Majestic Theatre (Broadway) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Majestic Theatre

Address	245 West 44th Street Manhattan, New York City United States
Coordinates	40°45′30″N 73°59′17″W / 40.75833°N 73.98806°W / 40.75833; -73.98806
Public transit	Subway: Times Square–42nd Street/Port Authority Bus Terminal
Owner	Majestic Theatre LLC
Operator	The Shubert Organization
Type	Broadway
Capacity	1,681
Construction
Opened	March 28, 1927
Years active	1927–present
Architect	Herbert J. Krapp
New York City Landmark
Designated	December 8, 1987
Reference no.	1355
Designated entity	Facade
New York City Landmark
Designated	December 8, 1987
Reference no.	1356
Designated entity	Lobby and auditorium interior

The Majestic Theatre is a famous Broadway theater located at 245 West 44th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It first opened its doors in 1927. The theater was designed by Herbert J. Krapp in a beautiful Spanish style. It was built for a real-estate developer named Irwin S. Chanin.

The Majestic Theatre has 1,681 seats spread across two levels. It is currently managed by The Shubert Organization. Both the outside (facade) and the inside (interior) of the theater are considered New York City landmarks. This means they are protected because of their historical and architectural importance.

The outside of the theater looks like it's from Spain, with golden bricks, special clay (terracotta), and stone. It has two main parts. The front part has the theater's entrance, with cool fire-escape balconies above it. The back part is taller and holds the stage. Inside, the main seating area (auditorium) has fancy decorations, steep seats on the ground floor (like stadium seating), a big balcony, and a huge plaster dome on the ceiling.

The Majestic is part of a larger complex built by Chanin. This complex also includes the Bernard B. Jacobs and John Golden theaters, plus the Lincoln Hotel. The Shubert Organization has been running the Majestic since 1930. Because of its large size, the Majestic was always meant to host big musical theater shows. Many famous musicals started here, including Carousel, South Pacific, The Music Man, Camelot, A Little Night Music, and The Wiz. From 1988 to 2023, the theater was home to The Phantom of the Opera, which became the longest-running show in Broadway history before it closed.

Where the Theater Is Located

The Majestic Theatre is at 245 West 44th Street. It's on the north side of the street, between Eighth Avenue and Seventh Avenue. This area is very close to Times Square in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan, New York City.

The theater's plot of land is almost a rectangle. It covers about 13,625 square feet (1,266 square meters). The Majestic Theatre shares its city block with the Row NYC Hotel and six other theaters. This block has the largest number of Broadway theaters in one place!

The land where the Majestic and nearby buildings stand used to have twenty brownstone houses. This land belonged to the Astor family from 1803 until 1922.

How the Theater Was Designed

The Majestic Theatre was designed by Herbert J. Krapp in a Spanish style. It was built between 1926 and 1927 for the Chanin brothers. It was part of a big entertainment project that included the Lincoln Hotel and two other theaters, the Masque (now the Golden) and the Royale (now the Jacobs). Krapp designed all of them in a similar Spanish style. The Majestic was planned to be the biggest theater in this group, with about 1,800 seats.

Outside Look (Facade)

Entrances

Fire escapes above the auditorium

Upper stories of stage house

The front of the Majestic Theatre has two parts that are not exactly the same. The part on the west side is wider and has the main entrance to the seating area. The part on the east side is narrower and taller; it holds the stage area.

At street level, the entrance has glass and aluminum doors. Above the entrance, there's a metal sign called a marquee. This is where the name of the show playing at the theater is displayed.

On the upper floors, the theater has two outdoor balconies with wrought-iron railings. These balconies are used as fire exits. The walls above these balconies are made of brick with decorative clay pieces.

The taller stage house section has windows on its upper floors. There are also large signs on the front of this section.

Inside Look (Interior)

Krapp designed the inside of the Majestic to look like the style of King Louis XV of France. It uses colors like ivory (a creamy white) and gold. You can reach both the main floor seats (orchestra) and the balcony from the same lobby. This design was meant to make the seating feel more "democratic," so everyone felt equally important. The theater also has only one balcony, instead of the usual two, because the developer, Irwin Chanin, felt that a second balcony was too far away from the stage.

