The John Golden Theatre, formerly the Theatre Masque and Masque Theater, is a
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 ...
theater at 252 West 45th Street (
George Abbott Way
George Abbott Way is a section of West 45th Street west of Times Square between Seventh and Eighth Avenues in New York City, named for Broadway producer and director George Abbott. It is just east of Restaurant Row.
Notable buildings
The are ...
) in the
Theater District A theater district (also spelled theatre district) is a common name for a neighborhood containing several of a city's theatres.
Places
*Theater District, Manhattan, New York City
*Boston Theater District
*Buffalo Theater District
*Cleveland Theater ...
of
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 ...
in
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 1927, the Golden Theatre was designed by
Herbert J. Krapp in a Spanish style and was built for real-estate developer
Irwin S. Chanin. It has 800 seats across two levels and is operated by
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 ...
. Both the
facade and the auditorium interior are
New York City landmarks
These are lists of New York City landmarks designated by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission:
* New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan:
** List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan below 14th Street
** List o ...
.
The facade is designed in a Spanish style with golden brick,
terracotta
Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based ceramic glaze, unglazed or glazed ceramic where the pottery firing, fired body is porous.
In applied art, craft, construction, a ...
, and stone. The ground floor, which contains the theater's entrance, is clad in
rusticated blocks of
terracotta
Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based ceramic glaze, unglazed or glazed ceramic where the pottery firing, fired body is porous.
In applied art, craft, construction, a ...
above a granite
water table
The water table is the upper surface of the zone of saturation. The zone of saturation is where the pores and fractures of the ground are saturated with water. It can also be simply explained as the depth below which the ground is saturated.
T ...
. Above are a set of three double-height arches, as well as two terracotta plaques. The facade is topped by a
loggia
In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior gallery or corridor, usually on an upper level, but sometimes on the ground level of a building. The outer wall is open to the elements, usually supported by a series of columns ...
. The auditorium contains Spanish-style detailing, a large balcony, and a rib-arched ceiling. Due to the theater's small size, it lacks
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 balcony,
proscenium arch, and exit arches are ornately decorated, with geometric panels and twisting
colonette A colonnette is a small slender column, usually decorative, which supports a beam or lintel. Colonettes have also been used to refer to a feature of furnishings such as a dressing table and case clock, and even studied by archeologists in Roman ce ...
s.
The Golden,
Majestic, and
Bernard B. Jacobs theaters, along with the
Lincoln Hotel, were all developed by Chanin and designed by Krapp as part of a theater/hotel complex. The Masque opened on February 24, 1927, and was the second of the three theaters to open. The
Shubert family
The Shubert family was responsible for the establishment of the Broadway district, in New York City, as the hub of the theater industry in the United States. They dominated the legitimate theater and vaudeville in the first half of the 20th cen ...
took over the Masque in 1930 but subsequently went into
receivership
In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver—a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights"—especially in c ...
, and producer
John Golden
John Lionel Golden (June 27, 1874 – June 17, 1955) was an American actor, songwriter, author, and theatrical producer. As a songwriter, he is best-known as lyricist for " Poor Butterfly" (1916). He produced many Broadway shows and four films. ...
leased the theater in 1936. Golden renamed the theater after himself in 1937, and the Shuberts regained full control in 1945. The Golden has mostly remained in legitimate use since then, except from 1946 to 1948, when it was used as a cinema. Over the years, the Golden has largely been used for productions with small casts, as well as
revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own dur ...
s.
Site
The John Golden Theatre is on 252 West 45th Street, on the south sidewalk between
Eighth Avenue and
Seventh Avenue, near
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
Theater District A theater district (also spelled theatre district) is a common name for a neighborhood containing several of a city's theatres.
Places
*Theater District, Manhattan, New York City
*Boston Theater District
*Buffalo Theater District
*Cleveland Theater ...
of
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 ...
in
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 ...
.
The rectangular
land lot covers , with a
frontage of on 44th Street and a depth of .
The Golden Theatre shares the city block with the
Row NYC Hotel
Row NYC Hotel is a hotel at 700 Eighth Avenue, between 44th and 45th Streets, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The hotel is 27 stories tall with 1,331 rooms. Designed by Schwartz & Gross, with Herbert J. Krapp as consul ...
to the west. It adjoins six other theaters: the
Bernard B. Jacobs,
Gerald Schoenfeld
Gerald Schoenfeld (September 22, 1924 – November 25, 2008) was chairman of The Shubert Organization from 1972 to 2008.
Career
After graduating from the University of Illinois, Schoenfeld fought in World War II. On his return, he obtained a law ...
, and
Booth
Booth may refer to:
People
* Booth (surname)
* Booth (given name)
Fictional characters
* August Wayne Booth, from the television series ''Once Upon A Time''
*Cliff Booth, a supporting character of the 2019 film ''Once Upon a Time in Hollywood'' ...
to the east; the
Broadhurst and
Shubert to the southeast; and the
Majestic to the south. Other nearby structures include the
Music Box Theatre
The Music Box Theatre is a Broadway theater at 239 West 45th Street ( George Abbott Way) in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1921, the Music Box Theatre was designed by C. Howard Crane in a Palladian-inspir ...
and
Imperial Theatre
The Imperial Theatre is a Broadway theater at 249 West 45th Street ( George Abbott Way) in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1923, the Imperial Theatre was designed by Herbert J. Krapp and was constructed ...
to the north; the
New York Marriott Marquis to the northeast;
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 ...
to the east; and
Sardi's
Sardi's is a continental restaurant located at 234 West 44th Street, between Broadway and Eighth Avenue, in the Theater District of Manhattan, New York City. Sardi's opened at its current location on March 5, 1927. It is known for the carica ...
restaurant, the
Hayes Theater
The Hayes Theater (formerly the Little Theatre, New York Times Hall, Winthrop Ames Theatre, and Helen Hayes Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 240 West 44th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Named for actres ...
, and the
St. James Theatre one block south.
The Golden is part of the largest concentration of Broadway theaters on a single block.
The adjoining block of 45th Street is also known as
George Abbott Way
George Abbott Way is a section of West 45th Street west of Times Square between Seventh and Eighth Avenues in New York City, named for Broadway producer and director George Abbott. It is just east of Restaurant Row.
Notable buildings
The are ...
, and foot traffic on the street increases box-office totals for the theaters there.
The Majestic, Masque (Golden), and Royale (Bernard B. Jacobs) theaters and the Lincoln Hotel (Row NYC Hotel) had all been developed concurrently.
[; ] The site of all four buildings had previously occupied by twenty brownstone residences.
The site was part of the
Astor family
The Astor family achieved prominence in business, society, and politics in the United States and the United Kingdom during the 19th and 20th centuries. With ancestral roots in the Italian Alps region of Italy by way of Germany,
the Astors settled ...
estate from 1803
to 1922, when it was sold to Henry Claman.
The plots collectively measured wide along Eighth Avenue, along 44th Street, and along 45th Street.
Design
The John Golden Theatre, originally the Theatre Masque, was designed by
Herbert J. Krapp in the Spanish style and was constructed from 1926 to 1927 for the Chanin brothers.
The theater is named after producer
John Golden
John Lionel Golden (June 27, 1874 – June 17, 1955) was an American actor, songwriter, author, and theatrical producer. As a songwriter, he is best-known as lyricist for " Poor Butterfly" (1916). He produced many Broadway shows and four films. ...
(1874–1955). It was part of an entertainment complex along with the Lincoln Hotel and the Majestic and Royale theaters, which were also designed by Krapp in a Spanish style.
The Masque was designed to be the smallest theater in that complex, with about 800 seats.
The Chanin Realty and Construction Company constructed all four structures.
The Golden is operated by
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 ...
.
