The Gershwin Theatre (originally the Uris Theatre) is a

Broadway theater 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), 130 of the List of ...

at 222 West 51st Street, on the second floor of the

Paramount Plaza Paramount Plaza, also 1633 Broadway and formerly the Uris Building, is a 48-story skyscraper in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Designed by Emery Roth and Sons, the building was developed by the Uris brothers and was rename ...

office building, in the

Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Buildin ...

neighborhood of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Opened in 1972, it is operated by the

Nederlander Organization The Nederlander Organization, founded in 1912 by David T. Nederlander in Detroit, and currently based in New York City, is one of the largest operators of live theaters and music venues in the United States. Its first acquisition was a lease on ...

and is named after brothers

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

and

Ira Gershwin Ira Gershwin (born Israel Gershovitz; December 6, 1896 – August 17, 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs in the English language of the 2 ...

, who wrote several Broadway musicals. The Gershwin is Broadway's largest theater, with approximately 1,933 seats across two levels. Over the years, it has hosted musicals,

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

companies, and

concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety a ...

s. The Gershwin was designed by

Ralph Alswang Ralph Alswang (April 12, 1916 – February 1979) was an American theatre and film director, designer, and producer. He designed scenery, lighting, and costumes for nearly 100 Broadway productions. He also designed venues such as the George Gershwin ...

. It was one of the first theaters constructed under the Special Theater District amendment of 1967. The theater's main entrances are from a midblock passageway that runs between 50th and 51st Streets. There are escalators leading from the ground floor to the second-story lobby and rotundas. The

American Theater Hall of Fame The American Theater Hall of Fame in New York City was founded in 1972. Earl Blackwell was the first head of the organization's Executive Committee. In an announcement in 1972, he said that the new ''Theater Hall of Fame'' would be located in the ...

, which contains inscriptions of the names of over 500 notable theatrical personalities, is placed within the lobby and rotundas. The Gershwin's orchestra level, which has about 1,300 seats, is more than double the size of the mezzanine level, which has about 600 seats. The

Uris Buildings Corporation Uris Buildings Corporation was a New York City commercial real estate development company created by Harold and Percy Uris in 1960 from a predecessor private partnership. They retained 60% ownership in the corporation. One of the last building ...

built the theater within the Uris Building, now Paramount Plaza, in the 1960s in exchange for several additional floors of office space. The Uris opened on November 28, 1972, with a performance of the musical ''

Via Galactica ''Via Galactica'' is a rock musical with a book by Christopher Gore and Judith Ross, lyrics by Gore, and music by Galt MacDermot. It marked the Broadway debut of actor Mark Baker. Originally entitled ''Up!'', it offers a futuristic story of soc ...

.'' Following several

flops In computing, floating point operations per second (FLOPS, flops or flop/s) is a measure of computer performance, useful in fields of scientific computations that require floating-point calculations. For such cases, it is a more accurate meas ...

, the theater was rented out for concerts and dance specials in the 1970s. The musicals ''

The King and I ''The King and I'' is the fifth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on Margaret Landon's novel '' Anna and the King of Siam'' (1944), which is in turn derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, governess to the childre ...

'' and ''

Sweeney Todd Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as the villain of the penny dreadful serial ''The String of Pearls'' (1846–47). The original tale became a feature of 19th-century melodrama and London urban legend, legend. A barber fr ...

'' had relatively long runs at the end of the decade. The theater was renamed the Gershwin during the 37th Tony Awards in 1983, the first of six

Tony Awards The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

ceremonies to be hosted there. In the 1980s, the theater hosted concerts; its first

straight play A play is a work of drama, usually consisting mostly of dialogue between characters and intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. The writer of a play is called a playwright. Plays are performed at a variety of levels, fr ...

s; and musicals such as ''

Singin' in the Rain ''Singin' in the Rain'' is a 1952 American musical romantic comedy film directed and choreographed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, starring Kelly, Donald O'Connor, and Debbie Reynolds and featuring Jean Hagen, Millard Mitchell and Cyd Charis ...

'' and ''

Starlight Express ''Starlight Express'' is a 1984 British musical, with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. It tells the story of a young but obsolete steam engine, Rusty, who races in a championship against modern engines in the hope of ...

''. The theater continued to host concert appearances in the early 1990s, as well as musicals such as ''

Show Boat ''Show Boat'' is a musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the performers, stagehands and dock worke ...

'', and was renovated in 1993. The Gershwin has been home to the musical ''

Wicked Wicked may refer to: Books * Wicked, a minor character in the ''X-Men'' universe * '' Wicked'', a 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire that inspired the musical of the same name * ''Wicked'', the fifth novel in Sara Shepard's ''Pretty Little Liars'' s ...

'' since 2003.

Description

The Gershwin Theatre is on the second floor of

, also known as 1633

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 Stree ...

