TheNeil Simon Theatre, originally theAlvin Theatre, is aBroadway theater at 250 West52nd Street in theTheater District ofMidtown Manhattan inNew York City, United States. Opened in 1927, the theater was designed byHerbert J. Krapp and was built for Alex A. Aarons andVinton Freedley. The original name was an amalgamation of Aarons's and Freedley's first names; the theater was renamed for playwrightNeil Simon in 1983. The Neil Simon has 1,467 seats^[a] across two levels and is operated by theNederlander Organization. Both thefacade and the auditorium interior areNew York City landmarks.

Neil Simon Theatre

Alvin Theatre (1927–1983)
ShowingThe Cher Show, 2019
Address	250 West 52nd Street Manhattan, New York United States
Coordinates	40°45′47″N73°59′04″W / 40.76306°N 73.98444°W /40.76306; -73.98444
Owner	Nederlander Organization
Type	Broadway
Capacity	1,467[1][a]
Production	MJ the Musical
Construction
Opened	November 22, 1927 (97 years ago) (1927-11-22)
Years active	1927–present
Architect	Herbert J. Krapp
Website
broadwaydirect.com/theatre/neil-simon-theatre/
New York City Landmark
Designated	August 6, 1985[2]
Reference no.	1305[2]
Designated entity	Facade
New York City Landmark
Designated	August 6, 1985[3]
Reference no.	1306[3]
Designated entity	Auditorium interior

Thefacade is divided into two sections: the six-story stage house to the west and the five-story auditorium to the east. The ground floor is clad withterracotta blocks and contains an entrance with amarquee. The upper stories of both sections are made ofbrick and terracotta; the auditorium facade has arched windows, niches, and a centralpediment, while the stage house has a more plain design. The interior is designed in theAdam style and includes two lobbies and a mezzanine-level lounge. The auditorium consists of a ground-level orchestra and one balcony withboxes. The theater interiors are decorated with paneling and plasterwork, and the auditorium has a domed ceiling. Above the auditorium were three stories of offices.

Alexander Pincus and M. L. Goldstone developed the Alvin Theatre, which opened on November 22, 1927, withFunny Face. Aarons and Freedley initially operated the theater and owned it from 1930 to 1932. In the theater's early years, it hosted musicals such asAnything Goes,Lady in the Dark, andSomething for the Boys, as well as plays.CBS took over in 1946 and continued to operate the theater until 1959, when Max and Stanley Stahl bought it. The Alvin was further sold in 1967 to Rock-Time Inc. and in 1975 to the Nederlanders. Through the 1960s and 1970s, the Alvin hosted long runs of shows such asA Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,High Spirits,The Great White Hope,Company,Shenandoah, andAnnie. After the theater was renamed for Neil Simon, it hosted several of his plays during the 1980s and 1990s, as well as the musicalHairspray during much of the 2000s.

The Neil Simon Theatre is on 250 West52nd Street, on the south sidewalk betweenEighth Avenue andBroadway, in theMidtown Manhattan neighborhood ofNew York City, United States.^[5][6] The rectangularland lot covers 12,350 sq ft (1,147 m²), with afrontage of 123.50 ft (37.64 m) on 52nd Street and a depth of 100 ft (30 m).^[6][7] The Neil Simon shares the block with theMark Hellinger Theatre andGallagher's Steakhouse to the east. Other nearby buildings include theAugust Wilson Theatre to the north; theBroadway Theatre and810 Seventh Avenue to the northeast;Axa Equitable Center to the east; theWinter Garden Theatre to the southeast; andParamount Plaza (includingCircle in the Square Theatre and theGershwin Theatre) to the south.^[6]

The Neil Simon Theatre, originally the Alvin Theatre, was designed byHerbert J. Krapp and was constructed in 1927. The exterior is designed in theneo-Georgian style,^[5][8] while the interior is designed in theAdam style typical of most of Krapp's designs.^[9]

