Sam S Shubert Theater
225 W 44th Street
between 7th & 8th Avenues
Completed 1913
Architect Henry B Herts
The Sam S Shubert Theater was named
in memory of the oldest of the three Shubert brothers who made
their marks on Broadway. The theater's exterior is, to our eyes,
basically undistinguished, except for its position alongside
Shubert Alley, the heart of the theater district. The Shubert's
lavishly decorated Renaissance-style interior (also landmarked)
reflects the gentry's idea of 'dinner and a show' back in 1913.
Interior designer J Mortimer Lichtenauer had a free hand when
pouring the plaster and covering it with paint and gilt.
Lichenauer's interior and murals were restored in 1996. The
Forbes-Robertson Repertory Company mounted the first show at the
Shubert on October 21, 1913, a production of Shakespeare's Hamlet
1917 The Sigmund Romberg-Rida Johnson
operetta Maytime enjoys a very long run for the time, 492
performances. The show stars Peggy Wood
1918 Lionel Barrymore is onstage in
Augustus Thomas' drama The Copperhead for 120 shows
1932 The tune enters the American song
lexicon, but Rex Weber singing 'Brother Can You Spare A Dime' only
extends Americana's run to 76 performances
1936 Robert E Sherwood's comedy Idiot's
Delight not only wins the Pulitzer Prize but stars Alfred Lunt
and Lynn Fontanne
1937 The Lorenz Hart-Richard Rodgers
standards-to-be 'The Lady is a Tramp' and 'My Funny Valentine' are
introduced in Babes in Arms. The musical stars Mitzi Green,
Wynn Murray, the Nicholas Brothers and Ray Heatherton (remember
the Merry Mailman from the '50s)
1937 Great stars: Alfred Lunt, Lynn
Fontanne, Sidney Greenstreet and George Meader appear in Jean
Giradoux's comedy Amphytrion 38
1938 Uta Hagen makes her Broadway debut in
a production of Chekhov's The Seagull
1939 Katharine Hepburn stars in the Philadelphia
Story with Shirley Booth, Van Heflin and Joseph
1942 Their last show together is a
success. The Richard Rodgers-Lorenz Hart musical By Jupiter
has a run of 421 performances. It stars Ray Bolger, Constance
Moore and Vera Ellen
1943 One great playwright. One great play.
Three powerful performances. Broadway history. Paul Robeson, Uta
Hagen and Jose Ferrer star in William Shakespeare's Othello
1944 Celeste Holm is the Bloomer Girl,
a 657 performance musical by Yip Harburg and Harold Arlen
1948 Rex Harrison takes his first Broadway
bows in Maxwell Anderson's Anne of the Thousand Days. He
also takes a Tony.
Joyce Redman is Anne
1949 The S N Behrman comedy I Know My
Love is the appropriate show for Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne
to celebrate 25 years of performing together
1953 Gwen Verdon is a smash and wins a Tony
for her performance in the Abe Burrows-Cole Porter musical Can-Can.
Michael Kidd receives a Tony
for his choreography
1956 Judy Holliday and Sydney Chaplin win Tonys
for their performances in the Adolph Green-Betty Comden-Jule Styne
musical The Bells are Ringing
1959 Not one, but many theater people like
Gertrude Berg in Leonard Spigelgass' comedy A Majority of One;
they vote her a Tony.
The show runs for 556 performances
1959 Jackie Gleason. Walter Pidgeon.
Robert Morse. Una Merkle. Valerie Harper. Just a lot of neat names
in Take Me Along, the Joseph Stein-Robert Russell-Bob
Merrill musical that earns Gleason a Tony
1962 More neat names: Elliott Gould.
Barbra Streisand. Sheree North. Bambi Linn. Lillian Roth. I Can
Get It for You Wholesale. Veteran Roth was last on Broadway in
1932; this is Streisand's first shot
1962 Stop the show I'm tired of . . .
Anthony Newly writes the book (with Leslie Bricusse). Anthony
Newly writes the music (with Leslie Bricusse). Anthony Newly
writes the lyrics (with Leslie Bricusse). Anthony Newly stars.
Anthony Newly sings 'What Kind of Fool Am I?' Co-star Anna Quayle
wins a Tony
for her performance in Stop the World - I Want to Get Off
1965 Anthony Newly and Leslie Bricusse are
back, this time with The Roar of the Greasepaint-The Smell of
the Crowd, starring (who else?) Anthony Newly and the great
Broadway veteran Cyril Richard
1966 The Sheldon Harnick-Jerry Bock
musical The Apple Tree stars Barbara Harris, Alan Alda,
Larry Blyden and Robert Klein. Harris earns a Tony
1968 Promises promises prom prom promises
Promises promises prom prom promises Promises promises prom prom
promises So sing Jerry Orbach, Jill O'Hara, Donna McKechnie and
Marian Mercer in the Neil Simon-Burt Bacharach-Hal David musical,
you guessed it, Promises Promises. Orbach and Mercer fall
in love again...every time they look at their Tonys
1972 With all the great shows there's
almost no room for flops. Almost. Zoe Caldwell and George Grizzard
are great, experienced, veteran actors. Playwright Arthur Miller
sure knows what he's doing. The Creation of the World and Other
Business goes bust after 20 performances
1973 A Little Night Music has a big
night at the Tonys.
The show wins, Glynis Johns and Patricia Wheeler win for their
performances, Hugh Wheeler wins for his book and Stephen Sondheim
wins for his score. Len Cariou and Hermione Gingold also star
1975 Edward Albee's dramas don't always go
over well with audiences, but are hits with the critics and
judges. Seascape stars Deborah Kerr, Barry Nelson and Frank
Langella. It wins a Pulitzer Prize. Langella wins a Tony.
The show closes after 65 performances
1975 Ingrid Bergman stars in a 1-month run
of William Somerset Maugham's classic TheConstant Wife
directed by John Gielgud. Enchanting
1975 Only one more show appears at the
Shubert in 1975. Only one more show appears at the Shubert until
1990. From opening night Jul 25, 1975, for 6,137 performances,
only one show appears on the Shubert's boards. Got it? A Chorus
Line. The show wins a Tony
for best musical. James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante win for their
book. Marvin Hamlisch and Edward Kleban win for their score.
Michael Bennet wins for his direction. Bennet and Bob Avian win
for their choreography. Donna Mckechnie, Kelley Bishop and Sammy
Williams win for their performances (Whew! Whew! Whew!)
1992 The Gershwin brothers are always
popular, even 62 years later. Crazy For You, an adapted
revival of George and Ira's 1930 Girl Crazy stars Harry
Groener and Jodi Benson. The show takes the Tony
for best musical and Susan Stroman wins a Tony for her
choreography. The show runs for 1,622 performances
1998 Chicago
transfers to the Shubert to extend it's run. It will go on for
awhile
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