, north of

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...

in the

neighborhood of

designed the theater, which opened in 1972 as the Uris Theatre, while

Emery Roth and Sons Emery Roth ( hu, Róth Imre, July 17, 1871 – August 20, 1948) was an American architect of Hungarian-Jewish descent who designed many of the definitive New York City hotels and apartment buildings of the 1920s and 1930s, incorporating Beaux- ...

designed Paramount Plaza. It is one of two theaters in Paramount Plaza; the other is the

Circle in the Square Theatre The Circle in the Square Theatre is a Broadway theater at 235 West 50th Street, in the basement of Paramount Plaza, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It is one of two Broadway theaters that use a thrust stage that extends ...

in the building's basement. The Gershwin, Circle in the Square, Minskoff, and American Place theaters were all constructed under the Special Theater District amendment of 1967 as a way to give their respective developers additional floor area. The Gershwin was decorated in what Alswang described as an

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

style. The theater covers and has bronze

velour Velour, occasionally velours, is a plush, knitted fabric or textile similar to velvet or velveteen. It is usually made from cotton, but can also be made from synthetic materials such as polyester. Often, it contains a percentage of elastane, ...

decorations throughout its major public spaces. Originally decorated in white and gold, the Gershwin was redecorated in a blue-and-white color scheme in 1993. The theater is operated by the

Lobbies and Hall of Fame

At the base of Paramount Plaza is a promenade that connects 50th and 51st Streets, providing entry to the Gershwin and Circle in the Square theaters. There are marquees for the theaters' entrances on both 50th and 51st Streets. The

box office A box office or ticket office is a place where ticket (admission), tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a Wicket gate, wicke ...

is at ground level. Escalators lead from the ground floor to the Gershwin Theater. The names of 90 celebrities who were active between 1860 and 1930 are inscribed in bronze-gold lettering along the escalators. The second floor contains the

, where the names of notable theatrical personalities are inscribed in gold letters. Eligible inductees have had a career in American theater for at least 25 years and at least five major Broadway production credits. The lobby contains a white wall behind the orchestra seats and measures wide. The Hall of Fame's names stretch across the four-story-high wall of the lobby. The theater also has two rotundas, one of which originally contained the music and theater collections of the

Museum of the City of New York A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these i ...

. The hall's names stretch into the rotundas.

Auditorium

Playbill ''Playbill'' is an American monthly magazine for theatergoers. Although there is a subscription issue available for home delivery, most copies of ''Playbill'' are printed for particular productions and distributed at the door as the show's pr ...

'' cites the theater as having 1,926 seats, while

The Broadway League The Broadway League, formerly the League of American Theatres and Producers and League of New York Theatres and Producers, is the national trade association for the Broadway theatre industry based in New York, New York. Its members include thea ...

gives a figure of 1,933 seats. The Gershwin's seats are spread across two levels: an orchestra with about 1,300 seats and a smaller mezzanine with about 600 seats. This was based on Alswang's observation that most people wanted orchestra seats. The seats in the Gershwin are spaced apart from row to row, compared to in older theaters where each row was only apart. The balcony has 14 rows. Like traditional Broadway houses (and unlike the contemporary Minskoff Theatre), the theater had aisles in the center and along the sides. The orchestra level is

ADA-accessible The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA () is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ...

via an elevator from the ground story. The mezzanine level has protrusions on the side walls instead of

box A box (plural: boxes) is a container used for the storage or transportation of its contents. Most boxes have flat, parallel, rectangular sides. Boxes can be very small (like a matchbox) or very large (like a shipping box for furniture), and can ...

seats. The

proscenium A proscenium ( grc-gre, προσκήνιον, ) is the metaphorical vertical plane of space in a theatre, usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical proscenium arch (whether or not truly "arched") and on the bottom by the stage floor ...

arch is designed with light bars, which could be removed if necessary. The wall panels also contains panels that can be removed for the installation of speakers. The stage was also designed with a flexible layout in that it could be disassembled or extended forward. When the stage was extended forward, it basically functioned as a

thrust stage In theatre, a thrust stage (also known as a platform stage or open stage) is one that extends into the audience on three sides and is connected to the backstage area by its upstage end. A thrust has the benefit of greater intimacy between perform ...

, covering the

orchestra pit An orchestra pit is the area in a theater (usually located in a lowered area in front of the stage) in which musicians perform. Orchestral pits are utilized in forms of theatre that require music (such as opera and ballet) or in cases when incide ...

. With a adjustable

proscenium arch A proscenium ( grc-gre, προσκήνιον, ) is the metaphorical vertical plane of space in a theatre, usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical proscenium arch (whether or not truly "arched") and on the bottom by the stage floor ...

and an stage, it is one of the largest Broadway stages, ideal for very large musical productions. Unlike older theaters in New York City, the Minskoff and Gershwin theaters were subject to less stringent building codes. For example, the Gershwin was designed without fire curtains, since the city had allowed sprinkler systems to be installed in both theaters. The theater also used Hydra-Float, a computerized rigging system. This made it the first commercial theater in the U.S. to be completely automated. Backstage, there were eight large dressing suites for lead performers, which were equipped with air conditioning, green rooms, and private bathrooms.

