The Cort to become The James Earl Jones Theatre?- Page 2

[OhHiii]

Posted: 3/2/22 at 9:39am

fashionguru_23 said: "OhHiii said: "A lot of these comments suggesting white artists instead of a prolific Black actor are….suspect."

Suspect of what? Giving their opinions? None of these people are saying No to James Earl Jones. Suspect would be someone saying Jones doesn't deserve it, and please think about the white people who have been "egregiously overlooked"."

If you think bias only looks a certain way, you should probably check your own. 

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 3/2/22 at 9:48am

You ain’t making the point you think you’re making. 
 

 

[GlindatheGood22]

Posted: 3/2/22 at 10:10am

EDSOSLO858 said: "Hoping the Palace gets renamed upon reopening as well."

If there is one theatre I would bet money on never being renamed, it's the Palace.

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 3/2/22 at 10:17am

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Shubert-Organization-Will-Rename-the-Cort-Theatre-After-James-Earl-Jones-20220302

It's official! Congradulations, Mr. Jones! What a lovely quote from him as well!

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 3/2/22 at 10:24am

Nice! Can't think of someone more deserving of it!

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 3/2/22 at 10:24am

May generations of exceptional Black talent perform on this stage in his honor.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 3/2/22 at 10:35am

As with most Broadway theatres named after a person, I think we can assume that most people will casually call it "the Jones," even if the full name is "the James Earl Jones Theatre" - which it probably will be. As long as that's the case, I don't think the commonness of the name Jones will be an issue, since anyone shortening it would likely already be aware of whom it's named after. 

I agree it would suck to make " The Jones Theatre" the official full name of the theatre, but I doubt that will be the case. 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 3/2/22 at 10:35am

Yay. And regarding the full name/last name issue, bear in mind that quite a few theatres that we regularly refer to by truncated names are actually full name theatres. e.g., most confusingly, the Ethel Barrymore. 

[Dollypop]

Posted: 3/2/22 at 10:53am

 

Updated On: 3/2/22 at 10:53 AM

[Dollypop]

Posted: 3/2/22 at 10:53am

fashionguru_23 said: "For me, there are some theatre names that have become legendary and very much a part of Broadway and would be gutted to lose: St. James, Palace, Majestic, and Winter Garden."

 

The St James is named after an actor that actress Susan St James is a relative of

 

[Dollypop]

Posted: 3/2/22 at 10:53am

fashionguru_23 said: "For me, there are some theatre names that have become legendary and very much a part of Broadway and would be gutted to lose: St. James, Palace, Majestic, and Winter Garden."

 

The St James is named after an actor that actress Susan St James is a relative of

 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 3/2/22 at 11:31am

This quote in the Broadway Briefing is so deliciously petty and speaks to the general industry sentiment that BTU has tried to play its hand WAY too heavily and is a source of irritation to the powerbrokers who are trying to make change in their own time. (As we also know from Michael Riedel's piece where several folks spoke off the record.)

"Although the decision to rename the theatre was not made in response to BTU’s New Deal, Shubert is pleased that its goals align with those of Black Theatre United," the spokesperson said. 

[darquegk]

Posted: 3/2/22 at 11:54am

I’m sure the shortened/slang version will default to the Mufasa Theatre or the Darth Vader theatre. Especially given the rumors that James Earl Jones is the first actor to ever be officially digitized and immortalized with modern voice reconstruction technology, ensuring that for as long as there is Darth Vader there will be James Earl Jones. 

If you watch Mandalorian, you’ve likely heard the digitized voice of young Mark Hamill, made from synthesizing the voice data of lines Hamill spoke as a young man on film. But allegedly Jones has been recording an immense database of his voice throughout the digital age, to have a much wider variety of sounds, cadences and tones to draw from and synthesize with from his glory days to the present. I’m sure it’s made him a wealthy man, and no doubt it is comforting for him to think that not only will his art hopefully be immortal, but the voice itself that created his legend may never fall silent.

[saxpower]

Posted: 3/2/22 at 12:42pm

Its funny- the other day when reading posts about what plays are going where and what show is going to reopen the Cort, it occurred to me the Cort would make sense to re-name if the Shuberts wanted to name a theatre for a POC.   New signage is going to be needed anyway, so it can be/has been ordered with the new name.   I don't mean any disrespect by saying that, its just a case of given the Cort is being re-done, if you are going to rename a theatre, its a good candidate.  I'm aware JEJ made his Broadway debut there, but he has connections to other Shubert Theatres as well (he's appeared twice at the Golden, for example). 

