The facades of the Al Hirschfeld's auditorium and stage house are designed as one unit. There is a double-height arcade with cast-stone columns at the base of the theater. The eastern section of the arcade contains the auditorium entrance, the center section includes a staircase with emergency exits, and the western section leads to the stage house. Red brick is used for the upper stories of the facade. Albert Herter, a muralist who frequently collaborated with Lansburgh, oversaw much of the interior design. A square ticket lobby is directly inside the main entrance, leading to a vaulted inner lobby and an L-shaped mezzanine lounge. The auditorium is decorated with ornamental plasterwork and contains a sloped orchestra level, a mezzanine level, and a curved sounding board. In addition, there are box seats at the balcony level, near the front of the auditorium. The auditorium has an octagonal ceiling with a multicolored dome.
Beck had proposed the theater in 1923, and it opened with a production of Madame Pompadour on November 11, 1924. It was the only theater in New York City to be owned outright without a mortgage. The Beck was used by several theatrical groups in its early years, including the Theatre Guild. After Martin Beck's death in 1940, the theater was managed by his wife Louise Heims Beck. The theater was purchased in 1966 by William L. McKnight of Jujamcyn Theaters, and it hosted several short runs during the 1970s and 1980s. The theater was renamed for Broadway illustrator Al Hirschfeld in 2003. Throughout the years, the theater has staged long-running productions including The Teahouse of the August Moon, Dracula, Into the Woods, Guys and Dolls, and Kinky Boots.
The Al Hirschfeld is the westernmost Broadway theater in the Theater District[5][6] and the only one west of Eighth Avenue.[1][a] When the venue was constructed in 1925, the block to the east already contained eight theaters.[7][b] The site of the theater itself, at 302 to 314 West 45th Street, was filled by seven brownstone townhouses of three stories each. Six of the houses, numbers 302 to 312, had been purchased by Nathan Wilson and then sold by Berkley Builders.[8][9] The seventh house at number 314 was owned by Nellie Clauss.[10]
The Al Hirschfeld's auditorium and stage house share a design for their facades, unlike with most other Broadway theaters, where the auditorium and stage house have distinct designs.[11] The facade of the Al Hirschfeld is much wider than its length. The base of the theater contains a granite water table[19] and a double-height arcade with cast-stone columns. The rest of the facade uses red brick.[c][11][20][21]
The arcade on the lowest two stories contains eleven arches. The second-outermost arch on either end is both taller and wider than the remaining arches. The octagonal columns rest on granite bases and contain capitals with both Moorish and Byzantine motifs. The tops of each arch contain stone borders.[19] The presence of the arcade gives the theater's exterior a three-dimensional quality compared to other Broadway theaters' relatively flat facades.[14]
The three easternmost arches contain the theater's main entrance. The doorway to the lobby is recessed within the second-easternmost arch (at the center of the three arches). It contains two bronze-and-glass double doors, which have bronze grilles with arch motifs. There are sheet-metal ceiling panels with light fixtures directly in front of the doors, as well as engaged columns flanking the doors. To the left (east) of the lobby entrance is a metal service door, a sign board, and a gate to a service alley. To the right (west) is a box office window with a marble sill and iron shutters; a panel above the window is inscribed with the words "Martin Beck Theatre". The box office window is also flanked by two pairs of engaged columns rounded and the other octagonal. Above the three arches is a modern marquee cantilevered from the arches. On the second floor are recessed brick walls. There are windows flanked by brick jambs and topped by round-arched stone panels. The center window opening is a double window separated by a stone colonette, while the other window openings are single.[19]
The five center arches screen a stone fire-escape staircase.[19][20][22] The underside of the staircase includes arches of varying sizes.[22] The top of the staircase, to the east, contains two double metal doors from the balcony. Directly beneath the top of the staircase are two double metal doors from the orchestra level, which are topped by stone lintels and metal-and-glass lanterns. The bottom of the staircase, to the west, contains another doorway that is marked as a stage entrance; the words "Erected by Martin Beck 1924" are carved on an adjacent column.[19]