History

Construction

In September 1967,

leased the site of the Capitol Theatre on Broadway, between 50th and 51st Streets, for 100 years. Uris announced it would build an office tower and a Broadway theater on the site. The Broadway theater would have 1,500 to 2,000 seats. In October 1967, the

New York City Planning Commission The Department of City Planning (DCP) is the department of the government of New York City responsible for setting the framework of city's physical and socioeconomic planning. The department is responsible for land use and environmental review, p ...

(CPC) proposed the Special Theater District Zoning Amendment, which gave zoning bonuses to office-building developers who included theaters. The proposed legislation would directly allow theaters in

One Astor Plaza One Astor Plaza, also known as 1515 Broadway and formerly the W. T. Grant Building, is a 54-story office building on Times Square in the Theater District, Manhattan, Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Designed by Der Scutt o ...

and the Uris Building, which would be the first completely new Broadway theaters since the

Mark Hellinger Theatre The Mark Hellinger Theatre (formerly the 51st Street Theatre and the Hollywood Theatre) is a church building at 237 West 51st Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, which formerly served as a cinema and a Broadway thea ...

was completed in 1930. The CPC approved the theater amendment that November, and the

New York City Board of Estimate The New York City Board of Estimate was a governmental body in New York City responsible for numerous areas of municipal policy and decisions, including the city budget, land-use, contracts, franchises, and water rates. Under the amendments effec ...

gave final approval to the proposal the next month. A second theater, which subsequently became the Circle in the Square, was announced in February 1968. In April 1968, the CPC scheduled a public hearing to determine whether the Astor and Uris theater permits should be approved. Six parties testified in favor;

the Shubert Organization The Shubert Organization is a theatrical producing organization and a major owner of theatres based in Manhattan, New York City. It was founded by the three Shubert brothers in the late 19th century. They steadily expanded, owning many theaters ...

, the largest operator of Broadway theaters, was the only dissenting speaker. The CPC approved the theaters over the Shuberts' objections, as did the Board of Estimate. That September, Uris Buildings Corporation made a tentative deal with

James M. Nederlander James M. Nederlander (March 31, 1922 – July 25, 2016) was an American theatrical producer who served as chairman of the Nederlander Organization, one of the largest operators of live theaters and music venues in the United States.

and Gerard Oestricher to operate the larger of the building's two theaters. The larger venue was renamed for Percy Uris, head of the Uris Buildings Corporation, in 1971. The ''

New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ta ...

'' subsequently said that the Uris family's decision to name the theater for themselves "became an object of ridicule in theatrical circles". Meanwhile, civic group Broadway Association had proposed constructing a theatrical hall of fame in a

median In statistics and probability theory, the median is the value separating the higher half from the lower half of a data sample, a population, or a probability distribution. For a data set, it may be thought of as "the middle" value. The basic fe ...

island of Broadway several blocks north. Earl Blackwell then suggested that the Nederlanders include a theatrical hall of fame at the Uris Theatre. Plans for the hall were announced in March 1972, as the building and theater were being completed. The first names were inducted that October, just before the theater opened.

1970s

The Uris Theatre was dedicated on November 19, 1972, and hosted its first show on November 28, a performance of the musical ''

'' starring

Raul Julia Raúl Rafael Carlos Juliá y Arcelay (March 9, 1940 – October 24, 1994) was a Puerto Rican actor. Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, he took an interest in acting while still in school and pursued the career upon completion of his studies. After ...

. The theater was cited as having 1,840, 1,870, 1,900, or 1,940 seats when it was completed. Alswang estimated the theater's total cost at $12.5 million. Despite a top ticket price of $12.75 (lower than the typical top price of $15), it flopped with seven performances
and was the first Broadway show to lose a million dollars. The next show was

Cy Coleman Cy Coleman (born Seymour Kaufman; June 14, 1929 – November 18, 2004) was an American composer, songwriter, and jazz pianist. Life and career Coleman was born Seymour Kaufman in New York City, United States, to Eastern European Jewish parents ...

and

Dorothy Fields Dorothy Fields (July 15, 1904 – March 28, 1974) was an American librettist and lyricist. She wrote over 400 songs for Broadway musicals and films. Her best-known pieces include "The Way You Look Tonight" (1936), "A Fine Romance" (1936), "On th ...

's musical ''

Seesaw A seesaw (also known as a teeter-totter or teeterboard) is a long, narrow board supported by a single pivot point, most commonly located at the midpoint between both ends; as one end goes up, the other goes down. These are most commonly found a ...

