Mark Hellinger Theatre
Encyclopedia
The Mark Hellinger Theatre is a generally used name of a former legitimate
Broadway
theater, located at 237 West 51st Street
in midtown Manhattan
, New York City
. Since 1991, it has been known as the Times Square Church
. The former theater, which remains largely unaltered in appearance, is most notable for having been the site of the original production of My Fair Lady
, which ran from 1956-1962.
Thomas W. Lamb
, the theater was built by Warner Bros.
as a deluxe movie palace
to showcase their films on Broadway. It opened as the Warner Bros. Hollywood Theatre on April 22, 1930 with the Warner Technicolor
musical film Hold Everything
starring Winnie Lightner
and Joe E. Brown
.
Although built as a cinema
, the theater's stage, one of the largest on Broadway, was designed with the capacity to present large musical shows. As early as 1934 the Hollywood began presenting legitimate Broadway musicals, returning to films between live engagements. The first of these was Calling All Stars, a musical revue
with Martha Raye
.
Still a Warner theater, on October 9, 1935, the Hollywood was the site of the New York premiere of Warner Bros's lavish film of A Midsummer Night's Dream
. The film's many stars included James Cagney
and Olivia de Havilland
.
In 1940, the theater was briefly renamed the 51st Street Theatre, under which name it operated again as a live theater, this time presenting ballet and classical drama. In 1941 it returned to the name Hollywood Theatre. In all there were eight live shows at the theater between 1934 and 1941. Of these, only George White's Scandals
(1939) and Banjo Eyes
with Eddie Cantor
(1941) had long runs.
Theatre, in honor of noted Broadway journalist
and critic who had recently died in 1948. Under its new name the theater reopened on January 22, 1949, with the Farrell produced musical All for Love.
Under Farrell's ownership, the Hellinger Theatre continued to primarily showcase musicals; however, he had greater success as a landlord than producer. Of five musicals Farrell produced, only one, Texas Li'l Darling (1949) ran for more than 200 performances. Two on the Aisle
(1951) and Plain and Fancy
(1955) had respectable runs, but the venue had its greatest success with the smash hit My Fair Lady
which ran from 1956-1962 for 2,717 performances.
In the 1960s, the Hellinger continued its run as one of Broadway's key musical houses with, among others, the shows On a Clear Day You Can See Forever
(1965) and Coco
(1969), Katharine Hepburn
's only Broadway musical.
The Nederlander Organization
purchased the theater in 1970. Jesus Christ Superstar
played at the Hellinger from 1971-73 for a total of 711 performances. Sugar Babies
ran from 1979–1982, for a total of 1,208 performances. Throughout the remainder of the 1980s, the Hellinger continued to showcase musicals, most of which were unsuccessful. The 1985 film of A Chorus Line
, was partly shot on location at the theater.
, which had leased it since 1989. Before selling, Nederlander allegedly refused a purchase offer from British
impresario
Cameron Mackintosh
. The Times Square Church has maintained the theater's historic interior decor intact and it is open to the public regularly for services and tours.
on 51st Street. In 1930, it was desirable for a first-run motion picture theater in the Times Square
area to have an entrance, no matter how small, on Broadway
. The Hollywood's entrance, though narrow, featured a bright marquee and a huge lighted vertical sign. The Broadway entrance was closed in 1934 and converted to retail space.
The rococo
interior is typical of the 1920s movie palace design. The coved
ceiling has dozens of murals http://www.ibdb.com/venueimage.php?id=185 reminiscent of Boucher and Watteau, depicting 18th-century French aristocracy
.
The spectacular rotunda
lobby http://www.ibdb.com/venueimage.php?id=184 is dominated by eight fluted
Corinthian
columns and a ceiling that is decorated with colorful murals of classical scenes. This and other interior spaces were designed by Leif Neandross, chief designer of the Rambusch Decorating Company
.
