decorative piece called a cartouche, with more leaf designs. This cartouche overlaps the wide band and the decoration above it. The proscenium arch is about 34 feet 10 inches high and 35 feet wide. The stage itself is about 70 feet wide and between 36 and 46 feet deep.

The ceiling is slightly curved at its edges, but most of it is flat. A curved, molded band divides the ceiling into front and back sections. The front part of the ceiling has a wide panel with more cartouches and leaf decorations. Two chandeliers hang from this panel. The back part of the ceiling is semicircular and surrounded by a band with leaf designs.

History of the Longacre Theatre

The area around Times Square became a major hub for theater shows between 1900 and the 1930s. Many theaters, including the Longacre, were built in Midtown Manhattan during this time. Harry Frazee, who later became famous in baseball, started in the theater business as a 16-year-old usher in 1896.

Building and Early Years

Illuminated sign on the theater

In late 1911, Harry Frazee and George W. Lederer bought the land for the Longacre Theatre. They named it after Longacre Square, the old name for Times Square. Architect Henry B. Herts was chosen to design the theater in January 1912. Frazee planned to put his own musicals there. Construction began in May 1912 and was expected to cost $150,000.

The theater was supposed to open in October 1912, but there were delays due to strikes and problems with contractors. These delays almost doubled the cost to $275,000. The Longacre Theatre finally opened on May 1, 1913, with a play called Are You a Crook?, which only ran for 12 performances.

However, a musical called Adele, which opened in August 1913, was much more successful. After that, the Longacre had several shows that weren't very popular. In 1914, the melodrama A Pair of Sixes ran for 188 performances, and the comedy Kick In with John Barrymore ran for 207 performances. Other popular shows in 1915 included Inside the Lines and The Great Lover.

In 1916, Frazee and G. M. Anderson bought the theater. The next big hit was Nothing but the Truth, which ran for 332 performances. In November 1916, Frazee sold his share to focus on managing the Boston Red Sox baseball team. The Longacre then hosted two more popular shows: the musical Leave It to Jane in 1917 and Adam and Eva in 1919.

From the 1920s to the Early 1940s

In the early 1920s, the Longacre hosted plays like Pitter Patter and The Champion. Famous actress Ethel Barrymore leased the theater in 1922 and performed in three plays there, including Romeo and Juliet. Another successful show in 1923 was Little Jessie James, which ran for 385 performances.

The Shubert brothers bought the Longacre in May 1924 for $600,000. In 1925, George S. Kaufman produced The Butter and Egg Man, a play he wrote by himself. The theater also staged An American Tragedy in 1926 and the comedy The Command to Love in 1927.

During the late 1920s, shows like Jarnegan with Joan Bennett and Hawk Island with Clark Gable played at the Longacre. The early 1930s didn't see many long-running shows. A hit came in 1932 with Blessed Event. In 1935, the Group Theatre premiered two plays by Clifford Odets, Till the Day I Die and Waiting for Lefty, which were very popular.

In 1938, Paul Osborn's On Borrowed Time ran for 321 performances. Another Osborn play, Morning's at Seven, had a shorter run in 1939. In the early 1940s, most productions at the Longacre were short, except for Three's a Family, which opened in 1943 and ran for 497 performances.

Mid-1940s to 1960s

Entrance to the Longacre Theatre

In 1944, the Shuberts leased the Longacre Theatre to the Mutual Broadcasting System (MBS) to be used as a radio and television studio. MBS used the theater for shows like Broadway Talks Back. The Longacre was the only MBS studio that allowed live audiences.

The theater was used as a studio for nine and a half years. By 1953, there was a shortage of theaters in New York City, so the Shuberts decided to bring the Longacre back to showing plays. The first play after it reopened was Ladies of the Corridor in October 1953, which was not a success.

More successful was Lillian Hellman's version of The Lark in 1955, starring Julie Harris. This was followed by Fair Game in 1957 and the comedy The Pleasure of His Company in 1958.

In 1961, Eugène Ionesco's Rhinoceros opened, starring Zero Mostel. Other notable shows in the 1960s included A Case of Libel (1963), Lorraine Hansberry's The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window (1964), and Hal Holbrook's solo show Mark Twain Tonight! (1966). In 1969, the National Theatre of the Deaf also performed there.

1970s and 1980s

Side view of the Longacre Theatre

For a while, the Longacre Theatre had a reputation for hosting shows that weren't very successful. Some productions even limited the audience size to avoid certain union rules. However, in 1975, the theater finally had a big hit with The Ritz, which ran for 400 performances. Julie Harris starred in The Belle of Amherst in 1976.

In 1978, the musical revue Ain't Misbehavin' opened at the Longacre and was a huge success, running for 1,604 performances across three theaters. Another hit was Children of a Lesser God in 1980, which ran for 887 performances.

Despite these successes, the Longacre often remained empty for several months at a time during the 1980s. In the late 1980s, the Shuberts renovated the theater as part of a plan to restore their Broadway theaters.

In 1987, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission decided to protect the Longacre's facade (outside) and interior (inside) as a landmark. This meant the theater's unique design could not be changed easily. The Shuberts and other theater owners tried to fight this decision in court, but the landmark status was upheld in 1992.

1990s to Today

Side view of the sign on the facade

In 1990, the Longacre hosted the musical Truly Blessed. In 1991, city officials suggested turning the theater into a courtroom for a few years. Many theater people were against this idea because they didn't want another Broadway theater to stop being used for plays. Luckily, another location for the court was found.

The Longacre returned to showing plays in 1993 with Tango Pasion. A revival of Medea starring Diana Rigg was hosted in 1994. In 1997, The Young Man From Atlanta opened, followed by Golden Child in 1998.

In the early 2000s, the Longacre had some short runs, including Judgment at Nuremberg (2001) and A Thousand Clowns (2001). In 2003, as part of an agreement, the Shuberts improved disabled access at their theaters, including the Longacre. The theater then had two shows that closed very quickly: The Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All (2003) and Prymate (2004). A successful revival of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? opened in 2005.

After Talk Radio ended in 2007, the Longacre closed for a big $12 million renovation. The marquee was replaced, and the air conditioning was updated. The inside was completely rebuilt with new seats and lounges, and the original decorations were restored. The theater reopened in May 2008 with the comedy Boeing Boeing, which was the longest-running show at the Longacre in almost 30 years.

In the 2010s, the Longacre hosted many popular musicals and plays. These included La Cage aux Folles (2010), Of Mice and Men (2014), and A Bronx Tale (2016). A Bronx Tale even set a box office record for the theater, earning over $1.2 million in one week! During the run of The Prom in 2019, the first known onstage wedding between two women on Broadway happened at the Longacre.

On March 12, 2020, the theater closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It reopened on November 2, 2021, with the musical Diana. A revival of Macbeth opened in April 2022, followed by the play Leopoldstadt in October 2022. The musical Lempicka opened at the theater in April 2024.

Famous Shows at the Longacre Theatre

Here are some of the notable Broadway shows that have played at the Longacre Theatre, listed by the year they first opened:

See also

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