August Wilson Theatre
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The August Wilson Theatre (formerly the Guild Theatre, ANTA Theatre, and Virginia Theatre) is a
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
theater at 245 West 52nd Street in the
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of
Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Buildin ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. Opened in 1925, the theater was designed by C. Howard Crane and
Kenneth Franzheim Kenneth Franzheim was an architect in Chicago and Boston in the early 1920s with C. Howard Crane. He started an independent practice in New York in 1925 and specialized in the design of large commercial buildings and airports. Franzheim became ...
and was built for the
Theatre Guild The Theatre Guild is a theatrical society founded in New York City in 1918 by Lawrence Langner, Philip Moeller, Helen Westley and Theresa Helburn. Langner's wife, Armina Marshall, then served as a co-director. It evolved out of the work of the W ...
. It is named for
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
-winning playwright
August Wilson August Wilson ( Frederick August Kittel Jr.; April 27, 1945 – October 2, 2005) was an American playwright. He has been referred to as the "theater's poet of Black America". He is best known for a series of ten plays, collectively called ' (or ...
(1945–2005). The August Wilson has approximately 1,225 seats across two levels and is operated by
Jujamcyn Theaters Jujamcyn Theaters LLC , formerly the Jujamcyn Amusement Corporation, is a theatrical producing and theatre-ownership company in New York City. For many years Jujamcyn was owned by James H. Binger, former Chairman of Honeywell, and his wife, Virg ...
. The facade is a
New York City designated landmark The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...
. The facade is designed as a variation of a 15th-century Tuscan villa, with a stage house to the west and an auditorium to the east. The facade has a
stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...
surface and openings with quoins, as well as a
loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior gallery or corridor, usually on an upper level, but sometimes on the ground level of a building. The outer wall is open to the elements, usually supported by a series of columns ...
. The placement of window openings reflected the theater's original interior arrangement. The front of the theater had facilities for the Theatre Guild, including classrooms, studios, a club room, a library, and a book store. The rear of the theater contains the auditorium, which was placed one story above ground to make room for a lounge below. The auditorium originally had elaborate decorations, including loggias and a
frieze In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...
with depictions of scenes from the Theatre Guild's plays. The Theatre Guild announced plans for its own theater in 1923, and the Guild Theatre opened on April 13, 1925. The theater's initial productions generally lasted only for several weeks, and the Theatre Guild started leasing the venue to other producers in 1938. Radio station
WOR (AM) WOR (710 AM) is a 50,000-watt class A clear-channel AM radio station owned by iHeartMedia and licensed to New York, New York. The station airs a mix of local and syndicated talk radio shows, primarily from co-owned Premiere Networks, includi ...
took over the auditorium as a broadcast studio in 1943, with the Theatre Guild moving out the next year. The
American National Theater and Academy The American National Theatre and Academy (ANTA) is a non-profit theatre producer and training organization that was established in 1935 to be the official United States national theatre that would be an alternative to the for-profit Broadway houses ...
(ANTA) purchased the theater in 1950 and renamed it the ANTA Playhouse. The theater reopened as the ANTA Theatre in 1954 after a renovation that eliminated most of the interior detail. Jujamcyn purchased the ANTA Theatre in 1981 and renamed it for Virginia McKnight Binger, a co-owner. The Virginia was renovated again in the 1990s, and it was renamed for Wilson in 2005. Under Jujamcyn ownership, the theater has hosted long runs of productions including '' City of Angels'', '' Smokey Joe's Cafe'', and ''
Jersey Boys ''Jersey Boys'' is a jukebox musical with music by Bob Gaudio, lyrics by Bob Crewe, and book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. It is presented in a documentary-style format that dramatizes the formation, success and eventual break-up of th ...
''.


Site

The August Wilson Theatre is on 245 West 52nd Street, on the north sidewalk between Eighth Avenue and
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
, in the
Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Buildin ...
neighborhood of
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. The rectangular
land lot In real estate, a lot or plot is a tract or parcel of land owned or meant to be owned by some owner(s). A plot is essentially considered a parcel of real property in some countries or immovable property (meaning practically the same thing) in ...
covers , with a
frontage Frontage is the boundary between a plot of land or a building and the road onto which the plot or building fronts. Frontage may also refer to the full length of this boundary. This length is considered especially important for certain types of ...
of on 52nd Street and a depth of . The August Wilson shares the block with the
Roseland Ballroom The Roseland Ballroom was a multipurpose hall, in a converted ice skating rink, with a colorful ballroom dancing pedigree, in New York City's theater district, on West 52nd Street in Manhattan. The venue, according to its website, accommodated ...
to the northwest and the
Broadway Theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...
to the northeast. Other nearby buildings include
Studio 54 Studio 54 is a Broadway theater and a former disco nightclub at 254 West 54th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Operated by the Roundabout Theatre Company, Studio 54 has 1,006 seats on two levels. The theater was ...
to the north, the New York Jazz Museum and the
Ed Sullivan Theater The Ed Sullivan Theater (originally Hammerstein's Theatre; later the Manhattan Theatre, Billy Rose's Music Hall, CBS Radio Playhouse No. 3, and CBS Studio 50) is a theater at 1697–1699 Broadway, between 53rd and 54th Streets, in the Theater ...
to the northeast,
810 Seventh Avenue 810 Seventh Avenue is a Class-A office skyscraper located a few blocks north of Times Square on Seventh Avenue between 52nd and 53rd streets within Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States. It is owned by SL Green Realty Corp. after ...
to the east, the
Mark Hellinger Theatre The Mark Hellinger Theatre (formerly the 51st Street Theatre and the Hollywood Theatre) is a church (building), church building at 237 West 51st Street (Manhattan), 51st Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, which forme ...
and Gallagher's Steakhouse to the southeast, and the
Neil Simon Theatre The Neil Simon Theatre, originally the Alvin Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 250 West 52nd Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1927, the theater was designed by Herbert J. Krapp and was built for ...
to the south. The theater replaced nine old residential buildings.


Design

The August Wilson Theatre (previously the Guild Theatre, ANTA Theatre, and Virginia Theatre) was designed by C. Howard Crane,
Kenneth Franzheim Kenneth Franzheim was an architect in Chicago and Boston in the early 1920s with C. Howard Crane. He started an independent practice in New York in 1925 and specialized in the design of large commercial buildings and airports. Franzheim became ...
, and Charles H. Bettis. It was constructed in 1924 for the
Theatre Guild The Theatre Guild is a theatrical society founded in New York City in 1918 by Lawrence Langner, Philip Moeller, Helen Westley and Theresa Helburn. Langner's wife, Armina Marshall, then served as a co-director. It evolved out of the work of the W ...
, a theatrical society. Set designer
Norman Bel Geddes Norman Bel Geddes (born Norman Melancton Geddes; April 27, 1893 – May 8, 1958) was an American theatrical and industrial designer. Early life Bel Geddes was born Norman Melancton Geddes in Adrian, Michigan and was raised in New Philadelp ...
was also involved in the August Wilson's interior design. The theater was erected by the O'Day Construction Company, and numerous other contractors participated in the theater's construction.


Facade

The facade of the August Wilson Theatre was designed to resemble a 15th-century Tuscan villa, with a
stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...
surface and a heavy use of quoins around openings. On 52nd Street, the theater's height is shorter than its width. The extreme west and east ends of the facade contain vertical bands of quoins, while the rest of the facade includes stone-trimmed windows and doors. The placement of window openings reflected the theater's original interior arrangement. ''
Architectural Forum ''Architectural Forum'' was an American magazine that covered the homebuilding industry and architecture. Started in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1892 as ''The Brickbuilder'', it absorbed the magazine ''Architect's World'' in October 1938. Ownership ...
'' described the openings as "picturesquely grouped in an informal manner to give quaintness and charm to the exterior design". The western part of the ground story contains three doorways for the stage house. The rightmost doorway is an arch with rusticated limestone
voussoir A voussoir () is a wedge-shaped element, typically a stone, which is used in building an arch or vault. Although each unit in an arch or vault is a voussoir, two units are of distinct functional importance: the keystone and the springer. The ...
s; the arch's keystone is a
cartouche In Egyptian hieroglyphs, a cartouche is an oval with a line at one end tangent to it, indicating that the text enclosed is a royal name. The first examples of the cartouche are associated with pharaohs at the end of the Third Dynasty, but the fea ...
with motifs signifying the arts, music, and tragedy. Within the archway are two steps leading up to a wood-and-glass double door, topped by a
lunette A lunette (French ''lunette'', "little moon") is a half-moon shaped architectural space, variously filled with sculpture, painted, glazed, filled with recessed masonry, or void. A lunette may also be segmental, and the arch may be an arc take ...
window. To the east are wide metal doors that serve as emergency exits followed by narrow wood-and-glass doors that connect with the lobby. The lobby doors are flanked by sign boards, surrounded by large molded frames with
console bracket In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a superincumbent weight, a type of bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, whereas a console is a piece applied to the s ...
s below and
cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...
s above. A single, modern marquee spans the emergency exits and the lobby doors. Originally, there were two marquees, one each above the emergency exits and the lobby doors. Most of the second-story windows are casement windows flanked by shutters, originally painted blue-green. The exceptions are the westernmost two openings, which are slightly above the rest of the second story and do not contain shutters. On the third story, the westernmost windows are also simple in design, and a sign hangs next to the westernmost window. The center of the third story contains five
French windows A window is an opening in a wall, door, roof, or vehicle that allows the exchange of light and may also allow the passage of sound and sometimes air. Modern windows are usually glazed or covered in some other transparent or translucent materi ...
, each with a wrought-iron balcony in front of it. Each French window is surrounded by stone blocks and topped by a stone pediment. To the east is an
arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...
with three arches and an iron railing, which screen a fire-escape balcony. On the fourth story are windows with shutters, extending the width of the theater. Above the fourth story, brackets support a pitched tile roof that slightly overhangs the facade. The stage house rises above the western part of the roof, with a facade of plain brick. This was in keeping with many theaters of the time, which contained plain stage houses above their ornate primary facades, but ''
Architectural Record ''Architectural Record'' is a US-based monthly magazine dedicated to architecture and interior design. "The Record," as it is sometimes colloquially referred to, is widely-recognized as an important historical record of the unfolding debates in a ...
'' characterized the stage house as a missed opportunity for decoration.


Interior

The front of the theater had facilities for the Theatre Guild, including classrooms, studios, a club room, a library, and a book store. The rear of the theater contains the auditorium. The auditorium was built one story above ground, as contrasted with comparable theaters, where the auditorium was at ground level. This enabled the installation of a large entrance lounge directly beneath the auditorium.


