Belasco Theatre
Encyclopedia
The Belasco Theatre is a legitimate
Broadway
theatre located at 111 West 44th Street in midtown-Manhattan
.
George Keister for impresario
David Belasco
, the interior featured Tiffany
lighting and ceiling panels, rich woodwork and expansive mural
s by American artist Everett Shinn
, and a ten-room duplex penthouse
apartment
that Belasco utilized as combination living quarters/office space. Technically it was outfitted with the most advanced stagecraft tools available, including extensive lighting rigs, a hydraulics
system, and vast wing and fly space. Meyer R. Bimberg was the actual owner of the Stuyvesant/Belasco. He made his fortune selling political campaign buttons.
It opened as the Stuyvesant Theatre on October 16, 1907 with the musical
A Grand Army Man with Antoinette Perry
. Three years later Belasco attached his own name to the venue. After his death in 1931, it was leased first by actress Katharine Cornell
and then playwright
Elmer Rice
. Marlon Brando
had his first widely noticed success in this theater, in a production of Maxwell Anderson's "Truckline Cafe", which opened on Feb. 27th, 1946. He played the small but crucial role of Sage MacRae. The play flopped, but the press celebrated Brando as a new genius actor; occurring before his noted film performance in "A Streetcar Named Desire". The Shuberts bought it in 1949 and leased it to NBC for three years before returning it to legitimate use.
This theater is the subject of an urban legend that David Belasco's ghost
haunts the theater every night. Some performers in the shows that played there have even claimed to have spotted him or other ghosts during performances.
It was also reported that after Oh! Calcutta!
(a musical revue with extensive full frontal male & female nudity) played the theater the ghost of David Belasco stopped appearing.
Legitimate theater
The term "legitimate theater" dates back to the Licensing Act of 1737, which restricted "serious" theatre performances to the two patent theatres licensed to perform "spoken drama" after the English Restoration in 1662...
Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
theatre located at 111 West 44th Street in midtown-Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
.
History
Designed by architectArchitect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
George Keister for impresario
Impresario
An impresario is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays or operas; analogous to a film producer in filmmaking, television production and an angel investor in business...
David Belasco
David Belasco
David Belasco was an American theatrical producer, impresario, director and playwright.-Biography:Born in San Francisco, California, where his Sephardic Jewish parents had moved from London, England, during the Gold Rush, he began working in a San Francisco theatre doing a variety of routine jobs,...
, the interior featured Tiffany
Tiffany glass
Tiffany glass refers to the many and varied types of glass developed and produced from 1878 to 1933 at the Tiffany Studios, by Louis Comfort Tiffany....
lighting and ceiling panels, rich woodwork and expansive mural
Mural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
s by American artist Everett Shinn
Everett Shinn
Everett Shinn was an American realist painter and member of the Ashcan School, also known as 'the Eight.' He was the youngest member of the group of modernist painters who explored the depiction of real life...
, and a ten-room duplex penthouse
Penthouse apartment
A penthouse apartment or penthouse is an apartment that is on one of the highest floors of an apartment building. Penthouses are typically differentiated from other apartments by luxury features.-History:...
apartment
Apartment
An apartment or flat is a self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building...
that Belasco utilized as combination living quarters/office space. Technically it was outfitted with the most advanced stagecraft tools available, including extensive lighting rigs, a hydraulics
Hydraulics
Hydraulics is a topic in applied science and engineering dealing with the mechanical properties of liquids. Fluid mechanics provides the theoretical foundation for hydraulics, which focuses on the engineering uses of fluid properties. In fluid power, hydraulics is used for the generation, control,...
system, and vast wing and fly space. Meyer R. Bimberg was the actual owner of the Stuyvesant/Belasco. He made his fortune selling political campaign buttons.
It opened as the Stuyvesant Theatre on October 16, 1907 with the musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
A Grand Army Man with Antoinette Perry
Antoinette Perry
Antoinette Perry was an actress, director and co-founder of the American Theatre Wing. The Tony Awards are her namesake....
. Three years later Belasco attached his own name to the venue. After his death in 1931, it was leased first by actress Katharine Cornell
Katharine Cornell
Katharine Cornell was an American stage actress, writer, theater owner and producer. She was born to American parents and raised in Buffalo, New York.Cornell is known as the greatest American stage actress of the 20th century...
and then playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
Elmer Rice
Elmer Rice
Elmer Rice was an American playwright. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his 1929 play, Street Scene.-Early years:...
. Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...
had his first widely noticed success in this theater, in a production of Maxwell Anderson's "Truckline Cafe", which opened on Feb. 27th, 1946. He played the small but crucial role of Sage MacRae. The play flopped, but the press celebrated Brando as a new genius actor; occurring before his noted film performance in "A Streetcar Named Desire". The Shuberts bought it in 1949 and leased it to NBC for three years before returning it to legitimate use.
This theater is the subject of an urban legend that David Belasco's ghost
Ghost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
haunts the theater every night. Some performers in the shows that played there have even claimed to have spotted him or other ghosts during performances.
It was also reported that after Oh! Calcutta!
Oh! Calcutta!
Oh! Calcutta! is an avant-garde theatrical revue, created by British drama critic Kenneth Tynan. The show, consisting of sketches on sex-related topics, debuted Off-Broadway in 1969 and then in London in 1970. It ran in London for over 3,900 performances, and in New York initially for 1,314...
(a musical revue with extensive full frontal male & female nudity) played the theater the ghost of David Belasco stopped appearing.
Notable productions
- 1908: The Warrens of Virginia
- 1916: Seven ChancesSeven ChancesSeven Chances is a 1925 American comedy silent film directed by and starring Buster Keaton, based on a play written by Roi Cooper Megrue, produced in 1916 by David Belasco. Additional casts members include T. Roy Barnes, Snitz Edwards, Ruth Dwyer, and others. The film also stars Jean Arthur, a...
- 1921: KikiKiki (1926 film)Kiki is a 1926 silent comedy film directed by Clarence Brown. The film is based upon a 1920 novel of the same name by André Picard, which was later adapted by David Belasco and performed on Broadway to great success in 1921 by his muse Lenore Ulric....
- 1927: Hit the Deck
- 1928: The Bachelor FatherThe Bachelor FatherThe Bachelor Father is a 1931 American MGM drama film directed by Robert Z. Leonard. The film stars Marion Davies and Ralph Forbes and C. Aubrey Smith-Plot:...
- 1935: Awake and Sing!Awake and Sing!Awake and Sing! is a drama written by American playwright Clifford Odets. The play was initially produced by The Group Theatre in 1935.-Summary and characters:...
; Dead EndDead EndDead End is a 1937 crime drama film. It is an adaptation of the Sidney Kingsley 1935 Broadway play of the same name. It stars Humphrey Bogart, Joel McCrea, and Sylvia Sidney...
; Waiting for LeftyWaiting for LeftyWaiting for Lefty is a 1935 play by American playwright Clifford Odets. Consisting of a series of related vignettes, the entire play is framed by the meeting of cab drivers who are planning a labor strike. The framing situation utilizes the audience as part of the meeting.While this was not the... - 1937: Golden Boy
- 1938: Rocket to the MoonRocket to the Moon (play)Rocket to the Moon is a 1938 play by the American playwright Clifford Odets. It was adapted for television by the BBC in 1986, with John Malkovich and Connie Booth in the lead roles....
- 1940: Johnny Belinda
- 1941: Clash by NightClash by NightClash by Night is a black-and-white drama with some film noir aspects, directed by Fritz Lang and starring Barbara Stanwyck, Paul Douglas, Marilyn Monroe and Robert Ryan. The movie was based on the play by Clifford Odets, adapted by writer Alfred Hayes...
- 1945: Kiss Them for MeKiss Them for Me (play)Kiss Them for Me is a 1945 Broadway production based on Frederic Wakeman Sr.'s 1944 novel entitled Shore Leave. The play ran for 110 performances. Opening at the Belasco Theatre on March 20, 1945, it closed at the Fulton Theatre on June 23 of the same year.-Plot:The play, set in The St...
- 1946: The Song of BernadetteThe Song of Bernadette (film)The Song of Bernadette is a 1943 drama film which tells the story of Saint Bernadette Soubirous, who, from February to July 1858 in Lourdes, France, reported 18 visions of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It was directed by Henry King....
; Flamingo Road; Truckline CafeTruckline CafeTruckline Cafe was the title of a 1946 Broadway play written by Maxwell Anderson, directed by Harold Clurman, produced by Elia Kazan, and starring Marlon Brando and Karl Malden... - 1948: The Madwoman of ChaillotThe Madwoman of ChaillotThe Madwoman of Chaillot is a play, a poetic satire, by French dramatist Jean Giraudoux, written in 1943 and first performed in 1945, after his death. The play has two acts and follows the convention of the classical unities...