Facade
![W 45 St Nov 2021 86](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/W_45_St_Nov_2021_86.jpg)
The facade is symmetrically arranged. The ground floor is clad in
rusticated blocks of
terracotta
Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based ceramic glaze, unglazed or glazed ceramic where the pottery firing, fired body is porous.
In applied art, craft, construction, a ...
above a granite
water table
The water table is the upper surface of the zone of saturation. The zone of saturation is where the pores and fractures of the ground are saturated with water. It can also be simply explained as the depth below which the ground is saturated.
T ...
. At ground level, the auditorium entrance includes four pairs of glass and aluminum doors. There is a modern bronze-framed sign board to the left, or east, of the doors. In addition, there are two display boxes on either side of the doors, with
volute
A volute is a spiral, scroll-like ornament that forms the basis of the Ionic order, found in the capital of the Ionic column. It was later incorporated into Corinthian order and Composite column capitals. Four are normally to be found on an Ion ...
s on one of the boxes and stylized lions on the other box on either side. A plaque memorializing the theater's namesake is placed beside the doors. The entrance is topped by a
marquee. A terracotta
cornice
In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...
and a
band course
A course is a layer of the same unit running horizontally in a wall. It can also be defined as a continuous row of any masonry unit such as bricks, concrete masonry units (CMU), stone, shingles, tiles, etc.
Coursed masonry construction arranges ...
run above the ground floor.
The stage door is to the right, or east, of the main facade and is shared with the Majestic and Bernard B. Jacobs theaters.
The upper stories contain gold-colored,
bonded Roman brick.
The brick facade was designed to relate to the adjacent theaters and hotel.
The center of the facade has a set of three arches spanning the second and third stories.
The arches have molded
Della Robbia Della Robbia is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Luca della Robbia (1400–1481), Italian sculptor
* Andrea della Robbia (1435–1525), Italian sculptor, nephew of Luca
*Giovanni della Robbia (1469–1529), son of Andrea
*Girola ...
foliate decoration, placed on terracotta
piers Piers may refer to:
* Pier, a raised structure over a body of water
* Pier (architecture), an architectural support
* Piers (name), a given name and surname (including lists of people with the name)
* Piers baronets, two titles, in the baronetages ...
that contain
Corinthian Corinthian or Corinthians may refer to:
*Several Pauline epistles, books of the New Testament of the Bible:
**First Epistle to the Corinthians
**Second Epistle to the Corinthians
**Third Epistle to the Corinthians (Orthodox)
*A demonym relating to ...
-style
capitals. On the second story, there are metal-framed
casement windows with multiple panes, above which is a horizontal rope molding. The arches do not have windows on the third story.
A similar, wider arcade exists on the neighboring Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre.
![W 45 St Nov 2021 95](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/W_45_St_Nov_2021_95.jpg)
A sign with the theater's name is placed in front of the center arch. Toward the top of the facade, there are terracotta medallions depicting fictional beasts and foliate decorations. The
parapet
A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Whe ...
of the facade contains a terracotta
balustrade
A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its con ...
. Above the center portion of the facade is a
loggia
In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior gallery or corridor, usually on an upper level, but sometimes on the ground level of a building. The outer wall is open to the elements, usually supported by a series of columns ...
, which in turn is placed on a balustrade and console
brackets
A bracket is either of two tall fore- or back-facing punctuation marks commonly used to isolate a segment of text or data from its surroundings. Typically deployed in symmetric pairs, an individual bracket may be identified as a 'left' or 'r ...
. The loggia has six single columns with decorative capitals, which support a cornice with
modillions, as well as a Spanish-tile
hip roof
A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope (although a tented roof by definition is a hipped roof with steeply pitched slopes rising to a peak). Thus, ...
.
The Golden's loggia complements a similar one on the stage-house wing of the Bernard B. Jacobs.
Auditorium
The original color scheme was red and blue, accented with gray,
while the seat coverings were colored burnt orange.
The interior is laid out in a similar Spanish style to the exterior.
The layout was part of an effort by
Irwin Chanin
Irwin Salmon Chanin (October 29, 1891 – February 24, 1988) was an American architect and real estate developer, best known for designing several Art Deco towers and Broadway theaters.
Biography
Irwin Chanin was born to a Jewish family, the son ...
, one of the developers, to "democratize" the seating arrangement of the theater. The Golden was designed with a single balcony rather than the typical two, since Chanin had perceived the second balcony to be distant.
The Chanin brothers wanted the three theaters' interior designs to be distinct while still adhering to a Spanish motif.
Following a 2013 renovation, the theater has had an orange/red and blue/green color scheme, resembling the original.
The auditorium has an orchestra level, one balcony, and a
stage
Stage or stages may refer to:
Acting
* Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions
* Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage"
* ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper
* Sta ...
behind the
proscenium arch. The auditorium's width is greater than its depth, and the space is designed with plaster decorations in high
relief
Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...
.
According to the Shubert Organization, the auditorium has 802 seats;
meanwhile,
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 787 seats
and
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 ...
cites 805 seats.
The physical seats are divided into 465 seats in the orchestra, 110 at the front of the balcony, and 227 at the rear of the balcony.
The Golden does not have
boxes.
There are restrooms and drinking fountains below the orchestra.
An article from 1927 noted that the theater had 800 seats, which were slightly wider than seats in typical Broadway theaters of the time.
Seating areas
The rear of the orchestra contains doors from the ticket lobby, which leads to a promenade behind a modern wall. There are decorative
exit sign
An exit sign is a pictogram or short text in a public facility (such as a building, aircraft, or boat) denoting the location of the closest emergency exit to be used in case of fire or other emergency that requires rapid evacuation. Most rele ...
s above the doorways, which are at the center of the rear wall.
The orchestra floor is
raked, and the eastern wall is curved inward due to the presence of the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre next door.
The orchestra and its promenade contain walls with rough
stucco
Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...
blocks.
Lighting
sconces are mounted onto the wall.
Two staircases lead between the orchestra and the balcony.
The orchestra level is wheelchair-accessible, but there are no elevators to the balcony.
On either side of the front section of the orchestra, there are pointed arches with two pairs of doors. The doors are flanked by twisting columns and contain decorative exit-sign frames above them. There are also shields on the walls, high above the arches.
The doorways originally had red velour curtains, which were restored during a 2013 renovation.
The balcony level is divided into front and rear sections by an aisle halfway across its depth, where ornate metal railings surround the staircases.
The front section curves forward toward the walls and contains decorative metal balustrades.
As at the orchestra level, the walls contain lighting sconces.
The walls consist of paneled stucco blocks with low relief Moorish designs. There are arched doorways with exit doors at the front of the balcony. Above the wall is a geometric
frieze
In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...
, which forms the wall's
cornice
In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...
. Geometric-patterned panels are placed along the front and underside of the balcony. Lights have been installed in front of the balcony.
Other design features
Next to the arched exits at orchestra level is an elliptical proscenium arch.
The archway is flanked by a pair of twisted columns, above which are
colonette A colonnette is a small slender column, usually decorative, which supports a beam or lintel. Colonettes have also been used to refer to a feature of furnishings such as a dressing table and case clock, and even studied by archeologists in Roman ce ...
s that rise to the
imposts of the arch. There is a band with geometric patterns along the arch itself.
The
coved ceiling
A coved ceiling is a ceiling that has had the visual appearance of the point where the ceiling meets the walls improved by the addition of coving.
It can also refer to a ceiling, like in a Mosque
A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid ...
is composed of arched ribs, which separate the auditorium into sections. The arches are supported on
corbels
In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a superincumbent weight, a type of bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, whereas a console is a piece applied to the st ...
on each wall, with twisting colonettes beside each corbel, while the ribs themselves have low-relief
cameos, shields, and geometric patterns. A frieze with geometric patterns runs just below the ceiling. At the rear of the auditorium, the ceiling has a flat surface with a technical booth surrounded by grilles.