Lobby and lounge

The main lobby is accessed from 52nd Street and originally was a groin-vaulted space with Italian-style doors, ticket booths, and grilles. During 1993, the lobby was redecorated in the
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
style. From the lobby, there were either three or five steps leading down to the upper tier of a two-tiered lounge. The steps were made of travertine and were covered by a carpet. The lounge, nearly as large as the auditorium directly above it, eliminated the need for patrons to go outside during intermissions. Its tiers differed only slightly in height due to the sloped floor of the auditorium. The lounge's lower tier was to the west of its upper tier. The two sections of the lounge were connected by a flight of three steps, spanned by three arches. There were two arched openings between the lounge's tiers, blocked off by iron railings. Both tiers originally had an ornate multicolored carpet, as well as wall fixtures that are made from the frames of antique Italian
altar cards Altar cards are three cards placed on the altar during the Tridentine Mass. They contain certain prayers that the priest must say during the Mass, and their only purpose is as a memory aid, although they are usually very beautifully decorated. Hi ...
. The upper lounge had a
barrel-vaulted A barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault, wagon vault or wagonhead vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve (or pair of curves, in the case of a pointed barrel vault) along a given distance. The curves are ...
ceiling covered in rough plaster. The lower lounge had Italian-style furniture arranged around a fireplace. The south wall of the lower tier had three arches leading to a small refreshment booth. The lower lounge's north wall had an Italian-style doorway to a women's retiring room. This room had blue walls, frescos, and furniture in an Italian style, with paneled walnut doors leading to the adjacent women's bathroom. The upper lounge's north wall similarly had a large doorway leading to a men's smoking room. This space had red, green, and blue wall decorations with ornate carpets and furnishings. Next to the upper lounge was a coat room with blue walls and a Spanish doorway. A bookstore was also placed in one corner of the upper lounge. To the east of the upper lounge was an archway, where a double stair ascended to the rear of the auditorium's orchestra and balcony. Similar to the stairs between the lobby and lounge, these steps were made of travertine and covered with a carpet. The stair hall was described as Italian in style, with a recessed window and seats on the orchestra-level landing. Doors from the landing led to both ends of the orchestra's rear wall. There was another landing at the balcony level. Both of these had intersecting vaulted ceilings with lanterns hanging from them. The stairs were infilled in the 1950s to create extra space for seats, and new stairs were added in the corners.


Auditorium

The auditorium has an orchestra level, a balcony, and a
stage Stage or stages may refer to: Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper * Sta ...
. ''
Playbill ''Playbill'' is an American monthly magazine for theatergoers. Although there is a subscription issue available for home delivery, most copies of ''Playbill'' are printed for particular productions and distributed at the door as the show's pr ...
'' cites the August Wilson Theatre as having 1,225 seats, while
The Broadway League The Broadway League, formerly the League of American Theatres and Producers and League of New York Theatres and Producers, is the national trade association for the Broadway theatre industry based in New York, New York. Its members include thea ...
cites 1,228 seats. When the Guild Theatre opened, it was variously cited as containing 914 or 934 seats. The orchestra level is wheelchair-accessible via a
stair lift A stair lift is a mechanical device for lifting people, typically those with disabilities, up and down stairs. For sufficiently wide stairs, a rail is mounted to the treads of the stairs. A chair or lifting platform is attached to the rail. A per ...
; the balcony can only be reached by steps. The main restrooms are placed on the orchestra level. The original decorative scheme continued the exterior's Tuscan design. The decorations were completely removed when the seating capacity was expanded in the 1950s, although the auditorium's layout was not changed during these renovations. Barbara Campagna and Francesca Russo restored much of the interior detail in a 1995 renovation.


= Seating areas

= The auditorium floor is raked, sloping downward toward the stage to the west. Unlike typical theaters of the time, the Guild Theatre lacked
box A box (plural: boxes) is a container used for the storage or transportation of its contents. Most boxes have flat, parallel, rectangular sides. Boxes can be very small (like a matchbox) or very large (like a shipping box for furniture), and can ...
seats, a design feature intended to give the appearance of coziness. It also did not have a traditional
proscenium A proscenium ( grc-gre, προσκήνιον, ) is the metaphorical vertical plane of space in a theatre, usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical proscenium arch (whether or not truly "arched") and on the bottom by the stage floor ...
arch; the auditorium's side walls ended at the stage rather than curving in front of it, thereby creating an unusually wide opening. In addition to the former main staircase at the rear of the auditorium, emergency exits are placed to the north and south. Three arches on the south side lead down to an enclosed staircase to 52nd Street, while a door on the north side leads to a rear court behind the theater. At the rear of the auditorium, wrought-iron railings enclosed the stairways to the balcony. In the 1995 renovation, round columns near the rear of the orchestra were relocated, and the side walls were shortened. The floors of the auditorium were covered with red and brown carpets, while the seats were upholstered in a brown and gold tapestry with red highlights. The decorative elements included rough-plaster walls with tapestries, loggias, and cartouches. The theater's tapestries and furniture included a combination of genuine antiques and reproductions. The wainscoting on the walls, as well as the entrance and exit doors, were decorated to resemble wood. At the orchestra level, the walls were wainscoted with octagonal panels that extended to the height of the balcony. A frieze, depicting scenes from the Theatre Guild's plays and important figures in the theater's construction, ran atop the auditorium walls. The frieze was designed by Victor White, Margaret White, and Stanley Rowland. The frieze ran above a band of modillions and was separated at regular intervals by massive plaster
corbel In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a superincumbent weight, a type of bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, whereas a console is a piece applied to the s ...
s, painted to imitate walnut. Since 1995, the modern auditorium's design has contained false balconies, exit doors, and a restored frieze. There is also green-and-gold carpeting and seats with orange upholstery.


= Other design features

= The main ceiling had large beams and smaller transverse beams made of metal, decorated to resemble heavy wooden beams. The
coffer A coffer (or coffering) in architecture is a series of sunken panels in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault. A series of these sunken panels was often used as decoration for a ceiling or a vault, also ...
s between the beams were decorated in red, gold, green, and blue. Two metal chandeliers were hung from the ceiling; one critic described the chandeliers as containing "tulip shaped lights". The ceiling over the balcony had a different design, partially overhanging the orchestra. The balcony ceiling was made of milky green plaster with gilded stars and was lit indirectly by golden glazed discs. After the 1950s renovations, the ceiling decorations were totally removed and plain chandeliers were suspended there. After 1995, the balcony ceiling was painted blue, and gilded stars and white glass globes were added. The stage is lower than in typical theaters of its time, extending over where the orchestra pit would normally be. This not only gave the impression of coziness but also allowed audience members in their first row to see a production without craning their necks. The stage opening is wide, and the stage itself measures deep and wide, making it New York City's fourth-largest stage when it opened. Traps were placed throughout the stage. The theater's large stage turned out to be a detriment, according to Lawrence Langner, a Guild cofounder. Langner reflected: "We made the ghastly mistake of providing a theater with all the stage space necessary for a repertory of plays without enough seating capacity to provide the income necessary to support the repertory".; The modern stage can be extended by up to using a curved stage apron. The Guild Theatre's
cyclorama A cyclorama is a panoramic image on the inside of a cylindrical platform, designed to give viewers standing in the middle of the cylinder a 360° view, and also a building designed to show a panoramic image. The intended effect is to make view ...
, the concave curtain at the back of the stage, measured high and could be retracted into the gridiron when not in use. A switchboard to the left of the stage controlled the lighting. A master switch controlled 156 dimmer plates and 200 switches, and the switchboard also controlled twelve spotlights in the ceiling. Scenery was controlled by a counterweight system on the stage itself, rather than from a fly gallery. The area above the stage's ceiling is tall, with the gridiron being above the stage. The height of the stage house and the gridiron allowed scenery for several productions to be stored at the same time.


Other interior spaces

On the upper stories, the front section of the theater building contained other rooms for the Guild. The executive offices were on the second story, while other offices were in the fourth story. The fifth story was above the auditorium and contained offices, rehearsal rooms for the Guild School of Acting, and a make-up room. These rooms were used for rehearsals, scenery painting, costume designing, sewing and repair work, and wardrobe storage. There is also an attic story underneath the tiled roof, which covers . The attic's ceiling ranges from high, requiring some bookcases and other furniture to be installed at a slant, parallel to the sloping roof. The club room, also known as the library, was behind the five large arches on the third story. It was accessed by its own elevator from the street. The club room had either green or blue walls and a red carpet. This room also had an Italian fireplace with a painted hood. On one wall was a niche with space for a writing table. The club room also had sofas, tables, lamps, and antique cabinets. A kitchenette and serving pantry, next to the club room, were used when the members hosted events. The classrooms, dressing rooms, and studios were in the western side of the theater, with the dressing rooms at the front of the building. The dressing rooms were arranged in several tiers because of limited space and because New York City building regulations forbade the construction of dressing facilities below the stage. The main performers typically were assigned dressing rooms nearest the stage, while supporting performers had to ascend several flights of stairs to reach their rooms. One architectural publication wrote that "the number of such flights the actor has to climb to reach his room accurately ndicateshis position in the company, for the higher he ascends the farther he is from stardom."


History

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...
became the epicenter for large-scale theater productions between 1900 and
the Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
. The Theatre Guild became a major producer on Broadway during the latter half of this era. The Guild had been founded in 1919 by Lawrence Langner,
Philip Moeller Philip Moeller (26 August 1880 – 26 April 1958) was an American stage producer and director, playwright and screenwriter, born in New York where he helped found the short-lived Washington Square Players and then with Lawrence Langner and Hel ...
,
Helen Westley Helen Westley (born Henrietta Remsen Meserole Manney; March 28, 1875 – December 12, 1942) was an American character actress of stage and screen Early years Westley was born Henrietta Remsen Meserole Manney in Brooklyn, New York on March 28, ...
, and
Theresa Helburn Theresa Helburn (January 12, 1887 – August 18, 1959)"Theresa Helburn"
Internet Broadway ...
as an outgrowth of the
Washington Square Players The Washington Square Players (WSP) was a theatre troupe and production company that existed from 1915 to 1918 in Manhattan, New York City. It started as a semi-amateur Little Theatre then matured into a Repertory theatre with its own tourin ...
. The Guild's first home was the
Garrick Theatre The Garrick Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, named after the stage actor David Garrick. It opened in 1889 with ''The Profligate'', a play by Arthur Wing Pinero, and another Pinero play ...
on 35th Street, which had 537 seats. The theatre company supported itself through a
subscription business model The subscription business model is a business model in which a customer must pay a recurring price at regular intervals for access to a product or service. The model was pioneered by publishers of books and periodicals in the 17th century, an ...
, wherein subscribers could pay in advance for a season's worth of productions. Though it started with 150 subscribers, the Guild had grown to 6,000 subscribers by 1923.


Development and early years


Planning and construction

At a dinner at the Waldorf–Astoria in March 1923, the Theatre Guild launched a fundraiser for the construction of a dedicated theater, which was estimated to cost $500,000. The proposed theater was to have double that capacity. A ''New York Times'' writer said the Theatre Guild "must be given room for healthy expansion or risk being permanently crippled". The next month, the Guild started selling bonds to pay for the construction cost. The bonds were sold exclusively to Guild subscribers for one week, during which subscribers bought $273,000 worth of bonds. Afterward, the Theatre Guild made the bond issue available to the general public. Early in the theater's planning, Geddes had proposed a quarter-circular auditorium, with the stage at the middle of the quarter-circle's curve. This arrangement would not have allowed a proper backstage area, so the stage would have been able to descend to the basement. This design was discarded because it did not comply with New York City fire codes. In addition, the Guild's varied membership were unable to agree on a unified design. By February 1924, the theatre company held an option to buy a site on 243–259 West 52nd Street. Plans for the theater were filed with the
New York City Department of Buildings The New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) is the department of the New York City government that enforces the city's building codes and zoning regulations, issues building permits, licenses, registers and disciplines certain construction ...
two months later at a projected cost of $350,000. Helburn hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for the Guild Theatre on December 2, 1924, with New York governor
Al Smith Alfred Emanuel Smith (December 30, 1873 – October 4, 1944) was an American politician who served four terms as Governor of New York and was the Democratic Party's candidate for president in 1928. The son of an Irish-American mother and a C ...
and four hundred theatrical personalities in attendance.


