Name That Theatre!- Page 2
Name That Theatre!
#25re: Name That Theatre!
Posted: 6/25/07 at 12:07pmMr. Roxy: I remember the old Loews State Theatre. It was huge. I saw the movie BEN HUR there. I also remember the old Capitol Theatre, also on Broadway. What was it demolished for? I remember seeing one of the James Bond movies there, CASINO ROYALE. The Capitol was another huge, beautiful theatre with wood paneling. There used to be stage shows there, in between movie showings. Ah, memories...
"Madam Rose...and her daughter...Gypsy!"
jordangirl
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/1/06
#26re: Name That Theatre!
Posted: 6/25/07 at 12:16pmWicked63... What car names are you referring to? Looking over the list, I really don't see any that are exclusively car names. As for the American Airlines and the Hilton...that's called corporate sponsorship and is happening everywhere from sports to Broadway.
Experience live theater. Experience paintings. Experience books. Live, look and listen like artists! ~ imaginethis
LIVE THAT LESSON!!!!!!
LIVE THAT LESSON!!!!!!
Wicked63
Broadway Star Joined: 6/18/07
#27re: Name That Theatre!
Posted: 6/25/07 at 12:19pmsorry it was just me rocking at the thought of theatres called The Ford Centre and the Cadillac Theatre etc forgive me but now i think you'll follow where i came from now.
#28re: Name That Theatre!
Posted: 6/25/07 at 12:35pmMy greatest fear is that the Majestic will one day be named the Lloyd Webber.
I killed the boss, you don't think they're gonna fire me over a thing like that!!!!
#29re: Name That Theatre!
Posted: 6/25/07 at 12:50pm
The Nederlander was, at once time, The Billy Rose, and it's where the original production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? was presented. Evidently, the ghost of Martin Beck haunts the Hirshfeld. They've had troubles, especially noted during Sweet Charity. Evidently, Beck's spirit is upset.
Don't forget the greatest tragedy among Broadway theatres: The Mark Hellinger, home of My Fair Lady, Sugar Babies and Coco, among many others, is now the Times Square Church. Those of us interested in theatre architecture can't even walk into this "church" to view the designs, which evidently remain, without an appointment, and there are bums sleeping on the street in front of it. I thought churches were open to the public, at least during the day. What a sad fate for this theatre.
NYC Visitor and Broadway Fan
#30re: Name That Theatre!
Posted: 6/25/07 at 1:19pmAgreed! Let's re-name the Mark Hellinger as the Moss Hart, and open the damned thing! It's such a shame that (apparently) one of the most beautiful Broadway houses there is remains virtually intact, yet none of us who appreciate its beauty and historical significance can even see it.
Smaxie
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/26/05
#31re: Name That Theatre!
Posted: 6/25/07 at 1:25pmI would agree with you, except for the fact that when the Nederlander Organization sold the Mark Hellinger outright to the church, the theatre community didn't even issue a peep. Not a rally, not a protest, not a leaflet was issued.
Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop.
WOSQ
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/18/03
#32re: Name That Theatre!
Posted: 6/25/07 at 1:30pmIn the 1968 non-musical version of The Producers, the theatre where Springtime For Hitler played was the soon-to-be-demolished Playhouse, home of The Miracle Worker and Never Too Late. In one of the exteriors the name of the theatre directly across the street can be seen. Its name? The Cort.
"If my life weren't funny, it would just be true. And that would be unacceptable."
--Carrie Fisher
#33re: Name That Theatre!
Posted: 6/25/07 at 1:40pm
Piercemn: One can go into the Mark Hellinger(Times Square Church)when there is a service going on. I did go into this theatre last December on a weekday at about 6 o'clock, I believe. There are also services on Sundays. Check the poster in front of the theatre for service times. I tried to be as respectable and inconspicuous as possible. No one bothered me or asked me to leave. The elaborate murals, chandeliers, etc. are still visible and are in reasonably good shape. The lobby is particularly large and elaborate, unlike any other Broadway theatre. It is worth a trip during service times.
I remember being at the Mark Hellinger for the OBC's of MY FAIR LADY, FADE OUT, FADE IN with Carol Burnett, SUGAR BABIES with Micky Rooney and Ann Miller (a hoot), and TIMBUCKTU, a variation of KISMET. The theatre has excellent sight lines from any seat. What a shame that it is lost to the theatre community.
"Madam Rose...and her daughter...Gypsy!"
#34re: Name That Theatre!
Posted: 6/25/07 at 1:51pm
You saw the OBC of My Fair Lady? *DROOOOOOL*
That's #1 on my list of "If I had a time machine" shows.
#35re: Name That Theatre!
Posted: 6/25/07 at 2:42pmI remember that there was a long waiting list for seats for MY FAIR LADY. I think we had to wait for over a year for tickets. I can remember sitting in the balcony and the opening scene at Covent Garden. The sets and costumes were sumptuous and Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews were wonderful. It was my second Broadway show, the first being the Mary Martin PETER PAN.
"Madam Rose...and her daughter...Gypsy!"
Timmer
Broadway Star Joined: 2/21/06
#37re: Name That Theatre!