The depth of the auditorium to the proscenium is , while the depth to the front of the stage is .
History
Times Square became the epicenter for large-scale theater productions between 1900 and
the Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
. During the 1900s and 1910s, many theaters in Midtown Manhattan were developed by the
Shubert brothers
The Shubert family was responsible for the establishment of the Broadway district, in New York City, as the hub of the theater industry in the United States. They dominated the legitimate theater and vaudeville in the first half of the 20th cen ...
, one of the major theatrical syndicates of the time. The Chanin brothers developed another grouping of theaters in the mid-1920s.
Though the Chanins largely specialized in real estate rather than theaters, Irwin Chanin had become interested in theater when he was an impoverished student at the
Cooper Union
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (Cooper Union) is a private college at Cooper Square in New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-supported École Polytechnique in ...
. He subsequently recalled that he had been "humiliated" by having to use a separate door whenever he bought cheap seats in an upper balcony level.
By October 1926, the Chanins had decided to construct and operate a theatrical franchise "in New York and half a dozen other large cities in the United States".
Herbert Krapp had already designed the
46th Street,
Biltmore, and
Mansfield theaters for the Chanins in 1925 and 1926.
Development and early years
Chanin operation
![W 45 St Nov 2021 89](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/W_45_St_Nov_2021_89.jpg)
The Chanin brothers had acquired the Klaman site in May 1925.
The Chanins planned to build a hotel on Eighth Avenue and three theaters on the side streets.
In March 1926, Krapp filed plans with the
New York City Department of Buildings
The New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) is the department of the New York City government that enforces the city's building codes and zoning regulations, issues building permits, licenses, registers and disciplines certain construction ...
for the hotel and theaters, which were projected to cost $4.5 million.
Local news media reported that there would be a large theater on 44th Street and a medium-sized theater and a small theater on 45th Street.
The brownstones on the site were razed starting in May,
and the site was cleared by the next month.
That July, the Chanin brothers received a $7.5 million loan for the four developments from S. W. Straus & Co.
Irwin Chanin launched a competition the same month, asking the public to suggest names for the three theaters.
The names of the three theaters were announced in December 1926.
The large theater became the Majestic;
the mid-sized theater, the Royale;
and the small theater, the Masque.
The following month, the Chanins gave
A. L. Erlanger exclusive control over bookings at the three new theaters and their five existing houses.
The Theatre Masque opened on February 24, 1927, with the play ''Puppets of Passion.''
The Masque was the second of the three new Chanin theaters to open.
The opening of the Majestic, Masque, and Royale signified the westward extension of the traditional Broadway theater district, as well as an expansion of the Chanins' theatrical developments.
Each of the Chanin theaters was intended for a different purpose: the 1,800-seat Majestic for "revues and light operas", the 1,200-seat Royale for "musical comedies", and the 800-seat Masque for "intimate" plays.
The Chanin brothers were especially optimistic about the Masque, which was the closest of their theaters to the new
Eighth Avenue subway line.
Brooks Atkinson
Justin Brooks Atkinson (November 28, 1894 – January 14, 1984) was an American theatre critic. He worked for '' The New York Times'' from 1922 to 1960. In his obituary, the ''Times'' called him "the theater's most influential reviewer of hi ...
of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' said the "Theatre Masque is pleasing and comfortable",
while
Burns Mantle
Robert Burns Mantle (December 23, 1873February 9, 1948) was an American theater critic. He founded the ''Best Plays'' annual publication in 1920.Chansky, Dorothy (2011)"Burns Mantle and the American Theatregoing Public" in ''Theatre History Stu ...
of 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 ...
'' said that he "liked particularly the curtain and the carpet".
However, both men disliked ''Puppets of Passion'',
which
flopped after twelve performances.
[; ; ]
The Masque mostly hosted flops in its first two years.
[; ] ''Puppets of Passion'' was followed by ''The Comic'', which lasted just 15 performances,
[; ] then by a revival of the
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 ...
operetta
''Patience'', which ran a similarly short 16 performances.
In August 1927, Robert Milton leased the Masque for several years.
The rest of 1927 was taken up by three short-running productions: ''Revelry'', ''The King Can Do No Wrong'', and ''Venus''.
The Masque fared not much better in 1928, when it hosted eight productions.
[; ] ''Relations'', a comedy by
Edward Clark,
[; ] was the only production in 1928 to run more than 100 performances, though ''Scarlet Fox'' and ''Young Love'' both came close.
In July 1929, the Shubert brothers bought the Chanin brothers' half-ownership stakes in the Majestic, Masque, and Royale theaters for a combined $1.8 million.
In exchange, the Shuberts sold a parcel of land on the
Upper West Side
The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper West ...
to the Chanins,
[ who bought several adjacent lots and developed the Century apartment building there.] The Masque's first major hit was ''Rope's End'' in 1929,[; ; ] subsequently adapted into the A. S. Hitchcock film ''Rope''.[; ] John Drinkwater's ''Bird in Hand'' premiered at the Masque that December, and it relocated within a month, eventually playing 500 performances.
1930s and early 1940s
The Shuberts obtained the exclusive rights to operate the Masque in 1930, though the productions of that decade largely flopped. The first production of that year was a transfer of Martin Flavin
Martin Archer Flavin (November 2, 1883 – December 27, 1967) was an American playwright and novelist.
Biography
Flavin was born on November 2, 1883, in San Francisco, California.
He was a Sigma Chi at the University of Chicago, which he atte ...
's hit ''Broken Dishes'', which had transferred from the Ritz Theatre.[; ]
Also in 1930, the Masque presented Frances Goodrich
Frances Goodrich (December 21, 1890 – January 29, 1984) was an American actress, dramatist, and screenwriter, best known for her collaborations with her partner and husband Albert Hackett. She received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama with her h ...
and Albert Hackett
Albert Maurice Hackett (February 16, 1900 – March 16, 1995) was an American actor, dramatist and screenwriter most noted for his collaborations with his partner and wife Frances Goodrich.
Early years
Hackett was born in New York City, the s ...
's play ''Up Pops the Devil'',[; ; ] with 146 performances.[; ] It was succeeded the next year by the DuBose Heyward drama ''Brass Ankle''; a short run of '' The Venetian''; and Norman Krasna
Norman Krasna (November 7, 1909 – November 1, 1984) was an American screenwriter, playwright, producer, and film director who penned screwball comedies centered on a case of mistaken identity. Krasna directed three films during a forty-year ca ...
's comedy '' Louder, Please''.[; ; ] The original romance ''Goodbye Again'', with Osgood Perkins
James Ridley Osgood Perkins (May 16, 1892 – September 21, 1937) was an American actor.
Life and career
Perkins was born in West Newton, Massachusetts, son of Henry Phelps Perkins Jr., and his wife, Helen Virginia (née Anthony). His maternal g ...
, opened in 1932 and ran for 212 performances.[; ] ''Tobacco Road'', another eventual hit, premiered at the Masque in 1933 and relocated the next month. The Masque's other successes of the mid-1930s included ''Post Road'' in 1934, ''Laburnum Grove'' in 1935, and ''Russet Mantle'' in 1936, all of which had over 100 performances.
