Bronx Opera House


The Bronx Opera House is a former theater, part of the Subway Circuit now converted into a boutique hotel in the Bronx, New York It was designed by George M. Keister and built in 1913 at 436 East 149th Street on the site of Frederick Schnaufer's stable. It was one of several theaters to come into the area that became known as the Hub. It was formally dedicated on opening night Saturday, August 30, 1913.
It had a capacity of 1,892 seats divided as follows: 799 orchestra seats, 537 balcony seats, 478 gallery seats and 78 box seats. The stage had a proscenium opening of 34x28 ft. and a 4 ft. apron. The theatre was equipped with 110 A.C. electricity and the backstage area featured 12 dressing rooms.
The building, its façade still standing today, has a fronting on 149th street, between Bergen and Brooke Avenue, and it runs back 205 feet to 148th street. A three-story commercial building was on 149th street. That space, apart from the 25-foot lobby leading to the theater, was originally leased to William Gibson and Gustave Beiswenger as a restaurant, café and banquet hall on the first and second floor named the Bronx Opera House Restaurant, the third floor being used as lodge rooms.
Emphasis was put on fire safety. An area-way demanded by the Department of Public Safety ran from street to street on either side of the theatre, affording ample space for substantial steel stairways leading down from the emergency exits.
An automatic asbestos safety curtain fronted the entr'acte drop, which was decorated with a damask valance separated into three sections, fringed with galloons. The centre of each section was embroidered with an embossed wreath, giving them a rich effect, materially enhanced by a highlight gold border running the full width of the curtain.
At the time of its opening, the color scheme interior of the house was ivory, green and old gold. The decorations were in the Italian Renaissance style. The ornamental work on the ceiling and box fronts and columns was old gold. The ornamental plaster work had been treated with an ivory tint, stenciled to harmonized with the wall coverings which were of silk damask. The body of the silk damask wall decorations was of a light green pattern harmonizing in color. Draperies of the same character in heavy velvet, treated with gold, with ornate center wreath medallions, constituted the box decorations.
Three mural paintings were adorning the auditorium ceiling. These represented the Temple of Love, Love Accused Before Jove, and Repose and Laughter.
In the foyer and aisles were carpets of green, two shades darker than the wall coverings and draperies. A feature of the Bronx Opera House was the diffused lighting arrangements. The sunburst, or center ceiling light fixture, was five feet in diameter. The small lights of the auditorium were so arranged as to be concealed from the eye. The second balcony and main auditorium were equipped with the same indirect alba glass globes.
Ventilation was achieved by a system of tubing built in the walls and foundations leading to and connecting on the roof with a high-power electric fan that drove the cold air down under the concrete floor of the auditorium, into which it was filtered by way of innumerable colanders installed under seats, making it possible to keep the temperature of the interior "healthful", no matter what conditions prevailed outside.
Performers included the Marx Brothers, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Julia Marlowe, Ethel Barrymore and Lionel Barrymore, David Warfield. Other performers at the theatre included George M. Cohan, Eddie Cantor, John Bunny, Harry Houdini, Peggy Wood and Fats Waller. Post-Broadway shows were often performed and the theater hosted the Aborn Opera Company.
The Bronx Opera House is often confused with the Percy G. Williams’ New Bronx Opera House built in 1909 and located at 567 Melrose Avenue, later renamed the B.F. Keith’s Bronx Theatre, which was a different venue featuring vaudeville shows.

Development and construction (1911–1913)