Thefacade consists of two sections, which are connected to each other. The five-story-tall eastern section is wider and is symmetrical, containing the auditorium entrance. The western section, which contains thestage house, is six stories high.^[10][11] On the upper stories, the facade is made of red brick in Englishbond, with terracotta trim.^[12][13] The Neil Simon is one of a few Broadway theaters with a neo-Georgian facade, along with theBelasco Theatre,Hayes Theater, andStephen Sondheim Theatre. This was done to create the impression that theater-goers were "entering the producer's home".^[8] When the Alvin was built, one critic said the exterior design had "an appearance in keeping with the dignity of its neighbor" across the street, now the Wilson.^[14]

In both sections, the base is made ofrusticated blocks ofterracotta, designed to resemble marble. On the eastern side of the ground-floor facade is a pair of recessed metal doors. The center of the auditorium facade contains two sets of metal-and-glass doors. Six doors to the east connect with the inner lobby, while eight doors to the west connect with the box office lobby; there is a modernmarquee above these doors. In the stage-house section of the facade, there are several recessed doorways, including a stage door. A horizontalfrieze with panels and vertical grooves runs above the base.^[11][10]

Above the base, vertical terracotta bands andquoins divide the auditorium facade into three sections. The central section has three verticalbays of windows. Each bay contains a double-height arched window at the second story, with terracottaimposts andkeystones near the top of each arch. On the fourth story, each of the three central bays has a rectangular window with a terracotta frame, above which is abroken pediment withscrolls flanking anurn. The fifth-story windows also have rectangular terracotta frames; theirsills are connected by a terracotta band course. A triangulargable rises above these windows; there is a terracottaoculus at the center of the gable, surrounded by wreaths and floral decorations.^[11][15]

The outer sections of the auditorium facade are designed as pavilions, which are almost identical to each other except at the top. Both pavilions are flanked byfluted terracottapilasters, which rest on the frieze that runs above the base. Between these pilasters are double-height niches at the second story, each surrounded by terracotta imposts and keystones. The niches contain terracotta urns, placed above seashell motifs. Above each niche, the fourth story contains two windows with rectangular terracotta frames. Each pair of pilasters supports a terracotta entablature and pediment on the fifth floor, as well as acornice above that story. Whereas the eastern (left) pavilion is capped by aparapet, the western (right) pavilion rises for another story, the same height as the stage house.^[15][16]

The stage house is to the right of the auditorium. Vertical terracotta bands and quoins split the stage house into sections with one, three, and one bays from left to right. The windows of the stage house are rectangular, with terracotta lintels above each window. The center bays of the stage house also have terracotta panels above the third and fourth floors. There is a cornice and paneling above the fifth floor, as well as a parapet with a balustrade above the sixth floor. The leftmost bay of the stage house, nearest the auditorium, rises to a seventh story. The stage house's rightmost bay has a vertical sign with the theater's name.^[15][16]

The rectangular ticket lobby is directly inside the main entrance^[17] and has dark marble walls.^[14][18][19] The western (right) wall has ticket windows, while the eastern (left) wall has a recessed niche to the inner lobby, containing a glass-and-bronze double door flanked by smallsconces. The eight glass-and-bronze doors on the north wall lead from the street, with panels above them, while the south wall contains paneled wooden doors to the auditorium's orchestra level. A cornice surrounds the ceiling. which is decorated with plasterwork in the Adam style. The middle of the ceiling has a pair of crystal lamps.^[17]

The inner lobby is rectangular in plan. It is accessed by the niche on its western wall, which leads from the ticket lobby, as well as from the six glass-and-bronze doors on the north wall, which lead from the street. The south wall contains paneled wooden doors to the auditorium, while the east wall contains a staircase to the mezzanine lounge. The inner lobby's ceiling is decorated with plasterwork in the Adam style and contains a pair of crystal chandeliers.^[17]