The Broadway theater industry declined during the Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, and the Majestic, Masque, and Royale were auctioned in November 1936 to satisfy a $2 million mortgage against the theaters. A representative of the Shubert family bought the rights to operate the theaters for $700,000, but the Bankers Securities Corporation Bankers Securities Corporation (B.S.C.) was a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based investment company formed in 1927, by Albert M. Greenfield for general investment banking and trading in securities. It eventually became the parent company for virtual ...
retained a half interest. ''The Holmeses of Baker Street'', which opened in December 1936, was the last show to be produced at the Masque before the theater changed names.[; ] At the end of the month, producer John Golden
John Lionel Golden (June 27, 1874 – June 17, 1955) was an American actor, songwriter, author, and theatrical producer. As a songwriter, he is best-known as lyricist for " Poor Butterfly" (1916). He produced many Broadway shows and four films. ...
leased the Masque, with plans to renovate the theater and rename it after himself. The name "John Golden Theatre" had previously been applied to the neighboring Royale in 1934, but Golden had lost the right to operate the Royale in the 1936 auction. The Theatre Masque became the John Golden Theatre on January 26, 1937, and the flop ''And Now Goodbye'' became the first production in the newly renamed theater the next week.
The Golden continued to host flops after its renaming.[; ] One especially short run was ''Curtain Call'' in 1937, which had four performances before closing. The Golden's next hit was Paul Vincent Carroll's ''Shadow and Substance
''Shadow and Substance ''is a four-act play written in 1937 by Paul Vincent Carroll. In 1938 it won the New York Drama Critics' Circle award for best foreign play.
Description
Set in Ireland, the play has a cast of six men and four women. Acc ...
'',[; ; ] which opened in 1938 and ran for 206 performances.[; ] Another play by Carroll, '' The White Steed'', was moderately successful after relocating to the Golden in 1939. A major hit opened in 1941 with the premiere of ''Angel Street'',[; ; ] which ran nearly 1,300 performances over the next three years.[; ] ''Angel Street'' became the Golden's longest-running production, despite initial expectations of failure: only three days' worth of playbills were ordered for the initial run.[; ] It was followed in 1944 by Rose Franken
Rose Franken (December 28, 1895 – June 22, 1988), was an American writer and playwright best known for her '' Claudia'' stories, plus the books, films, and plays based on them.
Early years
Born Rose Dorothy Lewin in Gainesville, Texas, Franken ...
's comedy ''Soldier's Wife'',[; ; ] which had a successful run of 255 performances.
Later Shubert operation
Mid-1940s to 1960s
The Shubert brothers bought the Majestic, John Golden (Masque), and Royale theaters from the Bankers Securities Corporation in 1945, giving the family full ownership of these theaters. During the mid-1940s, the Golden presented numerous mediocre plays,[; ] including ''The Rich Full Life'' and ''Dunnigan's Daughter'' in 1945, as well as ''January Thaw'' and ''I Like It Here'' in 1946. In July 1946, the Golden was leased for five years to the Super Cinema Corporation. The lessee planned to show Italian films there, but the Golden instead showed the British film ''Henry V'' for nearly a year. The theater was used as a cinema until February 1948, when Maurice Chevalier opened a solo show there.[; ] The Golden then hosted several short-run shows with live performers.[; ] The cinema's lease did not expire until 1950. That year, the Golden hosted a moderate hit, ''The Velvet Glove'' with Grace George
Grace George (December 25, 1879 – May 19, 1961) was a prominent American stage actress, who had a long career on Broadway stage and also appeared in two films.
Biography
Grace George was born on December 25, 1879. She married producer Willi ...
and Walter Hampden
Walter Hampden Dougherty (June 30, 1879 in Brooklyn – June 11, 1955 in Los Angeles), known professionally as Walter Hampden, was an American actor and theatre manager. He was a major stage star on Broadway in New York who also made numerou ...
,[; ] as well as the flop ''Let's Make an Opera
''The Little Sweep'', Op. 45, is an opera for children in three scenes by the English composer Benjamin Britten, with a libretto by Eric Crozier.
''Let's Make an Opera!''
''The Little Sweep'' is the second part of a stage production entitled ...
'', which had five performances. Other works during the early 1950s included ''The Green Bay Tree
''The Green Bay Tree'' is a 1933 three-act drama written by Mordaunt Shairp that explores a "half-suggested homosexual relationship" between a man and his protégé or, in the words of one critic "a rich hot-house sybarite" and someone "he ado ...
''; ''To Dorothy, A Son''; and ''The Fourposter
''The Fourposter'' is a play written by Jan de Hartog. The two-character story spans 35 years, from 1890 to 1925, as it focuses on the trials and tribulations, laughters and sorrows, and hopes and disappointments experienced by Agnes and Michael t ...
''.
Victor Borge
Børge Rosenbaum (3 January 1909 – 23 December 2000), known professionally as Victor Borge ( ), was a Danish-American comedian, conductor, and pianist who achieved great popularity in radio and television in the North America and Europe. His ...
's one-man show '' Comedy in Music'', which opened in 1953 and ran 849 performances during the next three years.[; ; ] By sharp contrast, even though Bert Lahr
Irving Lahrheim (August 13, 1895 – December 4, 1967), known professionally as Bert Lahr, was an American actor. He was best known for his role as the Cowardly Lion, as well as his counterpart Kansas farmworker "Zeke", in the MGM adaptation of ...
and E. G. Marshall
E. G. Marshall (born Everett Eugene Grunz;Everett Eugene Grunz in Minnesota, U.S., Birth Index, 1900-1934, Ancestry.comEverett Eugene Grunz in the U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007, accessed via Ancestry.com June 18, ...
were acclaimed for their performances in the 1956 play '' Waiting for Godot'', it had only 59 performances. The same year, Menasha Skulnik
Menasha Skulnik ( yi, מנשה סקולניק; May 15, 1890 – June 4, 1970) was an American actor, primarily known for his roles in Yiddish theater in New York City. Skulnik was also popular on radio, playing Uncle David on '' The Goldbergs'' for ...
starred in ''Uncle Willie'' during its 141-performance run.[; ] ''Look Back in Anger
''Look Back in Anger'' (1956) is a realist play written by John Osborne. It focuses on the life and marital struggles of an intelligent and educated but disaffected young man of working-class origin, Jimmy Porter, and his equally competent yet i ...
'' was also a minor hit when it was staged at the Golden for six months in 1958. Starting in the late 1950s, the Golden hosted numerous revues with two performers. First among them was ''A Party with Betty Comden and Adolph Green
''A Party with Betty Comden and Adolph Green'' is a musical revue with a book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Leonard Bernstein, Jule Styne, André Previn, Saul Chaplin, and Roger Edens.
The performance was composed o ...
'', featuring the duo of Betty Comden
Betty Comden (May 3, 1917 - November 23, 2006) was an American lyricist, playwright, and screenwriter who contributed to numerous Hollywood musicals and Broadway shows of the mid-20th century. Her writing partnership with Adolph Green spanned s ...
and Adolph Green
Adolph Green (December 2, 1914 – October 23, 2002) was an American lyricist and playwright who, with long-time collaborator Betty Comden, penned the screenplays and songs for some of the most beloved film musicals, particularly as part of Art ...
, who premiered in 1958[; ; ] and returned in 1959. Also presented in 1959 were ''The Billy Barnes Revue
The ''Billy Barnes Revue'' is a 1959 musical comedy revue with music and lyrics by Billy Barnes and sketches by Bob Rodgers. The revue premiered in Los Angeles in 1959 and went on to be produced both on Broadway and Off Broadway.
The show is r ...
'', as well as '' At the Drop of a Hat'' with Michael Flanders
Michael Henry Flanders (1 March 1922 – 14 April 1975) was an English actor, broadcaster, and writer and performer of comic songs. He is best known for his stage partnership with Donald Swann.
As a young man Flanders seemed to be heading f ...
and Donald Swann
Donald Ibrahim Swann (30 September 1923 – 23 March 1994) was a British composer, musician, singer and entertainer. He was one half of Flanders and Swann, writing and performing comic songs with Michael Flanders.
