The facade is designed in a Spanish style with golden brick,terracotta, and stone and is divided into two sections. The western portion of the facade contains the theater's entrance, with five double-height arched windows and a curvedpediment above. The eastern portion is the stage house and is topped by aloggia. The auditorium contains Spanish-style detailing, a large balcony, and an expansive vaulted ceiling. The auditorium's interior features murals byWilly Pogany as well as severalbox seats.
The Royale,Majestic, andMasque (now John Golden) theaters, along with theLincoln Hotel, were all developed by the Chanin brothers and designed by Krapp as part of a theater/hotel complex. The Royale was the first of the three theaters to be completed, opening on January 11, 1927. TheShubert family took over the Royale in 1930 but subsequently went intoreceivership, and producerJohn Golden leased the theater in 1932. Golden renamed the theater after himself in 1934, but the Shuberts took over in 1936 and leased the theater toCBS Radio. The Royale was restored as a legitimate theater under its original name in 1940. The theatre was renamed in 2005 after Bernard B. Jacobs (1916–1996), former president of the Shubert Organization.
The Jacobs is part of the largest concentration of Broadway theaters on a single block.[6] The adjoining block of 45th Street is also known asGeorge Abbott Way,[7] and foot traffic on the street increases box-office totals for the theaters there.[8] The Majestic, Masque (Golden), and Royale (Jacobs) theaters and the Lincoln Hotel (Row NYC Hotel) had all been developed concurrently.[9] The site of all four buildings had previously occupied by twenty brownstone residences.[10] The site was part of theAstor family estate from 1803[11] to 1922, when it was sold to Henry Claman.[12][13] The plots collectively measured 200 feet (61 m) wide along Eighth Avenue, 240 feet (73 m) along 44th Street, and 250 feet (76 m) along 45th Street.[13][14]
The Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, originally the Royale Theatre, was designed byHerbert J. Krapp in a Spanish style and was constructed from 1926 to 1927 for the Chanin brothers.[4][15][16] It was part of an entertainment complex along with the Lincoln Hotel and the Majestic and Masque theaters, which were also designed by Krapp in a Spanish style.[9][16][17] The Royale was designed to be the medium-sized theater of the complex, with about 1,200 seats initially.[17][18][19] The Chanin Realty and Construction Company constructed all four structures.[11][20] The Jacobs is operated bythe Shubert Organization.[21][1]
The facade contains two sections. The western section is wider and is symmetrical, containing the auditorium entrance. The eastern section, which contains thestage house, is narrower and taller than the western section. In both sections, the ground floor is clad inrusticated blocks ofterracotta above a granitewater table.[22] At ground level, the auditorium entrance includes five pairs of glass and aluminum doors, which lead to the ticket office and auditorium. There are also rectangular aluminum-framed sign boards beside the openings. The entrance is topped by amarquee. Four sets of aluminum doors lead from the stage house portion of the facade. A terracottacornice runs above the base.[23] The stage door is at 270 West 45th Street (next to the Golden Theatre) and is shared with the Majestic and Golden theaters.[21]
The upper stories contain gold-colored,bonded Roman brick.[17][22] The brick facade was designed to relate to the adjacent theaters and hotel.[17] On the upper stories, the auditorium section has a set of five arches on the second and third stories. The arches rise above terracottapiers that containCorinthian-stylecapitals. Each arch contains iron-framedsash windows with multiple panes, separated by horizontaltransom bars.[24] A similar, narrower arcade exists on the neighboring Golden Theatre.[25] A sign with the theater's name is placed between the auditorium and stage sections. Theparapet of the auditorium facade contains a terracottacoping.[24] Above the center portion of the facade, there is a roundedpediment withfinials and an ornamentallunette.[17][24]
Stage house
The stage house has fivesash windows on each of the second through fifth stories. These windows containsills made of terracotta. At the fifth story, the three center windows are placed within aloggia, which in turn is placed onbrackets. The loggia has paired columns with decorative capitals, which support a Spanish tile roof.[24] There is a pyramidal tile roof above the stage house.[17][24] The Jacobs's loggia complements a similar one on the Golden Theatre.[25]