When the Alvin was built, the mezzanine lounge was designed as an English lounge measuring 100 by 35 ft (30 by 11 m).^[14][18] The mezzanine lounge's walls arewainscoted and contain lighting sconces.^[20] The space also originally contained a fireplace. Four "retiring rooms" led off the lounge, which included men's and women's smoking rooms.^[18] The lounge's ceiling has an oval dome with plasterwork decorations; a central chandelier; and a cornice, which intersects with the dome. From the mezzanine lounge, staircases lead down to the north, connecting with the inner lobby, and south, connecting with the orchestra. There are rectangularcoffers above either staircase, with crystal chandeliers and surrounding cornices. The southern staircase has a metal railing.^[20] These staircases were placed in the lounge, rather than within the auditorium itself, to minimize disruption from latecomers.^[21]

The auditorium has an orchestra level, one balcony,boxes, and astage behind theproscenium arch.^[17] The auditorium space is designed with plaster decorations and is nearly square in plan.^[13][17] According to the Nederlander Organization, the auditorium has 1,445 seats;^[22] meanwhile,The Broadway League cites a capacity of 1,467 seats^[1] andPlaybill cites 1,380 seats.^[23] The theater originally had a capacity of 1,400 seats, with 702 in the orchestra, 674 in the balcony, and 24 in the boxes.^[14][18] An article from 1967 described the theater as having 1,363 seats for musicals and 1.334 seats for plays.^[24] The auditorium initially had a color scheme of ivory, blue, gray, and gold,^[14][18][21] with lavender or mulberry draperies.^[13][18] White paint covers many of the original interior decorations.^[13] Above the auditorium were three stories of offices.^[21]

The orchestra level israked, sloping down toward anorchestra pit in front of the stage.^[25] The rear of the orchestra contains a promenade with a paneled wall to the east, with sconces. The rear of the orchestra has a standing rail made of marble, separating the promenade from the rear rows of seats. The promenade and the orchestra seating are separated by two columns, designed to resemble marble pillars; they are topped byDoric-stylecapitals.^[20] The south (left) wall of the orchestra has metal doorways, alternating with paneled wall sections that contain sconces. The north (right) wall has two sets of paneled wooden doors, separated by a panel with a sconce; the doors in the rear lead to the inner lobby, while those in the front lead to the ticket lobby. Theexit signs above each door are flanked by friezes that depict lyres and griffins.^[25]

The balcony level is divided into front and rear sections by an aisle halfway across its depth, which in turn is delineated by a metal railing. The crossover aisle connects to exit doors on both of the side walls, which in turn are topped by friezes with lyres and griffins. Exit doors with similar friezes are also placed on the side walls next to the front balcony. The rest of the balcony's side walls are divided into sections by pilasters withIonic capitals, which support an entablature around the auditorium. Each side-wall section contains crystal-and-brass lighting sconces. The front rail of the balcony containsswags, urns, andcameo patterns, which have been partly covered over with light boxes. The underside of the balcony has Adam-style panels with crystal light fixtures. The balcony's rear wall is divided into panels that contain lighting sconces. There are some air-conditioning vents on the walls.^[20]

On either side of the stage is a wall section with three boxes at the balcony level. The boxes step downward toward the stage; the front box curves forward into the proscenium arch, while the rear box curves backward into the balcony.^[13][17] At the orchestra level, there is an opening on either wall, corresponding to the locations of the boxes above. The undersides of the boxes include crystal lamps andconsole brackets, while the front railings of the boxes contain swags, urns, and cameo patterns. Paneled piers separate the boxes from each other, supporting a smaller entablature directly above the boxes; each small entablature has a broken pediment with scrolls flanking an urn. Above the pediment, there arecolonettes with femalegrotesques, which extend upward to the entablature that surrounds the auditorium.^[17]

Next to the boxes is a flat proscenium arch, which consists of fluted Ionic pilasters on either side of the opening, as well as an entablature above. The entablature contains an Adam-style frieze. Above the arch is alunette panel with a mural, which shows a pastoral scene with mythological characters.^[17] When the theater was built, the proscenium opening was described as measuring 40 ft (12 m) wide.^[14][18] Behind the opening, the stage was 100 feet wide and 35 feet deep, with a gridiron 68 ft (21 m) tall.^[14] The orchestra pit in front of the stage could fit 48 people.^[18][19] Backstage were 20 dressing rooms capable of accommodating 150 performers, as well as a pair of chorus "rest rooms" and a rehearsal room.^[14][18]