'', which opened in March 1973 and transferred to the Hellinger that August, ultimately running for 296 performances.
A revival of the

Sigmund Romberg Sigmund Romberg (July 29, 1887 – November 9, 1951) was a Hungarian-born American composer. He is best known for his musicals and operettas, particularly '' The Student Prince'' (1924), '' The Desert Song'' (1926) and '' The New Moon'' (1928). E ...

operetta ''

The Desert Song ''The Desert Song'' is an operetta with music by Sigmund Romberg and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, Otto Harbach and Frank Mandel. It was inspired by the 1925 uprising of the Riffs, a group of Moroccan fighters, against French colonia ...

'' premiered at the Uris in September 1973 but closed after only 15 performances.
This was followed that November by the

Lerner and Loewe Lerner and Loewe refers to the partnership between lyricist and librettist Alan Jay Lerner and composer Frederick Loewe.Kenny, Ellen, and James M. Salem. “A Guide to Critical Reviews, Part II: The Musical from Rodgers-and-Hart to Lerner-and-Loe ...

musical '' Gigi'', which lasted 103 performances.
For the most part, the Uris lost money during its first two seasons, since it was dark most of the time. The Uris also hosted annual ceremonies when people were inducted into the Theatrical Hall of Fame. Due to a lack of money, there were no new inductions between 1973 and 1979. There were no new legitimate shows in 1974. After singer

Sammy Davis Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, dancer, actor, comedian, film producer and television director. At age three, Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the ...

had a highly profitable concert that May, James M. Nederlander decided to book concerts at the theater for the remainder of the year, citing its acoustic qualities. Nederlander said the theater could also be used for musicals if there was demand in the future. A ''New York Times'' critic said the Uris Building, which had just gone into foreclosure, might be a "monument to its mortality" instead of "a leader in the revitalization of Broadway". Musicians who appeared in 1974 included

Mott the Hoople Mott the Hoople were an English rock band formed in Herefordshire. Originally known as the Doc Thomas Group, the group changed their name after signing with Island Records in 1969. The band released albums throughout the early 1970s but fail ...

(performing with

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

); Enrico Macias and his La Fete Orientale Co.;

Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...

with

Michel Legrand Michel Jean Legrand (; 24 February 1932 – 26 January 2019) was a French musical composer, arranger, conductor, and jazz pianist. Legrand was a prolific composer, having written over 200 film and television scores, in addition to many son ...

;

Anthony Newley Anthony Newley (24 September 1931 – 14 April 1999) was an English actor, singer, songwriter, and filmmaker. A "latter-day British Al Jolson", he achieved widespread success in song, and on stage and screen. "One of Broadway's greatest leading ...

with

Henry Mancini Henry Mancini ( ; born Enrico Nicola Mancini, ; April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and flautist. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Award ...

;

Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standard music, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum s ...

and the Miracles;

The 5th Dimension The 5th Dimension is an American popular music vocal group, whose repertoire includes pop, R&B, soul, jazz, light opera, and Broadway. Formed as the Versatiles in late 1965, the group changed its name to "the 5th Dimension" by 1966. Betwee ...

; and

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...

. The 17th Annual Grammy Awards were presented at the Uris in March 1975, and the Dance Theatre of Harlem performed at the theater that May.

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

, and

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

had a limited concert appearance that September, and the Houston Grand Opera Association presented the opera ''

Treemonisha ''Treemonisha'' (1911) is an opera by American ragtime composer Scott Joplin. It is sometimes referred to as a "ragtime opera", though Joplin did not refer to it as such and it encompasses a wide range of musical styles. The music of ''Treemonis ...

'' the next month''.'' This was followed by performances from ballet dancers

Margot Fonteyn Dame Margaret Evelyn de Arias DBE (''née'' Hookham; 18 May 191921 February 1991), known by the stage name Margot Fonteyn, was an English ballerina. She spent her entire career as a dancer with the Royal Ballet (formerly the Sadler's Wells T ...

and

Rudolf Nureyev Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev ( ; Tatar/ Bashkir: Рудольф Хәмит улы Нуриев; rus, Рудо́льф Хаме́тович Нуре́ев, p=rʊˈdolʲf xɐˈmʲetəvʲɪtɕ nʊˈrʲejɪf; 17 March 19386 January 1993) was a Soviet ...

, singer-songwriter

Paul Anka Paul Albert Anka (born July 30, 1941) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter and actor. He is best known for his signature hit songs including " Diana", " Lonely Boy", "Put Your Head on My Shoulder", and " (You're) Having My Baby". Anka also ...

, and the

American Ballet Theatre American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant, it is recognized as one of the world's leading classical ballet companies. Through 2019, it had an annual ei ...