The Jacobs's interior was designed with a red, orange, and gold color scheme.[26][27][28] The layout was part of an effort byIrwin Chanin, one of the developers, to "democratize" the seating arrangement of the theater. The Jacobs was designed with a single balcony rather than the typical two, since Chanin had perceived the second balcony to be distant.[29] The Chanin brothers wanted the three theaters' interior designs to be distinct while still adhering to a Spanish motif, in the belief that beautiful and comfortable theaters would be able to compete against other performing-arts venues.[25]Roman Melzer was credited for the overall design, whileWilly Pogany painted murals andJoseph Dujat created plasterwork.[30] By the 2010s, the Jacobs was designed with a red and gray color palette.[31]
The auditorium has an orchestra level, one balcony,boxes, and astage behind theproscenium arch. The auditorium's width is greater than its depth, and the space is designed with plaster decorations in highrelief.[32] According to the Shubert Organization, the auditorium has 1,092 seats,[1] while according toThe Broadway League, there are 1,078 seats.[33][28] The physical seats are divided into 636 seats in the orchestra, 168 at the front of the balcony, 252 at the rear of the balcony, and 16 in the boxes. There are 20 standing-only spots.[1] Below the orchestra are restrooms and drinking fountains.[21] The Jacobs and the neighboring Schoenfeld are two of the most desired theaters among producers because of their good sightlines from the seating areas.[31]
The rear of the orchestra contains a promenade with two columns supporting the balcony level. The orchestra floor israked. The orchestra and its promenade contain walls with paneledbaseboards, above which are roughstucco blocks. The side walls contain doors, above which areexit signs withinbracketed panels.[34] The rearmost row has a standing rail behind it.[35] Two staircases lead between the orchestra and the balcony. These staircases have metal railings and elaboratebalustrades.[36] In front of the orchestra level is an orchestra pit, which is placed below the stage.[37] The orchestra level is wheelchair-accessible but there are no elevators to the balcony.[1]
Interior of the auditorium, looking sideways toward the north wall. The boxes are at left, while the balcony is at right. Half of the mural sequenceLovers of Spain is in the arch section above the balcony.
The balcony level is divided into front and rear sections by an aisle halfway across the depth.[37] The walls consist of paneled stucco blocks. Above the wall is afrieze withrosettes, which forms the wall'scornice.[36] Light fixtures and square panels witharabesques are placed at the front of the balcony'ssoffit, or underside. Behind this, the center of the soffit is decorated with a medallion containing a light fixture and acanthus-leaf motifs. The outer portions of the soffit are divided into rhombus-shaped panels, which contain latticework and arabesques surrounded by acanthus-leaf and rope moldings. In front of the balcony are moldings ofswags and rosettes. The soffit has been modified with the installation of air-conditioning grilles, while lights have been installed in front of the balcony.[35]
On either side of the stage is an elliptically arched wall section with two boxes at the balcony level. The front box on either side is lower than the rear box.[32] Each wall section is surrounded by a rope molding. In front of each box is a railing with shield motifs; the center motif is flanked bygriffins. The underside of each box is decorated with a medallion containing a light fixture, as well as acanthus-leaf motifs.[34] The coved ceilings above the boxes contain Spanish-inspired brass chandeliers.[36]
Next to the boxes is an elliptical proscenium arch. The archway is surrounded by rope moldings, above which is a wide band, consisting of four-part leaves surrounded by aguilloche motif.[32] The proscenium measures about 24 ft (7.3 m) high and 40 ft (12 m) wide.[1] Asounding board curves onto the ceiling above the proscenium arch. The sounding board has a large decorated latticework panel in the center, which is surrounded by a molding that depicts overlapping leaves. The rest of the sounding board was originally decorated with Spanish-style motifs and is surrounded by moldings on all sides.[34] The depth of the auditorium to the proscenium is 26 ft 4 in (8.03 m), while the depth to the front of the stage is 30 ft 1 in (9.17 m).[1]
