St James Theater
nee Erlanger Theater
246 W 44th Street
between 7th & 8th Avenues
Completed 1927
Architect Warren & Wetmore
The Erlanger Theater was built as a
self-monument (on the site of the original Sardi's restaurant) to
producer-impressario-entrepeneur Abraham Erlanger who's fortunes
waxed then waned with that of the Theatrical Syndicate in which he
was a main player. The St James was built a bit too late, 1927, to
take full advantage of the economic recovery of the Roaring '20s.
Upon Erlanger's death in 1930, control of the theater was assumed
by the Astor descendants (who still owned the land underneath the
Erlanger and most other theaters west of Broadway), and the name
was changed to the St James
The theater was purchased by the
Shuberts (possibly in the late '30s?), a bit of irony given they
were instrumental in breaking the hold of the Theatrical
Syndicate, and therefore Erlanger's hold on the road show circuit.
A bigger bit of irony ensued when, in a 1957 federal judgement,
the now Shubert-monopoly was broken; the sale of the St James to
the Jujamcyn Organization was one of the results of the judgement
The premiere production at the
Erlanger Theater was The Merry Malones on September 25,
1927. Given some years of data we were unable to find, it is
possible that the St James was not in legitimate use from
Erlanger's death in 1930 until the Shubert purchase in (?1937?),
which would be consistent with that of many other Broadway houses.
Beginning in the early '40s the St James became a very successful
musical house, with many long-running shows on its boards
1938 Maurice Evans, who had a successful
run at the St James as Richard II the year before, performs
the lead in the first uncut Broadway production of Shakespeare's Hamlet
1942 We mention her name every chance we
get: Katharine Hepburn stars with Elliott Nugent in Philip Barry's
comedy Without Love
1943 O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A-! is here and
stays around for 2,212 performances. What a night of firsts is Mar
31, 1943: The first Richard Rodgers-Oscar Hammerstein II musical
to hit Broadway; the first Broadway show for choreographer Agnes
DeMille; the first Broadway musical for Celeste Holm. Not the
first anythings for Broadway vets Alfred Drake, Joan Roberts,
Howard Da Silva and Bambi Linn
1948 Ray Bolger stars opposite Gretchen
Wyler and wins a Tony
in the Frank Loesser musical Where's Charley
1951 He wins a Tony
for his performance and is associated with the role for 40 years.
Yul Brynner stars with Gertrude Lawrence in Rodgers and
Hammerstein's The King and I. The show also wins a Tony
as best musical
1954 Bob Fosse makes his Broadway
choreography debut and wins a Tony
for his efforts in The Pajama Game. Carol Haney takes home
a Tony for
her performance alongside John Raitt, Janis Page and Eddie Foy Jr
(of the 7 little Foys). If you look closely, you'll spot Shirley
MacLaine and Peter Gennaro in the background
1956 Edie Adams as Daisy steals the show
and a Tony
in the Johnny Mercer-Gene de Paul musical version of Li'l Abner.
Michael Kidd wins his 4th Tony
for his choreography
1958 Oscar Hammerstein II, Joseph Fields
and Richard Rodgers collaborated on The Flower Drum Song
starring Myoshi Umeki, Larry Blyden, Pat Suzuki and Junaita Hall
1960 We just like the two of them, and
with the talent behind the scenes, the show must have been a
blast, if not long lived. Phil Silvers and Nancy Walker shared the
stage in the Garson Kanin-Jule Styne-Betty Comden-Adolph Green
musical Do Re Mi. Talk about making someone happy
1961 Phyllis Newman is Tony's
featured musical actress in the Jule Styne-Betty Comden-Adolph
Green musical Subways Are for Sleeping. She shares the
stage with Carol Lawrence, Orson Bean and Sydney Chaplin
1962 The only thing that distinguishes Mr.
President is that, sadly, it is Irving Berlin's last Broadway
show
1963 The John Osborne comedy Luther
wins the Tony
as best play with Albert Finney's Broadway debut performance
1964 The show has been around since its
original 1938 version, Thornton Wilder's comedy The Merchant of
Yonkers, then reworked as 1955's The Matchmaker. This
version opens Jan 16, 1964. It closes Dec 17, 1980. In between,
such stars as Ginger Rogers, Martha Raye, Betty Grable, Pearl
Bailey, Phyllis Diller and ironically, Ethel Merman play the role
of Dolly Levi in, of course, Hello Dolly. Merman initially
rejected the role, which then went to Carol Channing, who makes a
career of it. Miss Channing is joined on stage by, among others,
Eileen Brennan and David Hartman (remember, he was a somewhat
accomplished actor before morning television). The show wins the Tony
as best musical. Miss Channing also earns a Tony,
along with Michael Stewart as author, Jerry Herman as composer and
lyricist, and Gower Champion as director and choreographer.
1971 Stockard Channing makes her Broadway
debut alongside Raul Julia, Clifton Davis, and Jonelle Allen debut
in the Galt McDermott-John Guare musical adaptation of William
Shakespeare's Two Gentlemen of Verona. The show runs for
613 performances and wins a Tony
1978 We take Cy Coleman, Betty Comden and
Adolph Green wherever we can get them. And where we can get them
now is On the Twentieth Century, the
rat-a-tat-tat-chug-chug-chug musical featuring John Collum,
Madeleine Kahn, Kevin Kline and Imogene Coca. Comden, Green,
Collum and Kline win Tonys
1980 Jim Dale wins a Tony
for his performance opposite Glenn Close in the Cy Coleman musical
Barnum
1983 Sometimes things don't turn out the
way they should, but kind of work anyway. Tommy Tune's new
production started out as a revival of George and Ira Gershwin's Funny
Face, but funny things happened on the way to the theater and
it turned into My One and Only. It has a not-too-shabby run
of 767 performances and Tune won as Tony
for his work onstage, as did Charles 'Honi' Coles; Tune also won,
with Thommie Walsh, for choreography. Twiggy was charming opposite
Tune. Not a bad detour
1989 Tyne Daly takes a Tony
for her performance in the Tony-winning
revival of Gypsy
1991 Marsha Norman and Lucy Simon
collaborate on the musical The Secret Garden. It stars
Mandy Patankin, Rebecca Luke and Daisy Egan. Norman wins a Tony
for her book, Egan for her performance. The show runs for 706
performances
1993 Take a 25-year-old rock opera and put
it on Broadway? Why not? It has an 899-performance run and earns Tonys
for its director Des McAnuff and choreographer Wayne Cilento. The
Who's Tommy
1996 A Funny Thing Happened on the Way
to the Forum happened again as Nathan Lane wins a best musical
actor Tony
for his performance in this revival of the Burt Shevelove-Larry
Gelbart-Stephen Sondheim musical
1999 Ann Hampton Callaway
stars in Swing!,
a revue opening Dec 9th
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