The Knickerbocker Theatre, previously known as Abbey's Theatre and Henry Abbey's Theatre, was 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 Stre ...

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

located at 1396 Broadway (West 38th Street) in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. It operated from 1893 to 1930. In 1906, the theatre introduced the first moving electrical sign on Broadway to advertise its productions.

History

The 1500-seat theatre was designed by the architectural firm of J. B. McElfatrick & Co. It opened as Abbey's Theatre, named after Broadway theatre manager and producer

Henry Eugene Abbey Henry Eugene Abbey (June 27, 1846 – October 17, 1896) was an American theatre management, manager and Theatrical producer, producer. Early life Henry E. Abbey was born in Akron, Ohio, Akron, Ohio on June 27, 1846, to clockmaker Henry Stephen A ...

, on November 8, 1893, with a production of the melodrama ''The Countess Valeska''. In the mid-1890s,

Lillian Russell Lillian Russell (born Helen Louise Leonard; December 4, 1860 or 1861 – June 6, 1922) was an American actress and singer. She became one of the most famous actresses and singers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, praised for her beaut ...

starred at the theatre, including in ''

The Queen of Brilliants ''The Queen of Brilliants'' is a comic opera in three acts with music by Edward Jakobowski and a libretto by Brandon Thomas. It was adapted from Jakobowski's German-language operetta ''Die Brillantett-Königin'', with a libretto by Theodore Tawbe ...

'', a flop. Following Abbey's death in 1896,

Al Hayman Al Hayman, also known as Raphael Hayman, (1847 – February 10, 1917) was the business partner of the better-known Charles Frohman who together with others established the Theatrical Syndicate. In addition to the financial backing, ownership ...

and the

Theatrical Syndicate Starting in 1896, the Theatrical Syndicate was an organization in the United States that controlled the majority of bookings in the country's leading theatrical attractions. The six-man group was in charge of theatres and bookings. The Syndicate's ...

group took control of the theatre and rechristened it the Knickerbocker. In its early years, the theatre hosted productions of

Shakespeare's William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

plays and

Edwardian musical comedy Edwardian musical comedy is a genre of British musical theatre that thrived from 1892 into the 1920s, extending beyond the reign of King Edward VII in both directions. It began to dominate the English musical stage, and even the American musical ...

. Several of

Victor Herbert Victor August Herbert (February 1, 1859 – May 26, 1924) was an American composer, Cello, cellist and conducting, conductor of English and Irish ancestry and German training. Although Herbert enjoyed important careers as a cello soloist and co ...

's operettas premièred there. In 1906, the theatre introduced the first moving electrical sign on Broadway with an advertisement for its production of Herbert's ''

The Red Mill ''The Red Mill'' is an operetta written by Victor Herbert, with a libretto by Henry Blossom. The farcical story concerns two American vaudevillians who wreak havoc at an inn in the Netherlands, interfering with two marriages; but all ends well. Th ...

''. Operettas by European composers, such as ''

The Dollar Princess ''The Dollar Princess'' is a musical in three acts, with music by Leo Fall, adapted into English by Basil Hood with lyrics by Adrian Ross (from the 1907 ''Die Dollarprinzessin'' with a German-language libretto by A. M. Willner and Fritz Grünbau ...

'' and ''

The Merry Widow ''The Merry Widow'' ( ) is an operetta by the Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The Libretto, librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein (writer), Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's ...

'' also played there. In 1905,

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

opened its first office at the theatre. After

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the theatre continued to present a mixture of musicals, new plays and classics. Following the Wall Street crash of 1929, the theatre closed. It was

demolished Demolition (also known as razing and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a building apa ...

in 1930, along with the nearby Casino Theatre, to make way for the expanding Garment District.

Notable productions

*1895: ''

An Enemy of the People ''An Enemy of the People'' (original Norwegian title: ''En folkefiende'') is an 1882 play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen that explores the conflict between personal integrity and societal norms. The play centers on Dr. Thomas Stockmann, w ...

'' *1896: '' The Sign of the Cross'' (play by Wilson Barrett) (November) *1897: ''

The Serenade ''The Serenade'' is an operetta with music and lyrics by Victor Herbert, and book by Harry B. Smith. Produced by a troupe called " The Bostonians", it premiered on Broadway on March 16, 1897 at the Knickerbocker Theatre and ran initially for 7 ...