Life
Donald Swann was born ...
. ''An Evening With Mike Nichols
Mike Nichols (born Michael Igor Peschkowsky; November 6, 1931 – November 19, 2014) was an American film and theater director, producer, actor, and comedian. He was noted for his ability to work across a range of genres and for his aptitude fo ...
and Elaine May'' premiered in 1960 and ran for 306 performances,[; ] followed the next year by ''An Evening with Yves Montand
Ivo Livi (), better known as Yves Montand (; 13 October 1921 – 9 November 1991), was an Italian-French actor and singer.
Early life
Montand was born Ivo Livi in Monsummano Terme, Italy, to Giovanni Livi, a broom manufacturer, Ivo held strong ...
''.
The Golden hosted a transfer of ''Sunday in New York
''Sunday in New York'' is a 1963 American romantic comedy film directed by Peter Tewksbury and starring Jane Fonda, Rod Taylor and Cliff Robertson. Filmed in Metrocolor, its screenplay was written by Norman Krasna on the basis of his own 1961 ...
'' with Robert Redford
Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the List of awards and nominations received by Robert Redford, recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Awards, Academy Award from four nomi ...
in 1962. '' Beyond the Fringe'' premiered later that year, ultimately running over 600 performances. Victor Borge again played the Golden in 1964 with 192 performances of his solo ''Comedy in Music, Opus 2''. This was followed in 1966 by the South African revue ''Wait a Minim!
''Wait a Minim!'' (1962–68) was a musical revue conceived by Leon Gluckman, with original songs by Jeremy Taylor, and a collection of international folk music arranged by Andrew Tracey. Many authentic instruments were played to accompany dances ...
'', which ran more than twice as long, with 457 performances. For the most part, the Golden's other productions during the 1960s were short-lived. Seven productions followed ''Wait a Minim!'' in the late 1960s,[; ] including ''After the Rain''[; ] and ''Brief Lives'' in 1967.
1970s and 1980s
The first success in the 1970s was '' Bob and Ray—The Two and Only'',[; ; ] a comedy that starred Bob Elliott and Ray Goulding for 158 performances. The following year, the off-Broadway
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
hit ''You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown
''You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown'' is a 1967 musical with music and lyrics by Clark Gesner and (in a 1999 revision) Andrew Lippa. It is based on the characters created by cartoonist Charles M. Schulz in his comic strip ''Peanuts''. The musical ...
'' ran at the Golden, though its 32-performance Broadway run was far shorter than its off-Broadway run. In 1972, The Public Theater
The Public Theater is a New York City arts organization founded as the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954 by Joseph Papp, with the intention of showcasing the works of up-and-coming playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: An American Li ...
presented David Rabe
David William Rabe (born March 10, 1940) is an American playwright and screenwriter. He won the Tony Award for Best Play in 1972 (''Sticks and Bones'') and also received Tony award nominations for Best Play in 1974 (''In the Boom Boom Room''), 19 ...
's ''Sticks and Bones
''Sticks and Bones'' is a 1971 play by David Rabe. The black comedy focuses on David, a blind Vietnam War veteran who finds himself unable to come to terms with his actions on the battlefield and alienated from his family because they neither can ...
'',[; ] starring Elizabeth Wilson
Elizabeth Welter Wilson (April 4, 1921 – May 9, 2015) was an American actress whose career spanned nearly 70 years, including memorable roles in film and television. In 1972 she won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for ...
and Tom Aldredge
Thomas Ernest Aldredge (February 28, 1928 – July 22, 2011) was an American television, film and stage actor.
He won a Daytime Emmy Award for playing the role of Shakespeare in ''Henry Winkler Meets William Shakespeare'' (1978). His Broadway ...
for 245 performances. Sammy Cahn
Samuel Cohen (June 18, 1913 – January 15, 1993), known professionally as Sammy Cahn, was an American lyricist, songwriter, and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premier ...
featured in the revue ''Words and Music'' in 1974, while Shirley Knight
Shirley Knight Hopkins (July 5, 1936 – April 22, 2020) was an American actress who appeared in more than 50 feature films, television films, television series, and Broadway and Off-Broadway productions in her career, playing leading and charac ...
appeared the next year in ''Kennedy's Children
''Kennedy's Children'' is a 1973 play written by Robert Patrick. It originally opened on Broadway on November 3, 1975, and closed on January 4, 1976.
Synopsis
Five people in a dive bar in the Lower East Side all contemplate their life ten years a ...
''.[; ] Two major productions opened in 1977: ''Dirty Linen & New-Found-Land'', a pair of plays by Tom Stoppard
Sir Tom Stoppard (born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and politi ...
,[; ] and ''The Gin Game
''The Gin Game'' is a two-person, two-act play by Donald L. Coburn that premiered at American Theater Arts in Hollywood in September 1976, directed by Kip Niven. It was Coburn's first play, and the theater's first production. The play won the 197 ...
'', a Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
-winning tragicomedy by Donald L. Coburn
Donald L. Coburn (born August 4, 1938) is an American dramatist. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1978 for his play ''The Gin Game''."D ...
with 517 performances.[; ; ] By contrast, ''Murder at the Howard Johnson's
''Murder at the Howard Johnson's'' is a 1979 play in two acts by American playwrights Ron Clark and Sam Bobrick. The production officially opened on Broadway at the John Golden Theatre after 10 preview performances on May 17, 1979; closing just t ...
'' was a notable failure with only four performances in 1979.
In 1980, the Golden hosted a short revival of ''Watch on the Rhine'', followed by the premiere of the double bill '' A Day in Hollywood / A Night in the Ukraine''. ''Hollywood/Ukraine'' relocated in June 1980 and the Golden underwent a renovation. The theater reopened that October with ''Tintypes
''Tintypes'' is a musical revue conceived by Mary Kyte with Mel Marvin and Gary Pearle.
Description
With its time frame set between the turn of the 20th century and the onset of World War I, this chamber piece with a cast of five provides a mus ...
'', a revue that transferred from off-Broadway.[; ] The following year, the Golden hosted another off-Broadway transfer, the Pulitzer-winning ''Crimes of the Heart
''Crimes of the Heart'' is a play by American playwright Beth Henley. It is set in Hazlehurst, Mississippi in the mid-20th century. The play won the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play. In 1986, the p ...
'', which ran for 535 performances. Two other Pulitzer-winning productions were then staged at the Golden: ''night, Mother
''night, Mother'' is a play by American playwright Marsha Norman. The play won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play.
The play is about a daughter, Jessie, and her mother, Thelma. It begins with J ...
'' in 1983[; ; ] and '' Glengarry Glen Ross''. This set a record for the number of Pulitzer-winning productions on Broadway, with four such productions in seven years. A revival of Athol Fugard's ''Blood Knot
''Blood Knot'' is an early play by South African playwright, actor, and director Athol Fugard. Its single-performance premier was in 1961 in Johannesburg, South Africa, with the playwright and Zakes Mokae playing the brothers Morris and Zachariah ...
'' opened at the Golden in 1985, which was followed in 1987 by '' Stepping Out'' and '' All My Sons''. The New York International Festival of the Arts premiered '' Juno and the Paycock'' on Broadway in 1988, and ''Eastern Standard
''Eastern Standard'' is a play by Richard Greenberg. Set in 1987, it focuses on yuppies, AIDS, the stock market and insider trading scandals, homelessness, and urban malaise.
Plot
In the first act, very successful but disenchanted architect ...
'' premiered the next year, featuring Richard Greenberg
Richard Greenberg (born February 22, 1958) is an American playwright and television writer known for his subversively humorous depictions of middle-class American life. He has had more than 25 plays premiere on and Off-Broadway in New York City ...
in his Broadway debut. During the 1980s, the Shuberts renovated the Golden as part of a restoration program for their Broadway theaters.