The Chanin brothers wanted each of their three theaters to have a unique interior design, even though they all had a Spanish theme on the outside. They believed that beautiful and comfortable theaters would attract more people.

Lobby

When you enter the theater, you first go into the ticket lobby. From there, three double doors lead you into the main entrance foyer. This foyer is a rectangular room with decorative walls and a special ceiling. The ceiling has wavy and leaf designs, dividing it into panels. Some panels have central medallions with carved pictures (cameos), and there are also chandeliers hanging down.

Stairs and Hallways

On the west side of the entrance foyer, there's a stone staircase with metal railings. It goes up to a landing and then splits into two, leading to a hallway behind the main floor seats (orchestra). The walls along the staircase have decorative panels with flower designs. This hallway was originally decorated in a French style.

The staircase continues up to the balcony, two floors above the entrance. This part of the staircase also has wrought-iron railings and decorative walls. The ceiling of this staircase is a half-dome with vine and cameo designs.

Auditorium

Auditorium

The main seating area, called the auditorium, has seats on the orchestra level, one balcony, special box seats, and a stage behind a large archway (proscenium arch). The Majestic is one of the bigger Broadway theaters. It has 1,681 seats, including some standing-only spots. The seats are divided into 885 on the orchestra level, 292 at the front of the balcony, 436 at the back, and 32 in the box seats.

The orchestra level has a slight slope, but the back rows are much steeper, like stadium seating. The very last row of the orchestra is actually on the same level as the mezzanine hallway. There are exit doors and a wide aisle in the middle of the orchestra section. The walls in the orchestra area have decorative panels and brass wall lights.

The balcony is also divided into front and back sections by an aisle. The walls in the front of the balcony have arched panels with leaf and flower designs. The balcony also has decorative moldings and chandeliers hanging from the ceiling.

Underneath the balcony, at orchestra level

On each side of the stage, there are four box seats on the balcony level. These boxes step down towards the stage. Their railings have molded designs of waves and leaves.

Next to the box seats is the large proscenium arch, which frames the stage. This arch is decorated with rope and vine moldings. It is about 30 feet 10 inches (9.4 meters) high and 40 feet 10 inches (12.4 meters) wide. For the show The Phantom of the Opera, some changes were made to this arch to fit the set.

Above the proscenium arch, there's a curved ceiling part called a sounding board. It has a large oval carving of the goddess Venus in the center. The main ceiling has a dome surrounded by twisted vines and decorative panels.

History of the Theater

The area around Times Square became the main place for big theater shows between 1900 and the Great Depression. The Shubert brothers were a major theater company that built many theaters in Midtown Manhattan. The Chanin brothers, who were mostly real estate developers, also built a group of theaters in the mid-1920s. Irwin Chanin, one of the brothers, had always loved theater. He remembered feeling "humiliated" as a poor student when he had to use a separate door to get to the cheap seats in the upper balcony. This made him want to create better theaters.

Building and Early Years

Chanin's Ownership

Sign on the theater building

The Chanin brothers bought the land for the Majestic Theatre in May 1925. They planned to build a hotel and three theaters there. In March 1926, plans were filed for the project, which was expected to cost $4.5 million. The old brownstone houses on the site were torn down. The Chanin brothers even held a competition for the public to suggest names for the three new theaters. In December 1926, the names were announced: the large theater became the Majestic, the mid-sized one the Royale, and the small one the Masque.

The Majestic Theatre officially opened on March 28, 1927, with a musical called Rufus LeMaire's Affairs. The Majestic was the last of the three Chanin theaters to open. Its opening helped expand the Broadway theater district further west. The Majestic was meant for "revues and light operas" because of its size. However, it soon became popular for musical comedies too.

In its first few years, the Majestic hosted some shows that didn't do well, but also some successful ones that moved there from other theaters. For example, The Patriot with John Gielgud closed quickly, but Rio Rita ran for almost 600 performances. In July 1929, the Shubert brothers bought half-ownership of the Majestic, Masque, and Royale theaters from the Chanin brothers.

1930s and Early 1940s

After taking over the Majestic in 1929, the Shuberts put on shows like Pleasure Bound and A Wonderful Night. In the early 1930s, the Majestic hosted several operettas (a type of light opera). Some shows were very expensive to produce, like Lew Leslie's International Revue in 1930, but still closed quickly. The theater also hosted Artists and Models and Nina Rosa.