The ceiling containsgroin vaults on the side walls, separated by ribs with plasterwork decorations. At the front of the auditorium is a recessed circular dome encircled by ornamental bands, with a crystal chandelier hanging from a central medallion. Behind the dome, the ceiling is divided into panels with Adam-style plasterwork decorations. Above the rear balcony is a half-dome with ornamental bands and technical-booth openings. Air-conditioning vents are placed in the ceiling.^[20]

Times Square became the epicenter for large-scale theater productions between 1900 andthe Great Depression.^[26][27] The Alvin Theatre was one of the later theaters to be built before the Depression.^[28] The theater's name was an amalgamation of the first names of its original operators:^[8][29] Alex A. Aarons (1891–1943^[30]) andVinton Freedley (1891–1969^[31]). Both men hailed fromPhiladelphia.^[28][32] Aarons was a producer of musical comedies, while Freedley was "the only Broadway producer whose name was listed in the social register".^[28] The men had formed a partnership in 1923^[31] or 1924,^[33] but they only worked together until 1933.^[31][33] Since 1983,^[22][34] it has been named forNeil Simon (1927–2018), one of Broadway's most prolific playwrights.^[35] The Neil Simon is operated by theNederlander Organization.^[1][23]

In January 1927, Alexander Pincus and M. L. Goldstone bought the sites at 244–254 West 52nd Street from the Lebanon Estates Corporation, with plans to develop alegitimate theater on the site.^[36][37] Pincus had previously developed theLongacre andImperial theaters;^[38] he and Goldstone planned to fund the theater's $1.4 million cost.^[39][40] The same month, Pincus submitted plans to theNew York City Department of Buildings for a theater at the site, designed by Herbert J. Krapp.^[41] Pincus and Goldstone awarded a general contract for the theater's construction to the O'Day Construction Company that March.^[7][39] By October 1927, Aarons and Freedley had leased the theater and planned to stageGeorge andIra Gershwin's musicalFunny Face, starringFred andAdele Astaire.^[32][42] The Alvin opened on November 22, 1927, withFunny Face;^[43][44] that show ran for 250 performances.^[45][46]Brooks Atkinson, the theater critic forThe New York Times, wrote: "IfFunny Face had been less engrossing, the audience might have had more time to appreciate the new theatre."^[9][44]

The Alvin's first few musicals had relatively short runs.^[47] In 1928, the theater hosted the Gershwin musicalTreasure Girl withGertrude Lawrence.^[47][48] Though the musical charged a top admission of $6, then an unprecedented price,^[49] it managed 69 performances before it closed.^[50][51] Next was theTheatre Guild's production ofWings Over Europe, which relocated from theMartin Beck Theatre.^[19] Aarons and Freedley received a $570,000mortgage loan on the theater in January 1929.^[52][53] TheRodgers and Hart musicalSpring Is Here opened at the Alvin that March^[54][55] and had 104 performances.^[56][57] Another Rodgers and Hart musical,Heads Up!, opened at the Alvin that November^[58] for a 144-performance run.^[56][59] In 1930,Ethel Merman made herBroadway debut in the Gershwins'Girl Crazy,^[60] which had 272 performances.^[56][61] Aarons and Freedley bought the Alvin and the land underneath it that April.^[62][63]

Pincus and Goldstone took over the Alvin's operations in May 1932 for unknown reasons.^[64][65] That year, the theater hosted a transfer ofEugene O'Neill's playMourning Becomes Electra, as well asJerome Kern's musicalMusic in the Air.^[56]The Players brought their production ofUncle Tom's Cabin to the Alvin in May 1933;^[66][67] the play was so popular that it was extended two weeks past its original one-week run.^[68][69] The same year saw the opening of theMaxwell Anderson playMary of Scotland withHelen Hayes.^[70][71][72] Freedley next producedCole Porter's musicalAnything Goes at the Alvin in 1934, featuring Merman,William Gaxton,Victor Moore, andVivian Vance;^[70][73] it ran for 420 performances.^[74][75]