. The Dance Theatre of Harlem returned to the theater in March 1976. The

D'Oyly Carte Opera Company The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company is a professional British light opera company that, from the 1870s until 1982, staged Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy operas nearly year-round in the UK and sometimes toured in Europe, North America and elsewhere. Th ...

presented three

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian era, Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which ...

operettas at the Uris that May, followed the next month by a concert appearance from

Al Green Albert Leornes Greene (born April 13, 1946), better known as Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including " Take Me to the River", ...

and

Ashford & Simpson Ashford & Simpson were an American husband-and-wife songwriting-production team and recording duo of Nickolas Ashford (May 4, 1941 – August 22, 2011) and Valerie Simpson (born August 26, 1946). Ashford was born in Fairfield, South Carolina, ...

. That October, the Houston Grand Opera presented the musical ''

Porgy and Bess ''Porgy and Bess'' () is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play '' Porgy'', itse ...

.'' The theater went back to hosting concerts, with appearances by

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

and

Barry Manilow Barry Manilow (born Barry Alan Pincus; June 17, 1943) is an American singer and songwriter with a career that spans seven decades. His hit recordings include "Could It Be Magic", " Somewhere Down the Road", " Mandy", "I Write the Songs", " Can ...

in December 1976. The Dance Theatre of Harlem canceled a planned 1977 season at the Uris due to a financial deficit. Instead, Nureyev returned in March 1977 for a ballet performance, and Béjart: Ballet of the Twentieth Century performed the same month. The musical ''

'', with

Yul Brynner Yuliy Borisovich Briner (russian: link=no, Юлий Борисович Бринер; July 11, 1920 – October 10, 1985), known professionally as Yul Brynner, was a Russian-born actor. He was best known for his portrayal of King Mongkut in the ...

and

Constance Towers Constance Mary Towers (born May 20, 1933) is an American film, stage, and television actress, and singer. She gained prominence for her appearances in several mainstream 1950s films before transitioning to theater, starring in numerous Broadway ...

, opened in May 1977 and ran for 719 performances, becoming the theater's longest-running show. Another long-lasting show was

Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March 22, 1930November 26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. One of the most important figures in twentieth-century musical theater, Sondheim is credited for having "reinvented the American musical" with sho ...

and

Hugh Wheeler Hugh Callingham Wheeler (19 March 1912 – 26 July 1987) was a British novelist, screenwriter, librettist, poet and translator. He resided in the United States from 1934 until his death and became a naturalized citizen in 1942. He had attended Lon ...

's musical ''

'' with

Angela Lansbury Dame Angela Brigid Lansbury (October 16, 1925 – October 11, 2022) was an Irish-British and American film, stage, and television actress. Her career spanned eight decades, much of it in the United States, and her work received a great deal ...

, which opened in March 1979 and ran for 755 performances over the next year.

1980s

In 1980, the Uris mostly hosted performances by ballet companies. The following January, the

New York Shakespeare Festival Shakespeare in the Park (or Free Shakespeare in the Park) is a theatrical program that stages productions of Shakespearean plays at the Delacorte Theater, an open-air theater in New York City's Central Park. The theater and the productions ar ...

produced Gilbert & Sullivan's ''

The Pirates of Penzance ''The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, W. S. Gilbert. Its official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 ...

'', which relocated to the Minskoff in August 1981. This was followed immediately afterward by a revival of Lerner and Loewe's ''

My Fair Lady ''My Fair Lady'' is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play ''Pygmalion'', with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons f ...

'', with

Rex Harrison Sir Reginald Carey "Rex" Harrison (5 March 1908 – 2 June 1990) was an English actor. Harrison began his career on the stage in 1924. He made his West End debut in 1936 appearing in the Terence Rattigan play ''French Without Tears'', in what ...

, which lasted 124 performances. That November, the musical ''Annie'' transferred to the Uris; it ran for over a year, concluding its run of 2,377 performances there. Next, Nureyev performed with the

Boston Ballet The Boston Ballet is an American professional classical ballet company based in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1963 by E. Virginia Williams and Sydney Leonard, and was the first professional repertory ballet company in New England. I ...

in early 1983, and the Houston Grand Opera presented

Jerome Kern Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over ...

and

Oscar Hammerstein II Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II (; July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was an American lyricist, librettist, theatrical producer, and (usually uncredited) director in the musical theater for almost 40 years. He won eight Ton ...

's musical ''

'' that April. At that time,

producer

Alexander H. Cohen Alexander H. Cohen (July 24, 1920 – April 22, 2000) was an American theatrical producer who mounted more than one hundred productions on both sides of the Atlantic. He was the only American producer to maintain offices in the West End as well a ...

announced that the 37th Tony Awards ceremony would be hosted there and that the Uris would be renamed after musical-writing brothers

Ira Ira or IRA may refer to: *Ira (name), a Hebrew, Sanskrit, Russian or Finnish language personal name *Ira (surname), a rare Estonian and some other language family name *Iran, UNDP code IRA Law *Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, US, on status of ...

and

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

. During the ceremony on June 5, 1983, the theater was rededicated. ''Show Boat'' closed shortly thereafter
and was followed in July by ''

Mame MAME (formerly an acronym of Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator) is a free and open-source emulator designed to recreate the hardware of arcade game systems in software on modern personal computers and other platforms. Its intention is to preserve ...

