Shubert Theatre (Broadway) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Shubert Theatre

Address	225 West 44th Street Manhattan, New York City United States
Coordinates	40°45′29″N 73°59′14″W / 40.75806°N 73.98722°W / 40.75806; -73.98722
Public transit	Subway: Times Square–42nd Street/Port Authority Bus Terminal
Owner	Shubert and Booth Theatre, LLC
Operator	The Shubert Organization
Type	Broadway
Capacity	1,502
Production	Hell's Kitchen
Construction
Opened	October 2, 1913
Architect	Henry Beaumont Herts
New York City Landmark
Designated	December 15, 1987
Reference no.	1378
Designated entity	Facade
New York City Landmark
Designated	December 15, 1987
Reference no.	1379
Designated entity	Lobby and auditorium interior

The Shubert Theatre is a famous Broadway theater in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It opened in 1913. The theater was designed by Henry Beaumont Herts in the beautiful Italian Renaissance style. It was built for the Shubert brothers.

Lee and J. J. Shubert named the theater to honor their brother Sam S. Shubert. He had died in an accident a few years before the theater opened. The Shubert Theatre has 1,502 seats on three levels. The Shubert Organization operates it. Both the outside (facade) and the inside of the theater are protected as New York City landmarks.

The Shubert's outside is made of brick and terracotta. It has special sgraffito decorations made from stucco. Three large arches face 44th Street. A curved corner faces east toward Broadway. On the east side, Shubert Alley has doors leading to the lobby and the stage. Inside, the theater has a main floor (orchestra), two balconies, and a flat ceiling. The space is decorated with cool paintings of myths. Near the stage, there are special box seats on the balcony level. The upper floors used to be offices for the Shubert brothers. The stage area is shared with the Booth Theatre next door.

The Shubert brothers built the Booth and Shubert theaters as their first ones on this block. The Shubert Theatre opened on October 2, 1913, with a play called Hamlet. The theater has shown many popular musicals over the years. Some famous ones include A Chorus Line, Crazy for You, and Chicago.

Where the Theater Is

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

The Shubert Theatre is at 225 West 44th Street. It is on the north side of the street, between Eighth Avenue and Seventh Avenue. This area is part of the Theater District near Times Square in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The Shubert Theatre shares its land with the Booth Theatre to the north. However, they are separate buildings.

This block has the largest number of Broadway theaters in one place. The Shubert is next to six other theaters. These include the Majestic and Broadhurst to the west. The John Golden, Bernard B. Jacobs, and Gerald Schoenfeld are to the northwest. The Booth Theatre is to the north.

The Shubert and Booth theaters were built together. They are the oldest theaters on this block. Shubert Alley, a private street, was also built at the same time. It helped the theaters meet fire safety rules. It also made them look like corner buildings.

How the Theater Looks

The 44th Street side of the theater in 2007.

The Shubert Theatre was designed by Henry Beaumont Herts in 1913. He was an experienced architect who designed many theaters. The Shubert and Booth theaters are in separate buildings. They have different inside designs and uses. But their stage areas are close together. The Shubert was built to be larger, good for musicals. The Shubert family's offices were above its main theater space. The Shubert Theatre is run by The Shubert Organization.

Outside Look (Facade)

The outside of both theaters looks similar. They are designed in the Italian Renaissance style. Both buildings have curved corners facing Broadway. This is because most people came from that direction. The Shubert's outside is made of white brick and terracotta. An old description said the outside was made of white marble with stucco and faience panels. The main part of the theater is six stories tall. It has a decorative top edge called a cornice. Above that is a metal mansard roof.

The theaters use special hand-carved sgraffito for decoration. This was new at the time. Sgraffito means scratching designs into plaster to show different colors underneath. These decorations were light-gray on a purple-gray background. This type of decoration is rare in New York City today.

44th Street Side

Arches above the doors

On the 44th Street side, the bottom part has a stone base. Above it is a band with rough-looking terracotta blocks. There are three arches in the middle. These arches are emergency exits from the lobby. They used to have wooden doors, but now they have glass doors. Above the doors, there are sgraffito paintings of figures. A modern sign (marquee) hangs over these paintings.