and Sam H. Harris had the idea of building a combination theater above the Harlem River probably as early as 1911 as they were actively looking for a site at the very beginning of 1912. The trade newspaper Variety was reporting at the time that the two sites considered were at 150th street and Westchester Avenue and the other at 163rd Street and Prospect Avenue.
Speculations were Cohan and Harris had secured a contract from Morgenthau-Hudson realty to build a 1,600 seats theatre for them at the 150th street location. Trouble occurred when it was announced on the front page of Variety on January 20, 1912 that the Shuberts were planning to build a legitimate house in the Bronx as well. New York theater managers generally felt that while the Bronx was a fertile field for one such theatre to show the Broadway attractions at reasonable prices, two theaters of similar policy in that section would only mean that either would be fortunate to break even.
There were good reasons to worry. A bitter competition already existed between Cohan & Harris' Grand Opera House at 8th Avenue and 23rd Street and the Shuberts’ Manhattan Opera House at 34th Street. Sam H. Harris's attempt at negotiating a deal with Lee Shubert failed and Cohan & Harris promptly announced the following week they were walking out on the entire project.
Three months later however, in early May, Sam H. Harris confirmed to Variety they had secured a site on 149th Street just east of 3rd avenue to build a sister theater to their Manhattan Grand Opera House and that it would be in operation by November. Then on June 8, 1912 details of the project are officially announced. The name of the theater is The Bronx Opera House at 438 to 444 east 149th street, the lease secured from Frederick Schnaufer that same day. George M. Keister who designed the George M. Cohan Theatre at Broadway and 43rd Street is the architect and he has the plans ready. Cohan & Harris via their Bronx 149th Street Realty Company have already leased the commercial space to Gibson and Beiswenger, who own the Criterion Restaurant at the corner of 3rd Avenue, for a cafe, restaurant and banquet hall on 149th street before construction has even begun.
Despite their clever maneuvering with the Shuberts, Cohan and Harris still end up facing competition in the Bronx. On August 29, John Cort announces the construction of the "Royal Theatre" in association with Frank Gersten. A combination house with a seating capacity of 2,500 located at Westchester, 3rd Avenue and 150th Street, a mere four block away from the Bronx Opera House that is to be completed by December 15.
This latest announcement revives the anxieties of theater managers in New York. When asked if he was interested in any new theaters in the city beyond the Harlem River, Harry Frazee was quoted by the New York Sun as saying he thanked the creator that he had no project underway in the Bronx.
September 9, 1912, the Daily Standard Union: Brooklyn announces Cramp & Co. has been awarded the construction contract for the Bronx Opera House, a fireproof building with exterior of brick, limestone and terra cotta requiring an expenditure of $250,000.
As construction gets quickly underway, a partnership is formed with A.H. Woods who came on board with an interest of one-third and an interest in management as well. There is little or no excavation to be done and the then estimated 2,500-seat house is expected to be ready by December. This partnership with Woods is perceived by many in the industry as a game-changer. It is seen either as an attempt by the two firms to break free from the Syndicates or an attempt to become their own Syndicate altogether. Rumors are promptly denied by both parties.
It seems unlikely that the Bronx Opera House could have opened in November or even December 1912 as announced, construction having started in September. Besides, it would have been odd to open a new theater in the middle of the theatrical season.
In the meantime, the development of its direct competitor, Cort and Gersten's Royal Theatre, seems to be plagued with an unnatural number of problems. The first major blow comes in late February 1913 when the Building Department, fed up with the construction being pushed forward despite the numerous violations issued against the building, obtains a court order restraining the contractors from doing any further work until all said violations are cleared up. The most serious one is that of the walls, which are not of the required thickness. Then two months later, the Shuberts and Klaw & Erlanger announce that they will play all their shows at the Bronx Opera House, shutting out the Royal Theatre. This must have been devastating news to Cort and Gersten. They had started building their theater with the expectation they would play the Shuberts and other shows, now they have to rely primarily on John Cort's attractions. Despite all these hurdles, the Royal Theatre will finally open ten days after the Bronx Opera House on September 8, 1913.
The Bronx Opera House is officially dedicated on August 30, 1913 and opens with Eugene Walter's play Fine Feathers.

Theatrical seasons

1913–1914

Manager: Richard Madden
Treasurer: Harry Cullen
Show times: Evening, 8:15 pm, matinees, 2.15 pm