By the mid-1930s, the Alvin Theatre and the neighboring Guild (now August Wilson) Theatre were the northernmost venues in the Theater District that still hosted legitimate shows.^[76] The original production of the Gershwins' American folk operaPorgy and Bess opened at the Alvin in October 1935.^[77][78] WhilePorgy and Bess closed at the Alvin after 124 performances,^[74][79][80] its revivals proved more successful.^[68] This was followed in October 1936 by Porter'sRed, Hot and Blue with Merman andJimmy Durante,^[70][81] which lasted 181 performances.^[74][82] The Alvin hosted two musicals by Rodgers and Hart in the late 1930s.^[83]I'd Rather Be Right opened withGeorge M. Cohan in 1937,^[84] running for 289 performances,^[85][86] andThe Boys from Syracuse opened in 1938,^[87] lasting 235 performances.^[88][86]

The Alvin's first production of the 1940s was a limited run ofThe Taming of the Shrew in February 1940, staged by acting coupleAlfred Lunt andLynn Fontanne for theFinnish Relief Fund.^[89][90] That April, Lunt and Fontanne appeared inRobert E. Sherwood's playThere Shall Be No Night,^[91][92] which ran for several months with a tour in mid-1940.^[93] The next year, the Alvin hosted Ira Gershwin,Moss Hart, andKurt Weill's psychiatry-themed musicalLady in the Dark;^[94][95] featuring Gertrude Lawrence, it had 467 performances.^[96][97][98] The Alvin hosted Porter's musicalSomething for the Boys with Ethel Merman in January 1943,^[99][100] appearing for 422 performances.^[96][101]Something for the Boys closed to make way for the musicalJackpot,^[102][103] which ran 67 performances.^[104][105] The Alvin's productions in 1944 and 1945 were mostly quick failures, includingHelen Goes to Troy,The Firebrand of Florence, andHollywood Pinafore.^[106] More successful wasBetty Comden,Adolph Green, andMorton Gould's musicalBillion Dollar Baby, which opened at the end of 1945^[107][108] and lasted for 200 performances.^{[96][109][110]}

By December 1945, broadcast networkCBS was negotiating to buy the Alvin for use as a studio, as CBS's lease at the nearbyHammerstein's Theatre was about to expire.^[111][112]Howard S. Cullman, who owned Hammerstein's, intended to return that theater to legitimate use.^[113][114] CBS bought the Alvin for $825,000 in February 1946.^{[115][116][117]} That June, CBS agreed to lease Hammerstein's from Cullman for five more years, while Cullman agreed to lease the Alvin from CBS and present productions there instead.^[110][118] The same year, the Alvin hostedJoan of Lorraine withIngrid Bergman,Sam Wanamaker, andRomney Brent.^[119][120] This was followed in 1947 by the playLife with Father, which transferred from another theater to conclude its 3,224-performance run.^[121][122]George Bernard Shaw's playMan and Superman opened at the Alvin that October^[123][124] and relocated in February 1948.^[125][126] It was followed immediately afterward byThomas Heggen andJoshua Logan's comedyMister Roberts withHenry Fonda,^[127] which ran for 1,157 performances.^[122][128]

Cullman and CBS decided in 1951 to swap Hammerstein's and the Alvin for another three years, allowing the former to be used as a studio and the latter to be used for legitimate plays.^[129][130] Three shows opened at the Alvin that year: theSidney Kingsley playDarkness at Noon,^{[122][131][132]} the musicalA Tree Grows in Brooklyn,^{[133][134][135]} and thePaul Osborn playPoint of No Return.^{[136][137][138]}Point of No Return was followed in December 1952 by the revueTwo's Company, withBette Davis in her first Broadway appearance in 22 years,^[139][140] but it only lasted about 90 performances.^[141][142] The next year,Norman Krasna's comedyKind Sir opened at the Alvin withMary Martin andCharles Boyer.^{[136][143][144]}

