TheNederlander Theatre (formerly theNational Theatre, theBilly Rose Theatre, and theTrafalgar Theatre) is aBroadway theater at 208 West 41st Street in theTheater District ofMidtown Manhattan inNew York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1921, it was designed by William Neil Smith for theatrical operator Walter C. Jordan. It has around 1,235 seats[a] across two levels and is operated by theNederlander Organization. Since 1980, it has been named for American theater impresario David Tobias Nederlander, father of theatrical producerJames M. Nederlander. It is the southernmost Broadway theater in the Theater District.
The facade is relatively plain and is made of brick, with afire escape at the center of the second and third floors. The auditorium was originally designed in the early Renaissance style, which has since been modified several times. Unlike other theaters operated by theShubert family, the interior contained little plaster decoration. The venue has hosted a variety of shows, including the playsCyrano de Bergerac,Inherit the Wind, andWho's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?; live performances, including those byLena Horne; and the musicalRent, which is the theater's longest-running production as of 2022[update].
The modern-day Nederlander Theatre was developed as a carpenter's shop in 1920 before being converted into the National Theatre the following year. When the National opened on September 1, 1921, the Shubert family managed bookings on Jordan's behalf. The Shubert brothers bought the National in 1927 and operated it for three decades. In 1956, as part of a settlement in an antitrust lawsuit, the Shuberts sold the venue to Harry Fromkes, who died shortly thereafter. The National was acquired in 1958 by theatrical producerBilly Rose, who renovated the venue and renamed it after himself the next year. The Nederlander Organization and the Cooney-Marsh Organization acquired the theater in 1978, first renaming it the Trafalgar Theatre; the theater assumed its current name in 1980. Because there were few other Broadway theaters nearby, the Nederlander housed few productions in the late 20th century, becoming popular only afterRent opened.
The Nederlander is the southernmostBroadway theater in the Theater District.[4][5] When the theater was built, theMetropolitan Opera House and seven other theaters were to the south and east, although all of them were closed and demolished by the late 20th century.[3][6] The lack of other Broadway theaters nearby, and its location at the extreme south end of the Theater District, contributed to its relative unpopularity in the late 20th century.[6] This sharply contrasted with venues on 42nd Street, a major crosstown artery, and venues on44th and45th Streets, which benefited from tourist traffic aroundShubert Alley.[7]
The theater was designed by William Neil Smith for Walter C. Jordan.[8][9][10] The theater contains a floor area of 24,975 square feet (2,320.3 m2), as well as 130,825 square feet (12,154.0 m2) of unusedair rights.[11]
The brick facade is relatively plain, blending in with other buildings on 41st Street.[12] At ground level are entrances to the theater.[13] There is an iron fire escape on the second and third floors of the facade.[13][14] There are doors and windows on both levels that lead to the fire escape, and a metal canopy covers the fire escape. Above ground level, there are three arches on the facade: one to the left of the fire escape and two to the right. These archways originally contained windows at the second and third floors and are topped bykeystones. Acornice withmodillions runs above the top of the facade.[13] Unlike other Broadway theaters, the Nederlander does not have a dedicatedstage door, so all performers use the main entrance.[15]
When the theater was renamed the Billy Rose Theatre in 1959, the facade was repainted white, leadingNewsweek magazine to describe it as "an architect's memory of New Orleans' French Quarter".[14] During the production of the musicalRent between 1996 and 2008, the facade was covered with fake graffiti.[15]
The Nederlander Theatre has an orchestra level and one balcony.[16] The theater was built with 1,200 seats.[17] According tothe Broadway League, the theater has 1,235 seats;[18] meanwhile,Playbill gives a figure of 1,168 seats.[16] Only the orchestra level is wheelchair-accessible; the other seating levels can only be reached by steps.[19] The restrooms are at the first balcony level.[16][19] The balcony is raked, sloping downward toward the stage. In contrast to other theaters, the underside of the balcony slopes upward, increasing visibility at the rear of the orchestra.[9][10] The orchestra level slopes down toward anorchestra pit in front of the stage. To improve acoustics, the floor of the orchestra pit contained shards of glass, which were then laid atop a concrete slab.[9]
