Shubert Alley
Encyclopedia
Shubert Alley is a narrow 300 feet (91.4 m) long pedestrian alley at the heart of the Broadway theater district
of New York City. It splits a block, as it runs parallel to and between Eighth Avenue
and Broadway
, linking West 44th Street to West 45th Street. It contains approximately 6400 square feet (594.6 m²) of public space.
The alley has been considered the geographical center of "Broadway". Richard Hornby wrote in 1991 that: "In New York, the desirability of a theatre is inversely proportional to its distance from Shubert Alley."
The alley was originally built as a fire exit between the Shubert Theatre
(on 44th Street) and Booth Theatre
(on 45th Street), and the Astor Hotel
(bounded by Broadway, Astor Plaza, and West 44th and 45th Streets), as fire laws of the time required that there be room for fire equipment in the event of an emergency. The Astor Hotel, which had opened in 1904, was demolished in 1968, and its location is now occupied by the high-rise 50-story office tower, One Astor Plaza
.
The Shubert and Booth Theatres, which both opened in 1913, were owned by Lee
and Jacob J. Shubert
. The alley is called the Shubert Alley because the Shuberts, who were then New York's most powerful theater owners and producers, had their offices overlooking it and rented the alley. They leased it from the Astor estate in 1912, in a decades-long-lease.
In the early years the alley was lined with posters of Broadway shows that were playing, the Shuberts had their limousines parked there, and the alley had gates which were locked at night. It was also a gathering place for actors when shows were being cast. Unemployed and aspiring actors hoping for a part would line its western wall.
In 1930, its lunchtime scene was described as:
During the Great Depression
, the alley was divided by a fence. One side was used by a New Jersey bus line, as a bus terminal. The other side served as egress for stage doors from the Shubert and Booth Theatres. Posters were hung on the fence. They became known as "three-sheets", because they were three times as tall as the "one-sheet" lobby cards. When the bus terminal was removed, the posters were moved to the common side wall of the two theatres. During intermissions, casts would leave the non-air-conditioned theaters for a breath of fresh air in the alley.
It was reported in 1939 that the actor Raymond Massey
built a bowling alley in his London home, and called it "Shubert Alley". A play entitled Shubert Alley was written by Mel Dinelli in 1943.
noted in 1950 that:
In November 1959, a one-hour musical entitled Music from Shubert Alley was recorded in the alley, and broadcast on TV. In 1960, singer Mel Tormé
came out with an album of show tunes entitled Mel Tormé Swings Shubert Alley
, which was arranged by Marty Paich
.
, the "World's Largest Coconut Orchestra", 1,789 people clapping together half coconut shells, performed in Shubert Alley. The claim was officially recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records.
Moments after Faisal Shahzad
's failed 2010 Times Square car bombing attempt
, a surveillance video caught images of him walking through Shubert Alley.
Today, it serves as a theatre fire exit, and can be busy with audience members during show-times and intermissions. The One Shubert Alley memorabilia store in the alley is a converted former dressing room of the Booth Theatre.
A free annual concert called "Stars in the Alley" is held in Shubert Alley the week of the Tony Awards featuring performances and celebrity guest appearances from current Broadway shows, marking the official end of the Broadway season. Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS
has held an Annual Flea Market and Grand Auction in Shubert Alley each September since 1987, selling props, costumes, and autographed memorabilia to raise money. "Broadway Barks
", a charity event founded by Bernadette Peters
and Mary Tyler Moore
in which Broadway and other celebrities present shelter animals for adoption, has taken place annually in the alley since 1999.
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...
of New York City. It splits a block, as it runs parallel to and between Eighth Avenue
Eighth Avenue (Manhattan)
Eighth Avenue is a north-south avenue on the West Side of Manhattan in New York City, carrying northbound traffic. Eighth Avenue begins in the West Village neighborhood at Abingdon Square and runs north for 44 blocks through Chelsea, the Garment District, Hell's Kitchen's east end, Midtown and the...
and 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...
, linking West 44th Street to West 45th Street. It contains approximately 6400 square feet (594.6 m²) of public space.