'', featuring Lansbury. The Gershwin hosted a memorial for Ira Gershwin after he died in August 1983, two months after the theater's renaming. The theater continued to face issues with booking extended runs of large musicals. In January 1984, Nederlander announced he would again use it as a concert hall for a year. This time, the theater hosted performances from

Shirley MacLaine Shirley MacLaine (born Shirley MacLean Beaty, April 24, 1934) is an American actress, author, and former dancer. Known for her portrayals of quirky, strong-willed and eccentric women, MacLaine has received numerous accolades over her seven-dec ...

;

Twyla Tharp Twyla Tharp (; born July 1, 1941) is an American dancer, choreographer, and author who lives and works in New York City. In 1966 she formed the company Twyla Tharp Dance. Her work often uses classical music, jazz, and contemporary pop music. Fr ...

; Rudolf Nureyev; and

Gladys Knight & the Pips Gladys Knight & the Pips were an American R&B, soul and funk family music group from Atlanta, Georgia, that remained active on the music charts and performing circuit for over three decades starting from the early 1950s. Starting out as simpl ...

with

Kashif Kashif (also spelled Kaashif, Kaşif, Khasif or Kashef, ar, کاشف) is an Arabic word, commonly used as a male given name in the Muslim world. Its meaning is close to the "revealer", "discoverer", "uncoverer" or "pioneer", "explorer". When use ...

. In addition, the theater hosted the

38th Tony Awards The 38th Annual Tony Awards were held on June 3, 1984, at the Gershwin Theatre and broadcast by CBS television. Hosts were Julie Andrews and Robert Preston.Gans, Andrew"Diva Talk: A Backwards Glance—the 1984 Tonys PLUS Ripley, Menzel and Jones" ...

in June 1984. The

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

presented ''

Much Ado about Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' ( W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. 1387 The play ...

'' and ''

Cyrano de Bergerac Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac ( , ; 6 March 1619 – 28 July 1655) was a French novelist, playwright, epistolarian, and duelist. A bold and innovative author, his work was part of the libertine literature of the first half of the 17th cen ...

'' in

repertory A repertory theatre is a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation. United Kingdom Annie Horniman founded the first modern repertory theatre in Manchester after withdrawing ...

for ten weeks starting in October 1984. The theater was acoustically modified for these plays, as it was the first time the theater had hosted

s. This was followed in early 1985 by concert appearances from

Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American R&B singer, actress and businesswoman. LaBelle is referred to as the " Godmother of Soul". She began her career in the early 1960s as lead singe ...

and

Smokey Robinson William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive director. He was the founder and front man of the Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he was also chief ...

. Next, the musical ''

'' opened in July 1985 and ran for 367 performances over the next ten months. After

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, ...

's musical ''

'' was announced for the theater in mid-1986, the theater was renovated to accommodate the technologically complex set. ''Starlight'' opened in March 1987 and ran for two years, closing at a loss despite critical acclaim. Afterward, the Nederlanders announced plans to use the Gershwin as a concert hall for the 1989–1990 season. At the time, six of the Nederlanders' nine Broadway theaters were dark, and there was a shortage of new musicals. Only one live performance happened this time: a set of concerts by Barry Manilow in mid-1989. That November, the musical comedy ''

Meet Me in St. Louis ''Meet Me in St. Louis'' is a 1944 American Christmas film, Christmas musical film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Divided into a series of seasonal vignettes, starting with Summer 1903, it relates the story of a year in the life of the Smith famil ...

'' opened, running for 253 performances.

1990s

The concert special ''

Bugs Bunny on Broadway ''Bugs Bunny on Broadway'' (also titled ''Bugs Bunny at the Symphony'' and ''Bugs Bunny at the Symphony II'') is a concert musical featuring '' Looney Tunes'' characters such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Elmer Fudd. The production was conceived ...

'' appeared briefly in late 1990, followed by a revival of the musical ''

Fiddler on the Roof ''Fiddler on the Roof'' is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia in or around 1905. It is based on ''Tevye and his Daughters'' (or ''Tevye the ...

''. A special appearance by the

Moscow Circus The title Moscow State Circus is used for a variety of circuses. Most commonly, it refers to one of the two circus buildings in Moscow, the " Circus Nikulin" (the old circus, featuring animal acts) and the "Bolshoi Circus" (the new circus, feat ...

then opened at the Gershwin in late 1991. The musical ''

Grand Hotel A grand hotel is a large and luxurious hotel, especially one housed in a building with traditional architectural style. It began to flourish in the 1800s in Europe and North America. Grand Hotel may refer to: Hotels Africa * Grande Hotel Beir ...