The auditorium seating capacity is approximately 1,506, one of the largest in the theatre district
. The stage is among the largest and best-equipped of all of New York's theaters. A large plaster-of-Paris crown rests above the proscenium
http://www.ibdb.com/venueimage.php?id=183.
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...
theater, located at 237 West 51st Street
51st Street (Manhattan)
51st Street is a long one-way street traveling east to west across Midtown Manhattan.-East 51st Street:*The route officially begins at Beekman Place which is on a hill overlooking FDR Drive...
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...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Since 1991, it has been known as the Times Square Church
Times Square Church
Times Square Church is an inter-denominational church located at 237 West 51st Street in the Theatre District of Manhattan, New York City. A large number of people representing many nationalities gather to worship together every week...
. The former theater, which remains largely unaltered in appearance, is most notable for having been the site of the original production of My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady is a musical based upon George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion and with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe...
, which ran from 1956-1962.
Hollywood Theatre
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...
Thomas W. Lamb
Thomas W. Lamb
Thomas White Lamb was an American architect, born in Scotland. He is noted as one of the foremost designers of theaters and cinemas in the 20th century.-Career:...
, the theater was built by Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
as a deluxe movie palace
Movie palace
A movie palace is a term used to refer to the large, elaborately decorated movie theaters built between the 1910s and the 1940s. The late 1920s saw the peak of the movie palace, with hundreds opened every year between 1925 and 1930.There are three building types in particular which can be subsumed...
to showcase their films on Broadway. It opened as the Warner Bros. Hollywood Theatre on April 22, 1930 with the Warner Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
musical film Hold Everything
Hold Everything (1930 film)
Hold Everything is a 1930 early all-talking film. It was the first musical comedy film to be released that was photographed entirely in early two-color Technicolor. It was adapted from the DeSylva-Brown-Henderson Broadway musical of the same name that had served as a vehicle for Bert Lahr and...
starring Winnie Lightner
Winnie Lightner
Winnie Lightner was an American motion picture actress. Perhaps her most famous role was as a gold-digger named Mabel, in Gold Diggers of Broadway...
and Joe E. Brown
Joe E. Brown (comedian)
Joseph Evans Brown was an American actor and comedian, remembered for his amiable screen persona, comic timing, and enormous smile. In 1902 at the age of nine, he joined a troupe of circus tumblers known as the Five Marvelous Ashtons which toured the country on both the circus and vaudeville...
.
Although built as a cinema
Movie theater
A movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
, the theater's stage, one of the largest on Broadway, was designed with the capacity to present large musical shows. As early as 1934 the Hollywood began presenting legitimate Broadway musicals, returning to films between live engagements. The first of these was Calling All Stars, a musical revue
Revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...
with Martha Raye
Martha Raye
Martha Raye was an American comic actress and standards singer who performed in movies, and later on television....
.
Still a Warner theater, on October 9, 1935, the Hollywood was the site of the New York premiere of Warner Bros's lavish film of A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935 film)
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a 1935 film directed by Max Reinhardt and William Dieterle, produced by Henry Blanke and Hal Wallis, and adapted by Charles Kenyon and Mary C. McCall Jr...
. The film's many stars included James Cagney
James Cagney
James Francis Cagney, Jr. was an American actor, first on stage, then in film, where he had his greatest impact. Although he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances, he is best remembered for playing "tough guys." In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth...
and Olivia de Havilland
Olivia de Havilland
Olivia Mary de Havilland is a British American film and stage actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1946 and 1949. She is the elder sister of actress Joan Fontaine. The sisters are among the last surviving leading ladies from Hollywood of the 1930s.-Early life:Olivia de Havilland...
.
In 1940, the theater was briefly renamed the 51st Street Theatre, under which name it operated again as a live theater, this time presenting ballet and classical drama. In 1941 it returned to the name Hollywood Theatre. In all there were eight live shows at the theater between 1934 and 1941. Of these, only George White's Scandals
George White's Scandals
George White's Scandals were a long-running string of Broadway revues produced by George White that ran from 1919–1939, modelled after the Ziegfeld Follies. The "Scandals" launched the careers of many entertainers, including W.C. Fields, the Three Stooges, Ray Bolger, Helen Morgan, Ethel Merman, ...