The alley has been considered the geographical center of "Broadway". Richard Hornby wrote in 1991 that: "In New York, the desirability of a theatre is inversely proportional to its distance from Shubert Alley."
The early years (1912–49)
Shubert Theatre (Broadway)
The Shubert Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 225 West 44th Street in midtown-Manhattan, New York, United States.Designed by architect Henry Beaumont Herts, it was named after Sam S. Shubert, the second oldest of the three brothers of the theatrical producing family...
(on 44th Street) and Booth Theatre
Booth Theatre
The Booth Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 222 West 45th Street in midtown-Manhattan, New York City.Architect Henry B. Herts designed the Booth and its companion Shubert Theatre as a back-to-back pair sharing a Venetian Renaissance-style façade...
(on 45th Street), and the Astor Hotel
Astor Hotel
The Hotel Astor was a hotel located in the Times Square area of Manhattan, in operation from 1904 through 1967. The former site of the hotel, the block bounded by Broadway, Astor Plaza, West 44th Street, and West 45th Street, is now occupied by the high-rise 54-story office tower One Astor Plaza.-...
(bounded by Broadway, Astor Plaza, and West 44th and 45th Streets), as fire laws of the time required that there be room for fire equipment in the event of an emergency. The Astor Hotel, which had opened in 1904, was demolished in 1968, and its location is now occupied by the high-rise 50-story office tower, One Astor Plaza
One Astor Plaza
One Astor Plaza is a high skyscraper in Times Square in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Completed in 1972, the building is 54 stories tall and was designed by Der Scutt of Ely J. Kahn & Jacobs. Originally known as the W. T...
.
The Shubert and Booth Theatres, which both opened in 1913, were owned by Lee
Lee Shubert
Levi "Lee" Shubert was a Polish-born American theatre owner/operator and producer and the oldest of seven siblings of the theatrical Shubert family....
and Jacob J. Shubert
Jacob J. Shubert
Jacob J. Shubert was naturalized American theatre owner/operator and producer and a member of the famous theatrical Shubert family....
. The alley is called the Shubert Alley because the Shuberts, who were then New York's most powerful theater owners and producers, had their offices overlooking it and rented the alley. They leased it from the Astor estate in 1912, in a decades-long-lease.
In the early years the alley was lined with posters of Broadway shows that were playing, the Shuberts had their limousines parked there, and the alley had gates which were locked at night. It was also a gathering place for actors when shows were being cast. Unemployed and aspiring actors hoping for a part would line its western wall.
In 1930, its lunchtime scene was described as:
having the color of one of those street scenes from a tropical revue, churning with actors, Broadway reporters, chorus girls, and a soupcon of booking agents and costumers. A hurdy gurdyHurdy gurdyThe hurdy gurdy or hurdy-gurdy is a stringed musical instrument that produces sound by a crank-turned rosined wheel rubbing against the strings. The wheel functions much like a violin bow, and single notes played on the instrument sound similar to a violin...
grinds out tunes, and often a street band adds oom-pahs to the medley.... There is good-natured shoving about, hoots, and back-patting. Stars are hailed by first name. Bootleggers are there with their order books. Also racing touts, with hot tips.
During the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, the alley was divided by a fence. One side was used by a New Jersey bus line, as a bus terminal. The other side served as egress for stage doors from the Shubert and Booth Theatres. Posters were hung on the fence. They became known as "three-sheets", because they were three times as tall as the "one-sheet" lobby cards. When the bus terminal was removed, the posters were moved to the common side wall of the two theatres. During intermissions, casts would leave the non-air-conditioned theaters for a breath of fresh air in the alley.
It was reported in 1939 that the actor Raymond Massey
Raymond Massey
Raymond Hart Massey was a Canadian/American actor.-Early life:Massey was born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Anna , who was born in Illinois, and Chester Daniel Massey, the wealthy owner of the Massey-Ferguson Tractor Company. Massey's family could trace their ancestry back to the American...
built a bowling alley in his London home, and called it "Shubert Alley". A play entitled Shubert Alley was written by Mel Dinelli in 1943.