Ticket prices: twenty-five cents to a dollar with bargain matinees at twenty-five and fifty cents.
August 30, 1913: Opening night. Cohan, Harris and Woods' plan to offer Broadway plays at popular prices north of 125th street seems to pay off. The Bronx Opera House opens its doors to "an immense audience" with Frazee's production of Fine Feathers. It's a scene long to be remembered as the crowd gathers around the entrance. Old Bronxites stand amazed as car after car whirls up to the curb and discharges its burden of fashion, wealth and beauty. It's Broadway transferred uptown. Longacre Square at its busiest hour could not show a more fashionable or a more cultured assemblage. Long before opening time, the street is jammed with a good-humored crowd.
Inside, George Cohan, Sam H. Harris, A. H. Woods and Harry Frazee all attend the performance. There is also a delegation from the New York Friars' Club in the audience, George Cohan being the Abbot of the organization at the time. Sam Harris is indefatigable and everywhere, acting as manager, usher and doorman. Max Figman, who plays in Fine Feathers, delivers an address presenting the theatre on behalf of the management and the address of acceptance on behalf of the people of the Bronx is made by Assemblyman Louis D. Gibbs during which he pays a tribute to the genius and enterprise who gave to the Borough one of the most beautiful theatres in the world.
Outside, the crowd gathering is such that the police is called to clear the sidewalk and the street.
The play is a huge hit and at the end of the last act, the cast has to answer to no less than six curtain calls.
Fine Feathers concludes a successful nine days engagement and is replaced the following week by the de Koven Opera Company production of Robin Hood. Attendance for the second week shows no sign of slowing down; it is described as a "large audience".
The above-mentioned shows had two things in common, they were both long-running commercial successes and they both featured their original Broadway cast. In the case of Fine Feathers it was the same cast that not only staged the play for over one hundred shows at the Astor but also at the Cort in Chicago where it premiered the year before, with the notable exception of the role of the maid. In other words, Cohan & Harris were playing it safe for their grand opening.
There is little doubt that the highlight of this first season was Broadway Jones, a comedy written, produced, directed and played by George M. Cohan in his own brand new theater in the Bronx. It was a vehicle for his farewell tour as an actor and both his parents were on stage with him. The play was due to open on Monday, September 22 was postponed until the next day because Cohan wanted one more day for rehearsal.
The singer-actor Fiske O'Hara went on the stage of the Bronx Opera House for the first time October 13, 1913, in a production of In Old Dublin. He will invariably appear every season for the next ten years making him a staple of the theater.
Another memorable night would have been December 8, 1913, for the premiere of George Middleton's The Prodigal Judge. The Bronx crowds were used to post-Broadway shows making their way to their borough, having a new play making its debut in the Bronx was something else. That Monday night, every seat was occupied, even the boxes being filled with first-nighters.
This was the offering of the Bronx Opera House for the 1913–1914 season.
DateShowAuthorProduction
08/30/1913Fine FeathersEugene WalterH.H. Frazee
09/08/1913Robin HoodReginald De Kovende Koven Opera Company
09/15/1913Stop ThiefCarlyle MooreCohan & Harris
09/23/1913Broadway JonesGeorge M. CohanCohan & Harris
09/29/1913The Ghost BreakerPaul Dickey and Charles W. GoddardMaurice Campbell
10/06/1913Years of DiscretionFrederick Hatton and Fanny Locke HattonDavid Belasco
10/13/1913In Old DublinAugustus Pitou, Sr.Augustus Pitou, Jr.
10/20/1913The Argyle CaseHarriet Ford and Harvey J. O'HigginsKlaw & Erlanger
10/27/1913The Master MindDaniel D. CarterLouis F. Werba and Mark A. Luescher
11/03/1913Widow by ProxyCatherine Chisholm CushingLiebler & Co.
11/10/1913Who's Who?Richard Harding DavisCharles Frohman
11/17/1913Spring MaidHarry B. Smith and Robert B. SmithLouis F. Werba and Mark A. Luescher
11/24/1913The Inner ShrineChanning PollockArthur G. Delamater
12/01/1913The ConspiracyJohn RobertsCharles Frohman
12/08/1913The Prodigal JudgeGeorge MiddletonArthur G. Delamater
12/15/1913The Old HomesteadDenman Thompson and George W. RyerCohan & Harris
12/22/1913Mutt and Jeff in PanamaOwen Davis and Will H. Cobb
12/29/1913Maggie PepperCharles KleinHenry B. Harris
01/05/1914Primrose and Dockstader's Twentieth Century Minstrels
01/12/1914The TyphoonEmil Nyitray and Byron OngleyWalker Whiteside
01/19/1914The Man InsideRoland Burnham MolineuxDavid Belasco
01/26/1914The RainbowA. E. ThomasHenry Miller
02/02/1914The Trail of the Lonesome PineEugene WalterKlaw & Erlanger
02/09/1914The FightBayard VeillerJoseph M. Gaites
02/16/1914The Grain of DustLouis Evan ShipmanJames K. Hackett
02/23/1914Damaged GoodsEugene Brieux and James WarbasseRichard Bennett and Wilton Lackaye, Jr.
03/02/1914Shameen DhuRida Johnson YoungHenry Miller
03/09/1914AdeleAdolf Philipp and Edward A. PaultonNew Era Producing Co.
03/16/1914The Madcap DuchessDavid Stevens and Justin Huntly McCarthyH. H. Frazee
03/23/1914Nearly MarriedEdgar SelwynCohan & Harris
03/30/1914The Strange WomanWilliam J. HurlbutKlaw & Erlanger
04/06/1914The Midnight GirlPaul HervéAdolf Philipp company
04/13/1914Along Came RuthHolman DayHenry W. Savage
04/20/1914Madame XAlexandre Bisson
04/27/1914Everywoman Walter BrowneHenry W. Savage