(1939) and Banjo Eyes
Banjo Eyes
Banjo Eyes is a musical based on the play Three Men on a Horse by John Cecil Holm and George Abbott. It has a book by Joseph Quinlan and Izzy Ellinson, music by Vernon Duke, and lyrics by John La Touche and Harold Adamson....
with Eddie Cantor
Eddie Cantor
Eddie Cantor was an American "illustrated song" performer, comedian, dancer, singer, actor and songwriter...
(1941) had long runs.
Mark Hellinger Theatre
Following Banjo Eyes, the Hollywood returned to showing films exclusively until 1948 when it was purchased by the wealthy producer Anthony Brady Farrell. Farrell had the house completely renovated with the intention of making it a full time Broadway legitimate theater. He renamed it the Mark HellingerMark Hellinger
Mark Hellinger was an American journalist, theatre columnist, and film producer.-Early life and career:Hellinger was born into an Orthodox Jewish family in New York City, although in later life he became a non-practicing Jew. When he was fifteen, he organized a student strike at Townsend Harris...
Theatre, in honor of noted Broadway journalist
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
and critic who had recently died in 1948. Under its new name the theater reopened on January 22, 1949, with the Farrell produced musical All for Love.
Under Farrell's ownership, the Hellinger Theatre continued to primarily showcase musicals; however, he had greater success as a landlord than producer. Of five musicals Farrell produced, only one, Texas Li'l Darling (1949) ran for more than 200 performances. Two on the Aisle
Two on the Aisle
Two on the Aisle is a musical revue with a book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Jule Styne.The project marked Comden and Green's return to Broadway following their successful reign at MGM and their first teaming with composer Styne...
(1951) and Plain and Fancy
Plain and Fancy
Plain and Fancy is a musical comedy with a book by Joseph Stein and Will Glickman, lyrics by Arnold Horwitt, and music by Albert Hague. One of the first depictions of an Amish community in American pop culture, it includes a traditional barn-raising and an old-fashioned country...
(1955) had respectable runs, but the venue had its greatest success with the smash hit My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady is a musical based upon George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion and with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe...
which ran from 1956-1962 for 2,717 performances.
In the 1960s, the Hellinger continued its run as one of Broadway's key musical houses with, among others, the shows On a Clear Day You Can See Forever
On a Clear Day You Can See Forever
On a Clear Day You Can See Forever is a musical with music by Burton Lane and a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner based loosely on Berkeley Square, written in 1929 by John L. Balderston. It concerns a woman who has ESP and has been reincarnated...
(1965) and Coco
Coco (musical)
Coco is a musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by André Previn. It starred Katharine Hepburn in her only stage musical.-Background:...
(1969), Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...
's only Broadway musical.
The Nederlander Organization
Nederlander Organization
The Nederlander Organization, founded in 1912 by David T. Nederlander and based in Detroit, Michigan, is one of the largest operators of legitimate theatres and music venuesin the United States. Its first acquisition was a lease on the Detroit Opera House in 1912. The building was demolished in...
purchased the theater in 1970. Jesus Christ Superstar
Jesus Christ Superstar
Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with lyrics by Tim Rice. The musical started off as a rock opera concept recording before its first staging on Broadway in 1971...
played at the Hellinger from 1971-73 for a total of 711 performances. Sugar Babies
Sugar Babies
Sugar Babies is a musical revue conceived by Ralph G. Allen and Harry Rigby, with music by Jimmy McHugh, lyrics by Dorothy Fields and Al Dubin and various others. The show is a tribute to the old burlesque era...
ran from 1979–1982, for a total of 1,208 performances. Throughout the remainder of the 1980s, the Hellinger continued to showcase musicals, most of which were unsuccessful. The 1985 film of A Chorus Line
A Chorus Line (film)
A Chorus Line is a 1985 musical film directed by Richard Attenborough, starring Michael Douglas. The screenplay by Arnold Schulman is based on the Tony Award-winning book of the 1975 stage production of the same name by James Kirkwood, Jr. and Nicholas Dante...