The ceiling consists of a groin vault that extends over the balcony.[16][38] The vault is surrounded by a molding with laurel leaves. The ceiling is divided into ribs, containing laurel-leaf and talon moldings. The center of the ceiling contains a latticework grille with arabesques, marking the convergence of the ribs.[35] In addition, there are two arches along the walls on either side of the vault; they contain a set of murals by Willy Pogany, entitledLovers of Spain.[16][38][39] These arches each depict a woman in a procession of musicians.[35] The arches are surrounded by moldedacanthus leaves and shells, and there are square panels with rosettes on the arches' outer reveals.[36] According to a contemporary account, the arches measured 45 by 15 ft (13.7 by 4.6 m) across.[26]
Times Square became the epicenter for large-scale theater productions between 1900 andthe Great Depression.[40] During the 1900s and 1910s, many theaters in Midtown Manhattan were developed by theShubert brothers, one of the major theatrical syndicates of the time.[41] The Chanin brothers developed another grouping of theaters in the mid-1920s.[42][43][44] Though the Chanins largely specialized in real estate rather than theaters, Irwin Chanin had become interested in theater when he was an impoverished student at theCooper Union. He subsequently recalled that he had been "humiliated" by having to use a separate door whenever he bought cheap seats in an upper balcony level.[42][45] By October 1926, the Chanins had decided to construct and operate a theatrical franchise "in New York and half a dozen other large cities in the United States".[25][46] Herbert Krapp had already designed the46th Street,Biltmore, andMansfield theaters for the Chanins in 1925 and 1926.[17][20][47]
The Chanin brothers had acquired the Klaman site in May 1925.[48][49][50] The Chanins planned to build a hotel on Eighth Avenue and three theaters on the side streets.[48][50][44] In March 1926, Krapp filed plans with theNew York City Department of Buildings for the hotel and theaters, which were projected to cost $4.5 million.[14][13] Local news media reported that there would be a large theater on 44th Street and a medium-sized theater and a small theater on 45th Street.[12][13][6][a] The brownstones on the site were razed starting in May,[10] and the site was cleared by the next month.[52] That July, the Chanin brothers received a $7.5 million loan for the four developments from S. W. Straus & Co.[11][53] Irwin Chanin launched a competition the same month, asking the public to suggest names for the three theaters.[54] The names of the three theaters were announced in December 1926.[55][56] The large theater became the Majestic;[55][57] the mid-sized theater, the Royale;[55][58] and the small theater, the Masque.[56][59] The following month, the Chanins gaveA. L. Erlanger exclusive control over bookings at the three new theaters and their five existing houses.[60][61]
The Royale Theatre was the first of the three theaters to open,[b] showing the playPiggy on January 11, 1927.[65][66] The opening of the Majestic, Masque, and Royale signified the westward extension of the traditional Broadway theater district, as well as an expansion of the Chanins' theatrical developments.[67][68] Each of the Chanin theaters was intended for a different purpose: the 1,800-seat Majestic for "revues and light operas", the 1,200-seat Royale for "musical comedies", and the 800-seat Masque for "intimate" plays.[19] By developing a small, medium, and large theater concurrently, the Chanins were able to lower their development costs.[25]Burns Mantle wrote for theNew York Daily News that the Royale had "a handsome auditorium with a Willy Pogany interior, well proportioned stage, and the established atmosphere of a hospitable and well-run theatre".[69][70]Piggy (renamed mid-run toI Told You So[71]) had a weak script, but comedianSam Bernard carried the show for 79 performances.[72]