1920s

The Guild Theatre opened on April 13, 1925, when U.S. president
Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer ...
pressed a button in the White House to turn on the lights.; ; The first production was a revival of
George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...
's '' Caesar and Cleopatra'', with
Lionel Atwill Lionel Alfred William Atwill (1 March 1885 – 22 April 1946) was an English stage and screen actor. He began his acting career at the Garrick Theatre. After coming to the U.S., he subsequently appeared in various Broadway plays and Hollywood f ...
and
Helen Hayes Helen Hayes MacArthur ( Brown; October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was an American actress whose career spanned 80 years. She eventually received the nickname "First Lady of American Theatre" and was the second person and first woman to have w ...
, which ran for 128 performances.; There was much commentary about the design of the theater. Louis Kalonyme wrote that, "though the Guild Theatre is a refreshing structure, one is not exactly prostrate with admiration before it. One wonders a little, and speculates." Claude Bragdon called the facade "well composed" and "truthful". Most of the Guild Theatre's productions lasted long enough that the theatre company's 15,000 subscribers had a chance to see each show. A production would typically run several weeks at the theater, relocating to a larger venue if it was favorably received. The Theatre Guild also implemented a program of "alternating repertory" at the Guild Theatre and its other theaters in the 1920s.; Actors appeared in multiple plays at the Theatre Guild's venues, switching at regular intervals (often a week). The Guild Theatre largely featured non-Americans' works during the 1920s. In addition to the plays, the Guild Theatre sometimes hosted musical recitals. Shaw's play ''
Arms and the Man ''Arms and the Man'' is a comedy by George Bernard Shaw, whose title comes from the opening words of Virgil's ''Aeneid'', in Latin: ''Arma virumque cano'' ("Of arms and the man I sing"). The play was first produced on 21 April 1894 at the Aven ...
'' with
Alfred Lunt Alfred David Lunt (August 12, 1892 – August 3, 1977) was an American actor and director, best known for his long stage partnership with his wife, Lynn Fontanne, from the 1920s to 1960, co-starring in Broadway theatre, Broadway and West End thea ...
and
Lynn Fontanne Lynn Fontanne (; 6 December 1887 – 30 July 1983) was an English actress. After early success in supporting roles in the West End, she met the American actor Alfred Lunt, whom she married in 1922 and with whom she co-starred in Broadway and We ...
opened at the Guild Theatre in September 1925, followed by
Ferenc Molnár Ferenc Molnár ( , ; born Ferenc Neumann; 12 January 18781 April 1952), often anglicized as Franz Molnar, was a Hungarian-born author, stage-director, dramatist, and poet, widely regarded as Hungary’s most celebrated and controversial play ...
's play ''The Glass Slipper''.
Lunt and Fontanne starred in many of the Guild Theatre's early plays, mostly performing together.; The couple's appearances included ''Goat Song'', ''At Mrs. Beam's'', and ''Juarez and Maximilian'' in 1926; ''
The Brothers Karamazov ''The Brothers Karamazov'' (russian: Братья Карамазовы, ''Brat'ya Karamazovy'', ), also translated as ''The Karamazov Brothers'', is the last novel by Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. Dostoevsky spent nearly two years writing '' ...
'', ''The Second Man'', and '' The Doctor's Dilemma'' in 1927; ''Caprice'' in 1928; and ''Meteor'' in 1929. Sometimes, only one spouse appeared, such as Fontanne in ''
Pygmalion Pygmalion or Pigmalion may refer to: Mythology * Pygmalion (mythology), a sculptor who fell in love with his statue Stage * ''Pigmalion'' (opera), a 1745 opera by Jean-Philippe Rameau * ''Pygmalion'' (Rousseau), a 1762 melodrama by Jean-Jacques ...
'' (1926) and Lunt in ''Marco Millions'' (1928). Other plays during the 1920s included ''Right You Are if You Think You Are'' with Edward G. Robinson in 1927, as well as ''
Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroads ...
'' with
Helen Chandler Helen Chandler (February 1, 1906 – April 30, 1965) was an American film and theater actress, best known for playing Mina Seward in the 1931 horror film ''Dracula (1931 English-language film), Dracula''. Career Born in Charleston, So ...
,
Dudley Digges Sir Dudley Digges (19 May 1583 – 18 March 1639) was an English diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1610 and 1629. Digges was also a "Virginia adventurer," an investor who ventured his capital in the Virginia ...
, and
George Gaul George Gaul (September 22, 1885 – October 6, 1939) was an American stage actor in the first half of the 20th century. As far as is known Gaul never appeared in motion pictures but was one America's most successful stage actors in the 1920s. He ...
in 1928.
Alice Brady Alice Brady (born Mary Rose Brady; November 2, 1892 – October 28, 1939) was an American actress who began her career in the silent film era and survived the transition into talkies. She worked until six months before her death from cancer in ...
, Otto Kruger, and Claude Rains performed in ''Karl and Anna'' and ''The Game of Love and Death'' in 1929, and
Gale Sondergaard Gale Sondergaard (born Edith Holm Sondergaard; February 15, 1899 – August 14, 1985) was an American actress. Sondergaard began her acting career in theater and progressed to films in 1936. She was the first recipient of the Academy Awar ...
also appeared in ''Karl and Anna''.