The three westernmost arches contain recessed brick walls similar to those at the lobby entrance. The second-westernmost arch contains a double metal door at the ground story, while the westernmost (right) arch has a window at the ground story. The second story of the three western arches is similar to the second story above the main entrance, with arched brick windows.[19]
Above the arcade are additional stories with round-arched openings, each containing a one-over-one sash window.[23] The facade of the auditorium, to the east, has two stories above the arcade.[11] The stage house to the west has three stories.[23] There is a corbel table with Romanesque-style round arches near the top of the facade; additional stories rise above the main roof. The upper stories of the stage house are set back from the main roof. In front of this is a large metal sign board facing east toward Eighth Avenue, which is used to display the name of the present production.[24]
Beck had intended for the theater's interior to be more lavish than any other in the area.[12]Albert Herter, a muralist who frequently collaborated with Lansburgh, oversaw much of the interior design.[25] Herter's decorative scheme was largely in the Moorish and Byzantine styles.[12][25] According to a contemporary source from the theater's opening, the decorative motifs were intended to depict various mythological scenes.[21]
The square ticket lobby is directly inside the main entrance. It has stone walls and a groin-vaulted ceiling with Guastavino tiles.[26] The walls on both sides contain segmental arches, and the western arches contain ticket windows. There are wrought-iron lamps on the west and east walls. The two double doors on the north wall lead from the street, while two glass-and-bronze double doors on the south wall connect to the inner lobby.[27]
The inner lobby is double-height and rectangular in plan, with a staircase to the mezzanine at the southeast end.[27] It was originally decorated in cream-colored plaster.[21] The northern wall (leading from the ticket lobby) is decorated with a molded panel. Above that is a large arch, which encompasses three smaller arched openings with geometric glass panes.[28] The inner lobby contains piers on the west and east walls, with attached wrought-iron lighting sconces.[21][29] These piers support three round arches on each side; a mezzanine-level lounge is behind the western arches.[26] At ground level, the western wall contains modillions and pilasters, topped by capitals containing stylized-leaf and volute motifs.[29] There are also leaded-glass double doors in the two outermost arches, which lead to the auditorium.[30] At mezzanine level, both walls contain paneled railings with molded bands of dentils and bosses.[29] Three circular ceiling domes rise from the wall arches.[22][26] One contemporary source described the domes as depicting "figures in mediaeval costumes against a gold ground".[21]
The mezzanine lounge is L-shaped. The short arm of the "L" is the staircase landing on the south, while the long arm runs above the western wall of the inner lobby.[28] The piers on the lounge's eastern wall correspond to the piers on the inner lobby's western wall.[30] The capitals of the piers contain stylized-leaf motifs, supporting the ceiling, which in turn is divided into half and full groin vaults. Wrought-iron sconces are installed on the piers. The southern end of the lounge contains a seating area, with a niche enclosing a marble water fountain. On the northern end, a staircase with a wrought-iron railing and ceiling lantern descends directly into the orchestra seating. The western wall includes doors that lead to the auditorium.[28] The lounge is directly below the top row of mezzanine seating and is at the same level as the bottom mezzanine row. This removes the need for ticket-holders to climb to the top of the mezzanine seating before descending to their seat.[22]
The auditorium has an orchestra level, a mezzanine-level balcony, boxes, and a stage behind the proscenium arch. The space is designed with plaster decorations in low relief.[31]Playbill cites the theater as having 1,302 seats,[16] while The Broadway League cites 1,404 seats.[17] Originally, the theater seated 1,200 patrons, or 600 on either level.[21] The original color scheme was red, blue, and orange, with some golden highlights. Byzantine motifs were used extensively in the design, and three murals decorated the side and rear walls. The seats were upholstered in a rose-red color, with blue highlights, while the auditorium was surrounded by blue draperies.[22]
