NY Times: The Shows Must Go On, but Not Until They Change Theaters

[Smaxie]

Posted: 4/24/08 at 6:56pm

"Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps," is migrating five blocks to the Cort Theater from the American Airlines Theater. It is one of two hit Broadway plays to move on the same day.


Fun article about the details of moving The 39 Steps and August: Osage County to their new theatres.

The Shows Must Go On, but Not Until They Change Theaters

By GLENN COLLINS
Published: April 25, 2008

The computer-controlled lights and the fog machines were waiting in the wings. More than 600 props — including the maroon queen-sized pullout couch and the Zippo lighter — had been packed away. The sets that weren’t being bashed into shape to fit new stages had been muscled onto scenery trucks. And as the week wore on, a brigade of carpenters, electricians, sound and prop people performed a chaotic symphony for hammer, saw and drill.

Getting from Point A to Point B has always been daunting in Manhattan, but rarely has any New York moving van saga been as operatic as the simultaneous transfer of two hit Broadway plays to new theaters on the same day.

This year’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, "August: Osage County," a sprawling drama about a dysfunctional family inhabiting a rambling Oklahoma home, is moving to the Music Box Theater from the Imperial Theater next door. And "Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps," a witty, quick-change take on the 1935 movie thriller, is migrating five blocks to the Cort Theater from the American Airlines Theater.

The Broadway-to-Broadway transfer of even one play is more rare than a total solar eclipse. According to the Broadway League, the last time was nearly eight years ago when "Waiting in the Wings," starring Rosemary Harris and Lauren Bacall, segued from the Walter Kerr to the Eugene O’Neill in May 2000.

But the strange coincidence of two plays transferring on the same day "is almost stratospheric," said Charlotte St. Martin, the executive director of the Broadway League. In both cases, their theaters had been booked for other shows; but because they were unexpected hits, their producers decided that the considerable expense of a transfer was worth the gamble.

Read on...

Updated On: 4/24/08 at 06:56 PM

[Weez]

Posted: 4/24/08 at 6:57pm

Wow, it's so nice to hear of straight plays being roaring successes.

[shh282]

Posted: 4/24/08 at 7:00pm

Do these moves mean they're both likely to stay around longer?

[suicidalmickeymouse]

Posted: 4/24/08 at 7:01pm

Hopefully!

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 4/24/08 at 7:30pm

What a beautiful theater.

[musicandtemiror]

Posted: 4/24/08 at 8:52pm

Always wondered what the back of a Broadway stage looked like..............this isnt it?


just had to say it

oh well
looks pretty neat!!

[scaryclowns223]

Posted: 4/24/08 at 9:15pm

Nice article!

Though I would've liked to see a picture of the August:Osage County set in the Music Box, just to see how much of the stage it fills up.

[george95]

Posted: 4/24/08 at 9:29pm

if you go to the nytimes site and read the article there, there is a picture of the new August set at the Music Box.

[Smaxie]

Posted: 4/24/08 at 9:41pm

Link to the NY Times story is at the bottom of my original post.

The NY Times photo of the August set still looks like it is onstage at the Imperial.



As for the picture of the Cort, the back wall of the theatre's stage is the Cort's actual back wall, and not the faux back wall of the 39 Steps set.

Interesting fact about the Cort's beautiful proscenium arch. It used to be illuminated from within with colored glass and lighting hidden behind that lattice work, though it is no longer used. Next time you are at the Cort, look closely at the proscenium and you can still see bits of aquamarine colored glass within it.

Updated On: 4/25/08 at 09:41 PM

[scaryclowns223]

Posted: 4/24/08 at 9:45pm

I don't know, it doesn't look nearly as impressive from this vantage point, and the house was always one of my favorite aspects of the production.

[Smaxie]

Posted: 4/24/08 at 9:47pm

As I said in my post, that photo is a shot of the August set while STILL IN THE IMPERIAL THEATRE.

[scaryclowns223]

Posted: 4/24/08 at 9:48pm

Sorry Smaxie, I misinterpreted.

I thought you meant "It looks as it did at the Imperial."

My bad.

[ThankstoPhantom]

Posted: 4/24/08 at 9:57pm

Plus, there is no theatrical lighting in that photograph, so the house becomes one with its surroundings.

This is such great news to hear about.

[george95]

Posted: 4/24/08 at 10:16pm

oh sorry I assumed that was the Music Box because I dont remember the Imperial being so bright and the set does look smaller and less impressive.

[Smaxie]

Posted: 4/24/08 at 10:20pm

You can tell that the picture above is the Imperial because of the nondescript box seats. The Music Box has very distinctive side boxes (see below)

Updated On: 4/24/08 at 10:20 PM

[WickedBoy2]

Posted: 4/24/08 at 10:38pm

Smaxies on a roll......bring it on!