1914–1915

In its November 7, 1914 edition, Variety estimates that "The Story of the Rosary" brought in $6,900 to the Bronx Opera House but that the theatre has had an average of 9 to $10,000 per week since the beginning of the season – pretty good considering the 1914-1915 season showed an almost unbroken line of failures at the box office in the industry in general. Although poor performance is generally attributed to war uncertainties, the Bronx Opera House good numbers are most likely due to the elimination of the Royal Theatre. By mid January 1915 it is estimated to be the most profitable combination theater in New York with an average business of $8,000 a week. Potash and Perlmutter alone did an estimated $9,900 in one week and The Crinoline Girl $9,700.
A motion picture was shown for the first time at the Bronx Opera House on December 14. A silent documentary titled Belgian War Scenes, it featured an actual battle in progress, shells bursting, men falling in the trenches and the care of the wounded.
John Barrymore is on stage April 19 for a week in Willard Mack's Kick-In.
Offering for the 1914-1915 season:
DateShowAuthorProduction
09/05/1914To-DayGeorge Broadhurst
09/14/1914Peg O' My HeartJ. Hartley MannersOliver Morosco
09/28/1914Seven Keys to BaldpateGeorge M. CohanCohan & Harris
10/12/1914The Crinoline GirlOtto HauerbachA. H. Woods
10/19/1914Madam PresidentJose G. LevyCharles Frohman
10/26/1914The Story of the RosaryWalter HowardComstock & Gest
11/02/1914The DummyHarvey J. O'Higgins and Harriet FordPlay-Producing Co.
11/09/1914The Things That CountLaurence EyreWilliam A. Brady
11/16/1914Within the LawBayard VeillerSelwyn and Company
11/23/1914Too Many CooksFrank CravenWilliam A. Brady
11/30/1914The Midnight GirlPaul Hervé
12/07/1914The Third PartyMark SwanF. Ray Comstock
12/14/1914Belgian war scenes, motion picturesEdwin F. Weigle The Popular Motion Picture Co.
12/25/1914The Miracle ManGeorge M. CohanCohan & Harris
12/28/1914SariEmmerich KálmánHenry W. Savage
01/04/1915Potash and PerlmutterMontague Glass and Charles KleinA. H. Woods
01/11/1915Heart of Paddy WhackRachel CrothersHenry Miller
01/18/1915The High Cost of LovingFrank MandelA. H. Woods
01/25/1915InnocentGeorge BroadhurstA. H. Woods
02/01/1915So Much for So MuchWillard MackH. H. Frazee
02/08/1915The Belle of Bond StreetHarold Atteridge and Owen HallLee & J.J. Shubert
02/15/1915The Misleading LadyCharles W. Goddard and Paul DickeyWilliam H. Harris, Jr.
02/22/1915Sis Hopkins
03/01/1915Seven Keys to BaldpateGeorge M. CohanCohan & Harris
03/08/1915A Pair of SixesEdward PepleH. H. Frazee
03/15/1915Bunny in FunnylandJohn Bunny
03/22/1915The Beauty ShopChanning PollockCohan & Harris
03/29/1915The Bird of ParadiseRichard Walton TullyOliver Morosco
04/05/1915Jack's RomanceAugustus Pitou, Sr.Augustus Pitou, Jr.
04/12/1915The Prince of PilsenGustav Luders
04/19/1915Kick-InWillard MackA. H. Woods
04/26/1915A Mix UpParker A. HordLee & J.J. Shubert