, was partly shot on location at the theater.
Times Square Church
In 1991, the Nederlander Organization sold the theater to the Times Square ChurchTimes Square Church
Times Square Church is an inter-denominational church located at 237 West 51st Street in the Theatre District of Manhattan, New York City. A large number of people representing many nationalities gather to worship together every week...
, which had leased it since 1989. Before selling, Nederlander allegedly refused a purchase offer from British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
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...
Cameron Mackintosh
Cameron Mackintosh
Sir Cameron Anthony Mackintosh is a British theatrical producer notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals. At the height of his success in 1990, he was described as being "the most successful, influential and powerful theatrical producer in the world" by the New York...
. The Times Square Church has maintained the theater's historic interior decor intact and it is open to the public regularly for services and tours.
Design
Although the front entrance to the building currently is located on 51st Street http://www.ibdb.com/venueimage.php?id=182, this was originally a side entrance. The main entrance was originally at 1655 Broadway, with a narrow lobby leading to a Grand FoyerFoyer
A foyer or lobby is a large, vast room or complex of rooms adjacent to the auditorium...
on 51st Street. In 1930, it was desirable for a first-run motion picture theater in the Times Square
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
area to have an entrance, no matter how small, on Broadway
Broadway (New York City)
Broadway is a prominent avenue in New York City, United States, which runs through the full length of the borough of Manhattan and continues northward through the Bronx borough before terminating in Westchester County, New York. It is the oldest north–south main thoroughfare in the city, dating to...
. The Hollywood's entrance, though narrow, featured a bright marquee and a huge lighted vertical sign. The Broadway entrance was closed in 1934 and converted to retail space.
The rococo
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
interior is typical of the 1920s movie palace design. The coved
Molding (decorative)
Molding or moulding is a strip of material with various profiles used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled wood or plaster but may be made from plastic or reformed wood...
ceiling has dozens of murals http://www.ibdb.com/venueimage.php?id=185 reminiscent of Boucher and Watteau, depicting 18th-century French aristocracy
French nobility
The French nobility was the privileged order of France in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern periods.In the political system of the Estates General, the nobility made up the Second Estate...
.
The spectacular rotunda
Rotunda (architecture)
A rotunda is any building with a circular ground plan, sometimes covered by a dome. It can also refer to a round room within a building . The Pantheon in Rome is a famous rotunda. A Band Rotunda is a circular bandstand, usually with a dome...
lobby http://www.ibdb.com/venueimage.php?id=184 is dominated by eight fluted
Classical order
A classical order is one of the ancient styles of classical architecture, each distinguished by its proportions and characteristic profiles and details, and most readily recognizable by the type of column employed. Three ancient orders of architecture—the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian—originated in...
Corinthian
Corinthian order
The Corinthian order is one of the three principal classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric and Ionic. When classical architecture was revived during the Renaissance, two more orders were added to the canon, the Tuscan order and the Composite order...
columns and a ceiling that is decorated with colorful murals of classical scenes. This and other interior spaces were designed by Leif Neandross, chief designer of the Rambusch Decorating Company
Rambusch Decorating Company
The Rambusch Decorating Company was founded in 1898 in New York, New York by Frode Rambusch, a Danish immigrant.In the 1920's, it was the decorator for many elaborate movie palaces, including the famed Roxy Theatre in New York City, which seated 6,214 and opened in March, 1927. That project was...
.