Originally, the auditorium was designed in the early Renaissance style.[9][10][20] Unlike other theaters operated by theShubert family, the interior contained little plaster decoration.[12] The interior was made of concrete, which was decorated to resemble burnished Italian walnut panels decorated with gold.[3] The fake woodwork was decorated with "lyric and epic subjects", which protruded slightly from the walnut panels.[9][10][20] The walls andbalustrades weregrained to give the impression of woodwork.[9][20] Actual carved wood was used forlintels andsills.[9] There were 18 multicolored lights on the auditorium's ceiling,[9][10] and a 12-foot-tall (3.7 m) crystal chandelier was suspended from the center of the ceiling.[21] At the rear of the auditorium was aprojector.[9][10] Theproscenium arch at the front of the auditorium is 40 feet (12 m) tall.[9][10][20] The arch contained a few classical details,[12] and its keystone was originally decorated with the letter "N".[22] The arch was initially flanked by one tier ofboxes in a streamlined style.[3] The stage itself is 86 feet (26 m) wide, with a height of 100 feet (30 m) from the floor to the overheadgridiron.[10][20]
WhenBilly Rose renovated the theater in 1959, he made a variety of changes, including repainting the auditorium red, white, and gold.[14][22][23] The auditorium's light boxes were originally flanked by plastercornucopias, but Rose largely replaced them with curlicues.[3] In addition, the original lighting fixtures were replaced with 1950s-style chandeliers;[3] the central chandelier was surrounded by four smaller chandeliers.[23] The arch's keystone was replaced with an "R" keystone after Rose renovated the theater.[22] Rose added a second tier of Moorish-style boxes purely for decorative effect.[3] The carpet was redesigned in 1996 and again in 2008. Most of the original decoration was restored in 2008, when Rose's second tier of boxes was redesigned in a streamlined style.[3]
The south wall of the auditorium contained emergency-exit doors to an alleyway,[21] which was converted into a smoking lounge in 1959.[14][22] Performers used this alleyway duringintermissions if they did not want to interact with members of the public.[15] Thebackstage area containeddressing rooms with bathrooms and windows, which local media described at the time as "the last word in utility and luxury".[9][10] The theater had been built as a fireproof structure withskylights, water tanks, and hoses. The theater's offices were on the second floor, directly under the balcony, and were accessed from 41st Street.[9][10] During the 1959 renovation, Rose added a visitors' lounge for performers, and he replaced the roof and water tanks.[22]
The Nederlander Theatre was constructed in 1920 as a carpenter's shop; plans filed with the New York City government called for a "3 sty [non-fireproof] brick Carpenter's shop and storage, club rooms, shower, [apartments] and tennis court".[3] It is one of a few Broadway theaters not constructed specifically to host Broadway shows.[3] In 1921, Walter C. Jordan acquired the building and spent $950,000 to convert it into a theater.[8] The stage house, mezzanine, proscenium, fire escape, and other theatrical equipment was built at a cost of $175,000.[3] Work was nearly completed by May 1921.[24] The venue was originally supposed to be known as the Times Square Theatre, but this name was already being used by another structure at217 West 42nd Street.[25] As such, Jordan renamed the structure the National Theatre at the end of July 1921,[26] shortly after bookingSwords (Sidney Howard's first play[8]) as the theater's first production.[26][27] TheShubert brothers were hired as the theater's managers.[28]
Katharine Cornell as Mary Fitton in the Broadway production ofClemence Dane's playWill Shakespeare at the National Theatre
The theater opened on September 2, 1921, withSwords.[29][30]John Willard's melodramaThe Cat and the Canary, which opened at the National in February 1922,[31] was a major critical success[8] and ran for three months.[32]Walter Hampden leased the National for a year beginning in 1923,[33] paying $1 million, which at the time was a record for a Broadway theater.[34][35] Hampden presented a revival of the playCyrano de Bergerac,[36][37] which was a success, lasting for 250 performances.[17][38] The theater building was less successful, having gone intoreceivership in November 1923 after Jordan failed to make payments on a mortgage.[39] When his lease expired, Hampden chose to instead operate his own theater.[38]