The Royale next hostedJudy withQueenie Smith.[73][74] This was followed by the short-runningOh, Ernest!,[73][75] though the Chanins unsuccessfully tried to prevent the producers from relocating prematurely.[76] The Black revueRang Tang also played at the Royale in 1927,[73][77] as did threeGilbert and Sullivan works:The Mikado,[78][79]Iolanthe,[80][81] andThe Pirates of Penzance.[82][83] The Royale's productions in 1928 includedThe Madcap,[84][85] as well asSh! The Octopus, its firststraight play.[86][87] Later that year, the Royale had its first major hit,[88][89] theMae West playDiamond Lil.[84][90] It was followed in 1929 by theflopWoof, Woof,[91] then by the moderately successful comedyKibitzer.[92][93] In July 1929, the Shubert brothers bought the Chanin brothers' half-ownership stakes in the Majestic, Masque, and Royale theaters for a combined $1.8 million.[94][95][96] In exchange, the Shuberts sold a parcel of land on theUpper West Side to the Chanins,[94][96] who bought several adjacent lots and developedthe Century apartment building there.[97]
The Shuberts obtained the exclusive rights to operate the Royale in 1930.[98] Under Shubert management, the Royale hostedSecond Little Show in 1930,[91][99] which was followed byLew Leslie's Blackbirds[92][100] andStepping Sisters.[101][102] Another Mae West play,Constant Sinner, was presented at the Royale in 1931,[103][104] along with numerous unsuccessful productions.[92] After West unsuccessfully tried to show a revival ofMacbeth,[105] the Royale hosted theChicago Shakespeare Theater for two weeks in late 1931.[106] By then, the Shuberts were inreceivership and were forced to give up the Royale, though they kept the Majestic and Masque.[30] In July 1932, producerJohn Golden granted the right to lease the Royale for 21 months,[107][108] despite objections fromLee Shubert.[109] That November, Golden officially signed a 21-month lease with the theater's receiver.[110] At the time, Golden had recently lost the right to operate his eponymous theater on 58th Street.[111]
The Royale hosted Golden's comedyWhen Ladies Meet in late 1932,[112][113] and theTheatre Guild next hosted two productions:[92]Both Your Houses (1933)[114][115] andThey Shall Not Die (1934).[116][117] Otherwise, the Royale's productions during this time were largely flops.[8] After the Royale hosted the comedyEvery Thursday,[101] Golden renewed his lease in September 1934 and renamed the Royale for himself.[118][119][c] The first productions at the renamed theater includedSmall Miracle[121][122] andRain from Heaven.[114][123] The Irish group Abbey Theatre Players started hosting repertory productions in November 1934,[124][125] changing the shows every week.[126] This was followed in 1935 byThe Bishop Misbehaves andA Touch of Brimstone.[127] Afterward, the Golden (Royale) hosted several short-lived productions in 1936, among themThree Wise Fools,Ghosts, andDouble Dummy.[128]
The Broadway theater industry declined during theGreat Depression,[8] and the Majestic, Masque, and Golden (Royale) were auctioned in November 1936 to satisfy a $2 million mortgage against the theaters.[129] A representative of the Shubert family bought the rights to operate the theaters for $700,000,[130] but theBankers Securities Corporation retained a half interest.[131] John Golden, undeterred by the auction proceeding, moved his production to the Masque and renamed that theater after himself.[132] The Shuberts leased the former Royale toCBS Radio the following month,[8][133][134] and CBS started operating the studio in January 1937 as CBS Radio Theatre No. 1.[135][136] At the time, CBS had converted several theaters around Times Square into broadcast studios.[134][137] The studio closed in May 1940 due to a lack of programming, and the theater reverted to the Shuberts.[135][138] The Magoro Operating Corporation, on behalf of the Shuberts, took over the Royale in October 1940 after CBS's lease ended,[139] and the theater assumed its previous name.[89][140]
The Royale Theatre reopened on October 21, 1940, withDu Barry Was a Lady.[139][141] The Royale subsequently hosted several productions relocated from other theaters,[140] includingFlight to the West andThe Corn Is Green in 1941.[142] Some of the subsequent productions were hits with several hundred performances, includingCounsellor-at-Law in 1942,[143][144] as well asRamshackle Inn withZaSu Pitts;[145][146]School for Brides withRoscoe Karns;[147][148] andCatherine Was Great with Mae West in 1944.[145][149] Less successful were the 1945 productions ofGood Night, Ladies[142][150] andStrange Fruit, which both ran for less than a hundred performances before ending.[151][152] In addition, the Shubert brothers bought the Majestic, John Golden (Masque), and Royale theaters from the Bankers Securities Corporation in 1945, giving the family full ownership of these theaters.[131]