'' moved to the Gershwin in February 1992, ending a run of over 1,000 performances there. The Gershwin hosted the

46th Tony Awards The 46th Annual Tony Awards was broadcast by CBS from the Gershwin Theatre on May 31, 1992. The host was Glenn Close. The ceremony Presenters: * Alan Alda * Alec Baldwin * Carol Channing * Kirk Douglas * Michael Douglas * Richard Dreyfuss * Da ...

in June 1992, and the theater hosted a $1 million launch party that October for

Windows for Workgroups Windows 3.1 is a major release of Microsoft Windows. It was Released-to-manufacturing, released to manufacturing on April 6, 1992, as a successor to Windows 3.0. Like its predecessors, the Windows 3.1 series ran as a Shell (computing), shell ...

. This was followed by concert appearances from

Tommy Tune Thomas James Tune (born February 28, 1939) is an American actor, dancer, singer, theatre director, producer, and choreographer. Over the course of his career, he has won ten Tony Awards, the National Medal of Arts, and a star on the Hollywood Wal ...

in December 1992,

Raffi Raffi Cavoukian, ( hy, Րաֆֆի, born July 8, 1948), known professionally by the mononym Raffi, is a Canadian singer-lyricist and author of Armenian descent born in Egypt, best known for his children's music. He developed his career as a " ...

in April 1993, and

Yanni Yiannis Chryssomallis ( el, Γιάννης Χρυσομάλλης; born November 14, 1954), known professionally as Yanni ( ), is a Greek-American composer, keyboardist, pianist, and music producer. Yanni continues to use the musical shorthand ...

in June 1993. The theater was renovated in mid-1993 prior to its hosting the 47th Tony Awards. A revival of Lerner and Loewe's ''

Camelot Camelot is a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described as the ...

'' opened in June 1993 and ran for two months. The musical '' The Red Shoes'' opened that December, but it was one of Broadway's biggest flops, closing after three days at a loss of $8 million. By the mid-1990s, there was high competition for large Broadway houses. Less than a week after ''The Red Shoes'' closed, production company

Livent The Live Entertainment Corporation of Canada, better known as Livent, was a theatre production company based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1989 by former Cineplex Odeon executives Garth Drabinsky and Myron Gottlieb, the company initially found ...

booked a revival of ''Show Boat'' for the theater. The theater once again hosted the 48th Tony Awards in 1994. The awards ceremonies subsequently relocated to

Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Nicknamed "The Showplac ...

, as that theater was much larger (allowing the public to attend) and did not require shutting down Broadway productions. ''Show Boat'' opened in October 1994 and ran for 949 performances over two years. Following this, in January 1997, John Gray performed a monologue of his book '' Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus''. Livent's revival of the operetta ''

Candide ( , ) is a French satire written by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment, first published in 1759. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled ''Candide: or, All for the Best'' (1759); ''Candide: or, The ...

'' opened that April. and ran for 103 performances. The

Roundabout Theatre Company The Roundabout Theatre Company is a leading non-profit theatre company based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. History The company was founded in 1965 by Gene Feist, Michael Fried and Elizabet ...

then transferred the musical ''

1776 Events January–February * January 1 – American Revolutionary War – Burning of Norfolk: The town of Norfolk, Virginia is destroyed, by the combined actions of the British Royal Navy and occupying Patriot forces. * January 1 ...

'', its most popular production, to the Gershwin that November, where it ran until June 1998. The New York Shakespeare Festival's production of the musical '' On the Town'' opened at the Gershwin in November 1998, but it was unprofitable and closed after 65 performances. The Gershwin also hosted the 53rd Tony Awards in 1999, since Radio City Music Hall was undergoing renovation. Also in 1999, the theater hosted the musicals ''

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by List of Scottish novelists, Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and Puer aeternus, never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending ...

'' and ''

Tango Argentino Argentine tango is a musical genre and accompanying social dance originating at the end of the 19th century in the suburbs of Buenos Aires. It typically has a or rhythmic time signature, and two or three parts repeating in patterns such as AB ...

.''

2000s to present

The dance revue '' Riverdance on Broadway'' opened at the Gershwin in March 2000, running for 605 performances through the following August. After ''Riverdance'' closed, the

Rodgers and Hammerstein Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their popular ...

musical ''

Oklahoma! ''Oklahoma!'' is the first musical theater, musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, ''Green Grow the Lilacs (play), Green Grow the Lilacs''. Set in farm country outside the town of ...

'' was booked at the Gershwin. Additionally,

Linda Eder Linda Eder (; born February 3, 1961) is an American singer and actress. She made her Broadway debut in the musical '' Jekyll & Hyde'', originating the role of Lucy Harris, for which she was nominated for the Drama Desk Award. Eder has performe ...

performed at the theater at the end of 2001. ''

'' opened in March 2002 and ran for 388 performances for the next year. For ''Oklahoma!'', the first five rows of seats in the orchestra level were removed to make way for a temporary thrust stage. In June 2002, the theater hosted a party celebrating what would have been the 100th birthday of

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers was one of the most ...