Above the arches, the theater's outside is made of brick. The brick area has a stucco band with sgraffito decorations. These decorations show classical leaf designs. Another sgraffito band has panels with female figures and griffins. The far left and right sides of the building have vertical corner stones (quoins). These have fancy Corinthian-style tops with rams, lions' heads, and acanthus leaves. At the top of the brick wall, there are three sections with curved broken pediments and carved masks. Above each pediment are three windows on the sixth floor. The roof has three dormer windows on this side.

Southeast Corner

The theater is on the corner of 44th Street and Shubert Alley. So, its southeast corner is curved. This curved part has a door in the middle with glass-and-metal doors. A canopy covers these doors. Stone pillars are on each side of the doorway. Above the doors is a broken pediment shaped like a curved arch. The middle of this pediment has an oval sgraffito panel. It shows a figure holding a sign that says "Henry B. Herts, Architect 1913".

A brick wall rises from the doorway. It has a stucco band with sgraffito leaf decorations. Like on 44th Street, there are vertical corner stones with Corinthian tops. At the top of the brick wall, there is another broken pediment. It has a theater mask and a shield. Above this are two windows on the sixth floor.

Shubert Alley Side

The Shubert Alley side of the theater in 2007.

On the Shubert Alley side, the building is split into two parts. The left side is the auditorium, and the right side is the stage area. The auditorium part has three sets of glass-and-metal doors. Two lead from the auditorium, and one leads to the Shubert offices upstairs. A metal sign (marquee) hangs over these doors. Like the other sides, the left part of the auditorium has vertical corner stones with Corinthian tops. It also has a brick wall with stucco sgraffito bands. At the top of the brick wall are three broken pediments and three sets of windows.

The stage area is simpler. It is mostly made of brick. The ground floor has doors, metal panels, and signs. The upper floors have windows. The top of the stage area has a low wall (parapet).

Inside Look (Interior)

Lobby

The lobby has an oval-shaped area and a rectangular area. You can enter from the southeast corner or from Shubert Alley. The north wall of the lobby has ticket windows. The west wall has doors to the main theater space. The floor is made of marble mosaic tiles with leaf patterns. The walls have a decorative band (frieze) at the top. The rectangular part of the lobby has a curved ceiling with different sections. The oval part of the lobby has a domed ceiling with decorations.

Auditorium

View from the balcony toward the stage

The main theater space (auditorium) has a ground level (orchestra), two balconies, special boxes, and a stage. The auditorium is wider than it is deep. It has plaster decorations. The Shubert Organization says there are 1,502 seats. Other sources give slightly different numbers. There are about 700 seats on the orchestra level, 410 on the first balcony, 350 on the second balcony, and 16 in the boxes. There are also standing-only spots and removable seats in the orchestra pit. Restrooms are in the basement, first balcony, and second balcony. The orchestra level is good for wheelchairs, but the restrooms and other levels are not.

The decorations were originally "old Venetian gold, absinthe green, and amethyst." Paintings of myths are everywhere inside. J. Mortimer Lichtenauer painted murals on the boxes, above the stage arch, and on the ceiling. These murals show figures with masks and women representing music and drama.

Seating Areas

At the back of the orchestra level, there is a wide walkway. Four pillars support the first balcony and separate the walkway from the seats. The walls of this walkway have a frieze with phoenixes and leaf decorations. The ceiling is curved and has different sections. Stairs from this walkway lead up to the balconies. The orchestra floor slopes down toward the orchestra pit in front of the stage. The orchestra's side walls have plasterwork panels with fabric.

Both balconies slope down steeply. The back of the first balcony also has a walkway. The underside of the first balcony has moldings and leaf designs around murals of classical scenes. The front railings of the balconies have plasterwork panels with fabric and theater masks. The side walls of both balconies have plasterwork panels with fabric. There are doorways on both levels. A technical booth is at the back of the second balcony.