The Immoralist played at the Royale in 1954,[175][176] as didThe Boy Friend,[175][177] the latter of which featuredJulie Andrews's Broadway debut.[178] The same year saw the shortest production at the Royale on record: a single performance ofThe Starcross Story, which had premiered just beforeThe Immortalist.[179] In 1955, the Royale featuredThe Matchmaker,[180][181] which was adapted from a flop but had 486 performances.[182] Other popular productions during the decade wereThe Tunnel of Love in 1957[183][184] andThe Entertainer in 1958.[180][185] Following a screening of the filmGigi in May 1958,[92][186][187] the Royale again hosted theatrical productions that November withLa Plume de Ma Tante, which ran over 800 performances.[180][188]
TheNew York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) had started considering protecting the Royale as a landmark in 1982,[233] with discussions continuing over the next several years.[234] The LPC designated the Royale's facade and interior as a landmark in December 1987.[16][38] This was part of the LPC's wide-ranging effort in 1987 to grant landmark status to Broadway theaters.[235] TheNew York City Board of Estimate ratified the designations in March 1988.[236] The Shuberts, theNederlanders, andJujamcyn collectively sued the LPC in June 1988 to overturn the landmark designations of 22 theaters, including the Royale, on the merit that the designations severely limited the extent to which the theaters could be modified.[237] The lawsuit was escalated to theNew York Supreme Court and theSupreme Court of the United States, but these designations were ultimately upheld in 1992.[238]
In September 2004, the Shubert Organization's board of directors voted to rename the Royale for its longtime presidentBernard B. Jacobs (1916–1996), as well as the neighboring Plymouth for then-current presidentGerald Schoenfeld.[264][265] The two theaters were officially renamed with a marquee replacement ceremony on May 9, 2005.[266][267][268] While Jacobs's family was "thrilled",[267] the renaming was controversial among producers and theatrical fans, despite the longstanding tradition of renaming Broadway houses after their producers.[265][269] The playGlengarry Glen Ross opened just before the renaming[270] and had 137 performances.[271] This was followed in 2006 by the short-running dramaThree Days of Rain[272][273] andMartin Short's biographical revueFame Becomes Me;[274][275] the Jacobs also hosted a memorial forLloyd Richards the same year.[276] Further productions of the late 2000s includedFrost/Nixon andRock 'n' Roll in 2007;The Country Girl and13 in 2008; andGod of Carnage in 2009.[263]
Productions are listed by the year of their first performance. This list only includes Broadway shows; it does not include films screened at the theater, nor does it include shows that were taped there.[21][33]
This section describes plays at the Royale Theatre, including when it was known as the John Golden Theatre from 1934 to 1940. For productions at thecurrent John Golden Theatre (formerly Theatre Masque) during that time, seeJohn Golden Theatre#Notable productions.
Once previously achieved the box office record for the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, grossing $1,447,598 over nine performances for the week ending December 30, 2012.[365] This record was broken byParade, which grossed $1,814,013 for the week ending August 6, 2023.[366]
^Billboard magazine reported that the large and medium theaters would be on 44th Street, while the small theater would be on 45th Street.[51]
^The Masque opened on February 24, 1927,[62] and the Majestic opened on March 28.[63] The Chanin project was completed in January 1928 with the opening of the Lincoln Hotel.[64]
^The "John Golden Theatre" name had first been given to a theater on 58th Street, which opened in 1926.[120]
^abcHamlet,Julius Caesar, andThe Merchant of Venice played in repertory.[297]
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^"Tenement Properties Find Ready Buyers: Multi-family Houses in Columbus Avenue Sold--Monroe Street Investment".The New York Times. May 15, 1925. p. 33.ISSN0362-4331.ProQuest103582068.
^ab"Realty News: Midtown Loft Buildings Change Hands: Brown Sells Fifth Avenue And 12th Street Structure".Women's Wear. Vol. 30, no. 114. May 15, 1925. p. 42.ProQuest1676948661.
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^"Chanin Offers Prizes For New Theater Names".The Billboard. Vol. 38, no. 31. July 31, 1926. p. 6.ProQuest1031799153.
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