, one of the composers of ''Oklahoma!''. The next production at the Gershwin Theatre was

Stephen Schwartz Stephen Lawrence Schwartz (born March 6, 1948) is an American musical theatre lyricist and composer. In a career spanning over five decades, Schwartz has written such hit musicals as ''Godspell'' (1971), ''Pippin'' (1972), and ''Wicked'' (20 ...

's musical ''

'', which opened in October 2003. David Stone, one of ''Wicked'' producers, was initially reluctant to book the Gershwin because of the theater's reputation for short-lived productions, as well as its size. Despite initial negative reviews, ''Wicked'' became so popular that it continued at the Gershwin indefinitely. The theater's large seating capacity also turned out to be suitable for the musical's popularity. As part of a settlement with the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

in 2014, the Nederlanders agreed to improve disabled access at their nine Broadway theaters, including the Gershwin. ''Wicked'' was still playing when the theater closed on March 12, 2020, due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. The theater reopened on September 14, 2021, with performances of ''Wicked''.

Notable productions

Uris Theatre

*1972: ''

'' *1973: ''

'' *1973: '' Gigi'' *1974:

*1974:

*1974: Enrico Macias and his La Fete Orientale Co.
*1974:

with

*1974:

*1974: Johnny Mathis and the Miracles
*1974:

*1974:

*1975:

, and

*1975: ''

''
*1975: Fonteyn & Nureyev on Broadway
*1975:

*1975:

*1976: ''

H.M.S. Pinafore ''H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London, on 25 May 1878 and ran for 571 performances, whic ...

''/''

The Mikado ''The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...

'' *1976:

with

*1976: ''

''
*1976:

*1976:

*1977: Nureyev
*1977: Béjart: Ballet of the Twentieth Century
*1977: ''

''
*1979: '' Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street''
*1980:

Dance Theatre of Harlem Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) is an American professional ballet company and school based in Harlem, New York City. It was founded in 1969 under the directorship of Arthur Mitchell and later partnered with Karel Shook. Milton Rosenstock served ...

*1980: '' The Bat''
*1980: '' Coppelia''
*1980: Makarova and Company
*1980: Boston Ballet Company
*1981: ''

''
*1981: ''

Annie Annie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Annie (given name), a given name and a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Annie (actress) (born 1975), Indian actress * Annie (singer) (born 1977), Norwegian singer The ...

''
*1983: ''

Gershwin Theatre

*1983: ''

''
*1984: Shirley MacLaine on Broadway
*1984: Twyla Tharp Dance on Broadway *1984: Nureyev and Friends *1984:

*1984: ''

Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' ( W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. 1387 The play ...

''
*1984: ''

''
*1985: Patti LaBelle on Broadway *1985: An Evening with Smokey Robinson *1985: ''

''
*1987: ''

''
*1989: Barry Manilow Live on Broadway
*1989: ''

''
*1990: ''

''
*1991:

*1992: ''

''
*1992: Tommy Tune Tonite!
*1993:

*1993:

*1993: ''

''
*1993: '' The Red Shoes''
*1994: ''

''
*1997: '' Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus''
*1997: ''

''
*1997: ''

'' *1998: '' On the Town''
*1999: ''

''
*1999: ''

''
*2000: '' Riverdance on Broadway''
*2001: '' Linda Eder at the Gershwin''
*2002: ''

''
*2003: ''

Box office records

When ''Starlight Express'' opened in 1987, it had the highest single-week gross of any show in both the Gershwin Theatre's history and Broadway history. ''Starlight Express'' broke this record several times, ultimately grossing $617,022 during the last week of 1987. ''Fiddler on the Roof'' set the record for the highest number of tickets sold for a Broadway production in a single week during the last week of 1990. From October 4 to 9, 1994, ''Show Boat'' sold $842,636 worth of tickets. This was the highest single-week ticket sale for any Broadway production, in terms of monetary profit, as well as the second-highest in number of tickets sold. ''Wicked'' set the box office record for the Gershwin Theatre multiple times. In 2010, the musical became the first Broadway show to gross over $2 million in a single week. ''Wicked'' held the record for the highest single-week gross of any Broadway show from its opening until 2011, when the musical '' Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark'' earned $58 more during a single week (both shows had earned $1.5 million). The theater's current record was set in 2018, when ''Wicked'' grossed $3,411,819 over nine performances for the week ending December 30, 2018.

References

Notes

Citations

Sources

* *

External links

* * {{Authority control 1972 establishments in New York City Art Nouveau architecture in New York City Art Nouveau theatres Broadway theatres Grammy Award venues Nederlander Organization Theatres completed in 1972

Description

Lobbies and Hall of Fame

Auditorium

History

Construction

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s to present

Notable productions

Uris Theatre

Gershwin Theatre

Box office records

See also

References

Notes

Citations

Sources

External links