1930s

During the Great Depression, the Theatre Guild scaled back its alternating-repertory program. The Guild Theatre's productions during 1930 included
Ivan Turgenev Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (; rus, links=no, Ива́н Серге́евич Турге́невIn Turgenev's day, his name was written ., p=ɪˈvan sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ tʊrˈɡʲenʲɪf; 9 November 1818 – 3 September 1883 (Old Style dat ...
's play '' A Month in the Country'' with Digges,
Alla Nazimova Alla Nazimova (Russian: Алла Назимова; born Marem-Ides Leventon, Russian: Марем-Идес Левентон; June 3 Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._May_22.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>O ...
,
Henry Travers Travers John Heagerty (5 March 1874 – 18 October 1965), known professionally as Henry Travers, was an English film and stage character actor. His best known role was the guardian angel Clarence Odbody in the 1946 film ''It's a Wonderful Life' ...
, and
Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress in film, stage, and television. Her career as a Hollywood leading lady spanned over 60 years. She was known for her headstrong independence, spirited perso ...
;; ; the revue ''
The Garrick Gaieties ''Garrick Gaieties'' is a revue with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Lorenz Hart, the first successful musical by this songwriting team. It debuted in 1925 on Broadway and was the first of three ''Garrick Gaiety'' revues, which were subs ...
'';'''' and
Maxwell Anderson James Maxwell Anderson (December 15, 1888 – February 28, 1959) was an American playwright, author, poet, journalist, and lyricist. Background Anderson was born on December 15, 1888, in Atlantic, Pennsylvania, the second of eight children to ...
's play '' Elizabeth the Queen'' with Lunt and Fontanne.
The next year, the theater hosted
Lynn Riggs Rollie Lynn Riggs (August 31, 1899 – June 30, 1954) was an American author, poet, playwright and screenwriter. His 1931 play ''Green Grow The Lilacs'' was adapted into the landmark 1943 musical ''Oklahoma!''. Early life Riggs was born on a ...
's play ''Green Grow the Lilacs'' (subsequently the inspiration for the musical ''
Oklahoma! ''Oklahoma!'' is the first musical theater, musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, ''Green Grow the Lilacs (play), Green Grow the Lilacs''. Set in farm country outside the town of ...
''; ; ) and
Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of realism, earlier ...
's play ''
Mourning Becomes Electra ''Mourning Becomes Electra'' is a play cycle written by American playwright Eugene O'Neill. The play premiered on Broadway at the Guild Theatre on 26 October 1931 where it ran for 150 performances before closing in March 1932, starring Lee Baker ...
''. In 1932, the Guild Theatre hosted Shaw's play '' Too True to Be Good'' with Beatrice Lillie and
Hope Williams Hope Williams Brady is a fictional character from '' Days of Our Lives'', an American soap opera on the NBC network. Created by writer William J. Bell, she was portrayed by Kristian Alfonso on and off from April 1983 to October 2020. Hope is a mem ...
;; ; a theatrical version of
Pearl S. Buck Pearl Sydenstricker Buck (June 26, 1892 – March 6, 1973) was an American writer and novelist. She is best known for ''The Good Earth'' a bestselling novel in the United States in 1931 and 1932 and won the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel, Pulitze ...
's novel ''
The Good Earth ''The Good Earth'' is a historical fiction novel by Pearl S. Buck published in 1931 that dramatizes family life in a Chinese village in the early 20th century. It is the first book in her ''House of Earth'' trilogy, continued in ''Sons'' (1932) ...
'' with Nazimova, Rains, Travers,
Sydney Greenstreet Sydney Hughes Greenstreet (December 27, 1879 – January 18, 1954) was a British-American actor. While he did not begin his career in films until the age of 61, he had a run of significant motion pictures in a Hollywood career lasting throu ...
, and
Jessie Ralph Jessie Ralph Patton ( Chambers; November 5, 1864 – May 30, 1944), known as Jessie Ralph, was an American stage and screen actress, best known for her matronly roles in many classic films. Early life Jessie Ralph Chambers was the 13th child ...
; and S. N. Behrman's comedy ''
Biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...
'' with
Ina Claire Ina Claire (born Ina Fagan; October 15, 1893February 21, 1985) was an American stage and film actress. Early years Ina Fagan was born October 15, 1893 in Washington, D.C. After the death of her father, Claire began doing imitations of fellow bo ...
''.''
W. Somerset Maugham William Somerset Maugham ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German un ...
's translation of the Italian play ''The Mask and the Face'' opened in 1933 with
Judith Anderson Dame Frances Margaret Anderson, (10 February 18973 January 1992), known professionally as Judith Anderson, was an Australian actress who had a successful career in stage, film and television. A pre-eminent stage actress in her era, she won two ...
, Humphrey Bogart, Shirley Booth, and
Leo G. Carroll Leo Gratten Carroll (25 October 1886 – 16 October 1972) was an English actor. In a career of more than forty years, he appeared in six Hitchcock films including ''Spellbound'', '' Strangers on a Train'' and ''North by Northwest'' and in thre ...
.; ; It was followed that year by O'Neill's comedy ''
Ah, Wilderness! ''Ah, Wilderness!'' is a comedy by American playwright Eugene O'Neill that premiered on Broadway at the Guild Theatre on October 2, 1933. It differs from a typical O'Neill play in its happy ending for the central character, and depiction of a ...
'' with
George M. Cohan George Michael Cohan (July 3, 1878November 5, 1942) was an American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer and theatrical producer. Cohan began his career as a child, performing with his parents and sister in a vaudev ...
and
Gene Lockhart Edwin Eugene Lockhart (July 18, 1891 – March 31, 1957)"Gene Lockhart"
''The ...
. By the mid-1930s, the Guild Theatre and the neighboring Alvin (now Neil Simon) Theatre were the northernmost venues in the Theater District that still hosted legitimate shows. The Guild Theatre hosted ''
A Sleeping Clergyman ''A Sleeping Clergyman'' is a 1933 play in Two Acts by James Bridie. Directed by H. K. Ayliff, it opened at Malvern's Festival Theatre in July 1933, before moving to London's Piccadilly Theatre in September, where it ran for 230 performances. ...
''; and Anderson's play ''
Valley Forge Valley Forge functioned as the third of eight winter encampments for the Continental Army's main body, commanded by General George Washington, during the American Revolutionary War. In September 1777, Congress fled Philadelphia to escape the ...
'' in 1934. The revue ''Parade'' opened the next year, along with the play ''
The Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken ...
'' with Lunt, Fontanne, Greenstreet, and
Richard Whorf Richard Whorf (June 4, 1906 – December 14, 1966) was an American actor, writer and film director. Life and acting career Whorf was born in Winthrop, Massachusetts to Harry and Sarah (née Lee) Whorf. His older brother was linguist Benjamin Le ...
. Other 1930s plays at the Guild Theatre included Behrman's play ''End of Summer'' in 1936; ; and
Ben Hecht Ben Hecht (; February 28, 1894 – April 18, 1964) was an American screenwriter, director, producer, playwright, journalist, and novelist. A successful journalist in his youth, he went on to write 35 books and some of the most enjoyed screenplay ...
's play ''To Quito and Back'' in 1937. The interior was renovated and repainted prior to the opening of ''To Quito and Back''. The Theatre Guild was having trouble booking long-lasting productions by the late 1930s.; Many successful plays left after 50 performances, with flops having even shorter runs. Other issues concerned the theater's small capacity and the Guild's focus on experimental productions that could not be staged elsewhere. In 1938, the Theatre Guild started leasing the theater to outside producers. First among them was
Gilbert Miller } Gilbert Heron Miller (July 3, 1884 – January 3, 1969) was an American theatrical producer. Born in New York City, he was the son of English-born theatrical producer Henry Miller and Bijou Heron, a former child actress. Raised and educated i ...
, who opened a production of the
J. B. Priestley John Boynton Priestley (; 13 September 1894 – 14 August 1984) was an English novelist, playwright, screenwriter, broadcaster and social commentator. His Yorkshire background is reflected in much of his fiction, notably in ''The Good Compa ...
play '' I Have Been Here Before'' in October 1938, which had only 20 performances.; The
Thornton Wilder Thornton Niven Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American playwright and novelist. He won three Pulitzer Prizes — for the novel ''The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' and for the plays ''Our Town'' and ''The Skin of Our Teeth'' — a ...
play ''
The Merchant of Yonkers ''The Merchant of Yonkers'' is a 1938 play by Thornton Wilder. History ''The Merchant of Yonkers'' had its origins in a 1835 one-act farce ''A Day Well Spent'', by the English dramatist John Oxenford. In 1842 ''A Day Well Spent'' was extended int ...
'' opened that December with
Jane Cowl Jane Cowl (December 14, 1883 – June 22, 1950) was an American film and stage actress and playwright "notorious for playing lachrymose parts". Actress Jane Russell was named in Cowl's honor. Biography Cowl was born Jane Bailey in Boston, Mas ...
,
June Walker : ''For the American activist and former Hadassah leader, see June Walker (Hadassah)'' June Walker (June 14, 1900 – February 3, 1966) was an American stage and film actress. Early years Walker was born in New York City on June 14, 1900, an ...
, and
Percy Waram Percy Thomas Carne Waram ( ; 28 October 1880 – 5 October 1961) was a British-born stage and film actor who spent much of his career in the United States. His career lasted 55 years on the American stage, and he had memorable roles in ''The Shang ...
, though this play also closed after a short run.
William Saroyan William Saroyan (; August 31, 1908 – May 18, 1981) was an Armenian-American novelist, playwright, and short story writer. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1940, and in 1943 won the Academy Award for Best Story for the film ''The ...
's play ''My Heart's in the Highlands'', his first on Broadway, opened at the Guild Theatre in 1939.; Another Saroyan play followed the next year, ''
The Time of Your Life ''The Time of Your Life'' is a 1939 five-act play by American playwright William Saroyan. The play is the first drama to win both the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award. The play opened on Broadway in 1939. Cha ...
''.; ; The United Booking Office leased the Guild Theatre for one year starting in April 1940, sharing the theater's profits and losses. Numerous plays were staged at the Guild Theatre during the early 1940s, none of which were particularly successful. A revival of ''Ah, Wilderness!'' and
Sophie Treadwell Sophie Anita Treadwell (October 3, 1885 – February 20, 1970) was an American playwright and journalist of the first half of the 20th century. She is best known for her play ''Machinal'' which is often included in drama anthologies as an examp ...
's ''Hope for a Harvest'' appeared in 1941, while ''Papa Is All'', ''Yesterday’s Magic''; '' Mr. Sycamore'', and '' The Russian People'' all appeared in 1942.; By then, the Guild Theatre was too small for the Theatre Guild, which was more commonly using the much larger Shubert and St. James theaters.


Radio studio and ANTA purchase

In March 1943, the Theatre Guild leased the auditorium to
Mutual Broadcasting System The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the Old-time radio, golden ...
(MBS)'s radio station WOR for three years. WOR relocated from the New Amsterdam Roof, and the Guild Theatre's auditorium was converted into a studio called the WOR Mutual Theatre. The Theatre Guild continued to occupy the offices, dressing rooms, and rehearsal rooms next to the auditorium. Over the next month, MBS added loudspeakers and made acoustic modifications to the theater's interior, which ''The New York Times'' said had long suffered from "tonal defects". The Theatre Guild finally relocated its offices from the theater in 1944. The
Bowery Savings Bank The Bowery Savings Bank was a bank in New York City, chartered in May 1834. By 1980, it had over 35 branches in the New York metropolitan area. In 1992, it was sold to H. F. Ahmanson & Co. for $200 million. The bank's first branch at 130 Bowe ...
sold the $557,500 mortgage on the theater in 1946 to the Dorsar Enterprises Inc., which was owned by the
Shubert family The Shubert family was responsible for the establishment of the Broadway district, in New York City, as the hub of the theater industry in the United States. They dominated the legitimate theater and vaudeville in the first half of the 20th cen ...
. The West 52nd Street Theatre Company retained ownership of the theater. Malin Studios subsequently also occupied space in the building, and WOR continued to lease the auditorium on a monthly basis. By early 1949, the Shubert brothers had expressed interest in taking over the Guild Theatre as part of a reorganization of the West 52nd Street Theatre Company. The proposed sale faced resistance, in part because the Shuberts already operated 98 percent of all legitimate theaters in the United States, but there were no other bidders and federal judge Henry W. Goddard approved the plan that March. The plan was placed on hold pending the outcome of two judicial appeals. Goddard placed the theater for auction in January 1950, and the
American National Theater and Academy The American National Theatre and Academy (ANTA) is a non-profit theatre producer and training organization that was established in 1935 to be the official United States national theatre that would be an alternative to the for-profit Broadway houses ...
(ANTA) submitted the highest bid. ANTA had beat out the only other bidder, developer Irving Maidman. The WOR studios moved out that month. The former Guild Theatre was ANTA's first permanent home since the company was founded fifteen years prior. ANTA took title to the theater building that April. Under ANTA ownership, the theater was renamed the ANTA Playhouse and hosted a memorial to actress
Jane Cowl Jane Cowl (December 14, 1883 – June 22, 1950) was an American film and stage actress and playwright "notorious for playing lachrymose parts". Actress Jane Russell was named in Cowl's honor. Biography Cowl was born Jane Bailey in Boston, Mas ...
in July 1950, before its reopening.


