Mark Hellinger Theatre- Page 2
Mark Hellinger Theatre
#25re: Mark Hellinger Theatre
Posted: 6/26/07 at 10:25am
I have always always wanted to go, but have felt awkward walking in. I checked the Times Square Church schedule on their website, but am still unsure. What is the best time/ day of the week to go? Please advise!
P.S. I am so going to pretend I'm going to see Fade Out- Fade In... in a completely un- crazy way, of course.
[title of show] on Broadway. it's time. believe.
Wicked63
Broadway Star Joined: 6/18/07
#26re: Mark Hellinger Theatre
Posted: 6/26/07 at 10:33amNone of us go in to pray except maybe we'll get the theatre back one day. we go into see this gem. Believeme nobody wants to convert you and when your in there no one looks twice at you. Go in and pretend to watch Peter Allen in Legs Diamond or poor Ben Vereen in Grind. Im only try ing to help here
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#27re: Mark Hellinger Theatre
Posted: 6/26/07 at 10:54am
Many, many years ago, the original entrance was on Broadway.
The first Broadway show I ever saw, Shenandoah, played the Hellinger. It's a beautiful theater inside.
I attended church services for several years there.
If you go into the balcony you can see that hanging over the stage is a huge crown flanked by two angels. The craftmanship on this theater is beautiful.
Broadway's loss is God's gain. 
If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.
#28re: Mark Hellinger Theatre
Posted: 6/26/07 at 11:06amWith Wicked right there, the theater could house a successful show.
"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view - until you climb into his skin and walk around in it."
To Kill A Mockingbird
To Kill A Mockingbird
Wicked63
Broadway Star Joined: 6/18/07
#29re: Mark Hellinger Theatre
Posted: 6/26/07 at 11:11amits a big house, great for musicals such as Wicked. To think that so many other beauties like this have been demolished completly for skyscrapers that we walk past every day. The great thing about this one is you dont have to walk past it!
#30re: Mark Hellinger Theatre
Posted: 6/26/07 at 12:04pm
As I posted yesterday on another thread, I have been in the Mark Hellinger a few times since it became the Times Square Church. The best time to go would be shortly before a service is to begin. Check the poster outside of the theatre for service times. I try to be as inconspicuous as possible. No one ever bothered me or asked me to leave. And no one tried to convert me!
The murals and the proscenium architecture are stunning. The lobby is huge and is easily the most impressive on Broadway. I saw the OBC of MY FAIR LADY there; it was its longest running show.(It was my second Broadway show, the first being the Mary Martin PETER PAN). I also saw FADE OUT, FADE IN, SUGAR BABIES with Mickey Rooney and the fabulous Ann Miller, and TIMBUKTU, a hybrid of KISMET. How great it would be to reclaim this beautiful theatre to the theatre community.
"Madam Rose...and her daughter...Gypsy!"
DAME
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/15/04
#31re: Mark Hellinger Theatre
Posted: 6/26/07 at 12:25pmLove this theater. The last show I saw there was Legs Diamond. I also have fond memories of someone I met during intermission at Merlin. And the first Tony Awards I ever went to were at this theater.
HUSSY POWER!
------ HUSSY POWER!
wonderful1
Understudy Joined: 12/6/04
#32re: Mark Hellinger Theatre
Posted: 6/26/07 at 12:33pm
"How great it would be to reclaim this beautiful theatre to the theatre community"
To my knowledge - it wasn't stolen from the community - it was bought by this church - and if they hadn't bought it - then it probably would have had the same fate as the Morosco. So, I am glad they bought it and have preserved it for anyone to see.
#33re: Mark Hellinger Theatre
Posted: 6/26/07 at 12:44pmThe Landmarks Preservation Commission would never allow the interior to be destroyed. Now that it belongs to the Times Square Church, I hope that is still the case.
"Madam Rose...and her daughter...Gypsy!"
#34re: Mark Hellinger Theatre
Posted: 6/26/07 at 1:53pm
I've been in there before and it is absolutely stunning. If it were brought back to legitimate use, then it would easily be the most beautiful theater on Broadway.
It's a nondenominational church I believe, so I don't think anyone will try to convert me. Nobody said a word to me as I walked around and quietly took pictures of the architecture (If you haven't been inside, go to my fan photos and check out some pictures of the interior). If it doesn't become a theater again... I want to get married in there. 
