Shubert Theatre (New York City)


The Shubert Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 225 West 44th Street in Midtown Manhattan.

History and description

Designed by architect Henry Beaumont Herts, it was named after Sam S. Shubert, the second oldest of the three brothers of the theatrical producing family. It shares a Venetian Renaissance facade with the adjoining Booth Theatre, which was constructed at the same time, although the two have distinctly different interiors. The two theatres are connected by a private road/sidewalk, "Shubert Alley". It opened on October 2, 1913 with Hamlet, starring Sir John Forbes-Robertson, followed by the October 21, 1913 opening of the George Bernard Shaw play, Caesar and Cleopatra, staged by the Forbes-Robertson Repertory Company.
The theatre's longest tenant was A Chorus Line, which ran for 6,137 performances from 1975 to 1990 and set the record for longest running show in Broadway history. Later long runs have included Crazy for You, Chicago, Spamalot, Memphis and Matilda the Musical. Hello, Dolly! achieved the box office record for the Shubert Theatre. The production grossed $2,403,482 over eight performances, for the week ending October 22, 2017.
The theatre has also been a recurring venue for the Tony Awards.
The top floor of the building houses the offices of the Shubert Organization. The theatre's auditorium and murals were restored in 1996. It has been designated a New York City landmark.

Notable productions

The theatre is featured in the 1950 Academy Award winning film All About Eve.
In the 2005 film version of Mel Brooks's The Producers, the musicals Funny Boy, Springtime for Hitler, and Prisoners of Love are all staged at the Shubert Theatre by Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom.
In the NBC TV series Smash, the show "Heaven On Earth" is playing at the Shubert Theatre.
In "Brian's Play", an episode of the animated TV series Family Guy, Stewie Griffin's play An American Marriage is poorly received after being staged at the Shubert Theatre.