The auditorium seating capacity is approximately 1,506, one of the largest in the theatre district
Theatre District, New York
The Theater District is an area in Midtown Manhattan where most Broadway theaters are located, as well as many other theaters, movie theaters, restaurants, hotels and other places of entertainment. It extends from 40th Street to 54th Street, and from west of Sixth Avenue to east of Eighth Avenue,...
. The stage is among the largest and best-equipped of all of New York's theaters. A large plaster-of-Paris crown rests above the proscenium
Proscenium
A proscenium theatre is a theatre space whose primary feature is a large frame or arch , which is located at or near the front of the stage...
http://www.ibdb.com/venueimage.php?id=183.
Notable productions
- 1949: The MikadoThe MikadoThe Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen operatic collaborations...
; The Pirates of PenzanceThe Pirates of PenzanceThe Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. The opera's official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 December 1879, where the show was well received by both audiences... - 1951: Two on the AisleTwo on the AisleTwo on the Aisle is a musical revue with a book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Jule Styne.The project marked Comden and Green's return to Broadway following their successful reign at MGM and their first teaming with composer Styne...
- 1953: Hazel FlaggHazel FlaggHazel Flagg is a musical with a book by Ben Hecht, lyrics by Bob Hilliard, and music by Jule Styne. The musical is based on the 1937 screwball comedy film Nothing Sacred...
- 1955: Plain and FancyPlain and FancyPlain and Fancy is a musical comedy with a book by Joseph Stein and Will Glickman, lyrics by Arnold Horwitt, and music by Albert Hague. One of the first depictions of an Amish community in American pop culture, it includes a traditional barn-raising and an old-fashioned country...
; Ankles AweighAnkles AweighAnkles Aweigh is a musical with a book by Guy Bolton and Eddie Davis, lyrics by Dan Shapiro, and music by Sammy Fain.The plot centers on Hollywood starlet Wynne, who violates a clause in her contract by marrying Navy flyer Bill while filming a movie in Sicily... - 1956: My Fair LadyMy Fair LadyMy Fair Lady is a musical based upon George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion and with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe...
- 1962: The Sound of MusicThe Sound of MusicThe Sound of Music is a musical by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers...
- 1964: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the ForumA Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the ForumA Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart....
; Fade Out - Fade InFade Out - Fade InFade Out - Fade In is a musical with a book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Jule Styne. The story involves the movie industry in the 1930s... - 1965: On a Clear Day You Can See ForeverOn a Clear Day You Can See ForeverOn a Clear Day You Can See Forever is a musical with music by Burton Lane and a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner based loosely on Berkeley Square, written in 1929 by John L. Balderston. It concerns a woman who has ESP and has been reincarnated...
- 1966: A Joyful NoiseA Joyful NoiseA Joyful Noise is a musical with a book by Edward Padula and music and lyrics by Oscar Brand and Paul Nassau. The 1966 Broadway production was a flop but introduced choreographer Michael Bennett in his Broadway debut....
- 1967: Illya DarlingIllya DarlingIllya Darling is a musical with a book by Jules Dassin, music by Manos Hadjidakis, and lyrics by Joe Darion, based on Dassin's 1960 film Never on Sunday.-Production:The show previewed in a tour of Philadelphia, Toronto and Detroit for nine weeks...
- 1969: Dear WorldDear WorldDear World is a Broadway musical with a book by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman. With its opening, Herman became the only composer-lyricist in history to have three productions running simultaneously on Broadway...
; CocoCoco (musical)Coco is a musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by André Previn. It starred Katharine Hepburn in her only stage musical.-Background:... - 1971: Man of La ManchaMan of La ManchaMan of La Mancha is a musical with a book by Dale Wasserman, lyrics by Joe Darion and music by Mitch Leigh. It is adapted from Wasserman's non-musical 1959 teleplay I, Don Quixote, which was in turn inspired by Miguel de Cervantes's seventeenth century masterpiece Don Quixote...
; Jesus Christ SuperstarJesus Christ SuperstarJesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with lyrics by Tim Rice. The musical started off as a rock opera concept recording before its first staging on Broadway in 1971...