- 1953: The Solid Gold CadillacThe Solid Gold CadillacThe Solid Gold Cadillac is a 1956 film directed by Richard Quine and written by Abe Burrows, Howard Teichmann and George S. Kaufman. It was adapted from the hit Broadway play of the same name by Teichmann and Kaufman, in which they pillory big business and corrupt businessmen...
- 1955: Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (play)Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? is an original stage comedy in three acts and four scenes that opened on Broadway October 13, 1955, starring Orson Bean , Martin Gabel , Jayne Mansfield , Harry Clark , Carol Grace , Lou Gallo , William Thourlby and Walter Matthau .It...
- 1956: FannyFanny (musical)Fanny is a musical with a book by S. N. Behrman and Joshua Logan and music and lyrics by Harold Rome. A tale of love, secrets, and passion set in and around the old French port of Marseille, it is based on Marcel Pagnol's trilogy of plays entitled Marius, Fanny and César.The musical premiered on...
- 1958: Jane EyreJane EyreJane Eyre is a novel by English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published in London, England, in 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. with the title Jane Eyre. An Autobiography under the pen name "Currer Bell." The first American edition was released the following year by Harper & Brothers of New York...
- 1959: A Raisin in the SunA Raisin in the SunA Raisin in the Sun is a play by Lorraine Hansberry that debuted on Broadway in 1959. The title comes from the poem "Harlem" by Langston Hughes...
; Tall StoryTall StoryTall Story is a 1960 American sports comedy film directed by Joshua Logan and starring Anthony Perkins and Jane Fonda. Future star Robert Redford made his big-screen debut as a basketball player.... - 1964: The CrucibleThe CrucibleThe Crucible is a 1952 play by the American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatization of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Province of Massachusetts Bay during 1692 and 1693. Miller wrote the play as an allegory of McCarthyism, when the US government blacklisted accused communists...
- 1966: The Subject Was RosesThe Subject Was RosesThe Subject Was Roses is a Pulitzer Prize-winning 1964 play written by Frank D. Gilroy, who also adapted the work in 1968 for film with the same title.- Background :...
; The Killing of Sister GeorgeThe Killing of Sister GeorgeThe Killing of Sister George is a 1964 play by Frank Marcus that was adapted as a 1968 film directed by Robert Aldrich.- Stage version :Sister George is a beloved character in the popular radio series Applehurst, a nurse who ministers to the medical needs and personal problems of the local villagers... - 1968: Don't Drink the WaterDon't Drink the Water (play)Don't Drink the Water is a play written by Woody Allen that premiered on Broadway on November 17, 1966 and played for 598 performances at three different Broadway theaters. The farce takes place inside an American Embassy behind the Iron Curtain...
- 1971: Oh! Calcutta!Oh! Calcutta!Oh! Calcutta! is an avant-garde theatrical revue, created by British drama critic Kenneth Tynan. The show, consisting of sketches on sex-related topics, debuted Off-Broadway in 1969 and then in London in 1970. It ran in London for over 3,900 performances, and in New York initially for 1,314...
- 1975: The Rocky Horror ShowThe Rocky Horror ShowThe Rocky Horror Show is a long-running British horror comedy stage musical, which opened in London on 19 June 1973. It was written by Richard O'Brien, produced and directed by Jim Sharman. It came eighth in a BBC Radio 2 listener poll of the "Nation's Number One Essential Musicals"...
- 1977: American BuffaloAmerican Buffalo (play)American Buffalo is a 1975 play by American playwright David Mamet which had its premiere in a showcase production at the Goodman Theatre, Chicago. After two more showcase productions, it opened on Broadway on February 16, 1977...
- 1979: The Goodbye PeopleThe Goodbye PeopleThe Goodbye People is a play by Herb Gardner.The dramedy focuses on elderly Max Silverman, who is determined to reopen the Coney Island boardwalk hot dog stand he closed twenty-two years earlier for renovation, despite the fact he's recovering from a severe heart attack and it's the middle of...
- 1980: Your Arms Too Short to Box with GodYour Arms Too Short to Box with GodYour Arms Too Short to Box with God: A Soaring Celebration in Song and Dance is a Broadway musical based on the Biblical Book of Matthew, with music and lyrics by Alex Bradford and a book by Vinnette Carroll, who also directed...
- 1981: Ain't Misbehavin'
- 1983: Marcel MarceauMarcel MarceauMarcel Marceau was an internationally acclaimed French actor and mime most famous for his persona as Bip the Clown.-Early years:...
On Broadway - 1986: As You Like ItAs You Like ItAs You Like It is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 or early 1600 and first published in the folio of 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has been suggested as a possibility...
