In 1930, the legendary Ethel Merman made her Broadway debut in Girl Crazy; in 1934, she appeared again in Cole Porter’s Anything Goes and again in 1936 in Porter’s Red, Hot and Blue. At the “Alvin Theatre”.
BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS
Description: New York theatre
Known For: Neil Simon Theatre NYC
Music Styles: Popular Theatre
Location: New York City, New York, United States of America
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CONTACT DETAILS
Representative: Broadway
Contact Address: 250 West 52nd Street, New York
Web Site: Official site
Other Links: See above:
BIOGRAPHICAL PROFILE
Neil Simon Theatre
The Neil Simon Theatre, formerly the Alvin Theatre, is a Broadway venue built in 1927 and located at 250 West 52nd Street in midtown-Manhattan.
As of 2011, the record for its longest running show is held by the musical Hairspray, which opened August 15, 2002 and ran for 2,642 performances before closing on January 4, 2009.
On October 19, 2010, RAIN – A Tribute to The Beatles opened at the Neil Simon Theatre and ran through January 15, 2011 when it moved to the Brooks Atkinson Theater. The new musical Catch Me If You Can began performances at the theatre in spring 2011.
Designed by architect Herbert J. Krapp, the developer, real estate mogul Alexander Pincus originally named it the “Alvin Theatre” as an amalgam of the names of producers ALex Aarons and VINton Freedley. With its address originally listed as 244-54 West 42nd Street, it opened on November 22, 1927 with George and Ira Gershwin’s Funny Face starring Fred and Adele Astaire. In 1930 Ethel Merman made her Broadway debut in Girl Crazy; in 1934, she appeared again in Cole Porter’s Anything Goes and again in 1936 in Porter’s Red, Hot and Blue. In 1935, the Gershwins’ American folk opera Porgy and Bess had its world premiere at the venue. Due to the Great Depression, Aarons and Freedley lost control of their venue in 1932. For a period of time it was used as a radio studio by CBS. In 1960, Lucille Ball appeared in her only Broadway show, the musical Wildcat. In 1965, Liza Minnelli made her Broadway debut in Flora the Red Menace. The original Broadway production of Annie opened in 1977 and ran for nearly six years, setting a record for the Alvin.
In 1977, the building was purchased by the Nederlander Organization, and was renamed in honor of American playwright Neil Simon on June 29, 1983 with the opening of his play Brighton Beach Memoirs. In 1985, its sequel Biloxi Blues also played at the theatre.
The building was designated a New York City landmark in 1985. Historical records show that its original seating capacity was 1,362; in 2002, it was expanded from 1328 to a potential 1467 (depending on usage of the facility, as the presence of an orchestra pit displaces 26 seats) after the May 27, 2002 closing of Elaine Stritch at Liberty. Robin Williams was set to perform 5 shows from his latest comedy tour, Weapons Of Self-Destruction at this theatre in early October 2009, but this was scrapped in favor of the revival of Ragtime, which opened on November 15, 2009, but due to low advance ticket sales, Ragtime closed on January 10, 2010 after 28 previews and 65 regular performances.
Address 250 West 52nd Street
City New York City
Country USA
Architect Herbert J. Krapp
Owned by Nederlander Organization
Capacity Approx. 1,362
Type Broadway
Opened Nov. 22, 1927
Previous names Alvin Theatre
(1927-1983)
The musical Hairspray subsequently opened on August 15, 2002.
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new sequel to the Phantom of the Opera, Love Never Dies is scheduled to perform there, but first it will undergo some modifications.
Notable productions
1927: Funny Face
1930: Girl Crazy
1932: Mourning Becomes Electra
1933: Mary of Scotland
1934: Anything Goes
1935: Porgy and Bess
1936: Red, Hot and Blue
1938: The Boys from Syracuse
1940: There Shall Be No Night
1941: Lady in the Dark
1943: Something for the Boys
1946: Joan of Lorraine
1947: Life with Father
1948: Mister Roberts
1951: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
1952: Two’s Company
1954: House of Flowers
1955: No Time for Sergeants
1958: Bells Are Ringing
1959: Once Upon a Mattress
1960: West Side Story; Wildcat
1961: Irma la Douce
1962: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
1965: Flora the Red Menace
1966: Dinner At Eight (Revival)
1967: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead; Sherry!
1968: The Great White Hope
1970: Company
1975: Shenandoah
1977: Annie
1981: Merrily We Roll Along
1982: Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?
1983: Brighton Beach Memoirs
1985: Biloxi Blues
1990: Jackie Mason: Brand New
1992: Jake’s Women
1993: Cyrano: The Musical
1996: The King and I (Revival)
1999: The Scarlet Pimpernel
2001: The Music Man
2002: Elaine Stritch at Liberty
2002: Hairspray (Ran for 2,642 performances)
2009: Ragtime (Revival – Ran for 65 performances)
2010: RAIN – A Tribute to the Beatles
2011: Catch Me If You Can
2012: Jesus Christ Superstar (Revival)
2012: Scandalous
2013: Big Fish
2014: All the Way
2014: The Last Ship
2015: Gigi
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