The musicalThe Golden Apple transferred to the Alvin fromoff-Broadway in April 1954,^[145] running for 173 total performances.^[141][146] TheHarold Arlen andTruman Capote musicalHouse of Flowers was booked before Cullman's lease came up for renewal that year, indicating that the leases of the Alvin and Hammerstein's would again be swapped.^[147][148]House of Flowers ultimately opened in December 1954^[149][150] and ran for 165 performances.^[151][152]Ira Levin's comedyNo Time for Sergeants opened the next year,^[153][154] running for 796 performances over two years.^[151][155] The theater hosted several moderately successful productions in the late 1950s, including the musicalsOh, Captain! in 1958^{[151][156][157]} andFirst Impressions in 1959.^{[158][159][160]} In addition,Jerome Robbins choreographed his dance specialBallet U.S.A. in 1958,^[161][162] and the musicalBells Are Ringing relocated from theShubert to the Alvin that year.^[158][163]

CBS sold the Alvin in 1959 to Max and Stanley Stahl, who also owned the neighboring Hellinger Theatre.^[164][165] The Stahls quickly hired a new manager for the Alvin.^[166] In 1960, the theater hosted the musicalGreenwillow,^{[158][167][168]} the dance troupeLes Ballets Africains,^[169][170] and a transfer of the musicalWest Side Story from the Winter Garden.^[158][171] TheCarolyn Leigh andCy Coleman musicalWildcat opened that December withLucille Ball,^[172][173] who made her only Broadway appearance there.^[174] The musicalIrma La Douce transferred from thePlymouth to the Alvin in 1961.^{[158][175][176]} The next year,Stephen Sondheim,Burt Shevelove, andLarry Gelbart's musicalA Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum opened,^[177][178] running for 967 performances.^[179][180] DuringA Funny Thing's run in October 1962, Lester Osterman (owner of the46th Street andO'Neill theaters) leased the Alvin for five years.^[181]

Hugh Martin andTimothy Gray's musical comedyHigh Spirits, withBeatrice Lillie andTammy Grimes, opened in 1964^[182][183] and ran for 367 performances.^[179][184]Maurice Chevalier appeared at the Alvin in April 1965 for a month-long solo show,Maurice Chevalier at 77.^{[179][185][186]} This was followed the next month byFlora the Red Menace,^[187][188] in whichLiza Minnelli made her Broadway debut.^[177]Flora the Red Menace and the next several shows had comparatively short runs.^[189] These shows included the musicalsThe Yearling (1965),^[190][191]It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Superman (1966),^[192][193]Dinner At Eight (1966),^[194][195] andSherry! (1967).^[196][197]Rockefeller Center's development subsidiary Rock-Time Inc. bought the Alvin from Osterman in July 1967 through its agent, Konrad Matthaei. In exchange, Rock-Time sold thePlayhouse Theatre near Rockefeller Center, which was to be demolished.^[24]

TheTom Stoppard playRosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead opened at the Alvin in October 1967,^[198][199] running for 421 total performances across two theaters.^[200][201] It was succeeded in 1968 byHoward Sackler's dramaThe Great White Hope withJames Earl Jones andJane Alexander,^[202][203] which had 557 performances.^[200][204] The Alvin next hosted the original production of the Stephen Sondheim/George Furth musicalCompany, which premiered in 1970^[202][205] and ran just over 700 performances during the next two years.^[206][207] A couple of short runs followed, includingMolly (1973) andThe Freedom of the City (1974).^[1][208] The Alvin's next success was the musicalShenandoah, which opened in 1975^[198][209] and stayed two years before transferring.^[210] By July 1974, Matthaei haddefaulted on the theater's mortgage loan, and theBowery Savings Bank acquired the Alvin inforeclosure. The theater was then placed for sale at $1.2 million.^[211]