The orchestra level is wheelchair-accessible via the main doors.[18] The rear or western end of the orchestra contains a promenade.[32] Originally, the promenade had stained glass, bronze, marble, tapestries, and other objects from Martin Beck's collection.[33] The orchestra level is raked, sloping down toward an orchestra pit in front of the stage.[32] Near the front of the auditorium, stairs with wrought-iron railings lead up to the boxes.[34] The side walls have exit doors, and the rear wall contains doorways from the inner lobby. In addition, wrought-iron lighting sconces are placed on the orchestra walls.[35]
The mezzanine level can only be accessed by steps.[18] The mezzanine and boxes share a front railing, which is decorated with geometric patterns in plasterwork.[32] The side walls have wrought-iron lighting sconces. There are metal railings around the staircases to the orchestra and the passageways to the mezzanine lounge.[35] Originally, the side walls also had tapestries.[11][35] A technical booth is at the rear of the balcony, while light boxes are mounted onto the front rail. Moldings and bands divide the mezzanine's underside into paneled sections. Five of these panels contain circular wrought-iron grills with light fixtures.[34]
On either side of the proscenium is a box at the mezzanine level,[28] which contains a shallow S-curve that appears to spiral downward.[11][22] At the orchestra level, decorated groups of columns support the bottoms of the boxes, which are paneled. The fronts of the boxes are ornamented with geometric patterns in plasterwork. There are also large clustered columns at the centers of each box, which support a fan vault. Within either box, between the proscenium and the clustered columns is an opening with four marble pilasters, topped by Byzantine and Moorish capitals, which support three arches. Above these triple arches are half-domes, which support the sounding board. Between either box and the mezzanine seats is another opening, formed by the clustered columns on one side and the auditorium wall on the opposite side.[32]
Next to the boxes is the proscenium with an elliptically arched opening.[28] On either side of the proscenium are half-columns containing geometric designs, which support four concentric arches.[22][32] Each column on either sides is made of stone upon a marble base and is carved in a different Byzantine motif from the other columns.[22] Albert Herter also designed the theater's original curtain, which was hung across the proscenium opening.[21][33] The curtain was originally decorated in the same red, orange, blue, and gold color scheme as the rest of the auditorium.[22] The stage, covering 2,914 square feet (270.7 m2), was Broadway's largest stage before the construction of the Vivian Beaumont Theater in the 1960s.[36]
A perforated-plaster sounding board curves onto the ceiling above the boxes, in front of the proscenium arch.[31] The ceiling itself is decorated with moldings, which divide the surface into recessed panels. The main section of the ceiling is an octagonal canopy.[22][32] The center of the ceiling contains a large, circular wooden dome, which hangs from the octagonal ceiling panel via canvas strips.[11][32] The dome and the canvas strips are both decorated in a red, yellow, and green color scheme with geometric designs.[32] A painted glass chandelier is suspended from the dome's center.[21][35]
Times Square became the epicenter for large-scale theater productions between 1900 and the Great Depression.[37] Manhattan's theater district had begun to shift from Union Square and Madison Square during the first decade of the 20th century.[38][39] Most of the theaters built in the 1900s and 1910s were built on side streets near Broadway, but the Broadway-theater district expanded westward to Eighth Avenue and eastward to Sixth Avenue after World War II.[40] Martin Beck was a vaudevillian who operated the Orpheum Circuit, which in the early 20th century was the dominant vaudeville circuit on the West Coast of the United States. In the early 1910s, he expanded to the East Coast and developed the Palace Theatre in New York City, which he soon lost to his rival Edward Albee.[41][42] Although Beck was supplanted as the leader of the Orpheum Circuit in 1923, he wished to continue doing business in the city, and he planned a theater for legitimate shows.[13][43]
