Theatres bulit to house specfic shows- Page 2

[Fosse76]

Posted: 7/3/07 at 10:14am

"one may say also that Livent also renovated the Oriental in Chicago for Ragtime same way it built/combined the ford centre in NYC"

And one would be wrong. Livent wanted a permanent presence in both New York and Chicago, based on the popularity of their shows in those cities. They therefore acquired The Oriental in Chicago and two theatres in New York. While the first shows housed Ragtime, neither theatre was designed for that show, and would have been restored by Livent without them. The Oriental was going to be Livent's non-Broadway launching point for shows. Most theatres "built for a show" aren't built for a show. They are built with the specifications to accommodate a specific show, which they generally hope will bring in other shows after it closes. I believe that the majority of theatres built in the nineties (or subsequently rennovated) were done so to accommodate The Phantom of the Opera and Les Miz.

[Wicked63]

Posted: 7/3/07 at 10:14am

Not a theatre as such is it but we will see mabe the future yes. Remember they siad they built it for her show! Does that mean they built another for Elton and now yet aother for Bette

[ThankstoPhantom]

Posted: 7/3/07 at 10:19am

Not a theatre as such is it but we will see mabe the future yes.

I'm sorry...but what does this mean?

[Born To Reign]

Posted: 7/3/07 at 10:38am

No, Bette took over Celine's

[Wicked63]

Posted: 7/3/07 at 11:04am

Yea Celine then Elton and soon Bette. When i said 'not a theatre as such' meaning it was build to CdS specs but in the future there would be little problem in it becoming a theatre as per Broadway /West End. I sat watching O thing yes this building could stage anything! Thats all i said but it looks like the nit pickers are out today. Why cant posts be taken lightly and answerd lightly.

[Wicked63]

Posted: 7/3/07 at 11:06am

Elton played there on Celines break but they didnt have to rebuild the theatre for him did they. Thats what im saying it wasnt built especialy for Celine.

[BroadwayBoy2]

Posted: 7/3/07 at 11:11am

But with out the rebuilding of the Hilton could Ragtime have fit in any other theatre? It is the largest on broadway of the theatres right?

[fnyboi88]

Posted: 7/3/07 at 11:18am

Well I live in KC, and our downtown theatre, The Music Hall, is getting remodeling done so it can house bigger touring shows, such as the Lion King. Also we have an outdoor theatre that holds 8,000 people (yes the far back seats suck, but they're only $9) well they made their stage bigger so they could have Miss Siagon.

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 7/3/07 at 11:26am

>> Thats all i said but it looks like the nit pickers are out today. Why cant posts be taken lightly and answerd lightly.

Because there's this little thing called accuracy, sorry. As it stands now, the O theatre would require a massive renovation to become a "traditional" stage. Just because it's a big space doesnt mean it can handle just any old play that comes along once O closes.

[Born To Reign]

Posted: 7/3/07 at 11:29am

Wicked, you are totally missing the point. That theatre would not exist if they hadn't built it for Celine Dion's show. The fact that another person or show could play there is inconsequential. You're misunderstanding the question. It's not about a theatre that can ONLY house one show because it's so unique, it's about a theatre that was built for a specific show, regardless of whether or not something else ends up playing there. Every space is adaptable. There are theatres in NYC that have been converted to Duane Reades. I've seen 3 shows at Circle in the Square. For spelling bee, I sat on the floor. During Rocky Horror that was used as part of the stage. For Metamorphoses, there was a pool right there! Also, the rows where the orchestra pit goes are often removed. A space being adaptable doesn't mean it wasn't built specifically for a show. You're misinterpreting the whole thread!

[uncageg]

Posted: 7/3/07 at 11:30am

The Buell Theatre here in Denver was built to be able to have big shows like Phantom. It was built pretty much specifically to be able to have Phantom play there. It was the 1st show at the theatre in 1991.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 7/3/07 at 11:30am

"But with out the rebuilding of the Hilton could Ragtime have fit in any other theatre? It is the largest on broadway of the theatres right?"

