_-_Hulu_Theater_(48124242906).jpg) The theater in 2019 with the old Hulu branding | |
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| Full name | The Theater at Madison Square Garden |
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| Former names |
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| Address | 4Pennsylvania Plaza |
| Location | New York City, New York |
| Coordinates | 40°45′02″N73°59′37″W / 40.750630°N 73.993744°W /40.750630; -73.993744 |
| Owner | Madison Square Garden Entertainment |
| Capacity | 5,600 |
| Construction | |
| Opened | February 14, 1968 (1968-02-14) |
| Renovated | 1989–91, 2011–13 |
| Architect | Charles Luckman Associates |
| Services engineer | Syska Hennessy |
| General contractor | Turner Construction andDel E. Webb Construction Company |
| Website | |
| Venue Website | |
TheTheater at Madison Square Garden is atheater located in New York City'sMadison Square Garden (MSG). It seats between 2,000 and 5,600, and is used for concerts, shows, sports, meetings, and other events. It is located beneath the main Madison Square Garden arena that hosts MSG's larger events.
When the Garden opened in 1968, the theater was known as theFelt Forum, in honor of then-presidentIrving Mitchell Felt.[1] In the early 1990s, at the behest of former MSG President Bob Gutkowski, the theater was renamed theParamount Theater after theParamount Theatre in Times Square had been converted to an office tower.[2] The theater received its next name,The Theater at Madison Square Garden, in the mid-1990s, afterViacom bought Paramount and sold the MSG properties. In 2007, the theater was renamed theWaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden through anaming rights deal withWashington Mutual. After Washington Mutual's collapse in 2009, the name reverted to The Theater at Madison Square Garden.[3] In 2018, the theater signed a deal withHulu to become theHulu Theater at Madison Square Garden.[4] In 2023, the theater reverted to the name The Theater at Madison Square Garden.[5]
No seat is more than 177 feet (54 m) from the 30-by-64-foot (9.1 by 19.5 m) stage. Due to its location beneath the main Madison Square Garden arena, the theater has a relatively low 20-foot (6.1 m) ceiling at stage level.[6] All of its seating except for boxes on the two side walls is on one level slanted back from the stage. There is an 8,000-square-foot (740 m2) lobby at the theater.
It was the host forMike Tyson's fourteenth professional fight against Sammy Scaff on December 6, 1985.[7] The theater occasionally hosts boxing matches on nights when the main arena is unavailable, or fights between promising boxers who management believe will not fill up "the big room". Notable fights includeSergio Martínez vs. Matthew Macklin in 2012,Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. Guillermo Rigondeaux in 2017, andTeófimo López vs. George Kambosos Jr. in 2021.
There were many concerts performed at the Felt Forum: in 1971, the Grateful Dead (along with the New RIders of the Purple Sage) had a run from Dec. 4th-7th.[8][9]Menudo's February 5, 1983, concert at Madison Square Garden was held at the Felt Forum. It was memberXavier Serbiá's last official concert with the band (he would return to the band in 1983 for another Madison Square Garden show to substitute for an illRicky Melendez) and the first for memberRay Reyes.[10] This concert was transmitted live to most Latin American countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Venezuela, and to the United States.
The venue hosted Game 6 of the 1972 ABA Eastern Division Semifinals on April 10 between theNew York Nets and theVirginia Squires, as the Nets could not play in their home venue at theIsland Garden; the Nets lost 118–114.[11]
In October 21–22, 1986,Philippine singerSharon Cuneta performed her New York concert as part of her U.S. concert tour and received a standing ovation. This was also together with the taping of her latest movieJack and Jill sa Amerika featuring the cities visited during the tour included as a story plot in the movie. The New York concert at the Felt Forum was oppositeElton John's concert at Madison.
In 1987, the comedy concert filmEddie Murphy Raw was filmed at the Forum and released in December of that year.
On December 8, 1991, the draw for the1994 FIFA World Cup qualification was held at the theater.
WCW held two live events there, one on April 13, 1993, marking the first time an WCW event was ever held in New York City, and again on June 30, 1996.NXT held one event in the theater on November 16, 2016, and again on March 11, 2025, forRoadblock.Lucha Libre AAA andImpact Wrestling hostedLucha Invades NY on September 15, 2019.
The theater was home to an annual staging ofA Christmas Carol from 1994 to 2003.[12]
An annual staging ofThe Wizard of Oz played at the theater from 1997 to 1999. Notable actors in the musical includedRoseanne Barr,Eartha Kitt, andJo Anne Worley as the Wicked Witch of the West;[13][14][15]Mickey Rooney as the Wizard, andKen Page andLara Teeter as the Cowardly Lion and Scarecrow, respectively.[14]
In 2001, the national tour ofRodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella starringJamie-Lynn Sigler in the title role, Eartha Kitt as the Fairy Godmother, andPaolo Montalban as Prince Christopher played at the theater.[16]
In 2003, popular Australian children's groupThe Wiggles performed a record 12 sold-out shows in a row at the theater, breaking the previous record held byBruce Springsteen.[17] The current record belongs toBilly Joel, who has sold out more than 76 consecutive shows at the theater.[18]
In 2004, it served as the venue of theSurvivor: All-Stars finale.[19]
In 2005 and 2011,Peter Pan starringCathy Rigby in the title role returned to New York City at the theater.[20][21]
It was the home of theNFL draft from 1995 until 2004. In 2005, the NFL Draft moved to theJacob K. Javits Convention Center, after MSG management opposed anew stadium for theNew York Jets. It also hosted theNBA draft from 2001 to 2010.
From 2004 to 2006 and in 2008 Theatre of MSG hosted theJammy Award honoring improvisational music.[22]
In 2013,A Christmas Story: The Musical was revived at the theater for a limited engagement.[23]
The first-ever mixed martial arts event was held at the theaterWorld Series of Fighting 34: Gaethje vs. Firmino on December 31, 2016.
The firstdarts event held at the theater was the2022 US Darts Masters.
In 2021, the theater hosted twoVerzuzhip-hop battles:The Lox againstDipSet andFat Joe againstJa Rule.
The theater hosted its firstEsports event in 2022 with the main event group stage and quarterfinals of theLeague of Legends World Championship.[24]
The 2024 North American tour ofAnnie is playing an engagement at the theater from December 4, 2024, through January 5, 2025, withWhoopi Goldberg playing Miss Hannigan beginning December 11.[25]
| Preceded by | Venues of the NFL Draft 1995–2004 | Succeeded by |
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Authority control databases: Geographic |
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