In July 1923, Martin Beck acquired six dwellings at 302 to 312 West 45th Street, with the intent of building a legitimate theater there.[9][44] That September, Beck enlarged his site by buying a townhouse at 314 West 45th Street.[10][45] The same month, Oddie and Falk were awarded the construction contract for the theater, which was to cost $1 million. The venue was to have a 1,160-seat capacity and a stage measuring 40 by 90 ft (12 by 27 m).[46] The existing buildings on the site were being razed by November 1923.[47][48] Beck's 45th Street theater, along with another one planned on 52nd Street, were part of an effort to shift the Theater District westward.[49] Beck initially planned to open his namesake theater with a production of Imre Madách's The Tragedy of Man, but he instead decided to book the operetta Madame Pompadour after seeing it in London and several other European cities. Since Charles Dillingham had the rights to present Madame Pompadour in the United States, Beck convinced Dillingham to jointly produce the operetta at the new theater.[50]
Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing president William L. McKnight, who headed Jujamcyn Theaters and already operated the St. James Theatre, offered Louise Beck $1.5 million for the Martin Beck Theatre in December 1965. McKnight also offered to buy out Lotito's lease on the theater, which was to expire in three years.[214] The sale was finalized in February 1966, with McKnight paying $1.35 million to Louise Beck and $150,000 to Lotito. McKnight would not receive the property title until the next month, after Marat/Sade was set to close.[215] Under Jujamcyn's operation, the Beck hosted the Albee play A Delicate Balance, featuring Tandy, Cronyn, Rosemary Murphy, and Marian Seldes, in 1966.[216][217][218] The next year, the theater staged a production of Comden, Green, and Jule Styne's musical Hallelujah, Baby!.[216][219][220] In 1968, the off-Broadway musical Man of La Mancha relocated to the Beck,[221][222] staying for three years.[223][224]
Many of the Beck's productions in the 1970s were short-lived.[225] In 1971, the Beck hosted Albee's All Over with Tandy, Dewhurst, Betty Field, and George Voskovec,[226][227] as well as the musical The Grass Harp, based on Capote's play two decades earlier.[228][229] Two productions during the decade had just one performance: Ring Around the Bathtub on April 29, 1972, and No Hard Feelings on April 8, 1973.[17][230] The British play Habeas Corpus was presented at the Beck in late 1975,[226][231] running for 95 performances.[232][233] In 1976, McKnight transferred the Beck and Jujamcyn's other venues to his daughter Virginia and her husband James H. Binger.[234] Finally, the theater had a hit in 1977 with the opening of the play Dracula, featuring Frank Langella,[225][235] which ran for 925 performances.[236][237]
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) had started considering protecting the Beck as an official city landmark in 1982,[263] with discussions continuing over the next several years.[264] The LPC designated both the facade and the interior as landmarks on November 4, 1987.[265][266] This was part of the LPC's wide-ranging effort in 1987 to grant landmark status to Broadway theaters.[267] The New York City Board of Estimate ratified the designations in March 1988.[268] Jujamcyn, the Nederlanders, and the Shuberts collectively sued the LPC in June 1988 to overturn the landmark designations of 22 theaters, including the Beck, on the merit that the designations severely limited the extent to which the theaters could be modified.[269] The lawsuit was escalated to the New York Supreme Court and the Supreme Court of the United States, but these designations were ultimately upheld in 1992.[270]
In late 2002, Jujamcyn announced that the Martin Beck Theatre would be renamed after illustrator Al Hirschfeld the following June, celebrating what would be his 100th birthday. This would make Hirschfeld the first visual artist with a Broadway theater named for him.[278][295] Jujamcyn President Rocco Landesman described the renaming as "an important event for the history and heritage of Broadway".[278][296] Hirschfeld died in January 2003, months before he would have turned 100,[297] though he knew the theater would be renamed for him.[298] A celebration and tribute to Hirschfeld were held on June 23, 2003,[298][299] featuring performers drawn by Hirschfeld during his career.[300][301] The Al Hirschfeld Theatre was renovated after Man of La Mancha closed.[296] The theater constructed a new marquee with an illuminated version of Hirschfeld's Self-Portrait as an Inkwell.[300] Red neon initially represented the "ink" on the marquee, but blue neon was later substituted; Playbill said the red neon gave the "macabre" impression that the figure on the marquee was using ink from its own head.[291] The mezzanine lounge received 22 reproductions of Hirschfeld drawings, which depict plays and actors that appeared at the theater.[278]