1915–1916

Manager: J. J. Rosenthal

Show times: Evening, 8:15 pm, matinees, 2.15 pm

Ticket prices: twenty-five cents to a dollar with bargain matinees at twenty-five and fifty cents.
A young Richard Dix was on the stage of the Bronx Opera House on December 7 for a one-week engagement of The Hawk.
D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation was shown for two weeks accompanied by a thirty-piece orchestra. It was scheduled for an encore presentation on May 1, 1916 but was cancelled to make room for The House of Glass.
On June 7, during the six-week engagement of the Aborn Opera Company, Beppo, a donkey who was appearing on stage in Pagliacci, was tied by its keeper to a car parked in front of the theater. The Aborn Company was putting on Cavalleria Rusticana after Pagliacci and the keeper whose sympathies were divided between mules and music thought to slip back in the theater and hear an aria or two. When the keeper came out, the red car was gone and so was Beppo the donkey, a ten-year veteran of the stage.
DateShowAuthorProduction
08/28/1915The Yellow TicketMichael MortonA. H. Woods
09/06/1915Twin BedsSalisbury Field and Margaret MayoWilliam H. Harris, Jr.
09/13/1915On TrialElmer L. RiceCohan & Harris
09/20/1915It Pays to AdvertiseRoi Cooper Megrue and Walter HackettCohan & Harris
09/27/1915Under CoverRoi Cooper MegrueSelwyn & Co.
10/04/1915A Full HouseFred JacksonH. H. Frazee
10/11/1915Kick InWillard MackA. H. Woods
10/18/1915Song of SongsEdward SheldonA. H. Woods
10/25/1915High JinksOtto HauerbachArthur Hammerstein
11/15/1915The BubbleEdward LockeLee & J.J. Shubert
11/22/1915Cousin Lucy Charles KleinA. H. Woods
12/07/1915The HawkFrancis De Croisset
12/18/1915The Birth of a NationD. W. GriffithD. W. Griffith
12/27/1915Young AmericaFred BallardCohan & Harris
01/03/1916The Road to HappinessLawrence WhitmanLee Shubert
01/17/1916Marie OdileEdward KnoblauchDavid Belasco
01/24/1916Beverly's BalancePaul Kester
02/07/1916ExperienceGeorge V. HobartWilliam Elliott
02/14/1916The Girl Who SmilesPaul Hervé & Jean Briquet
02/21/1916The New HenriettaBronson HowardKlaw & Erlanger
02/28/1916Some BabyZellah Covington and Jules Simonson
03/13/1916Daddy Long LegsJean WebsterHenry Miller
03/20/1916KilkennyAugustus Pitou, Sr.Augustus Pitou, Jr.
04/17/1916Potash and Perlmutter in SocietyMontague GlassA. H. Woods
04/24/1916The LieMargaret Illington
05/01/1916The House of GlassMax MarcinCohan & Harris
05/08/1916Madama Butterfly Giacomo PucciniThe Aborn Opera Company
05/11/1916Martha Friedrich von FlotowThe Aborn Opera Company
05/12/1916Hansel and Gretel Engelbert HumperdinckThe Aborn Opera Company
05/15/1916Aida Giuseppe VerdiThe Aborn Opera Company
05/18/1916Il Trovatore Giuseppe VerdiThe Aborn Opera Company
05/22/1916Carmen Georges BizetThe Aborn Opera Company
05/25/1916The Tales of Hoffman Jacques OffenbachThe Aborn Opera Company
05/26/1916Hansel and Gretel Engelbert HumperdinckThe Aborn Opera Company
05/29/1916Lucia di Lammermoor Gaetano DonizettiThe Aborn Opera Company
06/01/1916RigolettoGiuseppe VerdiThe Aborn Opera Company
06/05/1916Pagliacci & Cavalleria RusticanaLeoncavallo & MascagniThe Aborn Opera Company
06/08/1916FaustCharles GounodThe Aborn Opera Company
06/12/1916The Bohemian GirlAlfred Bunn & Michael William BalfeThe Aborn Opera Company