The Nederlander Organization acquired the Alvin in 1975, and the venue became the family's fourth Broadway theater after thePalace,Uris, andBrooks Atkinson.^[212][213] The sale involved $100,000 in cash and a $1.16 million mortgage loan.^[212] The original Broadway production ofAnnie opened in 1977^[214][215] and ran for five years before transferring.^[216] The next five musicals in 1981 and 1982 were short runs.^[1][217]The Little Prince and the Aviator closed during previews,^[218][219] whileMerrily We Roll Along,Little Johnny Jones,Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?, andSeven Brides for Seven Brothers each closed after less than two weeks.^[1] The producers ofThe Little Prince, as well as those ofLittle Johnny Jones (which closed on opening night), successfully sued the Nederlanders in 1986, on the grounds that the company had unfairly evicted both shows.^[220] The Alvin's next non-flop wasYour Arms Too Short to Box with God withAl Green andPatti LaBelle, which opened in September 1982.^[221][222]

Brighton Beach Memoirs, the first play in Neil Simon'sEugene trilogy, opened at the Alvin in March 1983.^[223] The Nederlanders renamed the theater for Simon shortly afterward on June 29, 1983.^[224][225] The renaming was unrelated toBrighton Beach Memoirs; the Nederlanders had offered to rename the theater after Simon in 1982, but the playwright had declined at the time.^[225] Members of the theatrical community expressed that the Alvin should have been renamed for the Gershwins; that name had been applied to the Uris Theatre.^[226]Jerry Weintraub then purchased a stake in the operation of the Neil Simon Theatre in 1984.^[227][228] Concurrently, theNew York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) had started to consider protecting the Neil Simon as a landmark in 1982,^[229] with discussions continuing over the next several years.^[230] The LPC designated the facades of the Neil Simon,Ambassador, and Virginia (now August Wilson) theaters as landmarks in August 1985, along with the Ambassador's and Neil Simon's interiors,^[231][232] over the objections of the three theaters' owners.^[233][234] TheNew York City Board of Estimate ratified the landmark designations in December 1985.^[235]

Brighton Beach Memoirs was followed by another play in the Eugene trilogy,Biloxi Blues, in 1985.^[236][237] The next year, the musicalInto the Light opened at the Neil Simon, closing after six performances.^[238][239]Noël Coward's playBlithe Spirit opened at the Neil Simon in March 1987;^[240][241] the theater also hosted a tribute to one of the play's stars,Geraldine Page, who died mid-run.^[242] ComedianMort Sahl made a limited appearance that October,^[243][244] and the playBreaking the Code opened the next month.^[245][246] The Neil Simon hosted revivals of two O'Neill plays in June 1988,Long Day's Journey into Night andAh, Wilderness! (both withColleen Dewhurst andJason Robards), as part of the First New York International Festival of the Arts.^[247] Later that year,Kenny Loggins played some concerts at the Neil Simon.^[248][249] Two musicals were announced for the Neil Simon in early 1989;Senator Joe closed during previews, andThe Tower of Babel did not even have previews.^[247] TheTennessee Williams playOrpheus Descending was then presented in September 1989.^[250][251] Around that time, the LPC had held a hearing on whether a hotel developed bySilverstein Properties could be cantilevered over the Neil Simon.^[252][253]

A dance troupe ofDon Cossacks from Russia had a limited engagement at the Neil Simon in January 1990,^[247][254] That October, comedianJackie Mason launched his solo seriesBrand New,^[255][256] which ran for eight months.^[257] Another Simon play opened at his namesake theater in March 1992,Jake's Women,^{[258][259][260]} which had 245 performances amid mixed reception.^[257] The next November, the Dutch productionCyrano: The Musical opened at the Neil Simon,^[261][262] lasting 137 performances.^[257] The hitWest End musicalThe Rise and Fall of Little Voice opened at the Neil Simon in May 1994,^[263][264] only to close after one week.^[265][266] This was followed by concerts from musiciansBasia in November 1994^[267][268] andLaurie Anderson in May 1995,^[269][270] as well as a limited performance byDanny Gans in November 1995.^[271][272] TheRodgers and Hammerstein musicalThe King and I was revived in 1996.^{[273][274][275]}The King and I closed in early 1998 to make way for theArthur Miller playA View from the Bridge,^[276] which lasted through August 1998.^[277][278] The Neil Simon hosted the dance specialSwan Lake in late 1998,^[279][280] as well as a concert byNatalie Merchant^[281][282] and a revised version of the musicalThe Scarlet Pimpernel in 1999.^[283][284]

