The Comedy Theatre was 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 ...

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perfor ...

located at 110 West 41st Street in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

that opened in 1909. It presented the first Broadway appearances of

Katharine Cornell Katharine Cornell (February 16, 1893June 9, 1974) was an American stage actress, writer, theater owner and producer. She was born in Berlin to American parents and raised in Buffalo, New York. Dubbed "The First Lady of the Theatre" by critic A ...

and

Ruth Draper Ruth Draper (December 2, 1884December 30, 1956) was an American actress, dramatist and noted diseuse who specialized in character-driven monologues and monodrama. Her best-known pieces include ''The Italian Lesson'', ''Three Women and Mr. Cliff ...

, as well as

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, earli ...

's first Broadway play. Shuttered in the wake of the Depression, it reopened in 1937 as the Mercury Theatre — the venue for

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

's groundbreaking adaptation of Shakespeare's ''Julius Caesar'' and other productions for the

Mercury Theatre The Mercury Theatre was an independent repertory theatre company founded in New York City in 1937 by Orson Welles and producer John Houseman. The company produced theatrical presentations, radio programs and motion pictures. The Mercury als ...

repertory company. In 1939 it began presenting classic

Yiddish theatre Yiddish theatre consists of plays written and performed primarily by Jews in Yiddish, the language of the Central European Ashkenazi Jewish community. The range of Yiddish theatre is broad: operetta, musical comedy, and satiric or nostalgic revu ...

. The building was demolished in 1942.

History

Architect D. G. Malcolm designed the Comedy Theatre, a Broadway theatre located at 110 West 41st Street in Manhattan, for

The Shubert Organization The Shubert Organization is a theatrical producing organization and a major owner of theatres based in Manhattan, New York City. It was founded by the three Shubert brothers in the late 19th century. They steadily expanded, owning many theaters ...

. Its first production, ''The Melting Pot'', opened September 6, 1909. The 687-seat theatre was a venue for more intimate productions, and was often leased to producers including William Collier, Cecil B. DeMille, and 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 touring c ...

made her first Broadway appearance at the Comedy Theatre, and

also made her debut there.

's first Broadway play, ''

In the Zone ''In the Zone'' is the fourth studio album by American pop singer Britney Spears. It was released on November 12, 2003, through Jive Records. With the conclusion of her Dream Within a Dream Tour in July 2002 and the end of her relationship with ...

'', opened at the Comedy Theatre in 1917. With its narrow orchestra pit and a booth for follow spots at the rear of the second balcony, the theatre was also used for small musical shows. The Comedy Theatre was shuttered in 1931, in the aftermath of the

Wall Street Crash of 1929 The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange coll ...

. It reopened in 1937 as the Mercury Theatre, leased by

John Houseman John Houseman (born Jacques Haussmann; September 22, 1902 – October 31, 1988) was a Romanian-born British-American actor and producer of theatre, film, and television. He became known for his highly publicized collaboration with directo ...

and

for their new repertory theatre company, the

. Houseman later described the venue as "an intimate, rococo, two-balcony theatre

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

was for many years one of Manhattan's most elegant smaller playhouses." The Mercury company was able to lease the Comedy Theatre for three years at $187.50 a week. The intermediary for the owner, reputedly a Chicago gangster, said that the owner would not pay a cent for any repairs or maintenance, but he did not care what was done to the building as long as the first three months' rent was paid in advance. When the Mercury took over the theatre, production manager Jean Rosenthal presented Houseman with "a formidable list of absolute and immediate necessities, which included major repairs to the grid, new rigging and power lines and a new stage floor to replace the rotting planks through which huge, fearless rodents could be seen emerging on their hunting excursions." The repairs, which also included cleaning the rusty, grimy exterior, had to be made within a month. At the end of October 1937, press agent Henry Senber oversaw a ceremony unveiling the new electric sign identifying the theatre as the Mercury. Ticket prices ranged from 55 cents, for seats in the top balcony, to $2.20 for front row orchestra seats. It was the venue for most of the Mercury's productions from November 1937 to November 1938. The first was ''

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...

'', Welles's modern-dress adaptation of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...

'', streamlined into a critically acclaimed

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers wer ...

tour de force. Its last production there was ''Danton's Death'' (1938). The Mercury Theatre productions are regarded as the greatest successes of the venue's history. In June 1939 the theatre began its final transition when Welles and Houseman leased the Mercury Theatre to the newly formed Dramatic Art Theatrical Association and the Artef Players, a well-known Yiddish theatre company. The facility operated as the Artef Theatre from 1940 until its demolition in 1942. The site is now occupied by an office building. In 2009 a plaque was dedicated there to mark the location of the historic Mercury Theatre.