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...
(LPC) had started considering protecting the John Golden Theatre as an official city landmark in 1982, with discussions continuing over the next several years. The LPC designated both the facade and the interior as landmarks on November 17, 1987. This was part of the LPC's wide-ranging effort in 1987 to grant landmark status to Broadway theaters. 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 ...
ratified the designations in March 1988. The Shuberts, the Nederlanders, and Jujamcyn
Jujamcyn Theaters LLC , formerly the Jujamcyn Amusement Corporation, is a theatrical producing and theatre-ownership company in New York City. For many years Jujamcyn was owned by James H. Binger, former Chairman of Honeywell, and his wife, Virgi ...
collectively sued the LPC in June 1988 to overturn the landmark designations of 22 theaters, including the Golden, on the merit that the designations severely limited the extent to which the theaters could be modified. The lawsuit was escalated to the New York Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in the New York State Unified Court System. (Its Appellate Division is also the highest intermediate appellate court.) It is vested with unlimited civ ...
and the Supreme Court of the United States, but these designations were ultimately upheld in 1992.
1990s to present
In 1990, Michael Feinstein
Michael Jay Feinstein (born September 7, 1956) is an American singer, pianist, and music revivalist. He is an archivist and interpreter for the repertoire known as the Great American Songbook. In 1988 he won a Drama Desk Special Award for cele ...
performed at the Golden with his show ''Concert: Piano and Voice''. This was followed by ''Falsettos
''Falsettos'' is a sung-through musical with a book by William Finn and James Lapine, and music and lyrics by Finn. The musical consists of '' March of the Falsettos'' (1981) and '' Falsettoland'' (1990), the last two installments in a trio o ...
'' (1992), which had 487 performances,[; ] and by the drama ''Mixed Emotions'' (1993) with Katherine Helmond
Katherine Marie Helmond (July 5, 1929 – February 23, 2019) was an American actress. Over her five decades of television acting, she was known for her starring role as Jessica Tate on the sitcom ''Soap'' (1977–1981) and her co-starring role as ...
, which had 55 performances. The comedian Jackie Mason subsequently starred at the Golden in ''Politically Incorrect'', which opened in 1994 and ran for over 340 performances.
It was followed the next year by ''Master Class
A master class is a class given to students of a particular discipline by an expert of that discipline—usually music, but also science, painting, drama, games, or on any other occasion where skills are being developed.
"Masterclass" is als ...
'',[; ] which ran for about 600 performances through 1997.
Also successful was a limited engagement of ''The Chairs
''The Chairs'' (french: Les Chaises) is a one-act play by Eugène Ionesco, described as an absurdist "tragic farce". It was first performed in Paris in 1952.
Setting
A high tower surrounded by water.
Characters
*Old Man, aged 95
*Old Woman, a ...
'' in 1998,[ ] as well as a transfer of the off-Broadway production ''Side Man
''Side Man'' is a memory play by Warren Leight. His inspiration was his father Donald, who worked as a sideman, in jazz parlance a musician for hire who can blend in with the band or star as a solo performer, according to what is required by the g ...
'' later that year,[; ] which then ran until 1999. Mason returned at the end of 1999 for ''Much Ado About Everything''.
The first hit of the 2000s was '' Stones in His Pockets'' in 2001, which ran for 198 performances. This was followed by ''The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?
''The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?'' is a full-length play written in 2000 by Edward Albee which opened on Broadway in 2002. It won the 2002 Tony Award for Best Play, the 2002 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play, and was a finalist for the 2003 ...
'' in 2002,
as well as ''Vincent in Brixton
''Vincent in Brixton'' is a 2002 play by Nicholas Wright. The play premiered at London's National Theatre with Jochum ten Haaf in the title role. It transferred to the Playhouse Theatre and later to Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* ...
'' in 2003. 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 2003, the Shuberts agreed to improve disabled access at their 16 landmarked Broadway theaters, including the Golden. The musical '' Avenue Q'', transferred from off-Broadway, opened at the Golden on July 31, 2003, and became a major hit, recovering its production cost within a year. By the time ''Avenue Q'' transferred back off-Broadway in 2009, it had become the Golden's longest-running production with over 2,500 performances. Subsequently, the Golden hosted ''Oleanna'' in late 2009; ''Red'' and ''Driving Miss Daisy'' in 2010; ''The Normal Heart
''The Normal Heart'' is a largely autobiographical play by Larry Kramer.
It focuses on the rise of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in New York City between 1981 and 1984, as seen through the eyes of writer/activist Ned Weeks, the gay founder of a pro ...
'' and ''Seminar'' in 2011; and ''Anarchist'' in 2012. The Shuberts hired Francesca Russo to renovate the John Golden Theatre in 2013. Russo's company removed many later modifications, and they also restored the original appearance using historical pictures, as well as details inspired by structures such as the Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mu ...
.
The John Golden Theatre continued to host small productions in the mid-2010s. These included ''Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
''Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike'' is a comedy play written by Christopher Durang. The story revolves around the relationships of three middle-aged single siblings, two of whom live together, and takes place during a visit by the third, ...
'' and ''A Time to Kill'' in 2013; ''Mothers and Sons'' and ''A Delicate Balance'' in 2014, ''Skylight'' and a revival of ''The Gin Game'' in 2015; and ''Eclipsed'' and ''The Encounter'' in 2016. Subsequently, the Golden hosted ''A Doll's House, Part 2
''A Doll's House, Part 2'' is a 2017 play written by Lucas Hnath. The play premiered at the South Coast Repertory, in April 2017, before transferring to Broadway at the John Golden Theatre. The play "picks up after Henrik Ibsen's 1879 play ''A ...
'' in 2017; ''Three Tall Women
''Three Tall Women'' is a two-act play by Edward Albee, written in 1990, which won the 1994 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Albee's third Pulitzer.
Characters
* A: A is a 92-year-old woman. She is thin, autocratic, proud, and wealthy, with "encroachi ...
'' and ''The Waverly Gallery
''The Waverly Gallery'' is a play by Kenneth Lonergan. It is considered a "memory play". The show, first produced Off-Broadway in 2000, follows a grandson watching his grandmother slowly die from Alzheimer's disease. The play was a finalist for th ...
'' in 2018; and ''Hillary and Clinton
''Hillary and Clinton'' is a play written by Lucas Hnath that premiered in 2016 at the Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago. The play is set in an alternate universe and tells a story centering on Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign.
...
'' and ''Slave Play
''Slave Play'' is a three-act play by Jeremy O. Harris about race, sex, power relations, trauma, and interracial relationships.Lapacazo Sandoval, Contributing Writer. Slave Play' by Jeremy O. Harris a Real Look at Racism in America —Opening o ...
'' in 2019. 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 production '' Hangmen'', which was supposed to open in mid-2020, did not officially open at that time due to the pandemic. The Golden Theatre reopened October 13, 2021, with performances of '' Thoughts of a Colored Man'', which closed at the end of the year. This allowed ''Hangmen'' to be booked for a limited run from April to June 2022,[ followed by '']Topdog/Underdog
''Topdog/Underdog'' is a play by American playwright Suzan-Lori Parks which premiered in 2001 off-Broadway in New York City. The next year it opened on Broadway, at the Ambassador Theatre, where it played for several months. In 2002, Parks rece ...
'' for a limited run from October 2022 to January 2023.[ The play '' Prima Facie'' is then scheduled to open at the theater in April 2023.]
Notable productions
* 1927: ''Patience
(or forbearance) is the ability to endure difficult circumstances. Patience may involve perseverance in the face of delay; tolerance of provocation without responding in disrespect/anger; or forbearance when under strain, especially when faced ...