ANTA operation


1950s

ANTA's first play at the theater was
Robinson Jeffers John Robinson Jeffers (January 10, 1887 – January 20, 1962) was an American poet, known for his work about the central California coast. Much of Jeffers's poetry was written in narrative and epic form. However, he is also known for his short ...
's ''The Tower Beyond Tragedy'' with
Judith Anderson Dame Frances Margaret Anderson, (10 February 18973 January 1992), known professionally as Judith Anderson, was an Australian actress who had a successful career in stage, film and television. A pre-eminent stage actress in her era, she won two ...
in November 1950.; ; This was followed the next month by a revival of the comedy ''
Twentieth Century The 20th (twentieth) century began on January 1, 1901 (1901, MCMI), and ended on December 31, 2000 (2000, MM). The 20th century was dominated by significant events that defined the modern era: Spanish flu, Spanish flu pandemic, World War I and ...
'' with
Gloria Swanson Gloria May Josephine Swanson (March 27, 1899April 4, 1983) was an American actress and producer. She first achieved fame acting in dozens of silent films in the 1920s and was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, most f ...
and
José Ferrer José Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón (January 8, 1912 – January 26, 1992) was a Puerto Rican actor and director of stage, film and television. He was one of the most celebrated and esteemed Hispanic American actors during his lifetime, w ...
. U.S. president
Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...
dedicated the ANTA Playhouse in April 1951, and the
American Academy of Dramatic Arts The American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) is a private performing arts conservatory with two locations, one in Manhattan and one in Los Angeles. The academy offers an associate degree in occupational studies and teaches drama and related art ...
leased space in the building the same year. Revivals continued for a short time, with productions of ''Mary Rose'' and ''
The School for Wives ''The School for Wives'' (french: L'école des femmes; ) is a theatrical comedy written by the seventeenth century French playwright Molière and considered by some critics to be one of his finest achievements. It was first staged at the Palai ...
'' in 1951, as well as ''
Desire Under the Elms ''Desire Under the Elms'' is a 1924 play written by Eugene O'Neill. Like ''Mourning Becomes Electra'', ''Desire Under the Elms'' signifies an attempt by O'Neill to adapt plot elements and themes of Greek tragedy to a rural New England setting. ...
'' and ''Golden Boy'' in 1952. The ANTA Playhouse also briefly hosted Mary Chase's play ''Mrs. McThing'' in 1952.; The ANTA Playhouse was closed for the next two years for a major renovation. The theater's capacity was increased to 1,215 seats, but all of the interior decorations were removed. One publication described the new decorative scheme as "an almost fascist Americana style", enhanced only by blue and gray paint and eagle motifs. The renovations were funded by Robert W. Dowling of the City Investing Company, as well as ANTA treasurer Roger L. Stevens, who held the theater's second mortgage. The ANTA Theatre was rededicated on December 18, 1954, hosting the William Archibald play ''Portrait of a Lady''. The next year, the theater hosted the play '' The Dark Is Light Enough'',; ; a musical rendition of the play '' Seventh Heaven'',; and a revival of ''
The Skin of Our Teeth ''The Skin of Our Teeth'' is a play by Thornton Wilder that won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It opened on October 15, 1942, at the Shubert Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut, before moving to the Plymouth Theatre on Broadway on November 18, ...
''. Lunt and Fontanne starred in the
Russel Crouse Russel Crouse (20 February 1893 – 3 April 1966) was an American playwright and librettist, best known for his work in the Broadway writing partnership of Lindsay and Crouse. Life and career Born in Findlay, Ohio, Crouse was the son of Sarah ...
and
Howard Lindsay Howard Lindsay, born Herman Nelke, (March 29, 1889 – February 11, 1968) was an American playwright, librettist, director, actor and theatrical producer. He is best known for his writing work as part of the collaboration of Lindsay and Crouse ...
comedy ''The Great Sebastians'' in early 1956. This was followed by ANTA's first long-running show at its theater,
Paddy Chayefsky Sidney Aaron "Paddy" Chayefsky (January 29, 1923 – August 1, 1981) was an American playwright, screenwriter and novelist. He is the only person to have won three solo Academy Awards for writing both adapted and original screenplays. He was ...
's play ''Middle of the Night'' with Edward G. Robinson, which ran for 477 performances.
The ANTA Theatre then hosted two dance engagements in 1957: the Dancers of India and the Dancers of Bali. Two long-running shows followed in 1958.; ; The comedy ''
Say, Darling ''Say, Darling'' is a three-act comic play by Abe Burrows and Richard and Marian Bissell about the creation of a Broadway musical. Although the play featured nine original songs with lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Jule Sty ...
'' with
Robert Morse Robert Alan Morse (May 18, 1931 – April 20, 2022) was an American actor, who starred in ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (musical), How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'', both the 1961 original Broadway production ...
,
Vivian Blaine Vivian Blaine (born Vivian Stapleton; November 21, 1921 – December 9, 1995) was an American actress and singer, best known for originating the role of Miss Adelaide in the musical theater production of ''Guys and Dolls'', as well as appearin ...
, and
Johnny Desmond Johnny Desmond (born Giovanni Alfredo De Simone; November 14, 1919 – September 6, 1985) was an American singer who was popular in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. Biography Early years Desmond was born Giovanni de Simone in Detroit, Michigan, ...
ran for 332 performances,;
and the play '' J.B.'' with Pat Hingle, Raymond Massey, and
Christopher Plummer Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer (December 13, 1929 – February 5, 2021) was a Canadian actor. His career spanned seven decades, gaining him recognition for his performances in film, stage, and television. He received multiple accolades, inc ...
lasted 364 performances.; By contrast,
Jean Anouilh Jean Marie Lucien Pierre Anouilh (; 23 June 1910 – 3 October 1987) was a French dramatist whose career spanned five decades. Though his work ranged from high drama to absurdist farce, Anouilh is best known for his 1944 play ''Antigone'', an a ...
's '' The Fighting Cock'' only had 87 performances in 1959.


1960s to early 1980s

James Thurber James Grover Thurber (December 8, 1894 – November 2, 1961) was an American cartoonist, writer, humorist, journalist and playwright. He was best known for his cartoons and short stories, published mainly in ''The New Yorker'' and collected ...
's revue ''
A Thurber Carnival ''A Thurber Carnival'' is a revue by James Thurber, adapted by the author from his stories, cartoons and casuals (humorous short pieces), nearly all of which originally appeared in ''The New Yorker''. It was directed by Burgess Meredith. Follow ...
'' opened at the ANTA Theatre in 1960.; ; This was followed in 1961 by
Hugh Wheeler Hugh Callingham Wheeler (19 March 1912 – 26 July 1987) was a British novelist, screenwriter, librettist, poet and translator. He resided in the United States from 1934 until his death and became a naturalized citizen in 1942. He had attended Lon ...
's play ''Big Fish, Little Fish'', as well as
Robert Bolt Robert Oxton Bolt (15 August 1924 – 20 February 1995) was an English playwright and a two-time Oscar-winning screenwriter, known for writing the screenplays for ''Lawrence of Arabia'', ''Doctor Zhivago'', and '' A Man for All Seasons'', ...
's play '' A Man for All Seasons'', the latter of which ran 637 performances over the next year. In 1963, the ANTA Theatre hosted ''The Advocate'', the first Broadway production whose run was simultaneously broadcast on
Westinghouse Broadcasting The Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, also known as Group W, was the broadcasting division of Westinghouse Electric Corporation. It owned several radio and television stations across the United States and distributed television shows for syndicat ...
. The ANTA Theatre staged two hits in 1964:
James Baldwin James Arthur Baldwin (August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987) was an American writer. He garnered acclaim across various media, including essays, novels, plays, and poems. His first novel, '' Go Tell It on the Mountain'', was published in 1953; de ...
's play ''
Blues for Mister Charlie ''Blues for Mister Charlie'' is James Baldwin's second play, a social commentary drama in three acts. It was first produced and published in 1964. The play is dedicated to the memory of Medgar Evers, his widow and children, and to the memory of th ...
'' and the two-person comedy ''The Owl and the Pussycat'' with
Diana Sands Diana Patricia Sands (August 22, 1934September 21, 1973) was an American actress, perhaps most known for her portrayal of Beneatha Younger, the sister of Sidney Poitier's character, Walter, in the original stage and film versions of Lorraine Han ...
and
Alan Alda Alan Alda (; born Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo; January 28, 1936) is an American actor, screenwriter, and director. A six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner, he is best known for playing Captain Benjamin "Hawkeye" Pierce in the war co ...
.; ; That year, Harris Masterson and Norman Twain leased the theater from ANTA for five years. The ANTA Theatre hosted
Peter Shaffer Sir Peter Levin Shaffer (; 15 May 1926 – 6 June 2016) was an English playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. He wrote numerous award-winning plays, of which several were adapted into films. Early life Shaffer was born to a Jewish family in L ...
's play ''
The Royal Hunt of the Sun ''The Royal Hunt of the Sun'' is a 1964 play by Peter Shaffer that dramatizes the relation of two worlds entering in a conflict by portraying two characters: Atahuallpa Inca and Francisco Pizarro. Performance history Premiere ''The Royal Hunt ...
'' in 1965,; ; which was the last successful production of the decade. Also in 1965, the ANTA Theatre installed an alcoholic bar, being the third Broadway theater to do so after New York state approved liquor sales at theaters. During the mid-1960s, ANTA operated the
ANTA Washington Square Theatre The ANTA Washington Square Theatre was a theatre located on 40 West Fourth Street, in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City. It was run by the American National Theater and Academy (ANTA) and initial home to the Repertory Theatre of Lin ...
in
Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
as a temporary home for the
Lincoln Center Theater The Vivian Beaumont Theater is a Broadway theater in the Lincoln Center complex at 150 West 65th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Operated by the nonprofit Lincoln Center Theater (LCT), the Beaumont is the only Broad ...
. The proceeds from the Washington Square Theatre were used to lower the mortgage on the ANTA Theatre on 52nd Street. The National Repertory Theatre performed at ANTA's 52nd Street theater in 1967, and the American Conservatory Theater performed in 1969.; The American Shakespeare Festival's production of ''
Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1 ...
''; and the Wilder play ''
Our Town ''Our Town'' is a 1938 metatheatrical three-act play by American playwright Thornton Wilder which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play tells the story of the fictional American small town of Grover's Corners between 1901 and 1913 thro ...
'' also appeared at the ANTA Theatre in 1969. ANTA and the Phoenix Theatre collaborated for the play ''Harvey'' with Helen Hayes,
James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality h ...
, and Jesse White,; which opened in 1970.
Several dance companies performed in 1971, including those of
Alvin Ailey Alvin Ailey Jr. (January 5, 1931 – December 1, 1989) was an American dancer, director, choreographer, and activist who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT). He created AAADT and its affiliated Alvin Ailey American Dance Cente ...
, the
Dance Theatre of Harlem Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) is an American professional ballet company and school based in Harlem, New York City. It was founded in 1969 under the directorship of Arthur Mitchell and later partnered with Karel Shook. Milton Rosenstock served ...
,
Louis Falco Louis Falco (August 2, 1942 – March 26, 1993) was an American dancer and choreographer. Life and career Louis Falco was born in New York City of southern Italian immigrant parents. He began his study of dance in the 1950s at The Henry Street ...
,
Pearl Lang Pearl Lang (May 29, 1921 – February 24, 2009) was an American dancer, choreographer and teacher renowned as an interpreter and propagator of the choreography style of Martha Graham, and also for her own longtime dance company, the Pearl Lang ...
,
Alwin Nikolais Alwin Nikolais (November 25, 1910 – May 8, 1993) was an American choreographer, dancer, composer, musician, teacher. He had created the Nikolais Dance Theatre, and was best known for his self-designed innovative costume, lighting and production ...
, and Paul Taylor. The same year, the hit musical ''
Purlie ''Purlie'' is a musical with a book by Ossie Davis, Philip Rose, and Peter Udell, lyrics by Udell and music by Gary Geld. It is based on Davis's 1961 play ''Purlie Victorious'', which was later made into the 1963 film '' Gone Are the Days!'' and ...
'' relocated to the ANTA Theatre from the
Broadway Theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...
.; The ANTA Theatre's later offerings tended to reflect the decrease in the number of hit productions on Broadway. Still, it hosted some successes such as ''
The Last of Mrs. Lincoln ''The Last of Mrs. Lincoln'' is a play by James Prideaux. It depicts the final 17 years of Mary Todd Lincoln's life that follow her husband's assassination. It ran on Broadway from December 12, 1972 to February 4, 1973, and featured Julie Harris ...
'' with
Julie Harris Julia Ann Harris (December 2, 1925August 24, 2013) was an American actress. Renowned for her classical and contemporary stage work, she received five Tony Awards for Best Actress in a Play. Harris debuted on Broadway in 1945, against the wish ...
in 1972. Two years later, ''
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' is a three-act play written by Tennessee Williams. An adaptation of his 1952 short story "Three Players of a Summer Game", the play was written by him between 1953 and 1955. One of Williams's more famous works and his p ...
'' opened with
Elizabeth Ashley Elizabeth Ann Cole, known professionally as Elizabeth Ashley (born August 30, 1939) is an American actress of theatre, film, and television. She has been nominated for three Tony Awards, winning once in 1962 for '' Take Her, She's Mine''. Ashle ...
,
Fred Gwynne Frederick Hubbard Gwynne (July 10, 1926 – July 2, 1993) was an American actor, artist and author widely known for his roles in the 1960s television sitcoms ''Car 54, Where Are You?'' as Francis Muldoon and as Herman Munster in ''The Munsters'' ...
,
Keir Dullea Keir Atwood Dullea (; born May 30, 1936) is an American actor. He played astronaut David Bowman in the 1968 film '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'' and its 1984 sequel, '' 2010: The Year We Make Contact''. His other film roles include '' David and Lisa ...
, and
Kate Reid Daphne Katherine Reid (4 November 1930 – 27 March 1993) was an English-born Canadian stage, film, and television actress. She played more than one thousand roles, most notably onstage in '' Death of a Salesman'', in the 1980 film ''Atlantic C ...
.; ; The musical '' Bubbling Brown Sugar'' opened at the ANTA Theatre in 1976, running for 766 performances.; In 1979, the theater hosted the Goodspeed Opera Company's production of ''
Whoopee! ''Whoopee!'' is a 1928 musical comedy with a book based on Owen Davis's play, ''The Nervous Wreck.'' The musical libretto was written by William Anthony McGuire, with music by Walter Donaldson and lyrics by Gus Kahn. The musical premiered on Bro ...
'' with Charles Repole,; ; as well as
Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and politi ...
's play '' Night and Day'' with Maggie Smith. ANTA Theatre hosted the Russian comedy '' The Suicide'' with
Derek Jacobi Sir Derek George Jacobi (; born 22 October 1938) is an English actor. He has appeared in various stage productions of William Shakespeare such as ''Hamlet'', ''Much Ado About Nothing'', ''Macbeth'', ''Twelfth Night'', ''The Tempest'', ''King ...
in the following year, which had a moderate run of 60 performances. ANTA's last three productions in 1981 were short-lived. ''Copperfield'' lasted for 13 performances, and the hit musical ''Annie'' stayed at the ANTA Theatre for one month, but ''Oh, Brother!'' closed after its third performance.
Afterward, ANTA relocated to
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...