1916–1917

Common Clay breaks the house record on September 4 drawing $9,697.
John Barrymore is back on the stage of the Bronx Opera House September 26 in John Galsworthy's Justice.
Julian Eltinge returns to the Bronx Opera House on Christmas Day with Cousin Lucy, a show so successful the previous season, it had been extended a second week. The cast remains the same but this 1916 production of the show features new songs, new music and new costumes, "those who saw it before will have to rub their eyes to make sure they are not really looking at a new production".
Offering for the 1916-1917 season:
DateShowAuthorProduction
09/02/1916Common ClayCleves KinkeadA. H. Woods
09/18/1916Broadway and ButtermilkWillard Mack & Charles GrantFrederic McKay
09/26/1916JusticeJohn GalsworthyCorey-Williams-Riter, Inc.
10/02/1916Hobson's ChoiceHarold BrlghthouseF. Ray Comstock
10/09/1916The Fear MarketAmélie RivesHarrison Grey Fiske and George Mooser
10/23/1916Very Good EddiePhilip MartholomaeMarbury-Comstock Co.
11/06/1916Just a WomanEugene WalterLee & J.J. Shubert
11/27/1916His Bridal Night Lawrence RisingA. H. Woods
12/11/1916Erstwhile SusanMarian De ForestCorey-Williams-Riter, Inc.
12/25/1916Cousin LucyCharles KleinA. H. Woods
01/01/1917Fair and WarmerAvery HopwoodSelwyn & Co.
01/08/1917The FlameRichard Walton TullyRichard Walton Tully
01/22/1917His Heart's DesireAnna Nichols & Adelaide MatthewsAugustus Pitou Jr.
01/29/1917His Majesty Bunker BeanLee Wilson DoddJoseph Brooks
02/05/1917Good Gracious AnnabelleClare KummerArthur Hopkins
02/12/1917Watch your StepIrving BerlinCharles Dillingham
02/19/1917PollyannaCatherine Chisholm CushingKlaw & Erlanger
02/26/1917The Heart of Paddy WhackErnest R. BallHenry Miller
03/05/1917Alone at LastFranz LehárLee & J.J. Shubert
03/12/1917Captain Kidd, Jr.Rida Johnson YoungCohan & Harris
03/19/1917So Long LettyEarl CarrollOliver Morosco
03/26/1917Pom PomHugo FelixHenry W. Savage
04/09/1917The Great LoverLeo Ditrichstein, Frederic Hatton and Fanny HattonCohan & Harris
04/16/1917The Great DivideWilliam Vaughn MoodyHenry Miller
04/23/1917Little Lady in BlueHorace Hodges & T. Wigney PercyvalDavid Belasco
04/30/1917The Princess PatVictor HerbertJohn Cort
05/07/1917Madama ButterflyGiacomo PucciniThe Aborn Opera Company
05/10/1917La BohemeGiacomo PucciniThe Aborn Opera Company
05/28/1917The Blue ParadiseEdmund Eysler & Sigmund RombergThe Aborn Opera Company
06/04/1917The Chocolate SoldierOscar StrausThe Aborn Opera Company

1917–1918

Manager J. J. Rosenthal fired the first gun of the theatrical season by giving a monster patriotic benefit August 19, 1917. The theatre has been redecorated and with the Golden Lobby of fame looking more attractive than ever, is ready to receive Emma Dunn in Old Lady 31, Saturday, August 25 as the opening attraction of the regular season.
John and Lionel Barrymore are on stage November 19 in John Raphael's play Peter Ibbetson.
The third mini-season of the Aborn Opera Company does not fare as well as the previous two. The contract's terms were the same: booked for three weeks with more time optional. However returns were not found satisfactory and their engagement ended after only two weeks.
Offering for the 1917–1918 season:
DateShowAuthorProduction
08/11/1917My Irish CinderellaCecil Spooner
08/20/1917JerryCatherine Chisholm
08/25/1917Old Lady 31Rachel CrothersLee Kugel
09/03/1917Cheating CheatersMax MarcinA. H. Woods
09/10/1917The KnifeEugene WalterLee & J.J. Shubert
09/17/1917The BratMaude FultonOliver Morosco
09/24/1917Lilac TimeJane CowlSelwyn & Co.
10/01/1917Molly DearCecil B. DeMilleAndrew Mack
10/15/1917Her Soldier BoySigmund Romberg & Emmerich KalmanLee & J.J. Shubert
10/22/1917The Inner ManAbraham SchomerLee & J.J. Shubert
10/29/1917Upstairs and DownFrederic Hatton and Fanny HattonOliver Morosco
11/05/1917Chin ChinAnne Caldwell & R.H. BurnsideCharles Dillingham
11/12/1917Mary's AnkleMay TullyA. H. Woods
11/19/1917Peter IbbetsonJohn N. RaphaelLee & J.J. Shubert
11/26/1917The Man Who Came Back Jules Eckert GoodmanWilliam A. Brady
12/10/1917The Thirteenth ChairBayard VeillerWilliam Harris, Sr. & William H. Harris, Jr.
12/17/1917The Very IdeaWilliam Le BaronG. M. Anderson & L. Lawrence Weber
12/24/1917Leave it to JaneBook by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse; Music by Jerome KernElliott, Comstock, Gest
12/31/1917DaybreakJane CowlSelwyn & Co.
01/07/1918Once Upon a TimeRachel CrothersCohan & Harris
01/14/1918PollyannaCatherine Chisholm CushingKlaw & Erlanger
01/21/1918The Man from WicklowAnne NicholsAugustus Pitou, Jr.
01/28/1918De Luxe AnnieEdward ClarkArthur Hammerstein
02/25/1918The Country CousinBooth Tarkington & Julian StreetKlaw & Erlanger
03/04/1918What's Your Husband Doing?George V. HobartHobart-Jordan Co.
03/11/1918The BoomerangWinchell Smith & Victor MapesDavid Belasco
03/18/1918Nothing but the TruthJames MontgomeryH. H. Frazee
04/01/1918The Madonna of the FutureAlan DaleOliver Morosco
05/20/1918AidaGiuseppe VerdiThe Aborn Opera Company
05/21/1918Pagliacci & Cavalleria RusticanaLeoncavallo & MascagniThe Aborn Opera Company
05/22/1918Aida Giuseppe VerdiThe Aborn Opera Company
05/22/1918Lucia di Lammermoor Gaetano DonizettiThe Aborn Opera Company
05/23/1918La GiocondaAmilcare PonchielliThe Aborn Opera Company
05/24/1918Rigoletto Giuseppe VerdiThe Aborn Opera Company
05/25/1918Lucia di Lammermoor Gaetano DonizettiThe Aborn Opera Company
05/25/1918Il Trovatore Giuseppe VerdiThe Aborn Opera Company
05/27/1918Pagliacci & Cavalleria RusticanaLeoncavallo & MascagniThe Aborn Opera Company
05/28/1918La GiocondaAmilcare PonchielliThe Aborn Opera Company
05/29/1918Il Trovatore Giuseppe VerdiThe Aborn Opera Company
05/29/1918Rigoletto Giuseppe VerdiThe Aborn Opera Company
05/30/1918The Barber of SevilleGioachino RossiniThe Aborn Opera Company
05/31/1918La TraviataGiuseppe VerdiThe Aborn Opera Company
06/01/1918Faust Charles GounodThe Aborn Opera Company
06/01/1918Aida Giuseppe VerdiThe Aborn Opera Company

