Majestic Theater
247 W 44th Street
between 7th & 8th Avenues
Completed 1927
Architect Herbert J Krapp
Krapp designed this Moorish
by-way-of-Spain facade for Irwin Chanin back-to-back with the
Royale Theater and Theater Masque. The largest of the three
theaters, the Majestic was intended as a musical theater and has
remained one of Broadway's premier musical houses. The landmarked
interior is untypical for Chanin, being neo-Classical instead of
the neo-Spanish of which he was so fond. Incorporated in the
interior was Chanin's democrat 'stadium plan' seating: instead of
hanging over the orchestra, the balcony was pushed back and its
rear was cantilevered, unseen, over the lobby area. With this
smoother transition the balcony, or now mezzanine, was but a
simple few steps up from the orchestra and the same entrances to
the auditorium were used by both classes of patrons
The Majestic's premier show was a
production of Rufus Le Maire's Affairs, on March 28, 1927.
The Chanin's lost their theater empire after Black Monday and
control of the Majestic, along with the Royale and Theater Masque,
passed to the Shuberts. Throughout its life the theater has always
been operated as a legitimate Broadway venue
1928 John Gielgud makes his Broadway debut
in The Patriot
1945 You won't walk alone going into the
theater to see Rodgers' and Hammerstein's Carousel. Rouben
Mamoulian directs and Agnes DeMille choreographs. John Raitt, Jan
Clayton and Bambi Linn star. OK!
1949 This is some enchanted evening. Mary
Martin, Ezio Pinza, Juanita Hall, Myron McCormick, William Tabbert,
and many others, take the stage in the Oscar Hammerstein II-Joshua
Logan-Richard Rodgers musical South Pacific. The show is Tony's
choice for outstanding musical; Martin is outstanding musical
actress; Pinza, outstanding musical actor, McCormack and Hall,
outstanding supporting actor and supporting actress; Rodgers wins
for outstanding score; Hammerstein and Logan for outstanding
libretto; and Logan also wins for outstanding direction. By the
way, it plays for 1,925 performances!
1954 David Merrick has his first
production on Broadway. It's the S N Behrman-Joshua Logan-Harold
Rome musical Fanny. It stars Ezio Pinza, Walter Slezak and
Florence Henderson
1956 Ethel Merman and Fernando Lamas are
on the trail in Happy Hunting, a Howard Lindsay-Russel
Crouse-Matt Dubey musical
1957 Settle in for a long run. Tony
awards go to Robert Preston, Barbara Cook and David Burns for
their performances in The Music Man. The Meredith
Wilson-Franklin Lacy show wins the Tony
for outstanding musical
1960 What is the king doing tonight? If
he's anything like us he's going to see Richard Burton, Julie
Andrews and Robert Goulet in the Lerner and Loewe classic Camelot
1963 It's time to throw in a couple of
clangers. Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz wrote the score, and
Mary Martin gamely kept Jennie going for 82 performances
1964 Do you realize that Angela Lansbury
has won 4 Tony awards as best musical actress. Of course, that
started in 1967. This time out she stars wit Lee Remick and Harry
Guardino in Stephen Sondheim's Anyone Can Whistle. They put
their lips together for all of 9 shows
1964 Sammy Davis Jr finally gets his big
shot on Broadway and makes the most of it. Clifford Odets' Golden
Boy was first staged as a straight play in 1937. The Odets-William
Gibson-Charles Strouse musical version runs for 569 shows
1972 Jule Styne and Bob Merrill team up to
write the score for Sugar, starring Tony Roberts, Robert
Morse, Elaine Joyce and Cyril Ritchard
1974 Only in New York City! David Merrick
is the producer. Jerry Herman writes the score. Gower Champion is
the choreographer. Robert Preston and Bernadette Peters star. The
reviews are good. Mack and Mabel flops
1975 Ease on down to the Majestic to see
another Tony-winning
musical. The Wiz is a Charlie Small musical directed by
Geoffrey Holder with George Faison's choreography. Ken Harper
produced. The show features Stephanie Mills, Hinton Battle, Ted
Ross, Dee Dee Bridgewater and Mabel King. Individual Tonys
go to Small, Holder, Faison, Ross and Bridgewater. The American
musical isn't dead yet
1977 Liza Minelli and Barry Nelson star in
the John Kander-Fred Ebb musical The Act. Liza's
performance earns her a Tony
for best musical actress
1978 Jerome Lawrence and Robert E Lee
wrote The First Monday in October. Henry Fonda and Jane
Alexander are on stage. That's why people love Broadway
1978 Two more reasons are Dorothy Loudon
and Vincent Guardino, now starring in the Billy Goldenberg-Alan
Bergman-Marilyn Bergman musical Ballroom
1979 Not all ideas are good. John Van
Druten's I Remember Mama first came to Broadway in 1944,
produced by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. It then
became a popular radio show. Rodgers now makes a musical version.
Liv Ullman stars. The show struggles for 108 performances.
Rodgers' Broadway career is over
1988 All we ask of you is that you stop
asking. Yes, it's still playing. No, we can't get two on the aisle
for tonight's show. Michael Crawford, Sarah Brightman and Judy
Kaye originate the roles in the Andrew Lloyd Webber-Charles Hart Tony-winning
musical The
Phantom of the Opera. Harold Prince earns a Tony
for his direction; Crawford and Kaye also win
2003 Yep, still playing. Only now you
might be able to pick up a pair of ducats at the Times Square TKTS
booth
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