44th Street Theatre
![]() | |
Former names | Weber and Fields' Music Hall |
---|---|
Address | 216 West 44th Street |
Location | Manhattan, New York City |
Owner | Shubert Organization |
Type | Broadway theatre |
Construction | |
Opened | 21 November 1912 |
Closed | 1945 |
Architect | William A. Swansea |
The 44th Street Theatre was a Broadway theatre located at 216 West 44th Street in New York City from 1912 to 1945. It opened and operated for three years as the Weber and Fields' Music Hall. Its rooftop theatre, the Nora Bayes Theatre, presented many productions of the Federal Theatre Project in the mid 1930s. Its basement club became the famed Stage Door Canteen during World War II.
History[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/08/Stage_Door_Canteen_New_York_1943.jpg/300px-Stage_Door_Canteen_New_York_1943.jpg)
The 44th Street Theatre was located at 216 West 44th Street in New York City. The architect was William Albert Swasey. Built by The Shubert Organization in 1912, it was first named Weber and Fields' Music Hall. The theatre was renamed in 1915 when the comedy duo of Joe Weber and Lew Fields split with the Shuberts.[1][2]
A theatre on the roof of the building, Lew Fields' 44th Street Roof Garden, became the Nora Bayes Theatre in 1918.[1][3] In the mid-1930s it presented Federal Theatre Project shows.[4]
In the basement of the 44th Street Theatre was a small nightclub,[5] during Prohibition.[1][6]
In 1940 the building was purchased by The New York Times Company, which leased it back to Lee Shubert. When the American Theatre Wing requested the basement club as an entertainment venue for servicemen, Shubert gave them the property without charge. In March 1942 the 40-by-80-foot club space became the original Stage Door Canteen, which operated throughout World War II, became the subject of a popular film, and inspired other canteens throughout the United States.[7]
After Shubert's lease expired in June 1945, the building was demolished. The New York Times printing plant built to replace the 44th Street Theatre was later abandoned, but a plaque remains to mark the location of the Stage Door Canteen.[7]
Notable productions[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/87/Bergman_Meredith_Liliom.jpg/220px-Bergman_Meredith_Liliom.jpg)
Productions staged at the 44th Street Theatre are listed at the Internet Broadway Database.[1]
- 1913: The Girl on the Film
- 1914: The Lilac Domino
- 1915: Katinka
- 1916: The Blue Paradise
- 1917: Maytime
- 1924: Six Characters in Search of an Author
- 1925: Song of the Flame
- 1927: The Five O'Clock Girl
- 1927: A Night in Spain
- 1928: Animal Crackers
- 1933: Face the Music
- 1934: Four Saints in Three Acts
- 1934: Conversation Piece
- 1940: Liliom
- 1941: The New Opera Company
- 1942: Rosalinda (Die Fledermaus)
- 1943: Winged Victory
- 1944: Yellow Jack
- 1945: On the Town
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d "44th Street Theatre". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
- ^ "Weber-Fields Partnership". The New York Times. July 25, 1912. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
- ^ "What the Summer Promises". The New York Times. May 11, 1919. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
- ^ "Nora Bayes Theatre". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
- ^ Club Alabam
- ^ "Stage Door Canteen". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "A Question About Broadway's Historic Stage Door Canteen". Playbill.com. June 22, 2012. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
External links[]
Media related to 44th Street Theatre at Wikimedia Commons
- Broadway theatres
- Cinemas and movie theaters in Manhattan
- Former theatres in Manhattan
- Demolished theatres in New York City
- Demolished buildings and structures in Manhattan
- Buildings and structures demolished in 1945
- United States theatre stubs
- Manhattan building and structure stubs