- 1973: SeesawSeesaw (musical)Seesaw is a musical with a book by Michael Bennett, music by Cy Coleman, and lyrics by Dorothy Fields.Based on the William Gibson play Two for the Seesaw, the plot focuses on a brief affair between Jerry Ryan, a young lawyer from Nebraska, and Gittel Mosca, a kooky, streetwise dancer from the Bronx...
- 1976: 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue1600 Pennsylvania Avenue (musical)1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is a 1976 musical with music by Leonard Bernstein and book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner. It is considered to be a legendary Broadway flop, running only seven performances...
; Porgy and BessPorgy and BessPorgy and Bess is an opera, first performed in 1935, with music by George Gershwin, libretto by DuBose Heyward, and lyrics by Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward. It was based on DuBose Heyward's novel Porgy and subsequent play of the same title, which he co-wrote with his wife Dorothy Heyward...
(Houston Grand OperaHouston Grand OperaHouston Grand Opera Houston Grand Opera was founded in 1955 through the joint efforts of Maestro Walter Herbert and cultural leaders Mrs. Louis G. Lobit, Edward Bing and Charles Cockrell...
) - 1977: ShenandoahShenandoah (musical)Shenandoah is a musical that was written in 1975 with music by Gary Geld, lyrics by Peter Udell, and a book by Udell, Philip Rose and James Lee Barrett, based on Barrett's original screenplay for the 1965 film Shenandoah.-Productions:...
- 1978: Timbuktu!Timbuktu!Timbuktu! is a musical, with lyrics by George Forrest and Robert Wright, set to music by Borodin, Forrest and Wright. The book is by Luther Davis. It is a resetting of Forrest and Wright's musical Kismet...
- 1978: PlatinumPlatinum (musical)Platinum is a musical with a book by Will Holt and Bruce Vilanch, music by Gary William Friedman, and lyrics by Holt. Set in a Hollywood recording studio, it centers on Lila Halliday, a star of 1940s and 50s movie musicals who is attempting a comeback...
- 1979: Sugar BabiesSugar BabiesSugar Babies is a musical revue conceived by Ralph G. Allen and Harry Rigby, with music by Jimmy McHugh, lyrics by Dorothy Fields and Al Dubin and various others. The show is a tribute to the old burlesque era...
, The Utter Glory of Morrissey HallThe Utter Glory of Morrissey HallThe Utter Glory of Morrissey Hall is a musical with music and lyrics by Clark Gesner and a book by Gesner and Nagle Jackson. The production opened and closed on May 13, 1979 at the Mark Hellinger Theatre on Broadway after only seven previews and one regular performance.-Synopsis:Act IMorrissey Hall... - 1982: A Doll's LifeA Doll's LifeA Doll's Life is a musical with a book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Larry Grossman. It is among the most notorious flops in Broadway theatre history.The musical is set at a rehearsal of Ibsen's A Doll's House in 1982....
- 1983: MerlinMerlin (musical)Merlin was a musical based on a concept by popular illusionist Doug Henning and Barbara De Angelis, written by Richard Levinson and William Link, with music written by Elmer Bernstein and lyrics by Don Black....
- 1984: Oliver!Oliver!Oliver! is a British musical, with script, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens....
- 1986: RagsRags (musical)Rags is a musical with a book by Joseph Stein, lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, and music by Charles Strouse.-Production history:The Broadway production opened on August 21, 1986 at the Mark Hellinger Theatre with little advance sale and to mostly indifferent reviews, and it closed after only four...
- 1988: Legs DiamondLegs Diamond (musical)Legs Diamond is a musical with a book by Harvey Fierstein and Charles Suppon based on the Warner Brothers film "The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond"...
External links
- Mark Hellinger Theatre at Internet Broadway Database, with photographs
- The Hollywood Theatre at CinemaTreasures.org