Longacre Theatre

[magruder]

Posted: 2/2/05 at 11:36am

I was walking up West 48th Street this morning, and was delighted to see workers inside the lobby and house of the Longacre (which will house Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? in March). The workers in the lobby were newly gilding the ceiling medallions and it seemed like more was going on inside the house. Could it be that the theatre is finally getting some needed restoration work done? I always thought that the theatre would be booked more often if it looked a little nicer inside. (And having seen Ain't Misbehavin' and Children of a Lesser God there, I know that the theatre is capable of housing hit shows).

Updated On: 2/2/05 at 11:36 AM

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 2/2/05 at 12:28pm

didn't prymate play there? it's too bad i missed that one...

[mallardo]

Posted: 2/2/05 at 12:37pm

I'm curious, what was the last successful show to play the Longacre?

[magruder]

Posted: 2/2/05 at 1:42pm

Last success at the Longacre was the limited run of Medea in 1994, starring Diana Rigg (for which she won a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play). Prior to that, the theatre had a hit in 1986 with the limited run of Cuba and His Teddy Bear, starring Robert DeNiro. But in the last 25 years, the only commercial success that played the Longacre for an open run was Children of a Lesser God in 1980, written by Mark Medoff, author of Prymate.

Updated On: 2/2/05 at 01:42 PM

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 2/2/05 at 3:36pm

The Longacre hasn't housed a hit in a while. "Def Jam Poetry" won a Tony and ran a few months, but didn't make any money. "The Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All" closed on opening night. And we all know the deal with "Prymate"...Let's hope the sure-to-be fantastic revival of "Virginia Woolf" will break this streak!