The National then hosted the melodramaSilence in 1924, withH. B. Warner, and the farceThe Bride Retires in 1925, withLila Lee.[17] Later in 1925, the theater stagedThe Gorilla, which transferred from theSelwyn,[40] as well as a revival ofHamlet.[41][42] During 1926, the National hosted live performances by magicianHarry Houdini;[43][44] the playThe Half-Caste, starringFredric March;[43][45] andGeorge M. Cohan's adaptation of the playYellow.[46][47] Jordan, who continued to own the theater, was charged with tax fraud in late 1926 after failing to pay the theater's property taxes.[48]
In February 1927, the Shubert brothers bought the National Theatre from the Sanjor Corporation, which had owned the theater for eight years.[49][50] Later that year, Willard staged a short-lived play,Fog, at the theater.[46][51] This was followed in September 1927 byBayard Veiller's melodramaThe Trial of Mary Dugan, which ran at the National for nearly a year before relocating.[52][53] Subsequently, theMartin Flavin playThe Criminal Code opened at the National in 1929 and lasted for 174 performances.[54][55] A troupe led by Chinese actorMei Lanfang briefly performed at the theater in early 1930,[46][56] followed later that year by the playGrand Hotel (based onVicki Baum's bookGrand Hotel),[43][57] which ran for 459 performances.[58][59]
At the onset of theGreat Depression, many Broadway theaters were impacted by declining attendance,[60] and the theater largely hostedflops in 1932 and 1933.[61] Alfred E. Aarons and Harry J. Sommers leased the National for a year beginning in August 1933,[62][63] and they renovated the National's auditorium the next month.[21] Meanwhile, the Dry Dock Savings Bank took over the theater that September as a result of a foreclosure auction.[64] By then, the National was in danger of being demolished because of a sharp increase in real-estate values.[65] The theater hostedSean O'Casey's playWithin the Gates in 1934.[61][66] Subsequently,Guthrie McClintic's production of the dramaEthan Frome was presented there in January 1936,[67][68] as well asNoël Coward's anthology of playsTonight at 8:30 that November.[69][70] TheMercury Theatre company, led byJohn Houseman andOrson Welles, performed revivals of the playsJulius Caesar andThe Shoemaker's Holiday at the National in 1937 and 1938.[71] TheLillian Hellman dramaThe Little Foxes, starringTallulah Bankhead,[72][73] then opened in February 1939 and lasted for 410 performances.[74]
By the 1950s,the Shubert Organization operated nearly half of all legitimate theaters in New York City, prompting the U.S. federal government to file anantitrust suit against the Shubert family. As part of a settlement made in February 1956, the Shuberts had to sell off some of their theaters.[113][114] In particular, the Shuberts had to sell the National Theatre within one year of the ruling, and they had to sell three other theaters[b] within two years.[115] That September, the Shuberts sold the National to Harry Fromkes for an estimated $900,000; at the time,Inherit the Wind was still being staged at the theater.[116][117] Fromkes died after a fall from his apartment in February 1958,[118] prompting the closure of the playWinesburg, Ohio, which was being performed there at the time.[119] Fromkes's firmdefaulted on its mortgage after his death, and theNew York Supreme Court appointed areceiver to manage the theater that March.[120] The receiver booked theHarry Kurnitz playOnce More, with Feeling!,[121] which opened in late 1958[109][122] and ran for 263 performances.[123]
Theatrical producerBilly Rose bought the National at a foreclosure auction in June 1958 for $849,500.[124][125] At the time, Rose worked forWilliam Zeckendorf's real-estate companyWebb and Knapp; this prompted Zeckendorf to sue Rose for ownership of the theater.[126] Rose spent $500,000 to renovate the theater, hiringOliver Messel to redecorate the auditorium in a red, gold, and white color scheme.[22][23] The venue was renamed the Billy Rose Theatre and reopened on October 18, 1959, with the playHeartbreak House,[127][128] which had 112 performances.[129] The next year, the theater hostedDear Liar,[130][131] which was notable as Katharine Cornell's last Broadway appearance,[132] as well as a drama based onJohn Hersey's novelThe Wall.[133][134] The Billy Rose's next hit wasEdward Albee's playWho's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, which opened in 1962[135][136] and ran for 660 performances over the next two years.[137][138]