On each side of the stage, there is a curved wall with an arch. Each arch has one box seat on the first balcony level. Similar box seats used to be on the orchestra level but were removed. The front railings of the boxes have scallop and fabric designs. The arches are mostly filled with plaster walls. A doorway leads into each box. Above these arches are murals with fabric designs, leaf decorations, and female figures.

Other Design Features

Next to the boxes is a curved arch around the stage opening (proscenium arch). This arch has octagonal panels with fan or sunburst designs. The stage opening is about 38 feet 9 inches wide and 28 feet 6 inches tall. Above the proscenium arch is an octagonal panel with a mural. On each side of the mural are female figures representing music and drama. A frieze above the proscenium shows female figures with shields and winged figures. The stage itself is about 35 feet deep and 80 feet wide.

The flat ceiling is shaped like a hexagon. It has a square panel in the middle, surrounded by hexagonal panels with murals. The central mural has been removed. Six chandeliers hang from the ceiling. The ceiling also has air conditioning vents.

Other Inside Spaces

The dressing rooms are separated from the stages by a strong fireproof wall. The two theaters are separated by a thick wall. A gift shop called One Shubert Alley opened in 1979 between the Shubert and Booth theaters. It was built in three of the Booth's old dressing rooms. The emergency exits of both theaters are "fire- and smoke-proof towers" instead of outside fire escapes.

Shubert Offices

The top two floors were designed as offices for the Shubert family. Lee Shubert had a round office on the third floor, facing the street. He used it until he died in 1953. His younger brother Jacob J. Shubert, also known as J. J., had a three-room office in the back of the third floor. Lee often called the third and fourth floors "my offices." This showed that J. J. had a lower position in the company. There were also offices for casting directors, secretaries, and phone operators. There was a kitchen, dining room, bedroom, and bathroom. The Shubert offices had a large safe for money. This was because the theater business used to be mostly cash. Later, it became a storage area for drinks.

After Lee died, his nephew Milton Shubert used his office. But he left in 1954 after an argument with J. J. about who should lead the theaters. Later, a law firm used the offices for free in the 1970s. For many years, producer Alexander H. Cohen also had offices in the Shubert Theatre. He was known as the "third Shubert." By the theater's 100th birthday in 2013, Lee's old dining room was divided into offices for the Shubert president and chairman.

History of the Theater

Times Square became the main area for big theater shows between 1900 and the Great Depression. New York City's theater district moved from other areas to Midtown Manhattan. From 1901 to 1920, 43 theaters were built around Broadway in Midtown. This included the Shubert Theatre. The Shubert brothers from Syracuse, New York, built the theater. They expanded their business into New York City. After Sam S. Shubert died in a train accident in 1905, his brothers Lee and J. J. greatly expanded their theater business. Sam was only 26 when he died. His brothers decided to build five theaters across the United States in his honor. They were all named the Sam S. Shubert Memorial Theatre. The Shuberts later removed "memorial" from the names. They said the word had an "unpleasant connotation."

Building and Early Shows

Construction

A close-up of a chandelier inside the theater.

In the early 1910s, the Shuberts were building theaters. At the same time, producer Winthrop Ames planned to build a new theater. The New Theatre, built in 1909, was too big and too far from Times Square. So, its founders bought land on 44th and 45th Streets in March 1911. They planned a "new New Theatre" there. This project was canceled in December 1911. Ames decided to build the Little Theatre (now the Hayes Theater) across 44th Street instead.

In April 1912, Winthrop Ames and Lee Shubert decided to rent the land from the Astor family. Two theaters would be built there, along with a private alley. Shubert's theater would be larger, on 44th Street. Ames's theater would be smaller, on 45th Street. The larger theater was named the Sam S. Shubert Theatre. The smaller one was named after actor Edwin Booth.

Several architects were considered for the design. Finally, the Shuberts hired Henry B. Herts. Work on the two theaters began in May 1912. The Fleischmann Bros. Company was chosen to build both theaters. The project had delays and arguments about costs. The builders worried about unclear drawings and fired workers. Ames also asked for changes to the Booth's design. This caused more delays.