Ragtime could have gone into any number of theatres. The Hilton, The New Amsterdam and The Gershwin all the three biggest theatres on Broadway, as far as seating. It's stage area that determines where a show will fit, and Ragtime, though big, could have fit in a number of theatres.

[ElFantasma14]

Posted: 7/3/07 at 11:35am

The Opera House underwent a multi-million dollar extensive renovation for the Lion King to play in during 2004.

[chinkie azn jai]

Posted: 7/3/07 at 12:05pm

The Palace Theatre in Chicago was renovated with The Lion King specifically in mind. Too bad it took years for The Lion King to actually play that theatre though.

[TapTapTapioca]

Posted: 7/3/07 at 12:58pm

Elton played there on Celines break but they didnt have to rebuild the theatre for him did they. Thats what im saying it wasnt built especialy for Celine.



Are you 12 years old? Yes anybody could use that theater, but anybody could use any theater. The point is the theater was built specifically for Celine and her show..it was built to fit her show. It was not built for Elton's show, only Celines.

Posted: 7/3/07 at 1:36pm

Maybe this doesn't qualify, but first Henry Miller's Theatre and then Studio 54 were converted from discos back into theaters specifically for Roundabout's production of Cabaret, and they remodeled both to look and feel like a Weimar-era night club.

A while back, someone posted a picture of the interior on here.

Posted: 7/3/07 at 1:53pm

Actually, Celines theatre was built to her specifications to fit her show. Of course it could be perfectly adapted to any performer or act, that theatre is fantastic and beautiul. Over the stage and the backstage areas is a "bubble" of humidity so her voice would not dry out in the desert air, just one example of Celines hand in the design of the Colisieum.

[TapTapTapioca]

Posted: 7/3/07 at 1:58pm

Mossi- That is what I just said.

[Gypsy9]

Posted: 7/3/07 at 4:29pm

I agree with Fosse76's comments. I can think of no Broadway theatre that was built specifically for one show in mind, including the Hilton(AKA the Ford Center). There are other theatres that RAGTIME could fit in, including the Broadway Theatre that has one of the largest stages in NYC. MISS SAIGON with its "real" helicopter easily fit into the Broadway. It is of course true that theatres have been altered to accommodate specific shows, like the Winter Garden for CATS and Roundabout's 54th Street theatre for CABARET. But those theatres were renovated back to their original state once the show left. I have a feeling that the light bridge in the Shubert Theatre was put in for A CHORUS LINE, and it is still in place, blocking the view of its murals from the balcony seats.

Incidentally, Roundabouts Studio 54 theatre was originally built as the Gallo Opera House in 1927. It changed names over the years. In 1933, it was converted into an elaborate nightclub-restaurant called the Casino de Paris(close to its configuration for CABARET). It was then converted back to a legitimate theatre. In 1942 CBS took over the theatre, used first for radio productions and then later for television. Then in 1977, it became Studio 54, the infamous disco-nightclub. Lastly, it became the Ritz, a rock concert hall in 1990. And now it is back to its original theatrical configuration as Roundabout's Studio 54 Theatre. So much for a theatre built for a specific production and staying that way.

[Fenchurch]

Posted: 7/3/07 at 4:34pm

No one mentioned Wagner building Bayreuth specifically for the ring cycle?

[BrianIdol]

Posted: 7/3/07 at 4:44pm

Wicked63 - do ur homework before making up crap about how livent only "renovated the pantages to what it used to look like"....you're wrong. You obviously have no idea how technically complicated a show like Phantom is, and how these theater's from the 20's were not even slightly equiped to handle phantom's special effects. They COMPLETELY gutten and rebuilt the stage/stage tower/wings/basement to handle phantom's effects.

[Born To Reign]

Posted: 7/3/07 at 5:00pm

Wicked63 thinks he's an expert on a lot of things. Including why London theatre is far superior to Broadway.

[BrianIdol]

Posted: 7/3/07 at 5:02pm

oh God, london theater hasn't been better than b'way since shakespeare died.