''
* 1929: ''Rope's End
Flagellation (Latin , 'whip'), flogging or whipping is the act of beating the human body with special implements such as whips, Birching, rods, Switch (rod), switches, the cat o' nine tails, the sjambok, the knout, etc. Typically, flogging ...
''
* 1931: '' The Venetian''
* 1931: '' Louder, Please''
* 1933: '' Tobacco Road''
* 1935: ''Eden End
''Eden End'' is a play by J. B. Priestley, first produced by Irene Hentschel at the Duchess Theatre, London, on 13 September 1934.
Plot introduction
In the last week of October 1912 the family of Dr Kirby, a widower in the North of England, is ...
''
* 1938: ''Shadow and Substance
''Shadow and Substance ''is a four-act play written in 1937 by Paul Vincent Carroll. In 1938 it won the New York Drama Critics' Circle award for best foreign play.
Description
Set in Ireland, the play has a cast of six men and four women. Acc ...
''
* 1938: '' Lightnin''
* 1939: '' The White Steed''
* 1941: '' Angel Street''
* 1948: '' Maurice Chevalier in an evening of Songs and Impressions''
* 1949: ''Goodbye, My Fancy
''Goodbye, My Fancy'' is a 1948 play by Fay Kanin. A comedy in 3 Acts and 4 scenes, the work premiered at the Grand Theatre in London, Ontario on October 21, 1948 for tryout performances before the production moved to Broadway in New York City. ...
''
* 1950: ''Let's Make an Opera
''The Little Sweep'', Op. 45, is an opera for children in three scenes by the English composer Benjamin Britten, with a libretto by Eric Crozier.
''Let's Make an Opera!''
''The Little Sweep'' is the second part of a stage production entitled ...
''
* 1951: ''The Green Bay Tree
''The Green Bay Tree'' is a 1933 three-act drama written by Mordaunt Shairp that explores a "half-suggested homosexual relationship" between a man and his protégé or, in the words of one critic "a rich hot-house sybarite" and someone "he ado ...
''
* 1951: ''To Dorothy, A Son
''To Dorothy, a Son'' is a 1950 comedy play by the British writer Roger MacDougall. The plot revolves around a complex inheritance in which the American ex-wife of a man tries to prevent his current pregnant wife giving birth before a certain day ...
''
* 1952: ''The Fourposter
''The Fourposter'' is a play written by Jan de Hartog. The two-character story spans 35 years, from 1890 to 1925, as it focuses on the trials and tribulations, laughters and sorrows, and hopes and disappointments experienced by Agnes and Michael t ...
''
* 1953: '' Comedy in Music''
* 1956: ''Someone Waiting
''Someone Waiting'' is a 1953 thriller play by the British writer Emlyn Williams.
It premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool before transferring to the Globe Theatre in London's West End where it ran for 156 performances between 25 No ...
''
* 1956: '' Waiting for Godot''
* 1957: ''The Potting Shed
''The Potting Shed'' is a 1957 play by Graham Greene in three acts. The psychological drama centers on a secret held by the Callifer family for nearly thirty years.
The patriarch of the family is dying and James, his estranged son, appears une ...
''
* 1958: ''Look Back in Anger
''Look Back in Anger'' (1956) is a realist play written by John Osborne. It focuses on the life and marital struggles of an intelligent and educated but disaffected young man of working-class origin, Jimmy Porter, and his equally competent yet i ...
''
* 1958: ''Epitaph for George Dillon
''Epitaph for George Dillon'' is an early John Osborne Play (theatre), play, one of two he wrote in collaboration with Anthony Creighton (the other is ''Personal Enemy''). It was written before ''Look Back in Anger'', the play which made Osbor ...
''
* 1958: ''A Party with Betty Comden and Adolph Green
''A Party with Betty Comden and Adolph Green'' is a musical revue with a book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Leonard Bernstein, Jule Styne, André Previn, Saul Chaplin, and Roger Edens.
The performance was composed o ...
''
* 1959: ''Requiem for a Nun
''Requiem for a Nun'' is a work of fiction written by William Faulkner. It is a sequel to Faulkner's early novel ''Sanctuary'', which introduced the characters of Temple Drake, her friend (later husband) Gowan Stevens, and Gowan's uncle Gavin Ste ...
''
* 1959: ''The Billy Barnes Revue
The ''Billy Barnes Revue'' is a 1959 musical comedy revue with music and lyrics by Billy Barnes and sketches by Bob Rodgers. The revue premiered in Los Angeles in 1959 and went on to be produced both on Broadway and Off Broadway.
The show is r ...
''
* 1959: '' At the Drop of a Hat''
* 1960: ''An Evening With Mike Nichols
Mike Nichols (born Michael Igor Peschkowsky; November 6, 1931 – November 19, 2014) was an American film and theater director, producer, actor, and comedian. He was noted for his ability to work across a range of genres and for his aptitude fo ...
and Elaine May''
* 1961: ''An Evening with Yves Montand
Ivo Livi (), better known as Yves Montand (; 13 October 1921 – 9 November 1991), was an Italian-French actor and singer.
Early life
Montand was born Ivo Livi in Monsummano Terme, Italy, to Giovanni Livi, a broom manufacturer, Ivo held strong ...
''
* 1962: ''Sunday in New York
''Sunday in New York'' is a 1963 American romantic comedy film directed by Peter Tewksbury and starring Jane Fonda, Rod Taylor and Cliff Robertson. Filmed in Metrocolor, its screenplay was written by Norman Krasna on the basis of his own 1961 ...
''
* 1962: '' Beyond the Fringe''
* 1966: ''Wait a Minim!
''Wait a Minim!'' (1962–68) was a musical revue conceived by Leon Gluckman, with original songs by Jeremy Taylor, and a collection of international folk music arranged by Andrew Tracey. Many authentic instruments were played to accompany dances ...
''
* 1967: '' After the Rain''
* 1967: ''Brief Lives
''Brief Lives'' is a collection of short biographies written by John Aubrey (1626–1697) in the last decades of the 17th century.
Writing
Aubrey initially began collecting biographical material to assist the Oxford scholar Anthony Wood, who ...
''
* 1968: '' Carry Me Back to Morningside Heights''
* 1968: '' The Exercise''
* 1970: '' Bob and Ray—The Two and Only''
* 1971: ''You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown
''You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown'' is a 1967 musical with music and lyrics by Clark Gesner and (in a 1999 revision) Andrew Lippa. It is based on the characters created by cartoonist Charles M. Schulz in his comic strip ''Peanuts''. The musical ...
''
* 1972: ''Sticks and Bones
''Sticks and Bones'' is a 1971 play by David Rabe. The black comedy focuses on David, a blind Vietnam War veteran who finds himself unable to come to terms with his actions on the battlefield and alienated from his family because they neither can ...
''
* 1975: ''Hughie
''Hughie'' is a short two-character play by Eugene O'Neill set in the lobby of a small hotel on a West Side street in Midtown Manhattan, New York, during the summer of 1928. The play is essentially a long monologue delivered by a small-time hus ...
'' and Duet
* 1975: '' P. S. Your Cat Is Dead!''
* 1975: ''Kennedy's Children
''Kennedy's Children'' is a 1973 play written by Robert Patrick. It originally opened on Broadway on November 3, 1975, and closed on January 4, 1976.
Synopsis
Five people in a dive bar in the Lower East Side all contemplate their life ten years a ...
''
* 1976: '' Going Up''
* 1977: '' Dirty Linen & New-Found-Land''
* 1977: ''The Gin Game
''The Gin Game'' is a two-person, two-act play by Donald L. Coburn that premiered at American Theater Arts in Hollywood in September 1976, directed by Kip Niven. It was Coburn's first play, and the theater's first production. The play won the 197 ...