Opening and First Shows

By August 1913, British actor Johnston Forbes-Robertson and his wife Gertrude Elliott planned to open the new Shubert Theatre. They would perform a season of plays. The New-York Tribune said Forbes-Robertson's appearance would be very important. The first event at the Shubert Theatre was a party for Forbes-Robertson on September 29, 1913. The theater officially opened on October 2 with a play called Hamlet, starring Forbes-Robertson. This was also the first time Shubert Alley was used, during Hamlet's intermission. At the opening, Lee Shubert said, "By using the name of Sam S. Shubert for this new theatre, we make it special in the most serious way we know."

The Forbes-Robertson Repertory Company performed plays by Shakespeare and other writers. The first new play at the Shubert was A Thousand Years Ago in January 1914. Then came the theater's first musical, The Belle of Bond Street. It closed quickly. A play called Trilby opened in 1915. Later that year, the Shubert had its first big hit: the operetta Alone at Last. Herbert J. Krapp, who later designed many theaters for the Shubert family, designed a canopy for the Shubert Theatre in 1915.

Jerome Kern's musical Love O' Mike opened in 1917. The operetta Maytime opened later that year. It was so successful that the Shuberts staged it at the 44th Street Theatre at the same time. In 1918, the drama The Copperhead and the musical Sometime were staged. The musicals Good Morning Judge and The Magic Melody ran for several months in 1919.

1920s and 1930s

The curved corner of the theater's outside.

In 1920, the Shubert hosted the drama The Blue Flame. In 1921, it showed The Trial of Joan of Arc. The Shubert also hosted several variety shows (revues) in the mid-1920s. These included four versions of the Greenwich Village Follies.

Besides these revues, the Shubert Theatre showed the musical Red Pepper (1922). It was one of the first musicals with a jazz-inspired score. In 1924, The Magnolia Lady premiered. The Shakespeare play Othello opened in 1925. The operetta Countess Maritza opened in 1926 and was very popular. More hits came in 1927 with the musical Yours Truly and the revue Padlocks of 1927.

In 1928, the play The Furies was not successful. Ups-a-Daisy had a short run the same year, with a young Bob Hope. The revue A Night in Venice and the musical The Street Singer were staged in 1929. In 1930, Fritz Leiber's Chicago Civic Shakespeare Company performed three plays. Walter Slezak made his musical debut in Meet My Sister the same year. The musical Everybody's Welcome opened in 1931. The revue Americana opened in 1932. This was followed in 1933 by Gay Divorce, with Fred Astaire. This was Astaire's last time in a Broadway musical.

For the next few years, the Shubert showed plays. One was Sidney Howard's Dodsworth, which opened in February 1934. In 1936, Robert E. Sherwood's Idiot's Delight ran for a year. It was the first show at the Shubert to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Next was Maxwell Anderson's The Masque of Kings in 1937, which was not successful. The same year, the Shubert showed the Rodgers and Hart musical Babes in Arms. The Rodgers and Hart musical I Married an Angel opened in 1938. In 1939, the play The Philadelphia Story opened. It saved the Theatre Guild from going out of business and ran for 417 performances.

1940s and 1950s

The Shubert Theatre hosted the musical Higher and Higher in 1940. This was one of the few failures for Rodgers and Hart. Then came the musical Hold On to Your Hats with Al Jolson in 1940. The Shubert then hosted a play called The Doctor's Dilemma in 1941. A play called The Rivals opened in 1942. The musical By Jupiter also launched in 1942. Later, Margaret Webster's Othello opened in 1943. The Shubert's shows in 1944 included the play Catherine Was Great with Mae West. It also showed the musical comedy Bloomer Girl.

In January 1947, the Shubert hosted the musical Sweethearts for 288 performances. In December of the same year, the musical High Button Shoes moved to the Shubert. It stayed for almost a year. The play Anne of the Thousand Days opened in late 1948. A plaque celebrating the Shuberts' achievements was put on the theater's east wall in 1949. Later, the musical Kiss Me, Kate moved to the Shubert in 1950 and stayed for a year. The musical Paint Your Wagon opened in 1951 for 289 performances. Next, the play The Millionairess opened in 1952.