Posted: 6/25/07 at 3:46pmDon't forget the Broadway Theatre, whose name has not changed. I believe that it was used to show films at some distant point in the past.I think there is a plaque there saying that Mickey Mouse made his screen debut there.
Timmer
Broadway Star Joined: 2/21/06
#38re: Name That Theatre!
Posted: 6/25/07 at 4:03pmDon't forget the Broadway Theatre, whose name has not changed. I believe that it was used to show films at some distant point in the past.
I think there is a plaque there saying that Mickey Mouse made his screen debut there.
#39re: Name That Theatre!
Posted: 6/26/07 at 2:21am
"I also remember the old Capitol Theater, also on Broadway. What was it demolished for?"
The Uris, now Gershwin sits on The Capitol site.
"In the 1968 non-musical version of The Producers, the theater where Springtime For Hitler played was the soon-to-be-demolished Playhouse, home of The Miracle Worker and Never Too Late."
It was also the theater where Patty Duke's character is getting ready for opening night in "Valley Of the Dolls". At the end Neely has her breakdown in the alley.
"My greatest fear is that the Majestic will one day be named the Lloyd Webber"
Wow, most people would probably say the death of a child or nuclear proliferation, but if that's your greatest fear, hey more power to ya.
Smaxie
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/26/05
#40re: Name That Theatre!
Posted: 6/26/07 at 8:41am
>"I also remember the old Capitol Theater, also on Broadway. What was it demolished for?"
The Uris, now Gershwin sits on The Capitol site.<
I'm not sure that that's quite accurate. Although it was demolished when I was in my youth, it's my understanding that the Capitol fronted Broadway on the southwest corner of 51st Street, where the Paramount Plaza and Mars 2112 now stand. The Uris/Gershwin is further west, down the street. Of course, the Capitol was demolished for that new construction, but the Gershwin really doesn't literally stand on the site of the Capitol.
Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop.
#41re: Name That Theatre!
Posted: 6/26/07 at 12:34pmSmaxie: Thanks for the neat old photo of the Capitol. You are right about the Gershwin being west of where the Capitol stood.
"Madam Rose...and her daughter...Gypsy!"
#42re: Name That Theatre!
Posted: 6/26/07 at 12:42pmThis will date me. I was going to NYU at the time, and I was one of the ones arrested trying to stop the destruction of the Helen Hayes Theatre. I got to ride next to Collen Dewhurst on the way to the police station.
RockabyeHamlet
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/1/05
#43re: Name That Theatre!
Posted: 6/26/07 at 1:02pm
"The other thing is why name a theatre after someone in the theatre the public in general wouldnt know who they were as in the two names given to Plymouth and the Royalty?"
- Wicked, what better way to honor the people who made a significant contribution to the art of theatre?
"I wouldn't let Esparza's Bobby take my kids to the zoo...I'd be afraid he'd steal their ice cream and laugh."- YankeeFan
"People who like Sondheim enjoy cruelty."-LuvtheEmcee
"People who like Sondheim enjoy cruelty."-LuvtheEmcee
Smaxie
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/26/05
#44re: Name That Theatre!
Posted: 6/26/07 at 1:14pm
You know, when lost theatres come up, the Mark Hellinger, and the demolished Morosco, Helen Hayes and Bijou Theatres always come up. But where, I ask you, is the love for the craziest fever dream of a theatre, the Ziegfeld?
Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop.
Updated On: 6/26/07 at 01:14 PM
Smaxie
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/26/05
#45re: Name That Theatre!
Posted: 6/26/07 at 1:19pm
Ziegfeld interior
Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop.
Smaxie
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/26/05
#46re: Name That Theatre!
Posted: 6/26/07 at 1:22pm
Another Ziegfeld exterior shot (when it was used as a movie theatre, prior to returning again to legit attractions).
Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop.
Smaxie
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/26/05
#47re: Name That Theatre!
Posted: 6/26/07 at 1:25pm
And one more Ziegfeld interior shot. It's like living in a Gustav Klimt painting.
Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop.
#48re: Name That Theatre!
Posted: 6/26/07 at 1:40pm
"I'm not sure that that's quite accurate. Although it was demolished when I was in my youth, it's my understanding that the Capitol fronted Broadway on the southwest corner of 51st Street, where the Paramount Plaza and Mars 2112 now stand. The Uris/Gershwin is further west, down the street. Of course, the Capitol was demolished for that new construction, but the Gershwin really doesn't literally stand on the site of the Capitol."
Hellooooo, it was a 6000 seat movie palace. It took up the whole block. If you want to get technical, the Gershwin is sitting in the ass of the Capitol, the Paramount building above and Mars 2121 in the basement below in the middle and sidewalk takes up the original Capitol entrance.
#49re: Name That Theatre!
Posted: 6/26/07 at 3:30pm
Although it was a huge movie palace, I seriously doubt that the Capitol seated 6000 people. It was more like 4000. And did it really take up an entire city block?
Smaxie: I am impressed with your old theatre photos. I could kick myself for not seeing Bert Lahr in FOXY which I believe was the Ziegfeld's last show. If I'm not mistaken, the premier production of SHOWBOAT played the Ziegfeld in 1927.
"Madam Rose...and her daughter...Gypsy!"
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