Jujamcyn operation


1980s

James H. Binger and his wife Virginia McKnight Binger of
Jujamcyn Theaters Jujamcyn Theaters LLC , formerly the Jujamcyn Amusement Corporation, is a theatrical producing and theatre-ownership company in New York City. For many years Jujamcyn was owned by James H. Binger, former Chairman of Honeywell, and his wife, Virg ...
acquired the ANTA Theatre in August 1981. At the end of the year, Jujamcyn announced that the theater would be renamed the Virginia Theatre, after Mrs. Binger. The Pilobolus Dance Company was the first act at the renamed theater, performing in December 1981. At the end of the next year, a revival of the play ''Alice in Wonderland'' opened, running for less than a month. The
Rodgers and Hart Rodgers and Hart were an American songwriting partnership between composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and the lyricist Lorenz Hart (1895–1943). They worked together on 28 stage musicals and more than 500 songs from 1919 until Hart ...
musical ''
On Your Toes ''On Your Toes'' (1936) is a musical with a book by Richard Rodgers, George Abbott, and Lorenz Hart, music by Rodgers, and lyrics by Hart. It was adapted into a film in 1939. While teaching music at Knickerbocker University, Phil "Junior" Dol ...
'' opened in March 1983, staying for 505 performances. The
New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...
(LPC) had started to consider protecting the Virginia as a landmark in 1982, with discussions continuing over the next several years. The LPC designated the facades of the Virginia,
Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...
, and Simon theaters as landmarks in August 1985, along with the Ambassador's and Simon's interiors, over the objections of the three theaters' owners. The
New York City Board of Estimate The New York City Board of Estimate was a governmental body in New York City responsible for numerous areas of municipal policy and decisions, including the city budget, land-use, contracts, franchises, and water rates. Under the amendments effec ...
ratified the landmark designations in December 1985. When more Broadway theaters were being protected as landmarks in the late 1980s, deputy mayor Robert Esnard cited the removal of the Virginia's interior ornamentation as an "extreme example of what happens" when theater interiors were not preserved. ''The New York Times'' later said that "there was literally nothing left inside to preserve". The theater did not open at all between May 1984 and March 1986. The Virginia then hosted Emily Mann's play ''
Execution of Justice ''Execution of Justice'' is an ensemble cast, ensemble play by Emily Mann (director), Emily Mann chronicling the case of Dan White, who assassinated San Francisco mayor George Moscone and openly gay city supervisor Harvey Milk in November 197 ...
'' in March 1986 and
Michael Frayn Michael Frayn, FRSL (; born 8 September 1933) is an English playwright and novelist. He is best known as the author of the farce ''Noises Off'' and the dramas ''Copenhagen'' and ''Democracy''. His novels, such as '' Towards the End of the Mo ...
's play '' Wild Honey'' in December. A revival of the operetta ''
The Mikado ''The 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 Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...
'' was performed at the Virginia in 1987, and the attic was renovated the same year. The musical ''Carrie'' then opened the following May. ''Carrie'' lost about $7 million during its five performances (including $500,000 just on a renovation of the Virginia), and ''The New York Times'' called it "the most expensive quick flop in Broadway history". The interior was painted black for ''Carrie'', but the bare color scheme was retained after the musical's closure. Two revivals of hit productions had short runs at the Virginia in 1989: the play '' Run for Your Wife'' and the musical '' Shenandoah''. Afterward, Jujamcyn spent another $500,000 to restore the doors, marquee, and other parts of the theater. The Virginia finally had a hit when the musical '' City of Angels'' opened in December 1989, running 878 performances over two years.


1990s to mid-2010s

The musical ''
Jelly's Last Jam ''Jelly's Last Jam'' is a musical with a book by George C. Wolfe, lyrics by Susan Birkenhead, and music by Jelly Roll Morton and Luther Henderson. Based on the life and career of Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe, known as Jelly Roll Morton and general ...
'', with
Gregory Hines Gregory Oliver Hines (February 14, 1946 – August 9, 2003) was an American dancer, actor, choreographer, and singer. He is one of the most celebrated tap dancers of all time. As an actor, he is best known for '' Wolfen'' (1981), '' The Cotton C ...
and
Tonya Pinkins Tonya Pinkins (born May 30, 1962) is an American actress and filmmaker. Her award-winning debut feature film ''RED PILL'' was an official selection at the 2021 Pan African Film Festival, won the Best Black Lives Matter Feature and Best First Fea ...
, opened in April 1992 and ran for over a year. The Virginia Theatre's lobby and second-story restrooms were then renovated in the Art Deco style. A revival of the
Lerner and Loewe Lerner and Loewe refers to the partnership between lyricist and librettist Alan Jay Lerner and composer Frederick Loewe.Kenny, Ellen, and James M. Salem. “A Guide to Critical Reviews, Part II: The Musical from Rodgers-and-Hart to Lerner-and-Loe ...
musical ''
My Fair Lady ''My Fair Lady'' is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play ''Pygmalion'', with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons f ...
'' opened in December 1993, but it shuttered after 165 performances. Subsequently, Jujamcyn hired Campagna & Russo Architects to design a $2.2 million renovation of the theater's interior, except the lobby and restrooms. Since the interior was not protected as a landmark, restoration architect Francesca Russo had greater latitude to redesign the interior. Russo took inspiration not only from the
Palazzo Davanzati Palazzo Davanzati is a palace in Florence, Italy. It houses the Museum of the Old Florentine House. History Palazzo Davanzati was erected in the second half of the 14th century by the Davizzi family, who were wealthy members of the wool guild. In ...
, which had influenced the original design, but also from other Italian buildings and Atlanta's Fox Theatre. The auditorium's color scheme was changed to a "palette of autumnal colors", as Russo felt the original color scheme was suboptimal with modern lighting. The Virginia reopened in March 1995 with a production of ''Smokey Joe's Cafe'', which had 2,036 performances through 2000. In early 2000, the
Public Theater The Public Theater is a New York City arts organization founded as the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954 by Joseph Papp, with the intention of showcasing the works of up-and-coming playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: An American Li ...
produced
Michael John LaChiusa Michael John LaChiusa (born July 24, 1962) is an American musical theatre and opera composer, lyricist, and librettist. He is best known for musically esoteric shows such as '' Hello Again'', ''Marie Christine'', '' The Wild Party'', and '' See ...
's musical '' The Wild Party'', one of two musicals performed that season to be inspired by the poem " The Wild Party". It was followed by
Gore Vidal Eugene Luther Gore Vidal (; born Eugene Louis Vidal, October 3, 1925 – July 31, 2012) was an American writer and public intellectual known for his epigrammatic wit, erudition, and patrician manner. Vidal was bisexual, and in his novels and ...
's ''The Best Man'' during late 2000 and by
August Wilson August Wilson ( Frederick August Kittel Jr.; April 27, 1945 – October 2, 2005) was an American playwright. He has been referred to as the "theater's poet of Black America". He is best known for a series of ten plays, collectively called ' (or ...
's ''
King Hedley II ''King Hedley II'' is a play by American playwright August Wilson, the ninth in his ten-part series, ''The Pittsburgh Cycle''. The play ran on Broadway in 2001 and was revived Off-Broadway in 2007. Productions ''King Hedley II'' premiered at the ...
'' during mid-2001. Next, in 2002, the theater hosted revivals of the
Arthur Miller Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are '' All My Sons'' (1947), ''Death of a Salesman'' ( ...
play ''
The Crucible ''The Crucible'' is a 1953 play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during 1692–93. Miller wrote the play as a ...
'' and the
Rodgers and Hammerstein Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their popular ...
musical ''
Flower Drum Song ''Flower Drum Song'' was the eighth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on the 1957 novel, '' The Flower Drum Song'', by Chinese-American author C. Y. Lee. It premiered on Broadway in 1958 and was then performed in the ...
''.
Comedian Bill Maher performed a limited run of his solo show ''Victory Begins at Home'' in May 2003. The musical ''Little Shop of Horrors'' opened that October after almost canceling its Broadway appearance altogether; it lasted for 372 performances through 2004. Subsequently, the musical ''Little Women'' ran at the Virginia in early 2005. After James Binger died in 2004,
Rocco Landesman Rocco Landesman (born July 20, 1947) is a long-time Broadway theatre producer. He served as chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts from August 2009 to December 2012. He is a part owner of Jujamcyn Theaters. Early life Landesman was bor ...
bought the Virginia and Jujamcyn's four other theaters in 2005, along with the air rights above them. Landesman announced in September 2005 that he would rename the Virginia for August Wilson, the
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
-winning playwright, who had terminal cancer. Wilson died the next month, and the theater was renamed in his honor on October 16, two weeks after his death. Wilson was the first Black theatrical personality to have a Broadway theater named after him.
Jordan Roth Jordan Roth (born November 13, 1975) is an American theater producer. He is the president and majority owner of Jujamcyn Theaters in New York City. Roth oversees five Broadway theatres including the St. James, Al Hirschfeld, August Wilson, Euge ...
joined Jujamcyn as a resident producer the same year, and the musical ''
Jersey Boys ''Jersey Boys'' is a jukebox musical with music by Bob Gaudio, lyrics by Bob Crewe, and book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. It is presented in a documentary-style format that dramatizes the formation, success and eventual break-up of th ...
'' opened in November 2005. In 2009, Roth acquired a 50 percent stake in Jujamcyn and assumed full operation of the firm when Landesman joined the National Endowments of the Arts. Jujamcyn replaced the theater's seats in January 2012. ''Jersey Boys'' occupied the August Wilson for over a decade, running for 4,642 performances before closing in January 2017.


