The Circle Theatre was a

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#-re, -er, American and British English spelling differences), many of the List of ...

, concert hall, movie theatre, and venue for

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

and

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

located at the corner of

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 Stre ...

and West 60th Street. It was the first theatre built in the

Columbus Circle Columbus Circle is a traffic circle and heavily trafficked intersection in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan, located at the intersection of Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eighth Avenue, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway, ...

area of Manhattan. Its address was 1825 Broadway.

History

The Circle Theatre was initially envisioned by Charles Evans and W.D. Mann to be a theatre for

and

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

entertainments. They hired architect Charles Cavenaugh to design the theatre and it was built in 1901. Moral opposition from the nearby St. Paul the Apostle Church, however, forced Evans and Mann to change the offerings of the theatre to one of more refined entertainment. Accordingly, the theatre opened as the Circle Music Hall and served as a venue for orchestra concerts in its early years. After losing money as a venue for classical music, the Circle Theatre began to present

entertainments in 1902 under the name the Circle Theatre. In 1905 it became a

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

house operated by the

Columbia Amusement Company The Columbia Amusement Company, also called the Columbia Wheel or the Eastern Burlesque Wheel, was a show business organization that produced American burlesque, burlesque shows in the United States between 1902 and 1927. Each year, between three ...

. It was later re-designed by architect

Thomas W. Lamb Thomas White Lamb (May 5, 1870 – February 26, 1942) was a Scottish-born, American architect. He was one of the foremost designers of theaters and cinemas of the 20th century. Career Born in Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom, Thomas W. Lamb ca ...

in 1906 and converted into a legitimate theater for

musicals Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

. It operated as a theatre for Broadway musicals for the next several years with its last legitimate staging being a revival of ''

The Chocolate Soldier ''The Chocolate Soldier'' (German: ''Der tapfere Soldat'' he courageous soldieror ''Der Praliné-Soldat'') is an operetta composed in 1908 by Oscar Straus based on George Bernard Shaw's 1894 play, '' Arms and the Man''. The German language li ...

'' in October 1910. After this, the theatre was used for vaudeville and burlesque before it was purchased by the Loews movie theatre chain and converted into a movie theatre. It operated as a movie theatre until 1935 when it was bombed in a labor dispute. In 1939 the building was converted into the Columbus Circle Roller Rink. The building was demolished in 1954 to make way for the

New York Coliseum The New York Coliseum was a convention center that stood at Columbus Circle in Manhattan, New York City, from 1956 to 2000. It was designed by architects Leon Levy and Lionel Levy in a modified International Style, and included both a low buil ...

Notable productions

*''

The-Merry-Go-Round ''The-Merry-Go-Round'' was a musical vaudeville production that ran at the Circle Theatre on Broadway in 1908. The music was by Gus Edwards, with a book by Edgar Smith and lyrics by Paul West; it featured skits including "Stupid Mr. Cupid" by ...

'' (1908) *'' Lonesome Town'' (1908) *''

In Hayti ''In Hayti'' is a musical theatre, musical in three acts with music by Jean Schwartz, lyrics by William Jerome, and a book by John J. McNally.Mantle, Sherwood & Chapman, p. 397 It premiered at Broadway's Circle Theatre (Broadway), Circle Theatre ...

'' (1909)

References

External links

Circle Theatre
at the

Internet Broadway Database The Internet Broadway Database (IBDB) is an online database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel. It was conceived and created by Karen Hauser in 1996 and is operated by the Research Department of The Broadway League, a trade asso ...

{{Coord, 40, 46, 8, N, 73, 58, 57.5, W, type:landmark_region:US-NY, display=inline,title 1901 establishments in New York City Former Broadway theatres Former cinemas and movie theaters in New York City Cinemas and movie theaters in Manhattan Former theatres in Manhattan Demolished theatres in New York City Demolished buildings and structures in Manhattan Buildings and structures demolished in 1954 Thomas W. Lamb buildings