"I seem to have wandered into the BRAIN load-out thread... "
-best12bars
"Sorry I am a Theatre major not a English Major"
-skibumb5290
-best12bars
"Sorry I am a Theatre major not a English Major"
-skibumb5290
Wicked63
Broadway Star Joined: 6/18/07
#35re: Mark Hellinger Theatre
Posted: 6/26/07 at 3:18pmOh my god Gypsy9! You lucky thing- you saw Sugar Babies here-wow! what a setting or it. i saw the same production in London at the Savoy and loved it. Anne and Mickey were true stars.
#36re: Mark Hellinger Theatre
Posted: 6/26/07 at 3:22pm
I saw Legs Diamond there too!
I loved that show.
It is a non denominational church but is it gay friendly?
"Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there - fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge - they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I've got a sneaky feeling you'll find that love actually is all around."
#37re: Mark Hellinger Theatre
Posted: 6/26/07 at 3:24pmYou loved Legs Diamond? For it's camp value?
#38re: Mark Hellinger Theatre
Posted: 6/26/07 at 3:43pm
Well it had Julie Wilson and it was very Vegas and it was just in aww of shows back then. I love it cause it brings back memories of when I was younger and went with my mom to the theater.
"Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there - fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge - they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I've got a sneaky feeling you'll find that love actually is all around."
#39re: Mark Hellinger Theatre
Posted: 6/26/07 at 3:49pm
Plus, I'm sure it was thrilling to see Peter Allen on stage...even if he wasn't very convincing as a mobster. 
DAME
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/15/04
#40re: Mark Hellinger Theatre
Posted: 6/26/07 at 3:50pmI also saw Sugar Babies and Legs Diamond there. And it was a thrill to see Julie Wilson. The show was horrid and for that..it is a great memory. Up there with seeing the closing performance of Carrie.
HUSSY POWER!
------ HUSSY POWER!
broadwayguy2
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/18/03
#41re: Mark Hellinger Theatre
Posted: 6/26/07 at 4:09pm
It is depressing walking past that legendary house, knowing that most no one knows it's real story... and those horrid people attending ervices there.. Ugh. can't we give them the Hilton and reclaim the Hellinger?
Though, the Hilton would be a great house for the Tonys.
#42re: Mark Hellinger Theatre
Posted: 6/26/07 at 4:13pmI love these stories! I am SO going to finally check it out sometime this week.
[title of show] on Broadway. it's time. believe.
DAME
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/15/04
#43re: Mark Hellinger Theatre
Posted: 6/26/07 at 4:22pm
If you watch the Tony awards the year Angela Lansbury hosted and Miserables won you will see the Hellinger. It was also they year I first got to go to the Tonys.
HUSSY POWER!
------ HUSSY POWER!
Updated On: 6/26/07 at 04:22 PM
#44re: Mark Hellinger Theatre
Posted: 6/26/07 at 4:38pm
worked there as an usher from 76 - 88. Fabulously beautiful place. As I remember, the lobby was round with pillars and a beautiful mezz lobby overlooking the lower lobby. The colors at the time were pink and sky blue, which I thought was GREAT !!
Haven't been in there recently, but heard that it looks great. A shame it's not a bway theater anymore!!!
Smaxie
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/26/05
#45re: Mark Hellinger Theatre
Posted: 6/26/07 at 4:45pm
The lobby still looks like this.
Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop.
#46re: Mark Hellinger Theatre
Posted: 6/26/07 at 4:51pmBiggest waste of space on Broadway. It would be great to see it as a theater again.
broadwayguy2
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/18/03
#47re: Mark Hellinger Theatre
Posted: 6/26/07 at 4:56pm
*sigh* How goegeoud.
I feel like poor Simba in the ravine when the wildabeats stempede if I find myself within a block of that place when a service let's out. One of my favorite places to grab a quick bite is Ray's Pizza, just around the corner. When they come in, they take over. Loud, obnoxious, and thinking they rule all...
#49re: Mark Hellinger Theatre
Posted: 6/26/07 at 10:46pmI went inside for the first time today. It was beyond words; Glorious. I was left speechless by the beauty of the lobby alone. Also, the second floor lobby- ish area to get to the mezz is awesome--- it's so interesting that it's basically round. And everyone who said so is right- there are amazing sight lines from every seat in the house. I listened to Fade- Out Fade- In, Rags, and My Fair Lady on my ipod as I sat in the front mezz. BRING BACK THE MARK HELLINGER THEATRE!!!
[title of show] on Broadway. it's time. believe.
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