The Shubert Theatre is a
theatre
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
,
, at 263-265
Tremont Street
Tremont Street is a major thoroughfare in Boston, Massachusetts.
Tremont Street begins at Government Center in Boston's city center as a continuation of Cambridge Street, and forms the eastern edge of Boston Common. Continuing in a roughly so ...
in the
Boston Theater District
The Boston Theater District is the center of Boston's theater scene. Many of its theaters are on Washington Street, Tremont Street, Boylston Street, and Huntington Avenue.
History
Plays were banned in Boston by the Puritans until 1792. Bosto ...
.
It opened on January 24, 1910, with a production of Shakespeare's ''
The Taming of the Shrew
''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken ...
'' starring
E. H. Sothern
Edward Hugh Sothern (December 6, 1859 – October 28, 1933) was an American actor who specialized in dashing, romantic leading roles and particularly in Shakespeare roles.
Biography
Sothern was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, the son of English ...
and
Julia Marlowe
Julia Marlowe (born Sarah Frances Frost; August 17, 1865 – November 12, 1950) was an English-born American actress, known for her interpretations of William Shakespeare's plays.
Life and career
Marlowe was born as Sarah Frances Frost at Cald ...
. Architect
Thomas M. James (Hill, James, & Whitaker) designed the building, which seats approximately 1,600 people. Originally conceived as The Lyric Theatre by developer
Charles H. Bond, it was taken over 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 ...
in 1908 after Bond's death.
The building was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1980. In February 1996, the
Wang Center signed a 40-year lease agreement to operate the theatre with the Shubert Organization, which continues to own the building and property; the theatre reopened after renovation in November 1996, as the first stop on the First National Tour of
RENT
Rent may refer to:
Economics
*Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property
*Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production
*Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...
. The
Boch family became the namesake of the center in 2016, making the full name of the theatre the Shubert Theatre at the Boch Center.
Pre-Broadway engagements
See also
*
References
;Notes
External links
* Boston Public Library, Special Collections
William B. Jackson Theater Collection Includes materials related to the Shubert Theatre, 1910-1989
* Library of Congress
Drawing of New Shubert Theatre Tremont St. opposite Hollis St., Boston, Massachusetts, 1929.
* New York Public Library:
*
Flyerpromoting the pre-Broadway booking (2 weeks beginning Monday November 7, 1938) of The Boys From Syracuse at the Shubert Theatre (Boston, Mass.)
*
Flyer advertising Too Many Girlsopening at the Shubert Theatre (Boston, Mass.) (1939)
*
Program (May 11-23, 1942) for All's Fair the pre-Broadway title for By Jupiter, at the Shubert Theatre (Boston, Mass.)
* Bostonian Society:
*
Photo of 263-265 Tremont Street c. 1943
*
Photo of interior of Shubert Theater c. 1935-50
*
Photo of interior of Shubert Theater 20th century
*
Photo of 263-265 Tremont Street c. 1957
*
Photo of 255-275 Tremont Street c. 1959
Boston Athenæum Theater History Shubert Theatre (1910- ), 265 Tremont Street
{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
1910 establishments in Massachusetts
Shubert Organization
Culture of Boston
Theatres in Boston
Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
Boston Theater District
Theatres completed in 1910
National Register of Historic Places in Boston