Definitely deserved, and always nice to have this done while he's still with us. (Hopefully he'll continue to be with us for a while, but the man is 91).  No disrepect to John Cort, but he's not someone who made enough of a contribution to "Today's Broadway" to  be generally known withing the theatre community.  As someone else is pointed out, "Cort Theatre" is engraved on the front of the building.  That should stay there, both for history and to give Mr. Cort at least some recognition for building the theatre and for his work as a producer back at the time it was built.  

Interestingly- I was checking something for writing this post and noticed Wikipedia now lists it as the James Earl Jones Theatre, Shubert's web page still calls it the Cort. 

[Highland Guy]

Posted: 3/2/22 at 12:56pm

I would have no problem calling it by the full name:     The James Earl Jones Theatre.  

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 3/2/22 at 1:03pm

A few things re: recent posts:

– The theatre will have an official renaming ceremony at the time of its opening. Hence why Shubert still lists The Cort on its own website. But its own social channels were slow to report the news. I would not read into this at all. (The press release is on Shubert's home page.)

– John Cort's name likely has to remain carved into the building because it is a registered historic landmark.

– The timing and choice of Cort is probably more related to its renovation, and less related to the fact that he made his Bway debut there. A happy coincidence, tho.


Also, some more info on the renovation:

– Renderings of the new Cort Annex (incl. lobbies and rehearsal studio) can be found here. Is the Annex constructed yet? I haven't been by the Cort in a while...

– Details about what's being done to the existing theatre: "At the historic theater proper, Francesca Russo, Shubert’s go-to preservation architect for the last 25 years, will restore the facade, update the venue’s oft-maligned seating (though only make it more comfortable, not expand or reduce its 1,082-seat capacity), restore the original proscenium arch, improve accessibility, and modernize the stage to allow for more technically-demanding productions."

Updated On: 3/2/22 at 01:03 PM

[saxpower]

Posted: 3/2/22 at 1:26pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "A few things re: recent posts:


– Renderings of the new Cort Annex (incl. lobbies and rehearsal studio) can be found here.Is the Annex constructed yet? I haven't been by the Cort in a while...
 

 

I don't live in NYC but the Google "Street View" image is from September 2021 (admitedly, 6 months ago).  The annex is under construction and seems to be framed out.   Most of the marquee has been removed- the base is still there but its bolted into the front of the theatre via tie rods so that would be more of a job.  Assuming they were able to keep up the work pace over the fall/winter, I'd think the annex would be well along by now. 

Of course a great deal of the work is inside (I'd say the majority but for the annex) so its hard to tell where they are on the overall project. 

[JSquared2]

Posted: 3/2/22 at 1:37pm

EDSOSLO858 said: "May generations of exceptional talent perform on this stage in his honor."

 

There -- fixed that for you.

 

 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 3/2/22 at 2:26pm

Can't wait to see the redesigned marquee. Happy they are getting rid of the big boxy clunky marquee! And happy for Mr. Jones! 

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 3/2/22 at 2:54pm

“There -- fixed that for you.”

Put down the keyboard liver spot. 

[Ethel Berman]

Posted: 3/2/22 at 4:26pm

Amazing news. Such a deserving talent to be memorialized in this way.

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 3/2/22 at 4:28pm

I would LOVE if they put his signature up on the marquee the way they did Sondheim's.

[joevitus]

Posted: 3/2/22 at 4:37pm

JBroadway said: "As with most Broadway theatres named after a person, I think we can assume that most people will casually call it "the Jones," even if the full name is "the James Earl Jones Theatre" - which it probably will be. As long as that's the case, I don't think the commonness of the name Jones will be an issue, since anyone shortening it would likely already be aware of whom it's named after.

I agree it would suck to make " The Jones Theatre" the official full name of the theatre, but I doubt that will be the case."

Makes me laugh because we have a Jones theater in town. Hosted the opera for years, and now seems to be mostly used for touring shows. Never thought it sounded to plain.

But, whatever they refer to the NYC theater, bravo Mr. James Earl Jones. You deserve this.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 3/2/22 at 5:00pm

^It's not that it sounds too plain - like I said, it makes sense to casually refer to as "the Jones," but to make that the official title name (minus "James Earl" distances it from the person being honored, especially for a common name like "Jones." Just curious - do you know offhand who The Jones is named after in your town? (maybe you do, but you see my point, right?)

In any case, it's probably moot, because I expect like most theatres named after a person, his full name will be used for the official title. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 3/2/22 at 5:15pm

RippedMan said: "Can't wait to see the redesigned marquee. Happy they are getting rid of the big boxy clunky marquee! And happy for Mr. Jones!"

Yes, and the added signage on the Annex should be VERY beneficial for visibility from 6th or 7th Aves. The existing marquee and signage is terrible.