1918–1919

Manager: J.J. Rosenthal, Mike Selwyn

Treasurer: Maurice Louis Silverstein

Doorman: August L. Heckler
The Bronx Opera House starts to experiment with ticket price increases. "Going Up" opens March 17 to a new scale of matinees: 25 cents to 75 cents; evenings: 25 cents to $1.50.
Offering for the 1918-1919 season:
DateShowAuthorProduction
9/2/1918The Little TeacherHarry James SmithCohan & Harris
9/9/1918Eyes of YouthMax Marcin & Charles GuernonA.H. Woods & Lee and J.J. Shubert
9/16/1918Oh Boy!Book by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse; Music by Jerome KernWilliam Elliott and F. Ray Comstock
9/23/1918The Man Who Stayed at HomeLechmere Worrall and J. E. Harold TerryWilliam Moore Patach
9/30/1918Turn to the RightWinchell Smith and John E. HazzardWinchell Smith
10/7/1918SeventeenHugh Stanislaus Stange and Stannard MearsStuart Walker
10/14/1918Nancy LeeEugene Walter and H. Crownin WilsonThe Estate of Henry B. Harris
10/21/1918Parlor, Bedroom and BathC. W. Bell and Mark SwanA.H. Woods
10/28/1918Tiger RoseWillard MackDavid Belasco
11/11/1918Eyes of YouthMax Marcin & Charles GuernonA.H. Woods & Lee and J.J. Shubert
11/18/1918Getting TogetherIan Hay, J. Hartley Manners and Percival KnightBritish-Canadian Recruiting Mission and U.S. Military and Naval Forces
11/25/1918The CopperheadAugustus ThomasJohn D. Williams
12/2/1918The WandererMaurice V. SamuelsWilliam Elliott, F. Ray Comstock and Morris Gest
12/23/1918The Man Who Came BackJules Eckert GoodmanWilliam A. Brady
12/30/1918The AuctioneerCharles Klein and Lee ArthurDavid Belasco David Warfield
1/13/1919Marry in HasteAnna NicholsAugustus Pitou
1/20/1919MaytimeBook by Rida Johnson Young; Music by Sigmund RombergLee & JJ Shubert
1/27/1919Seven Days' LeaveWalter Howard
2/3/1919Polly With a PastGeorge Middleton and Guy BoltonDavid Belasco
2/10/1919Business Before Pleasure Montague Glass and Jules Eckert GoodmanA. H. Woods
3/10/1919Flo-FloBook by Fred De Gresac; Music by Silvio Hein; Lyrics by Edward Paulton and Fred De GresacJohn Cort
3/17/1919Going UpBook by Otto Hauerbach; Music by Louis A. HirschCohan & Harris
3/24/1919A Tailor-Made ManHarry James SmithCohan & Harris
3/31/1919Lombardi, Ltd.Frederic Hatton and Fanny HattonOliver Morosco
4/7/1919The Little BrotherMilton Goldsmith and Benedict JamesWalter Hast
4/14/1919Tiger RoseWillard MackDavid Belasco
4/21/1919MaytimeBook by Rida Johnson Young; Music by Sigmund RombergLee & JJ Shubert
4/28/1919RichelieuBulewer Lytton
4/29/1919HamletWilliam Shakespeare
4/30/1919The Merchant of VeniceWilliam Shakespeare
5/1/1919King LearWilliam Shakespeare
5/2/1919MacbethWilliam Shakespeare
5/3/1919Richard IIIWilliam Shakespeare
5/5/1919The Crowded HourEdgar Selwyn and Channing PollockSelwyn & Co.
5/12/1919The Voice of McConnellGeorge M. CohanCohan & Harris
5/19/1919Tiger! Tiger!Edward KnoblauchDavid Belasco
5/26/1919RemnantDario Niccodemi and Michael MortonCharles Emerson Cook
6/2/1919So Long LettyBook by Oliver Morosco and Elmer Harris; Music & Lyrics by Earl CarrollOliver Morosco