A revival of the musicalThe Music Man opened at the Neil Simon in early 2000,^[285][286] lasting until the end of 2001.^[287][288] DuringThe Music Man's run, the comedianMandy Patinkin launched a U.S. tour on September 10, 2001, with a concert at the Neil Simon.^[289]Elaine Stritch's one-woman showElaine Stritch at Liberty then premiered at the Neil Simon in February 2002.^[290][291] After the closure ofElaine Stritch at Liberty, the Neil Simon was expanded from 1,328 seats to a potential 1,467 in preparation for its next engagement: the musicalHairspray,^[292] which opened in August 2002.^[293][294]Hairspray set the house record for the theater, closing at the beginning of 2009.^[295][296]Robin Williams was to perform his comedy tourWeapons Of Self-Destruction at the Neil Simon in April 2009, but he canceled his engagement after undergoing surgery.^[297][298] A revival ofRagtime was booked instead,^[299] opening in November 2009.^[300][301]Ragtime failed to repeat the success it had enjoyed at theKennedy Center in Washington, D.C., closing in January 2010 after 57 performances.^[302][303]

MusicianHarry Connick Jr. had a limited performance at the Neil Simon in July 2010;^[304][305] his appearance was recorded for the 2011 albumIn Concert on Broadway.^[306] The concertRain: A Tribute to the Beatles opened at the Neil Simon that October,^[307][308] relocating to the Brooks Atkinson at the beginning of 2011.^[309] The musicalCatch Me if You Can opened in April 2011,^[310][311] running for 170 performances.^[312] A revival ofJesus Christ Superstar ran at the Neil Simon from March to July 2012,^[313][314] followed at the end of that year by the short-lived musicalScandalous.^[315][316] TheAndrew Lippa musicalBig Fish was then booked for the Neil Simon in early 2013, but the theater stood dark for most of that year becauseBig Fish was performing elsewhere.^[317]Big Fish only ran from October to December 2013.^[318][319] This was followed by two similarly short runs:Robert Schenkkan's playAll the Way from March to June 2014,^[320][321] andSting's musicalThe Last Ship from October 2014 to January 2015.^[322][323]

A revival ofFrederick Loewe andAlan Jay Lerner's musicalGigi opened at the Neil Simon in April 2015, only for the show to close after two months.^[324][325] In July 2015, the Nederlanders sold 20,000 sq ft (1,900 m²) of the unusedair rights above the Neil Simon for $8.9 million. The buyers were a development consortium erecting a hotel several blocks away.^{[326][327][b]} At the end of that year,The Illusionists performed a magic show at the Neil Simon for a limited run.^[329][330] A revival ofAndrew Lloyd Webber's hit musicalCats opened at the Neil Simon in August 2016 and ran until the end of the next year.^[331][332]Tony Kushner's playAngels in America then opened in March 2018 for a three-month run.^[333][334] The musicalThe Cher Show opened that December and ran until August 2019,^[335][336] and The Illusionists returned in late 2019 for their magic show,Magic of the Holidays.^[337][338]

AfterThe Cher Show closed,MJ the Musical had been booked at the Neil Simon for mid-2020.^[339] The theater did not host another show for two years due to theCOVID-19 pandemic in New York City. It reopened in December 2021 with previews ofMJ the Musical,^[340] which officially opened in February 2022.^[341][342]MJ broke the theater's box-office record ten times in 2022 and set the current record during the week ending January 1, 2023, when the musical grossed $2,223,069.^[343]

Productions are listed by the year of their first performance.^[1][23]

• List of Broadway theaters
• List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan from 14th to 59th Streets