Nederlander Theatre

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Nederlander Theatre
National Theatre, Billy Rose Theatre, Trafalgar Theatre
Nederlander Theatre - Pretty Woman (48295956906).jpg
With Pretty Woman on the facade
Address208 West 41st Street
New York City
United States
OwnerNederlander Organization
TypeBroadway
Capacity1,232
ProductionThe Lehman Trilogy
Construction
Opened1921
ArchitectWilliam Neil Smith
Website
broadwaydirect.com/venue/nederlander-theatre/

The David T. Nederlander Theatre (formerly the Billy Rose Theatre and National Theatre, commonly shortened to the Nederlander Theatre) is a 1,232-seat Broadway theater located at 208 West 41st Street, in New York City. It is one of the Nederlander Organization's nine Broadway theaters. Since 1980 it has been named for 20th century American theater impresario David Tobias Nederlander. It is the southernmost Broadway theater in the Theater District.[1]

History[]

The commonly held history is that Walter C. Jordan built the theatre at a cost of $950,000. It opened September 1, 1921, as the National Theatre and seated 1,200 people.[1] The Shubert Organization owned the venue until 1956, when Harry Fromkes purchased it as part of the settlement of the Shubert antitrust case.[2] Fromkes died after a fall from his apartment, and his estate sold it to Billy Rose, who renamed it after himself in 1959.[3][4] The Nederlander Organization purchased the venue in 1979 and briefly renamed it the Trafalgar Theatre before dubbing it the David T. Nederlander Theatre in 1980. It housed the Times Square Church before Nederlander sold the Mark Hellinger Theatre to the church's pastor, David Wilkerson. During the 2008 restoration of the venue, the owners discovered records indicating that the theatre was constructed as a carpenter's shop in 1920 before being converted to an entertainment venue the following year. This would mean that the Nederlander joins the Broadway and Winter Garden theatres as the only Broadway houses not originally built as such.[5]

The venue has hosted a wide variety of shows, including the Mercury Theatre production of William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, Edmond Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac, Noël Coward's Private Lives, Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and the Tony award-winning Rent. Lena Horne won a 1981 Tony Award for her performance at the Nederlander in her eponymous Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music.[6]

When RENT, set in the Alphabet City neighborhood of Manhattan's East Village, opened in 1996, the theater underwent remodeling of the façade and interior to resemble a downtown nightclub. When Rent closed in 2008, refurbishing quickly got underway for the new show,[5] a revival of Guys and Dolls starring Oliver Platt and Lauren Graham.[7] The show played only 147 performances and was a box office failure when it closed on June 14, 2009. The Neil Simon plays Brighton Beach Memoirs and Broadway Bound were to premiere at the theatre in the fall and perform alternating shows. However, due to weak ticket sales for Brighton Beach Memoirs, the show closed November 1, 2009, and the planned production of Broadway Bound was canceled.

The musical Million Dollar Quartet made its Broadway debut at the theatre April 11, 2010, and played through June 12, 2011.[8] Following MDQ, Newsies opened for a limited engagement, which was subsequently converted to an open run.[9] Newsies closed August 24, 2014, and began touring in October.[10] The musical Honeymoon in Vegas began previews November 18, 2014, with its official opening on January 15, 2015.[11] Amazing Grace, played from the summer through the fall of 2015.

A new musical, Disaster!, by Seth Rudetsky and Jack Plotnick, began performances on February 9, 2016.[12]

On March 12, 2020 the theater closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It reopened on September 25, 2021 with performances of The Lehman Trilogy.

Notable productions[]

Box office record[]

Newsies achieved the box office record for the Nederlander Theatre. The production played to 101%[15] capacity and grossed $1,024,516.60 for eight performances the week ending April 15, 2012.[16]

This gross was surpassed by War Paint the week ending April 23, 2017, when that show grossed $1,042,449 at 90.5% capacity with an average ticket price of $123.24.[17]

The current gross record was set by Pretty Woman: The Musical. The production grossed $1,266,873 over eight performances for the week ending December 9, 2018.[18]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c "Nederlander Theatre (Broadway)". Reference: At This Theatre. Playbill. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
  2. ^ Calta, Louis (September 27, 1956). "SHUBERTS DISPOSE OF THEATRE HERE". The New York Times. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
  3. ^ "THEATRE OWNER DIES IN 12-STORY PLUNGE". The New York Times. February 12, 1958. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
  4. ^ Calta, Louis (June 12, 1958). "BILLY ROSE BUYS 41ST ST. THEATRE". The New York Times. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
  5. ^ a b Venutolo, Anthony (October 18, 2008). "Curtain call". The Star-Ledger. Newark. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
  6. ^ "Nederlander Theatre". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved November 9, 2013.
  7. ^ "Everything Old is New Again". Stage Directions. August 2009. Archived from the original on November 6, 2014. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
  8. ^ Hetrick, Adam (June 11, 2011). ""See You Later Alligator": Million Dollar Quartet Closes on Broadway June 12; Off-Broadway Is Next". Playbill. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
  9. ^ Healy, Patrick (May 16, 2012). "Don't Stop the Press! 'Newsies' Run Is Now Open-Ended". The New York Times. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
  10. ^ Bowgen, Philippe (June 22, 2014). "Disney Musical Newsies to End Broadway Run". Playbill. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
  11. ^ "Box Office for Broadway's Honeymoon in Vegas Opened Today". Playbill. October 12, 2014. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
  12. ^ "Onstage & Backstage: Learn the Four Words That Led to 22 Years of Happiness for Hunter Foster and Jen Cody! - Playbill". Playbill. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  13. ^ Atkinson, Brooks (March 31, 1937). "THE PLAY; ' Red Harvest,' From a Diary of the Red Cross at the Front During the War" – via NYTimes.com.
  14. ^ Brooks Atkinson (March 31, 1937). "THE PLAY; ' Red Harvest,' From a Diary of the Red Cross at the Front During the War". The New York Times. p. 29.
  15. ^ Ku, Andrew. "Broadway Grosses: April 9–15". Playbill. Archived from the original on June 30, 2012. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
  16. ^ "INDUSTRY INSIGHT: Weekly Grosses Analysis - 4/16; NEWSIES, MAMMA MIA! & MORMON". Broadwayworld.com. April 16, 2012. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
  17. ^ "WAR PAINT Broadway Grosses - 2017". www.broadwayworld.com. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  18. ^ "Production Gross". Playbill.

External links[]

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