'' *1901: '' Quality Street'' *1901: ''

The Strollers ''The Strollers'' is a musical in two acts and a prologue with music by Ludwig Engländer and a book and lyrics by Harry B. Smith. Set in Austria, the work is based on Leopold Krenn and Karl Lindau's libretto for the 1899 operetta '' Die Landstr ...

'' (70 perf.) *1901 ''

The Casino Girl ''The Casino Girl'' is an Edwardian musical comedy in two acts with music by Ludwig Engländer, Will Marion Cook, Will Accooe, Harry Truman MacConnell and Arthur Nevin, lyrics by Engländer, Cook and MacConnell, and a book by Harry B. Smith and ...

'' (40 perf.) *1902: ''

The Toreador ''The Toreador'' is an Edwardian musical comedy in two acts by James T. Tanner and Harry Nicholls (comedian), Harry Nicholls, with lyrics by Adrian Ross and Percy Greenbank and music by Ivan Caryll and Lionel Monckton. It opened at the Gaiety ...

'' (121 perf.) *1902: ''The Wild Rose'' (136 perf.) *1903: ''Mr. Bluebeard'' (135 perf.) *1905: '' Mlle. Modiste'' (202 perf.) *1906: ''

'' (274 perf.) *1907: ''The Talk of New York'' (173 perf.) *1908: ''

The Girls of Gottenberg ''The Girls of Gottenberg'' is an Edwardian musical comedy in two acts by George Grossmith, Jr. and L. E. Berman, with lyrics by Adrian Ross and Basil Hood, and music by Ivan Caryll and Lionel Monckton. P. G. Wodehouse's personal papers indicate ...

'' (103 perf.) *1909: ''The Fair Co-ed'' (136 perf.) *1909: ''

'' (250 perf.) *1910: '' The Arcadians'' (201 perf. across multiple theatres) *1910: ''

The Scarlet Pimpernel ''The Scarlet Pimpernel'' is the first novel in a series of historical fiction by Baroness Orczy, published in 1905. It was written after her stage play of the same title (co-authored with her husband Montague Barstow) enjoyed a long run in Lo ...

'' *1911: ''The Siren'' (116 perf.) *1911: '' Kismet'' (the play by Edward Knoblauch) (184 perf.) *1912: ''

Oh! Oh! Delphine ''Oh! Oh! Delphine'' is a musical comedy with book and lyrics by C. M. S. McLellan and music by Ivan Caryll. It is based on the French farce ''Villa Primrose'' by Marcel Guillemaud and Georges Berr. A Broadway production opened at the Knickerbo ...

'' (258 perf.) *1913: ''

The Sunshine Girl ''The Sunshine Girl'' is an Edwardian musical comedy in two acts with a book by Paul A. Rubens and Cecil Raleigh, music and lyrics by Rubens and additional lyrics by Arthur Wimperis. The story involves a working girl who falls in love wit ...

'' *1913: ''

The Marriage Market ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'' *1914: '' The Girl from Utah'' (120 perf.) *1916: '' The Music Master'' (159 perf., revival) *1917: ''

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

'' *1918: ''

Listen Lester Listen Lester may refer to: * ''Listen Lester'' (play) 1918 play featuring Clifton Webb * ''Listen Lester'' (film), 1924 silent film based on the play {{disamb ...

'' (272 perf.)Parker, John (ed), ''Who's Who in the Theatre'', 10th revised edition, London, 1947: 1430 *1920: ''

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

'' (220 perf.) *1922: ''The Clinging Vine'' (188 perf.) *1924: ''

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythical ...

'' (96 perf., revival) *1925: ''

Dearest Enemy ''Dearest Enemy'' is a musical with a book by Herbert Fields, lyrics by Lorenz Hart, and music by Richard Rodgers. This was the first of eight book musicals written by the songwriting team of Rodgers and Hart and writer Herbert Fields, and the f ...

'' (286 perf.) *1926: ''Honeymoon Lane'' (353 perf.) *1927: ''Sidewalks of New York'' (112 perf.)

References

External links

Internet Broadway Database listing
{{Coord, 40, 45, 9.5, N, 73, 59, 13.5, W, type:landmark_region:US-NY, display=title Former Broadway theatres Broadway (Manhattan) Demolished theatres in New York City Buildings and structures demolished in 1930 Demolished buildings and structures in Manhattan