Late 20th century (1950–99)
Actress Irene DunneIrene Dunne
Irene Dunne was an American film actress and singer of the 1930s, 1940s and early 1950s. Dunne was nominated five times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, for her performances in Cimarron , Theodora Goes Wild , The Awful Truth , Love Affair and I Remember Mama...
noted in 1950 that:
I got a shock when I found that Shubert Alley is now a smart lane of elegant small shops, instead of being the empty alley where there used to be only a couple of stage doors, parking space for producer Lee Shubert's elegant limousine, and a place where actors met to discuss which offices were casting a new show that day.
In November 1959, a one-hour musical entitled Music from Shubert Alley was recorded in the alley, and broadcast on TV. In 1960, singer Mel Tormé
Mel Tormé
Melvin Howard Tormé , nicknamed The Velvet Fog, was an American musician, known for his jazz singing. He was also a jazz composer and arranger, a drummer, an actor in radio, film, and television, and the author of five books...
came out with an album of show tunes entitled Mel Tormé Swings Shubert Alley
Mel Tormé Swings Shubert Alley
Mel Tormé Swings Shubert Alley is a 1960 album by Mel Tormé, arranged by Marty Paich. - Track listing :# "Too Close for Comfort" – 3:59# "Once in Love with Amy" – 3:08...
, which was arranged by Marty Paich
Marty Paich
Martin Louis "Marty" Paich was an American pianist, composer, arranger, producer, music director and conductor....
.
Modern day (2000–present)
On March 22, 2006, to mark the first anniversary of the official Broadway opening of the musical comedy SpamalotSpamalot
Monty Python's Spamalot is a musical comedy "lovingly ripped off from" the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Like the film, it is a highly irreverent parody of the Arthurian Legend, but it differs from the film in many ways, especially in its parodies of Broadway theatre...
, the "World's Largest Coconut Orchestra", 1,789 people clapping together half coconut shells, performed in Shubert Alley. The claim was officially recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records.
Moments after Faisal Shahzad
Faisal Shahzad
Faisal Shahzad is a Pakistani American who attempted the May 1, 2010, Times Square car bombing. On , 2010, in Federal District Court in Manhattan he confessed to 10 counts arising from the bombing attempt...
's failed 2010 Times Square car bombing attempt
2010 Times Square car bombing attempt
The attempted car bombing of Times Square on May 1, 2010, was a planned terrorist attack that was foiled when two street vendors discovered the car bomb and alerted a NYPD Patrolman to the car bomb threat after they spotted smoke coming from a vehicle...
, a surveillance video caught images of him walking through Shubert Alley.
Today, it serves as a theatre fire exit, and can be busy with audience members during show-times and intermissions. The One Shubert Alley memorabilia store in the alley is a converted former dressing room of the Booth Theatre.
A free annual concert called "Stars in the Alley" is held in Shubert Alley the week of the Tony Awards featuring performances and celebrity guest appearances from current Broadway shows, marking the official end of the Broadway season. Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS
Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS
Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS is the theatre community’s response to the AIDS crisis. By drawing upon the talents, resources and generosity of the theatre community, on Broadway, Off-Broadway and across the country, BC/EFA raises funds for AIDS-related causes across the United States...
has held an Annual Flea Market and Grand Auction in Shubert Alley each September since 1987, selling props, costumes, and autographed memorabilia to raise money. "Broadway Barks
Broadway Barks
Broadway Barks is an annual animal charity event held in New York City to promote the adoption of shelter animals. The event has been held every July in Shubert Alley, starting in 1999.-History:...
", a charity event founded by Bernadette Peters
Bernadette Peters
Bernadette Peters is an American actress, singer and children's book author from Ozone Park, Queens, New York. Over the course of a career that has spanned five decades, she has starred in musical theatre, films and television, as well as performing in solo concerts and recordings...
and Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore is an American actress, primarily known for her roles in television sitcoms. Moore is best known for The Mary Tyler Moore Show , in which she starred as Mary Richards, a 30-something single woman who worked as a local news producer in Minneapolis, and for her earlier role as...
in which Broadway and other celebrities present shelter animals for adoption, has taken place annually in the alley since 1999.