The Billy Rose hosted two notable shows in 1971: theRoyal Shakespeare Company's version of Shakespeare'sA Midsummer Night's Dream,[135][149][150] as well asHarold Pinter's dramaOld Times.[135][151][152] TheCity Center Acting Company performed four plays at the Billy Rose in late 1973 and early 1974, marking the company's first Broadway appearance.[153] This was followed in 1974 byTom Stoppard's playJumpers, which had 48 performances before closing.[139][154] The theater's backstage area was damaged by a storm later the same year and was not repaired; as a result, at least two productions were unable to lease the theater in 1975.[155] Several theatrical personalities alleged that theBilly Rose Foundation (which had acquired the theater after Rose died), had allowed the structure to deteriorate. In response, foundation officials said that operating the theater was not its main priority.[155] The Taylor Dance Company returned to the Billy Rose in 1976.[156] The theater's first legitimate show in three years,Gus Weill'sThe November People, closed after a single performance in January 1978.[157][158]
Two theatrical operators, theNederlander Organization and the Cooney-Marsh Organization (the latter of which was a partnership between producerRay Cooney and real-estate developerLaurie Marsh[159]), purchased the venue in December 1978.[160][161] The venue was immediately renamed the Trafalgar Theatre, a reference to the new owners' British backgrounds;[159] the owners hoped that the new name would evokeTrafalgar Square in London or theBattle of Trafalgar.[162]James M. Nederlander of the Nederlander Organization said: "We want to put big English hits in the theater".[159] The Trafalgar hosted two productions under its new name:[135]Whose Life Is It Anyway? in 1979[163][164] andBetrayal in 1980.[165][166] James M. Nederlander renamed the theater again in 1980 in honor of his father, American theater impresario David T. Nederlander,[167] who had died thirteen years prior.[168] The first show at the renamed Nederlander Theatre would have been the musicalOne Night Stand,[169] which closed during previews in October 1980.[170][171]
TheNew York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) had started considering protecting the Nederlander as a landmark in 1982,[183] with discussions continuing over the next several years.[184] While the LPC commenced a wide-ranging effort to grant landmark status to Broadway theaters in 1987,[185] the Nederlander was among the few theaters for which the LPC denied either exterior or interior landmark status.[186][c]David Wilkerson, founding pastor of theTimes Square Church, leased the theater in January 1988,[188] a month after the playSherlock's Last Case had closed.[189] The theater quickly became overcrowded during church services;[190] by 1989, the 1,150-seat Nederlander Theatre was atstanding-room only capacity five days a week.[191] This prompted the Nederlanders to lease theMark Hellinger Theatre to the Times Square Church in February 1989;[192][193] the Times Square Church moved to the Hellinger the next month.[191] The Nederlander Theatre's next legitimate show, the musicalDangerous Games, lasted four performances.[194][195]
The Shuberts, the Nederlanders, and Jujamcyn formed the Broadway Alliance in June 1990, wherein each company set aside one of its theaters to present dramas and comedies at reduced ticket prices.[196] The program covered theBelasco, Nederlander, andWalter Kerr theaters.[197] The Broadway Alliance's first show at the Nederlander Theatre was the playOur Country's Good,[198] which lasted from April to June 1991.[199][200] More than one year elapsed before the Nederlander hosted its next production, the one-man showSolitary Confinement withStacy Keach,[201] which ran for two weeks in November 1992.[202][203] The theater was still difficult to rent[204] and did not host any Broadway shows for over three years;[4] it cost around $250,000 a year to maintain, regardless of whether it was vacant.[11] The Nederlander hosted concerts byAretha Franklin in April 1993[205][206] and byJackson Browne that November.[207][208] The Nederlander Organization unsuccessfully tried to moveCy Coleman's musicalThe Life there in 1994, but the theater instead hosted auditions for the musicalBusker Alley.[209] The next year, the Nederlander hosted another audition, this time for the musicalThe Capeman.[210]
Left hand side of the auditorium