Late 2010s to present

The musical ''Groundhog Day'' opened at the theater in April 2017 and stayed until that September. It was followed at the end of the year by a concert, '' Home for the Holidays'' with Candice Glover,
Josh Kaufman Josh Kaufman (born November 9, 1976) is an American soul singer and singer-songwriter. A native of the Tampa Bay area in Florida, Kaufman is based out of and resides in Indianapolis, Indiana. He is best known for winning the season 6 of NBC's ' ...
,
Bianca Ryan Bianca Taylor Ryan (born September 1, 1994) is an American musician, singer and songwriter from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Ryan was the first winner of NBC's ''America's Got Talent'' at the age of eleven. Singing two Broadway show tunes along t ...
,
Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...
and
Evynne Hollens Evynne Hollens ( Smith) is a female vocalist who lives and works in her native Eugene, Oregon. She was one of the co-founders of the University of Oregon’s female a cappella group, Divisi, with which she sang for five years. Her name is the fir ...
, and Danny Aiello.'''' The musical ''Mean Girls'' opened at the August Wilson in April 2018. ''Mean Girls'' achieved the box office record for the August Wilson Theatre, grossing $1,994,386 for the week ending December 30, 2018. ''Mean Girls'' played its final performance on March 11, 2020, the night before the Broadway industry was shuttered due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. During the August Wilson's closure, its marquee was typically dimmed to memorialize pandemic victims. The marquee was re-lit in November 2020 to commemorate a longtime Jujamcyn stagehand killed in an accident at the
Winter Garden Theatre The Winter Garden Theatre is a Broadway theatre at 1634 Broadway in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It opened in 1911 under designs by architect William Albert Swasey. The Winter Garden's current design dates to 1922, when ...
. ''Mean Girls'' was officially canceled in January 2021, while the theater was still closed. As part of a settlement with the
United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...
in 2021, Jujamcyn agreed to improve disabled access at its five Broadway theaters, including the August Wilson. Also during the COVID-19 shutdown, the Shuberts, Nederlanders, and Jujamcyn had pledged to increase racial and cultural diversity in their theaters, including naming at least one theater for a Black theatrical personality. Jujamcyn was the only theatrical organization that had already named a theater for a Black artist. The theater reopened on August 4, 2021, with Antoinette Nwandu's play ''Pass Over'', making it the first Broadway house to resume performances during the COVID-19 pandemic. ''Pass Over'' had a limited run, closing in October 2021. A limited engagement of ''
Slave Play ''Slave Play'' is a three-act play by Jeremy O. Harris about race, sex, power relations, trauma, and interracial relationships.Lapacazo Sandoval, Contributing Writer. Slave Play' by Jeremy O. Harris a Real Look at Racism in America —Opening o ...
'' was then announced, running from November 2021 to January 2022. This was followed in April 2022 by a revival of the musical ''Funny Girl''.


Notable productions


Guild Theatre

*1925: '' Caesar and Cleopatra''
*1925: ''
Arms and the Man ''Arms and the Man'' is a comedy by George Bernard Shaw, whose title comes from the opening words of Virgil's ''Aeneid'', in Latin: ''Arma virumque cano'' ("Of arms and the man I sing"). The play was first produced on 21 April 1894 at the Aven ...
''
*1926: ''
Little Eyolf Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt * ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film *The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John P ...
''
*1926: '' Juarez and Maximilian''
*1926: ''
Pygmalion Pygmalion or Pigmalion may refer to: Mythology * Pygmalion (mythology), a sculptor who fell in love with his statue Stage * ''Pigmalion'' (opera), a 1745 opera by Jean-Philippe Rameau * ''Pygmalion'' (Rousseau), a 1762 melodrama by Jean-Jacques ...
''
*1927: '' Porgy''
*1927: '' The Doctor's Dilemma''
*1928: ''
Volpone ''Volpone'' (, Italian for "sly fox") is a comedy play by English playwright Ben Jonson first produced in 1605–1606, drawing on elements of city comedy and beast fable. A merciless satire of greed and lust, it remains Jonson's most-perfor ...
''
*1928: ''
Major Barbara ''Major Barbara'' is a three-act English play by George Bernard Shaw, written and premiered in 1905 and first published in 1907. The story concerns an idealistic young woman, Barbara Undershaft, who is engaged in helping the poor as a Major in ...
''
*1930: '' A Month in the Country'' *1930: ''
The Garrick Gaieties ''Garrick Gaieties'' is a revue with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Lorenz Hart, the first successful musical by this songwriting team. It debuted in 1925 on Broadway and was the first of three ''Garrick Gaiety'' revues, which were subs ...
''
*1930: '' Elizabeth the Queen'' *1931: ''
Green Grow the Lilacs Green Grow the Lilacs is a folk song of Irish origin that was popular in the United States during the mid-19th century. The song title is the source of a folk etymology for the word '' gringo'' that states that the Mexicans misheard U.S. troops ...
''
*1931: ''
Getting Married ''Getting Married'' is a play by George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influenc ...
''
*1931: ''
The Way of the World ''The Way of the World'' is a play written by the English playwright William Congreve. It premiered in early March 1700 in the theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields in London. It is widely regarded as one of the best Restoration comedies and is stil ...
''
*1931: ''
Mourning Becomes Electra ''Mourning Becomes Electra'' is a play cycle written by American playwright Eugene O'Neill. The play premiered on Broadway at the Guild Theatre on 26 October 1931 where it ran for 150 performances before closing in March 1932, starring Lee Baker ...
''
*1932: '' Too True to Be Good''
*1932: ''
The Good Earth ''The Good Earth'' is a historical fiction novel by Pearl S. Buck published in 1931 that dramatizes family life in a Chinese village in the early 20th century. It is the first book in her ''House of Earth'' trilogy, continued in ''Sons'' (1932) ...
''
*1932: ''
Biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...
''
*1933: ''
Both Your Houses ''Both Your Houses'' is a 1933 play written by American playwright Maxwell Anderson. It was produced by the Theatre Guild and staged by Worthington Miner with scenic design by Arthur P. Segal. It opened at the Royale Theatre on March 5, 1933 and r ...
''
*1933: ''
Ah, Wilderness! ''Ah, Wilderness!'' is a comedy by American playwright Eugene O'Neill that premiered on Broadway at the Guild Theatre on October 2, 1933. It differs from a typical O'Neill play in its happy ending for the central character, and depiction of a ...
''
*1934: ''
A Sleeping Clergyman ''A Sleeping Clergyman'' is a 1933 play in Two Acts by James Bridie. Directed by H. K. Ayliff, it opened at Malvern's Festival Theatre in July 1933, before moving to London's Piccadilly Theatre in September, where it ran for 230 performances. ...
''
*1934: ''
Valley Forge Valley Forge functioned as the third of eight winter encampments for the Continental Army's main body, commanded by General George Washington, during the American Revolutionary War. In September 1777, Congress fled Philadelphia to escape the ...
''
*1935: ''
The Simpleton of the Unexpected Isles ''The Simpleton of the Unexpected Isles: A Vision of Judgement'' is a 1934 play by George Bernard Shaw. The play is a satirical allegory about an attempt to create a utopian society on a Polynesian island that has recently emerged from the sea. T ...
''
*1935: ''
Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, float (parade), floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually ce ...
''
*1935: ''
The Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken ...
''
*1938: '' I Have Been Here Before''
*1938: ''
The Merchant of Yonkers ''The Merchant of Yonkers'' is a 1938 play by Thornton Wilder. History ''The Merchant of Yonkers'' had its origins in a 1835 one-act farce ''A Day Well Spent'', by the English dramatist John Oxenford. In 1842 ''A Day Well Spent'' was extended int ...
''
*1939: ''
Jeremiah Jeremiah, Modern:   , Tiberian: ; el, Ἰερεμίας, Ieremíās; meaning " Yah shall raise" (c. 650 – c. 570 BC), also called Jeremias or the "weeping prophet", was one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish ...
''
*1939: '' My Heart's in the Highlands''
*1940: ''
The Time of Your Life ''The Time of Your Life'' is a 1939 five-act play by American playwright William Saroyan. The play is the first drama to win both the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award. The play opened on Broadway in 1939. Cha ...
'' *1941: ''
Ah, Wilderness! ''Ah, Wilderness!'' is a comedy by American playwright Eugene O'Neill that premiered on Broadway at the Guild Theatre on October 2, 1933. It differs from a typical O'Neill play in its happy ending for the central character, and depiction of a ...
''
*1942: '' Mr. Sycamore''
*1942: '' The Russian People''