The Broadway theater industry struggled during the Great Depression. In 1936, the Majestic and other theaters were put up for auction because of money problems. A representative for the Shubert family bought the rights to run the theaters.

In the late 1930s and early 1940s, many long-running shows from other theaters moved to the Majestic to finish their runs. These included Susan and God in 1938 and Hellzapoppin in 1941. The Majestic also hosted a successful revival of Porgy and Bess in 1942 and the original production of The Merry Widow in 1943.

Later Shubert Operation

Late 1940s to 1960s

Fire exit gallery outside the Majestic

In 1945, the Shubert brothers bought full ownership of the Majestic and the other theaters from the Bankers Securities Corporation. After this, the Majestic became known as a favorite place for musicals by the famous team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. Their first show there, Carousel, opened in 1945 and ran for 890 performances. Another huge hit was South Pacific, which ran for 1,925 performances over four years starting in 1949.

The Majestic continued to host many long-running musicals throughout the rest of the 1950s. Fanny was very successful in 1954, running 888 times. Then came Meredith Willson's hit The Music Man in 1957, which ran for an amazing 1,375 performances. In 1960, Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe's musical Camelot opened with stars like Julie Andrews and Richard Burton. It ran for 873 performances.

After Camelot, the theater saw some shows that didn't last long, like Hot Spot in 1963. However, a big hit returned in 1964 with Golden Boy. During its run, a special concert called Broadway Answers Selma was held at the Majestic in 1965 to raise money for the civil rights movement. In 1967, a very popular musical, Fiddler on the Roof, moved to the Majestic and played there until 1970.

1970s and 1980s

The 1970s started with a short-lived musical, Lovely Ladies, Kind Gentlemen. But then, the hit musical 1776 transferred to the Majestic in 1971. This was followed by Sugar in 1972, which ran for over 500 performances. A very successful musical called The Wiz, based on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz with an all-Black cast, opened at the Majestic in 1975.

In 1978, the Shuberts began restoring their Broadway theaters, including the Majestic. The theater hosted several shows in the late 1970s and early 1980s, like First Monday in October with Henry Fonda and Jane Alexander. In 1979, I Remember Mama opened, which was the last musical written by Richard Rodgers.

In 1981, the hit musical 42nd Street moved to the Majestic and stayed there for several years.

The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) started discussing protecting the Majestic as a landmark in 1982. On December 8, 1987, the LPC officially named the Majestic's outside and inside as a landmark. This was part of a larger effort to protect many Broadway theaters. Even though the theater owners sued to stop these designations, they were eventually upheld in 1992.

The Phantom of the Opera

The auditorium entrance viewed from across the street

In March 1987, it was announced that the famous Andrew Lloyd Webber musical The Phantom of the Opera would come to the Majestic. To make room, 42nd Street moved to another theater. The Shuberts spent over $1 million to change the Majestic slightly to fit Phantom's amazing set. They made the stage opening bigger so audiences could see the main character better. They also made the roof stronger to hold the weight of the famous falling chandelier. A pit was even dug under the stage for scenery changes.

Phantom officially opened on January 26, 1988, after selling a record $17 million in tickets before it even started! The musical was a huge success on Broadway, just like it had been in London. It played continuously at the Majestic through the 1990s and into the 21st century. The Majestic also hosted special events, like the 50th Tony Awards in 1996, right on the Phantom set.

Phantom remained very popular. In 2006, it became the longest-running show in Broadway history, passing the musical Cats. On February 11, 2012, Phantom became the first Broadway musical to reach 10,000 performances. By April 2019, it had been staged over 13,000 times!

The theater closed on March 12, 2020, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It reopened on October 22, 2021, with Phantom performances. However, the musical struggled to get back to its pre-pandemic audience levels. In September 2022, the producers announced that the show would close on February 18, 2023, shortly after its 35th anniversary. After this announcement, ticket sales soared! The closing date was even extended to April 16, 2023. Phantom set a new box-office record for the Majestic just before it closed, earning over $3 million in one week in March 2023. When it finally closed, Phantom had run for an incredible 13,981 performances.

Famous Shows at the Majestic

Here are some of the notable productions that have played at the Majestic Theatre, listed by the year they first opened:

See also

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