/MacbethMacbethThe Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
/Romeo and JulietRomeo and JulietRomeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a... - 1991: The CrucibleThe CrucibleThe Crucible is a 1952 play by the American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatization of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Province of Massachusetts Bay during 1692 and 1693. Miller wrote the play as an allegory of McCarthyism, when the US government blacklisted accused communists...
- 1992: The Master BuilderThe Master BuilderThe Master Builder is a play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It was first published in December 1892 and is regarded as one of Ibsen's most significant and revealing works.-Performance:...
- 1995: Hamlet
- 1997: A Doll's HouseA Doll's HouseA Doll's House is a three-act play in prose by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It premièred at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 December 1879, having been published earlier that month....
- 2000: James Joyce's The DeadJames Joyce's The DeadJames Joyce's The Dead is a Broadway musical by Richard Nelson and Shaun Davey based upon James Joyce's short story of the same name.Originally presented Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons with an opening night cast that included Blair Brown, Paddy Croft, Brian Davies, Daisy Eagan, Dashiell...
- 2001: FolliesFolliesFollies is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman. The story concerns a reunion in a crumbling Broadway theatre, scheduled for demolition, of the past performers of the "Weismann's Follies," a musical revue , that played in that theatre between the World Wars...
- 2002: Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de LuneFrankie and Johnny in the Clair de LuneFrankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune is a two-character play by Terrence McNally.It focuses on two lonely, middle-aged people whose first date ends with them tumbling into bed. Johnny is certain he has found his soul mate in Frankie. She, on the other hand, is far more cautious and disinclined...
- 2003: Enchanted AprilEnchanted AprilEnchanted April is the second film adaptation Elizabeth von Arnim's 1922 novel, The Enchanted April. The novel was adapted as a Broadway play in 1925, and as an RKO Radio film in 1935 - both using the same title as the novel. The 1992 film release received several Golden Globe and Academy Award...
- 2004: Dracula, the MusicalDracula, The MusicalDracula, the Musical is a musical based on the original Victorian novel by Bram Stoker. The score is by Frank Wildhorn, with lyrics and book by Don Black and Christopher Hampton....
- 2005: Julius CaesarJulius Caesar (play)The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, also known simply as Julius Caesar, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1599. It portrays the 44 BC conspiracy against...
- 2006: Awake and Sing!Awake and Sing!Awake and Sing! is a drama written by American playwright Clifford Odets. The play was initially produced by The Group Theatre in 1935.-Summary and characters:...
- 2007: Journey's EndJourney's EndJourney's End is a 1928 drama, the seventh of English playwright R. C. Sherriff. It was first performed at the Apollo Theatre in London by the Incorporated Stage Society on 9 December 1928, starring a young Laurence Olivier, and soon moved to other West End theatres for a two-year run...
- 2008: Passing StrangePassing StrangePassing Strange is a rock musical about a young African American's artistic journey of self-discovery in Europe, drawing on heavy elements of existentialism, metafictional comedy, and the Künstlerroman. The musical's lyrics and book are by Stew with music and orchestrations by Heidi Rodewald and Stew...
; American BuffaloAmerican Buffalo (play)American Buffalo is a 1975 play by American playwright David Mamet which had its premiere in a showcase production at the Goodman Theatre, Chicago. After two more showcase productions, it opened on Broadway on February 16, 1977... - 2009: Joe Turner's Come and GoneJoe Turner's Come and GoneJoe Turner's Come and Gone is a play by American playwright, August Wilson, the second installment of his decade-by-decade chronicle of the African-American experience, The Pittsburgh Cycle...
- 2010: Women on the Verge of a Nervous BreakdownWomen on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (musical)Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown is a musical with a book by Jeffrey Lane and music and lyrics by David Yazbek. The musical tells the tale of a group of women in late 20th-century Madrid whose relationships with men lead to a tumultuous 48 hours of love, confusion and passion...
- 2011: Fat PigFat Pig- Plot synopsis :Fat Pig tells us the story of Tom, a stereotypical professional in a large city, who falls for a very plus-size librarian named Helen. They meet in a crowded cafeteria at lunchtime and get to talking. Tom is taken with her brash acceptance of the way people see her and her...
; Kathy GriffinKathy GriffinKathleen Mary "Kathy" Griffin is an American actress, stand-up comedienne, television personality, New York Times best-selling author and an LGBT rights advocate. Griffin first gained recognition for appearances on two episodes of Seinfeld, and then for her supporting role on the NBC sitcom...