Notable productions

File:Welles-Caesar-1938.jpg,

as Brutus in ''

'' File:Shoemakers-Holiday-1938.jpg, Marian Warring-Manley,

Whitford Kane Whitford Kane (born Thomas Wheeler Kane, January 30, 1881 – December 17, 1956) was a noted Irish-born American stage and screen character actor remembered for playing the First Gravedigger in numerous productions of Shakespeare's ''Hamlet'' and ...

and

George Coulouris George Alexander Coulouris (1 October 1903 – 25 April 1989) was an English film and stage actor. Early life Coulouris was born in Manchester, Lancashire, England, the son of Abigail (née Redfern) anNicholas Coulouris a merchant of Greek o ...

in ''The Shoemaker's Holiday'' File:Heartbreak-House-1938.jpg,

Geraldine Fitzgerald Geraldine Mary Fitzgerald (November 24, 1913 – July 17, 2005) was an Irish actress and a member of the American Theater Hall of Fame. In 2020, she was listed at number 30 on ''The Irish Times'' list of Ireland's greatest film actors. Early li ...

and Orson Welles in ''Heartbreak House''

Comedy Theatre

* ''Penelope'' (1909) * ''The Affinity'' (1910) * ''A Man's World'' (1910) * ''The Three Daughters of Monsieur Dupont'' (1910) * ''The Family'' (1910) * ''Her Own Money'' (1913) * ''

'' (1917–18)

Collier's Comedy Theatre

* ''I'll Be Hanged If I Do'' (1910) * ''Bunty Pulls the Strings'' (1911) * ''

Fanny's First Play ''Fanny's First Play'' is a 1911 play by George Bernard Shaw. It was first performed as an anonymous piece, the authorship of which was to be kept secret. However, critics soon recognised it as the work of Shaw. It opened at the Little Theatre in ...

'' (1912–13)

Mercury Theatre

Orson-Welles-Danton's-Death-Rehearsal-1938

* ''

'' (1937) * ''

The Cradle Will Rock ''The Cradle Will Rock'' is a 1937 play in music by Marc Blitzstein. Originally a part of the Federal Theatre Project, it was directed by Orson Welles and produced by John Houseman. A Brechtian allegory of corruption and corporate greed, it i ...

'' (1937, Worklight Theatre presentation) * ''

The Shoemaker's Holiday ''The Shoemaker's Holiday or the Gentle Craft'' is an Elizabethan play written by Thomas Dekker. The play was first performed in 1599 by the Admiral's Men, and it falls into the subgenre of city comedy. The story features three subplots: an in ...

'' (1938) * ''Dear Abigail'' by David Howard (1938, Worklight Theatre presentation) * ''

I've Got the Tune ''I've Got the Tune'' is an American radio opera with words and music by Marc Blitzstein. Dedicated to Orson Welles, it was commissioned by CBS Radio for its experimental series, the ''Columbia Workshop''. Its first performance was broadcast Octob ...

'' and Ben Bengal's ''Plant in the Sun'' (1938, Worklight Theatre presentation) * ''

Heartbreak House ''Heartbreak House: A Fantasia in the Russian Manner on English Themes'' is a play written by George Bernard Shaw, first published in 1919 and first played at the Garrick Theatre in November 1920. According to A. C. Ward, the work argues that "cu ...

'' (1938) * ''

Danton's Death ''Danton's Death'' (''Dantons Tod'') was the first play written by Georg Büchner, set during the French Revolution. History Georg Büchner wrote his works in the period between Romanticism and Realism in the so-called Vormärz era in German h ...

'' (1938)

Artef Players at the Mercury Theatre

* ''Clinton Street'' (opening October 12, 1939; Artef Players leasing the venue still named the Mercury Theatre) * ''

Uriel Acosta Uriel da Costa (; also Acosta or d'Acosta; c. 1585 – April 1640) was a Portuguese philosopher and skeptic who was born Christian, but returned to Judaism and ended up questioning the Catholic and Rabbinic Judaism, rabbinic institutions of his ti ...

'' (December 29, 1939 – February 18, 1940; Artef Players leasing the venue still named the Mercury Theatre)

Cultural references

Richard Linklater Richard Stuart Linklater (; born July 30, 1960) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is known for films that revolve mainly around suburban culture and the effects of the passage of time. His films include the comedies ' ...

's 2008 film, '' Me and Orson Welles'', is a romantic comedy set during the days before the opening of ''Caesar'' at the Mercury Theatre. "Like most Welles stage shows, alas, this one left few traces," wrote ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' drama critic

Terry Teachout Terrance Alan Teachout (February 6, 1956 – January 13, 2022) was an American author, critic, biographer, playwright, stage director, and librettist. He was the drama critic of ''The Wall Street Journal'', the critic-at-large of '' Commentary ...

. "No part of the production was filmed, and nothing else survives but the design sketches and some still photographs taken in 1937. … What makes ''Me and Orson Welles'' uniquely interesting to scholars of American drama is that Mr. Linklater's design team found the Gaiety Theatre on the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = " O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europ ...

. This house closely resembles the old Comedy Theatre on 41st Street, which was torn down five years after ''Julius Caesar'' opened there. Using Samuel Leve's original designs, they reconstructed the set for ''Julius Caesar'' on the Gaiety's stage. Then Mr. Linklater filmed some 15 minutes' worth of scenes from the play, lit according to Jean Rosenthal's plot, accompanied by

Marc Blitzstein Marcus Samuel Blitzstein (March 2, 1905January 22, 1964), was an American composer, lyricist, and librettist. He won national attention in 1937 when his pro- union musical ''The Cradle Will Rock'', directed by Orson Welles, was shut down by the W ...

's original incidental music and staged in a style as close to that of the 1937 production as is now possible." Teachout wrote that he "was floored by the verisimilitude of the results".

References

External links

* {{Authority control

Comedy Theatre The Harold Pinter Theatre, known as the Comedy Theatre until 2011,

Theatres completed in 1909 Former theatres in Manhattan Demolished theatres in New York City Demolished buildings and structures in Manhattan Orson Welles Yiddish theatre in the United States 1909 establishments in New York City Buildings and structures demolished in 1942