1919–1920

At the start of the season, the Riviera at 97th street raise its top prices from $1 to $1.50, the Bronx Opera House quickly follows. This is the first permanent increase in ticket prices in 6 years but an expected one. Times Square theatres have titled their price scale to $2.50 and in some instances when the show is a hit, up to $3.50. Prices won't remain at $1.50 for long. October sees record Box Office numbers due higher prices. By the end of November 1919, Subway Circuit theaters are already considering raising their ticket prices to $2. The Riviera will again take the lead and make the price hike effective December 22.

Later Years

When it opened the opera house was considered the best theatre in Bronx borough. It had two separate balconies and a large crystal chandelier in the center of the ceiling. Performances included vaudeville and plays.
By the 1940s was converted to a late-run movie house, shuttering of the upper balcony reduced seating to 1,400, and it became known simply as Bronx Theatre. The theatre lost its license in 1943 after the rape of a 17-year-old worker. Chief Assistant District Attorney Sylvester Ryan said "the theatre as a rendezvous for degenerates and thugs."
Eight youths were sentenced to reformatory for the crime. The theatre flourished during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s as a Latin music dance club operating as Bronx Casino, Club Caravana and El Cerromar. In the 1980s it was purchased by a pentecostal church. Charlie Palmieri recorded Pachanga at the Caravana Club on site in 1961.
Visits to the theatre are noted in the book .

Rebirth as the Opera House Hotel

Renovation plans to relaunch it as a performing arts center developed in the 1980s but did not proceed. By 2004 the run-down auditorium was part of a Spanish evangelical church. The church had moved out before the end of the decade. The auditorium has not survived.
New construction began to convert part of the building into a boutique hotel named the Opera House Hotel. Those plans continued to develop in 2012. According to developer Jay Domb, performers at the theater included Harry Houdini and The Marx Brothers "got their vaudeville start here". Domb plans to decorate the hotel with relics and prints of artifacts from the theatre.
The hotel opened in August 2013 and is one of eight hotel properties owned and operated by the Empire Hotel Group. The hotel is the first of several boutique hotels which have opened or are being constructed in the Bronx.
In summer 2015 the hotel's water cooling tower was suspected in several cases of Legionnaires’ disease that occurred across several buildings in the area.

Myths

Was opened as Keith's Bronx Theatre

...and was later renamed. Dispelled by Bill Twomey in his book "The Bronx, in Bits and Pieces", this myth originated in the "Directory of Historic American Theatres" published in 1987 then quoted in "The Papers of Will Rogers: From Vaudeville to Broadway" published in 2001. The Keith and the Opera House were not only at different locations but theaters of different policies. The Keith was vaudeville, the Opera House, legitimate combination. It makes the claim that the Marx Brothers, George Burns and Gracie Allen played on the stage of the Bronx Opera House dubious.

Wasn't really an opera house

Found in Michael Seth Starr's book, Bobby Darin: A Life, it should be placed in the historical context of the late 1940s early 1950s when the Bronx Opera House was no longer an Opera House but a movie theater. The Bronx Opera House not only featured comic opera as early as September 1913 but a substantial opera lineup during its 3rd, 4th and 5th season with the Aborn Opera Company.