''
* 1979: ''Murder at the Howard Johnson's
''Murder at the Howard Johnson's'' is a 1979 play in two acts by American playwrights Ron Clark and Sam Bobrick. The production officially opened on Broadway at the John Golden Theatre after 10 preview performances on May 17, 1979; closing just t ...
''
* 1980: ''Watch on the Rhine
A watch is a portable timepiece intended to be carried or worn by a person. It is designed to keep a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is designed to be worn around the wrist, attached by ...
''
* 1980: '' A Day in Hollywood / A Night in the Ukraine''
* 1980: ''Tintypes
''Tintypes'' is a musical revue conceived by Mary Kyte with Mel Marvin and Gary Pearle.
Description
With its time frame set between the turn of the 20th century and the onset of World War I, this chamber piece with a cast of five provides a mus ...
''
* 1981: ''Crimes of the Heart
''Crimes of the Heart'' is a play by American playwright Beth Henley. It is set in Hazlehurst, Mississippi in the mid-20th century. The play won the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play. In 1986, the p ...
''
* 1983: ''night, Mother
''night, Mother'' is a play by American playwright Marsha Norman. The play won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play.
The play is about a daughter, Jessie, and her mother, Thelma. It begins with J ...
''
* 1984: '' Glengarry Glen Ross''
* 1985: ''Blood Knot
''Blood Knot'' is an early play by South African playwright, actor, and director Athol Fugard. Its single-performance premier was in 1961 in Johannesburg, South Africa, with the playwright and Zakes Mokae playing the brothers Morris and Zachariah ...
''
[; ]
* 1987: '' Stepping Out''
* 1987: '' All My Sons''
* 1988: '' Juno and the Paycock''
* 1989: ''Eastern Standard
''Eastern Standard'' is a play by Richard Greenberg. Set in 1987, it focuses on yuppies, AIDS, the stock market and insider trading scandals, homelessness, and urban malaise.
Plot
In the first act, very successful but disenchanted architect ...
''
* 1992: ''Falsettos
''Falsettos'' is a sung-through musical with a book by William Finn and James Lapine, and music and lyrics by Finn. The musical consists of '' March of the Falsettos'' (1981) and '' Falsettoland'' (1990), the last two installments in a trio o ...
''
* 1995: ''Master Class
A master class is a class given to students of a particular discipline by an expert of that discipline—usually music, but also science, painting, drama, games, or on any other occasion where skills are being developed.
"Masterclass" is als ...
''
* 1998: ''The Chairs
''The Chairs'' (french: Les Chaises) is a one-act play by Eugène Ionesco, described as an absurdist "tragic farce". It was first performed in Paris in 1952.
Setting
A high tower surrounded by water.
Characters
*Old Man, aged 95
*Old Woman, a ...
''
* 1998: ''Side Man
''Side Man'' is a memory play by Warren Leight. His inspiration was his father Donald, who worked as a sideman, in jazz parlance a musician for hire who can blend in with the band or star as a solo performer, according to what is required by the g ...
''
* 2001: '' Stones in His Pockets''
* 2002: ''The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?
''The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?'' is a full-length play written in 2000 by Edward Albee which opened on Broadway in 2002. It won the 2002 Tony Award for Best Play, the 2002 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play, and was a finalist for the 2003 ...
''
* 2003: ''Vincent in Brixton
''Vincent in Brixton'' is a 2002 play by Nicholas Wright. The play premiered at London's National Theatre with Jochum ten Haaf in the title role. It transferred to the Playhouse Theatre and later to Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* ...
''
* 2003: '' Avenue Q''
* 2009: '' Oleanna''
* 2010: ''Red
Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...
''
* 2010: ''Driving Miss Daisy
'' Driving Miss Daisy'' is a 1989 American comedy-drama film directed by Bruce Beresford and written by Alfred Uhry, based on his 1987 play of the same name. The film stars Jessica Tandy, Morgan Freeman, and Dan Aykroyd. Freeman reprised his ro ...
''
* 2011: ''The Normal Heart
''The Normal Heart'' is a largely autobiographical play by Larry Kramer.
It focuses on the rise of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in New York City between 1981 and 1984, as seen through the eyes of writer/activist Ned Weeks, the gay founder of a pro ...
''
* 2011: ''Seminar
A seminar is a form of academic instruction, either at an academic institution or offered by a commercial or professional organization. It has the function of bringing together small groups for recurring meetings, focusing each time on some parti ...
''
* 2013: ''Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
''Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike'' is a comedy play written by Christopher Durang. The story revolves around the relationships of three middle-aged single siblings, two of whom live together, and takes place during a visit by the third, ...
''
* 2013: '' A Time to Kill''
* 2014: '' Mothers and Sons''
* 2014: '' A Delicate Balance''
* 2015: ''Skylight
A skylight (sometimes called a rooflight) is a light-permitting structure or window, usually made of transparent or translucent glass, that forms all or part of the roof space of a building for daylighting and ventilation purposes.
History
Open ...
''
* 2015: ''The Gin Game
''The Gin Game'' is a two-person, two-act play by Donald L. Coburn that premiered at American Theater Arts in Hollywood in September 1976, directed by Kip Niven. It was Coburn's first play, and the theater's first production. The play won the 197 ...
''
* 2016: ''Eclipsed
In chemistry an eclipsed conformation is a conformation in which two substituents X and Y on adjacent atoms A, B are in closest proximity, implying that the torsion angle X–A–B–Y is 0°. Such a conformation can exist in any open chain, ...
''
* 2017: ''A Doll's House, Part 2
''A Doll's House, Part 2'' is a 2017 play written by Lucas Hnath. The play premiered at the South Coast Repertory, in April 2017, before transferring to Broadway at the John Golden Theatre. The play "picks up after Henrik Ibsen's 1879 play ''A ...
''
* 2018: ''Three Tall Women
''Three Tall Women'' is a two-act play by Edward Albee, written in 1990, which won the 1994 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Albee's third Pulitzer.
Characters
* A: A is a 92-year-old woman. She is thin, autocratic, proud, and wealthy, with "encroachi ...
''
* 2018: ''The Waverly Gallery
''The Waverly Gallery'' is a play by Kenneth Lonergan. It is considered a "memory play". The show, first produced Off-Broadway in 2000, follows a grandson watching his grandmother slowly die from Alzheimer's disease. The play was a finalist for th ...
''
* 2019: ''Hillary and Clinton
''Hillary and Clinton'' is a play written by Lucas Hnath that premiered in 2016 at the Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago. The play is set in an alternate universe and tells a story centering on Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign.
...
''
* 2019: ''Slave Play
''Slave Play'' is a three-act play by Jeremy O. Harris about race, sex, power relations, trauma, and interracial relationships.Lapacazo Sandoval, Contributing Writer. Slave Play' by Jeremy O. Harris a Real Look at Racism in America —Opening o ...
''
* 2021: '' Thoughts of a Colored Man''
* 2022: '' Hangmen''
* 2022: ''Topdog/Underdog
''Topdog/Underdog'' is a play by American playwright Suzan-Lori Parks which premiered in 2001 off-Broadway in New York City. The next year it opened on Broadway, at the Ambassador Theatre, where it played for several months. In 2002, Parks rece ...
''
* 2023: '' Prima Facie''
See also
* List of Broadway theatres
There are 41 active Broadway theaters listed by The Broadway League in New York City, as well as eight existing structures that previously hosted Broadway theatre. Beginning with the first large long-term theater in the city, the Park Theatr ...
*
References
Notes
Citations
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Golden, John, Theatre
1927 establishments in New York City
Broadway theatres
New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan
New York City interior landmarks
Shubert Organization
Theater District, Manhattan
Theatres completed in 1927