Avon Theatre, CBS Radio Playhouse No. 2 | |
| Address | 251–257 West 45th Street New York City United States |
|---|---|
| Owner | Marcus Klaw |
| Operator | Klaw Theatre Corporation |
| Type | Broadway |
| Capacity | 805 |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1921 |
| Demolished | 1954 |
| Years active | 1921–1953 |
| Architect | Eugene De Rosa |
TheKlaw Theatre was aBroadway theatre located at 251–257 West 45th Street (now a part ofGeorge Abbott Way) inMidtown Manhattan. Built in 1921 forproducerMarcus Klaw, the theater was designed byEugene De Rosa.Rachel Crothers'Nice People was the opening production in 1921 withTallulah Bankhead andKatharine Cornell in her debut Broadway role albeit a small one.
As the Klaw Theatre and later the Avon few productions had a very long run. Exceptions were the comedyMeet the Wife running for 232 performances in 1923 withHumphrey Bogart as juvenile lead Gregory Brown and playwrightHatcher Hughes'smelodramaHell-Bent Fer Heaven running for 122 performances in 1924 and winning thePulitzer Prize for Drama in 1924.Arnold Schoenberg's musical compositionPierrot Lunaire was performed for the first time in the western hemisphere at the Klaw on February 4, 1923, withGeorge Gershwin andCarl Ruggles in attendance. On November 28, 1926Martha Graham and others in her company gave a dance recital at the Klaw, they were accompanied by pianistLouis Horst.Maxwell Anderson'sGypsy, directed byGeorge Cukor, had a short run of 64 performances from January 14, 1929, to March 1929 but was included inBurns Mantle'sThe Best Plays of 1928 - 1929.
It was renamed the Avon Theatre in 1929.Strictly Dishonorable, written byPreston Sturges, had the longest run at the Avon of 557 performances from September, 1929 to January, 1931.George Bernard Shaw,Noël Coward andOscar Wilde had their works staged at both the Klaw and Avon.
It was leased toCBS in 1934 and renamed the CBS Radio Playhouse No. 2. CBS later bought it. In 1953 CBS sold it, the new owners razed it and built a parking deck on the site, which abutted theImperial Theatre.
As the Klaw Theatre:
As the Avon Theatre:
TheInternational Composers' Guild held their second series of concerts here in 1922–1923. These performances included a number of world or Americanpremieres.[1]