ANTA Playhouse/ANTA Theatre

*1950: ''
Twentieth Century The 20th (twentieth) century began on January 1, 1901 (1901, MCMI), and ended on December 31, 2000 (2000, MM). The 20th century was dominated by significant events that defined the modern era: Spanish flu, Spanish flu pandemic, World War I and ...
''
*1951: ''
The House of Bernarda Alba ''The House of Bernarda Alba'' ( es, La casa de Bernarda Alba) is a play by the Spanish dramatist Federico García Lorca. Commentators have often grouped it with ''Blood Wedding'' and ''Yerma'' as a "rural trilogy". Garcia Lorca did not include ...
''
*1951: ''
Peer Gynt ''Peer Gynt'' (, ) is a five- act play in verse by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen published in 1876. Written in Norwegian, it is one of the most widely performed Norwegian plays. Ibsen believed ''Per Gynt'', the Norwegian fairy tale on wh ...
''
*1951: ''
Mary Rose The ''Mary Rose'' (launched 1511) is a carrack-type warship of the English Tudor navy of King Henry VIII. She served for 33 years in several wars against France, Scotland, and Brittany. After being substantially rebuilt in 1536, she saw her ...
''
*1951: ''
The School for Wives ''The School for Wives'' (french: L'école des femmes; ) is a theatrical comedy written by the seventeenth century French playwright Molière and considered by some critics to be one of his finest achievements. It was first staged at the Palai ...
''
*1951: '' Night Music''
*1951: ''
Getting Married ''Getting Married'' is a play by George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influenc ...
''
*1952: ''
Desire Under the Elms ''Desire Under the Elms'' is a 1924 play written by Eugene O'Neill. Like ''Mourning Becomes Electra'', ''Desire Under the Elms'' signifies an attempt by O'Neill to adapt plot elements and themes of Greek tragedy to a rural New England setting. ...
''
*1952: ''
Angna Enters Anita "Angna" Enters (April 18, 1897 – February 25, 1989) was an American dancer, mime, painter, writer, novelist and playwright.Biographical note, Angna Enters Papers, Jerome Robbins Dance Division. The New York Public Library for the Perform ...
''
*1952: '' Golden Boy''
*1952: ''
Mrs. McThing Mary Chase ( Mary Agnes McDonough Coyle; February 25, 1906 – October 20, 1981) was an American journalist, playwright and children's novelist, known primarily for writing the 1944 Broadway (theatre), Broadway play ''Harvey (play), Harvey'', w ...
'' *1955: '' The Dark Is Light Enough''
*1955: ''
The Skin of Our Teeth ''The Skin of Our Teeth'' is a play by Thornton Wilder that won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It opened on October 15, 1942, at the Shubert Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut, before moving to the Plymouth Theatre on Broadway on November 18, ...
''
*1955: ''
A Day by the Sea ''A Day by the Sea'' is a 1953 play by the British writer N. C. Hunter, first produced in 1953. First productions After premiering at the Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool on 26 October 1953 the play transferred to the Haymarket Theatre in the We ...
''
*1958: ''
Say, Darling ''Say, Darling'' is a three-act comic play by Abe Burrows and Richard and Marian Bissell about the creation of a Broadway musical. Although the play featured nine original songs with lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Jule Sty ...
'' *1958: '' J.B.''
*1959: '' The Fighting Cock''
*1960: ''
A Thurber Carnival ''A Thurber Carnival'' is a revue by James Thurber, adapted by the author from his stories, cartoons and casuals (humorous short pieces), nearly all of which originally appeared in ''The New Yorker''. It was directed by Burgess Meredith. Follow ...
''
*1961: ''
The Conquering Hero ''The Conquering Hero'' is a musical with a music by Mark Charlap, lyrics by Norman Gimbel, and book by Larry Gelbart. The musical was based on Preston Sturges's 1944 film ''Hail the Conquering Hero''. The musical ran for only eight performances ...
''
*1961: '' Big Fish, Little Fish''
*1961: '' Jerome Robbins' Ballet: U.S.A.''
*1961: '' A Man for All Seasons''
*1964: ''
Blues for Mister Charlie ''Blues for Mister Charlie'' is James Baldwin's second play, a social commentary drama in three acts. It was first produced and published in 1964. The play is dedicated to the memory of Medgar Evers, his widow and children, and to the memory of th ...
''
*1964: '' Traveller Without Luggage''
*1964: ''
The Owl and the Pussycat "The Owl and the Pussy-cat" is a nonsense poem by Edward Lear, first published in 1870 in the American magazine '' Our Young Folks: an Illustrated Magazine for Boys and Girls'' and again the following year in Lear's own book ''Nonsense Songs, S ...
''
*1965: ''
The Royal Hunt of the Sun ''The Royal Hunt of the Sun'' is a 1964 play by Peter Shaffer that dramatizes the relation of two worlds entering in a conflict by portraying two characters: Atahuallpa Inca and Francisco Pizarro. Performance history Premiere ''The Royal Hunt ...
''
*1966: ''
Manuela Vargas Manuela Vargas (born ) is a Colombian volleyball player. She is part of the Colombia women's national volleyball team. She participated in the 2015 FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix The 2015 FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix was the 23rd editi ...
''
*1967: '' The Imaginary Invalid''
*1967: ''
A Touch of the Poet ''A Touch of the Poet'' is a play by Eugene O'Neill completed in 1942 but not performed until 1958, after his death. It and its sequel, ''More Stately Mansions'', were intended to be part of a nine- play cycle entitled ''A Tale of Possessors Sel ...
''
*1967: '' Tonight at 8.30''
*1967: ''
Song of the Grasshopper ''Song of the Grasshopper'' is a 1967 play. The New York production starred Alfred Drake. ...
''
*1967: ''
The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald''
*1967: '' Spofford''
*1968: ''
Maggie Flynn ''Maggie Flynn'' is a 1968 musical with a book by Morton DaCosta and music and lyrics by Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore, and George David Weiss. Based on an idea by John Flaxman, it was inspired by a true story set in the New York Draft Riots of 1 ...
''
*1969: '' A Teaspoon Every Four Hours''
*1969: ''
Tiny Alice ''Tiny Alice'' is a three-act play written by Edward Albee that premiered on Broadway at the Billy Rose Theatre in 1964. Synopsis Powerful widow Miss Alice and her lawyer offer a generous grant to the church on the condition that the cardinal' ...
/
A Flea in Her Ear ''A Flea in Her Ear'' (french: La Puce à l'oreille) is a play by Georges Feydeau written in 1907, at the height of the Belle Époque. The author called it a vaudeville, but in Anglophone countries, where it is the most popular of Feydeau's play ...
/ The Three Sisters'' *1969: ''
King Henry V Henry V (16 September 1386 – 31 August 1422), also called Henry of Monmouth, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1413 until his death in 1422. Despite his relatively short reign, Henry's outstanding military successes in the ...
''
*1969: ''
Our Town ''Our Town'' is a 1938 metatheatrical three-act play by American playwright Thornton Wilder which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play tells the story of the fictional American small town of Grover's Corners between 1901 and 1913 thro ...
''
*1969: '' No Place to Be Somebody''
*1970: ''
National Theatre of the Deaf The National Theatre of the Deaf (NTD) is a Connecticut-based theatre company founded in 1967, and is the oldest theatre company in the United States with a continuous history of domestic and international touring, as well as producing original wo ...
''
*1970: ''
Harvey Harvey, Harveys or Harvey's may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Harvey'' (play), a 1944 play by Mary Chase about a man befriended by an invisible anthropomorphic rabbit * Harvey Awards ("Harveys"), one of the most important awards ...
'' *1970: ''
The Cherry Orchard ''The Cherry Orchard'' (russian: Вишнёвый сад, translit=Vishnyovyi sad) is the last play by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. Written in 1903, it was first published by ''Znaniye'' (Book Two, 1904), and came out as a separate edition ...
''
*1970: ''
Othello ''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cypru ...
''
*1970: '' Amahl and the Night Visitors/ Help, Help, the Globolinks!'' *1971: ''
Purlie ''Purlie'' is a musical with a book by Ossie Davis, Philip Rose, and Peter Udell, lyrics by Udell and music by Gary Geld. It is based on Davis's 1961 play ''Purlie Victorious'', which was later made into the 1963 film '' Gone Are the Days!'' and ...
''
*1972: '' Different Times''
*1972: ''
The Last of Mrs. Lincoln ''The Last of Mrs. Lincoln'' is a play by James Prideaux. It depicts the final 17 years of Mary Todd Lincoln's life that follow her husband's assassination. It ran on Broadway from December 12, 1972 to February 4, 1973, and featured Julie Harris ...
''
*1974: ''
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' is a three-act play written by Tennessee Williams. An adaptation of his 1952 short story "Three Players of a Summer Game", the play was written by him between 1953 and 1955. One of Williams's more famous works and his p ...
''
*1975: '' A Letter for Queen Victoria''
*1975: '' Summer Brave''
*1976: '' Bubbling Brown Sugar''
*1978: ''
First Monday in October ''First Monday in October'' is a 1978 play by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee. The title refers to the day on which the United States Supreme Court traditionally convenes following its summer recess. Productions The play premiered on Broadway ...
''
*1979: ''
Whoopee! ''Whoopee!'' is a 1928 musical comedy with a book based on Owen Davis's play, ''The Nervous Wreck.'' The musical libretto was written by William Anthony McGuire, with music by Walter Donaldson and lyrics by Gus Kahn. The musical premiered on Bro ...
''
*1979: '' Night and Day''
*1980: '' The Suicide''
*1981: '' Copperfield''
*1981: ''
Annie Annie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Annie (given name), a given name and a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Annie (actress) (born 1975), Indian actress * Annie (singer) (born 1977), Norwegian singer The ...
''


Virginia Theatre

*1982: '' Alice in Wonderland''
*1983: ''
On Your Toes ''On Your Toes'' (1936) is a musical with a book by Richard Rodgers, George Abbott, and Lorenz Hart, music by Rodgers, and lyrics by Hart. It was adapted into a film in 1939. While teaching music at Knickerbocker University, Phil "Junior" Dol ...
''
*1986: ''
Execution of Justice ''Execution of Justice'' is an ensemble cast, ensemble play by Emily Mann (director), Emily Mann chronicling the case of Dan White, who assassinated San Francisco mayor George Moscone and openly gay city supervisor Harvey Milk in November 197 ...
''
*1986: '' Wild Honey''
*1987: ''
The Mikado ''The 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 Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...
''
*1988: ''
Carrie Carrie may refer to: People * Carrie (name), a female given name and occasionally a surname Places in the United States * Carrie, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * Carrie, Virginia, an unincorporated community * Carrie Glacier, Olympic Nati ...
''
*1989: '' Run for Your Wife''
*1989: '' Shenandoah''
*1989: '' City of Angels''
; *1992: ''
Jelly's Last Jam ''Jelly's Last Jam'' is a musical with a book by George C. Wolfe, lyrics by Susan Birkenhead, and music by Jelly Roll Morton and Luther Henderson. Based on the life and career of Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe, known as Jelly Roll Morton and general ...
''
*1993: ''
My Fair Lady ''My Fair Lady'' is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play ''Pygmalion'', with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons f ...
''
*1995: '' Smokey Joe's Cafe''
*2000: '' The Wild Party''
*2000: '' Gore Vidal's The Best Man''
*2001: ''
King Hedley II ''King Hedley II'' is a play by American playwright August Wilson, the ninth in his ten-part series, ''The Pittsburgh Cycle''. The play ran on Broadway in 2001 and was revived Off-Broadway in 2007. Productions ''King Hedley II'' premiered at the ...
''
*2002: ''
The Crucible ''The Crucible'' is a 1953 play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during 1692–93. Miller wrote the play as a ...
''
*2002: ''
Flower Drum Song ''Flower Drum Song'' was the eighth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on the 1957 novel, '' The Flower Drum Song'', by Chinese-American author C. Y. Lee. It premiered on Broadway in 1958 and was then performed in the ...
'' *2003: '' Bill Maher: Victory Begins At Home''
*2003: '' Little Shop of Horrors''
*2005: '' Little Women''


August Wilson Theatre

*2005: ''
Jersey Boys ''Jersey Boys'' is a jukebox musical with music by Bob Gaudio, lyrics by Bob Crewe, and book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. It is presented in a documentary-style format that dramatizes the formation, success and eventual break-up of th ...
''
*2017: ''
Groundhog Day Groundhog Day ( pdc, Grund'sau dåk, , , ; Nova Scotia: Daks Day) is a popular North American tradition observed in the United States and Canada on February 2. It derives from the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if a groundhog emerges from ...
''
*2017: '' Home for the Holidays''
*2018: ''
Mean Girls ''Mean Girls'' is a 2004 American teen comedy film directed by Mark Waters and written by Tina Fey. The film stars Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Lacey Chabert, Amanda Seyfried (in her film debut), Tim Meadows, Ana Gasteyer, Amy Poehler a ...
''
*2021: '' Pass Over''
*2021: ''
Slave Play ''Slave Play'' is a three-act play by Jeremy O. Harris about race, sex, power relations, trauma, and interracial relationships.Lapacazo Sandoval, Contributing Writer. Slave Play' by Jeremy O. Harris a Real Look at Racism in America —Opening o ...
''
*2022: '' Funny Girl''


See also

*
List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan from 14th to 59th Streets A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...
*
List of Broadway theaters There are 41 active Broadway theaters listed by The Broadway League in New York City, as well as eight existing structures that previously hosted Broadway theatre. Beginning with the first large long-term theater in the city, the Park Theatre ...


References


Notes


Citations


Sources

* * * * * * * * *


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, August, Theatre 1925 establishments in New York (state) Broadway theatres Jujamcyn New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan Theater District, Manhattan Theatres completed in 1925