The Al Hirschfeld reopened on November 23, 2003, with a revival of the musical Wonderful Town;[291][302] it ran for 497 performances.[303] After Binger died in 2004,[304] Landesman bought the Al Hirschfeld and Jujamcyn's four other theaters in 2005, along with the air rights above them.[305]Jordan Roth joined Jujamcyn as a resident producer the same year.[306] The musical Sweet Charity opened at the Al Hirschfeld in May 2005 after nearly being canceled,[291][307] staying for 297 performances.[308] In 2006, some of the air rights above the Al Hirschfeld were sold to two developers as part of a special zoning provision.[309][d] The musical The Wedding Singer opened in 2006[291][310] and ran for 285 performances,[311] followed in 2007 by Curtains for 511 performances.[312][313] A musical version of A Tale of Two Cities had a short run in 2008,[314][315] while the musical Hair opened the next year with 519 performances.[316][317] In 2009, Roth acquired a 50 percent stake in Jujamcyn and assumed full operation of the firm when Landesman joined the National Endowments of the Arts.[318][319]
Elf the Musical opened at the Al Hirschfeld in late 2010 for a limited run,[320][321] followed in 2011 by a revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.[322][323] Next, the play Fela! had a limited revival at the Al Hirschfeld in July 2012,[324][325] and Elf the Musical was revived again that November.[326][327] The musical Kinky Boots opened at the theater in April 2013,[328][329] ultimately running for 2,507 performances over six years.[330][331] The next show to occupy the Al Hirschfeld was the musical Moulin Rouge!, which opened in 2019.[332][333]Moulin Rouge! achieved the box office record for the Al Hirschfeld Theatre, grossing $2,716,892 over nine performances for the week ending December 29, 2019.[334] The theater closed on March 12, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[335] It reopened on September 24, 2021, with Moulin Rouge! returning.[336] Jujamcyn and Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) agreed to merge in early 2023; the combined company would operate seven Broadway theaters, including the Al Hirschfeld.[337][338] In July 2023, Jordan Roth sold a 93 percent stake in Jujamcyn's five theaters, including the Al Hirschfeld Theatre, to ATG and Providence Equity.[339][340]
^The brickwork is generally laid in rows of stretchers, with the long sides of the brick exposed. One out of every six rows are headers, with the wide sides of the brick exposed.[19]
^New York City zoning sets a maximum floor area for each land lot, after which developers must buy air rights to increase their floor area. Typically, building owners could only sell air rights to developers who owned adjacent sites. Broadway theater owners are allowed to sell their air rights to developers of any lot between Sixth and Eighth Avenues north of 40th Street, regardless of whether the land lots were contiguous.[309]
^The following plays appeared: The Mikado, The Pirates of Penzance/Trial by Jury, The Gondoliers, The Yeomen of the Guard, Iolanthe, Cox and Box/H.M.S. Pinafore, Patience, Princess Ida, Ruddigore[344]
^The following plays appeared: The Pirates of Penzance, Trial by Jury, The Mikado, Iolanthe, Cox and Box, H.M.S. Pinafore, The Gondoliers, The Yeomen of the Guard
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^Ormsbee, Helen (September 12, 1948). "Play Must Pass Louise Beck To Get Into Beck Theater". New York Herald Tribune. p. C1. ProQuest1324164844.
^"Wilda Bennett Is Court Favorite in 'Mme. Pompadour': Operetta, With Dreamy Viennese Melodies, Finds Suitable Trappings in New Martin Beck Theater". The New York Herald, New York Tribune. November 12, 1924. p. 15. ProQuest1113178855.
^Hammond, Percy (September 29, 1931). "The Theaters: A Good Show, Though Presented Margaret Barker". New York Herald Tribune. p. 18. ProQuest1114202369.
^"News of the Theaters: Abbey Theater Players Begin Final Week Here; Newark to See 'Melody'". New York Herald Tribune. January 23, 1933. p. 10. ProQuest1221656321.
^"Theater's Size Simple Matter Of Arithmetic: Too Many Seats? Just Take Some Out; Not Enough? Then Put a Few Back The Government (Kaufman-Hart Version) at Play". New York Herald Tribune. December 26, 1937. p. E5. ProQuest1223336123.
^Shepard, Joan (August 28, 1985). "Is the final curtain near?". New York Daily News. pp. 462, 464. ISSN2692-1251. Archived from the original on September 21, 2021. Retrieved September 16, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
^"Legitimate: Landmarks Panel Names 5 Theaters". Variety. Vol. 329, no. 3. November 11, 1987. p. 93. ProQuest1286133538.
^Schaye, Kimberly; O'Haire, Patricia; McFarland, Stephen (March 27, 1997). "'Annie' has big night out". New York Daily News. p. 964. ISSN2692-1251. Retrieved January 16, 2022.