The Shubert hosted the play The Love of Four Colonels in 1953. For the next two years, the theater hosted the musical Can-Can. This was followed in 1955 by the musical Pipe Dream, which was not as successful. Next, the musical Bells Are Ringing opened in 1956. It ran for two years. Afterward, A Majority of One opened in 1959. The musical Take Me Along opened the same year.

1960s to 1980s

The theater seen at sunset.

In 1962, the Shubert hosted the musical I Can Get It for You Wholesale. This was Barbra Streisand's first Broadway show. The same year, David Merrick produced the musical Stop the World – I Want to Get Off. Next was the musical Here's Love, which opened in 1963. Also in 1963, a plaque was placed in the Shubert Theatre to celebrate Shubert Alley's 50th anniversary. Another hit musical, The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd, came in 1965. The Shubert then presented The Apple Tree, a set of three short musicals, in 1966.

The Shubert hosted its first Tony Awards in 1967. The musical Golden Rainbow premiered in February 1968. The musical Promises, Promises opened that December. It set a theater record with 1,281 performances over three years. This was followed in 1973 by the musical A Little Night Music. The next year, the Shubert hosted the musical Over Here! and the 1974 Tony Awards.

The play Seascape opened in January 1975. Then, The Constant Wife opened in April. Joseph Papp moved his musical A Chorus Line from off-Broadway to the Shubert Theatre in October 1975. This show helped increase Broadway theater attendance. The musical stayed for over ten years and won a Pulitzer Prize for Drama. During Chorus Line's run, the Shubert hosted the Tony Awards ceremonies in 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, and 1985. Chorus Line became the longest-running Broadway show in 1983. It was the first Broadway show to run for 5,000 performances in 1987.

The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) began thinking about protecting the Shubert as a landmark in 1982. The LPC officially named the Shubert's outside and inside as landmarks on December 15, 1987. This was part of a larger effort to protect Broadway theaters. The Shubert Organization and other theater groups sued the LPC in June 1988. They wanted to overturn the landmark status for 22 theaters, including the Shubert. They argued that it limited how much they could change the theaters. But these landmark designations were upheld in 1992.

1990s to Today

By early 1990, A Chorus Line was no longer making money. The show ended that April after 6,137 performances. The popular musical Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story was then booked for the Shubert. The theater was closed for renovations in 1990. The Buddy Holly Story opened that November. It ran for 225 performances, which was much shorter than its run in London. The next hit at the Shubert was the musical Crazy for You. It opened in February 1992 and ran for 1,622 performances until January 1996. The theater was then renovated again for $3.7 million. Its technical systems were updated. Next was the musical Big, which opened in April 1996.

A new production of the musical Chicago moved to the Shubert in February 1997. It stayed until January 2003. The musical Gypsy then opened in May 2003 and ran for a year. In 2003, the Shuberts agreed to make their theaters more accessible for people with disabilities. This was part of an agreement with the United States Department of Justice. This was followed by a dance show, Forever Tango, in late 2004. The theater's next hit was the musical comedy Spamalot. It opened in 2005 and ran for almost four years. It was followed by a three-month show of Blithe Spirit in 2009. Another long-running show opened at the Shubert in October 2009: the musical Memphis. It ran for 1,166 performances until 2012.

The musical Matilda the Musical opened at the Shubert in April 2013. It ran for 1,554 performances until early 2017. After that, the Shubert staged a new production of Hello Dolly! with Bette Midler. It ran from April 2017 to August 2018. Hello, Dolly! broke the Shubert Theatre's box office record twelve times. The play To Kill a Mockingbird opened in December 2018. It ran until March 12, 2020, when the theater closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Shubert reopened on October 5, 2021, with To Kill A Mockingbird. It closed in January 2022. The Shubert's next show, POTUS, opened in April 2022. It was followed by the musical Some Like It Hot in December 2022. The musical Hell's Kitchen opened at the theater in April 2024.

Famous Shows

Here are some notable shows that have played at the Shubert Theatre, listed by their first performance year:

See also

In Spanish: Teatro Shubert para niños

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