Jonathan Larson'sPulitzer Prize-winning musicalRent was booked at the Nederlander in early 1996;[4] the musical's producers had selected the Nederlander Theatre specifically because of its dilapidated surroundings, which reflected the show's setting.[4][211] The theater's facade and interior were remodeled to resemble alower Manhattan nightclub.[6][211]Rent premiered in April 1996[212][213] and quickly became popular.[211][214] In contrast to many Broadway productions (in which tickets for seats at the rear of the theater were generally the cheapest),Rent's producers reserved the first two rows for the cheapest tickets. This prompted fans to sleep outside the theater to wait for these tickets.[211][215] The opening ofRent, as well as the renovation of the nearby New Amsterdam Theatre, contributed to the revitalization of the surrounding block of 41st Street.[6]Rent ultimately ran for 5,140 performances through 2008,[216][217] becoming the theater's longest-running production[211] and, at the time of closing, theseventh-longest-running Broadway show of all time.[216]
AfterRent closed, the Nederlander was refurbished to accommodate its next show.[3][218] Workers expanded the restrooms and restored the original design motifs (which had been largely removed during the 1961 renovation).[3] A revival ofGuys and Dolls, starringOliver Platt andLauren Graham, opened in March 2009;[219][220] the show played 113 performances before closing that June.[221][222] TheNeil Simon playsBrighton Beach Memoirs andBroadway Bound were planned to be performed at the theater in late 2009, with alternating performances of each play.[223] Due to poor ticket sales forBrighton Beach Memoirs, the show closed on November 1, 2009, one week after its opening.[224][225] Simon also canceled the planned production ofBroadway Bound, blaming the theater's location for the rapid closure ofBrighton Beach Memoirs.[7]
Detail of marquee and fire escape during the run of the musicalNewsies
The musicalMillion Dollar Quartet made its Broadway debut at the theater in April 2010,[226] running for 489 performances[227][228] before movingoff-Broadway in June 2011.[228][229]Disney's production of the musicalNewsies opened in March 2012;[230][231] the show's run was extended because of its popularity,[232] andNewsies ultimately lasted until August 2014.[233][234] As part of a settlement with theUnited States Department of Justice in 2014, the Nederlanders agreed to improve disabled access at their nine Broadway theaters, including the Nederlander Theatre.[235][236]Love Letters was originally scheduled to run at the Nederlander afterNewsies closed.[237] Instead, the musicalHoneymoon in Vegas opened at the theater in January 2015,[238][239] followed byAmazing Grace that July.[240][241] The Nederlander hosted two short-lived shows in 2016. The musicalDisaster! lasted from March to May 2016,[242][243] while a revival ofMotown: The Musical opened that July and ran for less than a month.[244][245]
Rent set the Nederlander Theatre's box-office record for the week ending November 29, 2005, when it grossed $744,496 while playing to 97 percent capacity.[335]Newsies achieved the box office record for the Nederlander Theatre in 2012, playing to 101 percent[336] capacity and grossed $1,024,516.60 for eight performances the week ending April 15, 2012.[337] This gross was surpassed byWar Paint the week ending April 23, 2017, when that show grossed $1,042,449.[338] The current gross record was set byPretty Woman: The Musical, which grossed $1,266,873 over eight performances for the week ending December 9, 2018.[339]
^Only theBroadway, Nederlander, andRitz theaters were denied both interior and exterior landmark status. Several other theaters had either their exterior or interior landmark status rejected, but not both.[186] Hearings for several theaters on42nd Street were deferred to 2016, when they were rejected.[187]
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^abcBeebe, Lucius (September 24, 1933). "Blue, Gold, Cream and Crystal Rejuvenate National Theater".New York Herald Tribune. p. D2.ISSN1941-0646.ProQuest1115004373.
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^ab"Walter Hampden Tells of His Plans: Will Have New York Theatre of His Own Where He Will Play Though the Year".Boston Daily Globe. November 23, 1924. p. 60.ProQuest497986720.
^"Legitimate: Receiver Appointed for Jordan's Nat'l".Variety. Vol. 72, no. 11. November 1, 1923. p. 14.ProQuest1505629831.
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^"Legitimate: Only 35 Theatres Left for Legit; 17 Houses Switched Their Policies During Past Season; Once Were 60".Variety. Vol. 114, no. 7. May 1, 1934. p. 47.ProQuest1475821537.
^ab"News of the Theater: Sidney Kingsley's 'Patriots' to Be Presented Tonight at the National Theater".New York Herald Tribune. January 29, 1943. p. 12.ISSN1941-0646.ProQuest1267896931.
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