Lamb's Theatre was an

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 ...

theater located at 130 West 44th Street, Manhattan, New York City inside the Manhattan Church of the Nazarene, 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 ...

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 ...

. It seated approximately 350 and specialized in musical productions. The building was built in 1904–1905 and was designed by

Stanford White Stanford White (November 9, 1853 – June 25, 1906) was an American architect. He was also a partner in the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White, one of the most significant Beaux-Arts firms. He designed many houses for the rich, in additio ...

as the headquarters of the theater club

The Lambs The Lambs, Inc. (also known as The Lambs Club) is a social club in New York City for actors, songwriters, and others involved in the theatre. It is America's oldest theatrical organization. "The Lambs" is a registered trademark of The Lambs, Inc ...

. In 2007, the venue was closed to make way for the Chatwal New York hotel.Robertson, Campbell, "Lamb's Theater Company Receives Eviction Notice", ''The New York Times'', June 2, 2006

History

The six-story Lambs Club Building originally housed a fraternal club of theater professionals called

, taking after a club in England started by

Charles Lamb Charles Lamb (10 February 1775 – 27 December 1834) was an English essayist, poet, and antiquarian, best known for his ''Essays of Elia'' and for the children's book ''Tales from Shakespeare'', co-authored with his sister, Mary Lamb (1764–18 ...

in 1868. The members included

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history. Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

, and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. In the mid-1970s, the Manhattan

Church of the Nazarene The Church of the Nazarene is an evangelical Christian denomination that emerged in North America from the 19th-century Wesleyan-Holiness movement within Methodism. It is headquartered in Lenexa within Johnson County, Kansas. With its members co ...

bought the Lamb's building for the sake of making it into a mission. The Lambs club moved to 3 West 51st Street in 1975. In 1978, Lamb's Theatre Company was created by

Carolyn Rossi Copeland Carolyn Rossi Copeland is a theater producer and founder of The Lamb's Theatre located in the Times Square New York City area. She served as Vice President of Creative Affairs for Radio City Entertainment and Madison Square Garden Productions, whe ...

and it hosted the successful "Broadway for Kids" series. In 1981, the renovated 3rd floor theatre had its first show, Cotton Patch Gospel and was penned the "Gem of Times Square". With a list of over 50 productions or stages, in 1984 they opened a Lamb's Little Theatre on the first floor.

Performance history

* 1981: '' Cotton Patch Gospel'' * 1982: ''

Snoopy! The Musical ''Snoopy: The Musical'' is a musical comedy with music by Larry Grossman, lyrics by Hal Hackady, and a book by Warren Lockhart, Arthur Whitelaw, and Michael Grace. The characters are from the Charles M. Schulz comic strip ''Peanuts''. This seque ...

'' * 1982: ''

Puff The Magic Dragon "Puff, the Magic Dragon" (or just "Puff") is a song written by Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary from a poem by Leonard Lipton. It was made popular by Yarrow's group in a 1962 recording released in January 1963. Lipton wrote a poem about a ...

'' * 1983: ''

Breakfast with Les and Bess ''Breakfast with Les and Bess'' was an off-Broadway play written by Lee Kalcheim that originally premiered at Hudson Guild Theatre in October 1982 before transferring to Lamb's Theatre in May 1983. Plot synopsis It follows a radio celebrity co ...

'' Kalcheim, Lee
"Breakfast with Les and Bess: a comedy in two acts"
Samuel French Inc. * 1983: ''

Painting Churches ''Painting Churches'' is a play written by Tina Howe, first produced Off-Broadway in 1983. It was a finalist for the 1982 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play concerns the relationship between an artist daughter and her aging parents. Background T ...

'' * 1984: ''

The Gift of the Magi "The Gift of the Magi" is a short story by O. Henry first published in 1905. The story tells of a young husband and wife and how they deal with the challenge of buying secret Christmas gifts for each other with very little money. As a sentimenta ...

'' * 1985: ''

Dames at Sea ''Dames at Sea'' is a 1966 musical with book and lyrics by George Haimsohn and Robin Miller and music by Jim Wise. The musical is a parody of large, flashy 1930s Busby Berkeley-style movie musicals in which a chorus girl, newly arrived off the ...

'' * 1986: ''

The Alchemedians ''The Alchemedians'' was an Off-Broadway play that was put on in 1986 at the Lamb's Theatre in New York City, New York. It premiered at Brooklyn Academy of Music's Next Wave Festival. Cast Conception and choreography was by Bob Berky and Michae ...

'' * 1986: ''

Olympus on My Mind ''Olympus On My Mind'' is a musical with music by Grant Sturiale and a book and lyrics by Barry Harman, based on Heinrich Von Kleist's adaptation of Plautus' ''Amphitryon. The musical ran Off-Broadway at Lamb's Theatre for 297 performances ...

'' * 1987: ''

Funny Feet Humour (Commonwealth English) or humor (American English) is the tendency of experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. The term derives from the humoral medicine of the ancient Greeks, which taught that the balance of fluids in ...

'' * 1988: ''

Godspell ''Godspell'' is a musical composed by Stephen Schwartz with book by John-Michael Tebelak. The show is structured as a series of parables, primarily based on the Gospel of Matthew, interspersed with music mostly set to lyrics from traditional hymn ...

'' * 1990: '' Smoke On The Mountain'' * 1992: ''Opal'' * 1991: ''

Final Departure Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

'' * 1993: ''

Johnny Pye and the Fool-Killer ''Johnny Pye and the Fool-Killer'' was an Off-Broadway musical with music by Randy Courts, the book by Mark St. Germain, and lyrics by Randy Courts and Mark St. Germain based on the story of the same name by Stephen Vincent Benét. It was origi ...

'' * 1996: ''

I Do! I Do! ''I Do! I Do!'' is a musical with a book and lyrics by Tom Jones and music by Harvey Schmidt which is based on the Jan de Hartog play ''The Fourposter''. The two-character story spans 50 years, from 1895 to 1945, as it focuses on the ups and dow ...

'' * 1999: ''

Thoroughly Modern Millie ''Thoroughly Modern Millie'' is a 1967 American musical-romantic comedy film directed by George Roy Hill and starring Julie Andrews. The screenplay, by Richard Morris based on the 1956 British musical ''Chrysanthemum'', follows a naïve young ...

'' * 2000: '' The Countess'' * 2002: ''

The Prince and the Pauper ''The Prince and the Pauper'' is a novel by American author Mark Twain. It was first published in 1881 in Canada, before its 1882 publication in the United States. The novel represents Twain's first attempt at historical fiction. Set in 1547, ...

'' * 2003: '' That Day in September'' * 2004: '' Silent Laughter'' * 2004: '' Children's Letters to God'' * 2004: '' Cam Jansen'' * 2005: '' Picon Pie'' * 2006: ''The Man in the Iron Mask''

References

External links

Lamb's Theatre
{{Authority control Off-Broadway theaters 1981 establishments in New York City 2007 disestablishments in New York (state)