The office building that housed the theatre, the Gaiety Building, has been called the Black Tin Pan Alley for the number of African-American songwriters who rented office space there.
It was designed by Herts & Tallant and owned by George M. Cohan. The theatre introduced revolutionary concepts of a sunken orchestra (the previous configuration had the orchestra on the same level as the seats in front of the stage) and also not having pillars obstructing sight lines for the balcony.[1]
The theatre opened on September 4, 1909 with the Fortune Hunter. In 1914 the theatre had a hit production with Jean Webster's Daddy-Long-Legs;[2] a show which made Ruth Chatterton a star.[3] Its biggest hit during its early years was Lightnin' which played for 1,291 performances starting August 16, 1918.
In 1943, Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia cracked down on burlesque, and the theatre became the Victoria, which initially featured vaudeville performances including Stepin Fetchit.[1] It was transformed into a movie theatre in September 1943. In 1944 United Artists leased the theatre for movies and in 1949 Edward Durrell Stone designed a renovation of the interior which was expanded to 1,050 seats.
A sign on the roof of the theatre went across the neighboring Astor Theatre and was said to be the largest in the world. While originally advertising movies, it would later be best remembered as an advertisement for Budweiser.[1]
Embassy 5edit
In 1980, the theatre was renamed the Embassy 5, as the fifth theatre owned by the Embassy chain in the Times Square area. In 1982 it was one of five theatres torn down to make way for the New York Marriott Marquis Hotel.
^ abcdBroadway: An Encyclopedia by Ken Bloom - Routledge; 2 edition (November 11, 2003) ISBN0-415-93704-3
^"CHARM AND HUMOR IN 'DADDY LONG LEGS'; Ruth Chatterton Excels as Judy in Jean Webster's Play Made from Her Book". The New York Times. September 29, 1914. p. 11.
^"Ruth Chatterton Dies; Was Actress 4 Decades". The Deseret News. Salt Lake City, Utah. November 25, 1961. p. A7. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
^"Premiere on Wednesday". Daily News. New York City. August 14, 1933. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gaiety Theatre (46th Street, Manhattan).
gaiety, theatre, york, city, unrelated, male, burlesque, that, established, 1976, across, street, gaiety, theatre, male, burlesque, gaiety, theatre, broadway, theatre, 1547, broadway, times, square, manhattan, york, city, from, 1909, until, 1982, when, torn, d. For the unrelated gay male burlesque that was established in 1976 across the street see Gaiety Theatre male burlesque The Gaiety Theatre was a Broadway theatre at 1547 Broadway in Times Square Manhattan New York City from 1909 until 1982 when it was torn down Gaiety TheatreVictoria Theatre Embassy 5Address1547 BroadwayNew York CityUnited StatesTypeBroadwayConstructionOpened1909Demolished1982The office building that housed the theatre the Gaiety Building has been called the Black Tin Pan Alley for the number of African American songwriters who rented office space there It was designed by Herts amp Tallant and owned by George M Cohan The theatre introduced revolutionary concepts of a sunken orchestra the previous configuration had the orchestra on the same level as the seats in front of the stage and also not having pillars obstructing sight lines for the balcony 1 Contents 1 History 1 1 Minsky s 1 2 Victoria 1 3 Embassy 5 2 Black Tin Pan Alley 3 References 4 External linksHistory editThe theatre opened on September 4 1909 with the Fortune Hunter In 1914 the theatre had a hit production with Jean Webster s Daddy Long Legs 2 a show which made Ruth Chatterton a star 3 Its biggest hit during its early years was Lightnin which played for 1 291 performances starting August 16 1918 Minsky s edit After 1933 4 the theatre became a Minsky s Burlesque One of the top venues in the circuit it featured performances by Ann Corio and Gypsy Rose Lee as well as comedy acts such as Abbott and Costello Victoria edit In 1943 Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia cracked down on burlesque and the theatre became the Victoria which initially featured vaudeville performances including Stepin Fetchit 1 It was transformed into a movie theatre in September 1943 In 1944 United Artists leased the theatre for movies and in 1949 Edward Durrell Stone designed a renovation of the interior which was expanded to 1 050 seats A sign on the roof of the theatre went across the neighboring Astor Theatre and was said to be the largest in the world While originally advertising movies it would later be best remembered as an advertisement for Budweiser 1 Embassy 5 edit In 1980 the theatre was renamed the Embassy 5 as the fifth theatre owned by the Embassy chain in the Times Square area In 1982 it was one of five theatres torn down to make way for the New York Marriott Marquis Hotel Black Tin Pan Alley editThe office building above the Gaiety was popular among black composers who were not allowed in the Brill Building Among them were Harry Pace W C Handy Clarence Williams musician Perry Bradford Bert Williams and Will Vodery Andy Razaf would pick up his mail there 1 References edit a b c d Broadway An Encyclopedia by Ken Bloom Routledge 2 edition November 11 2003 ISBN 0 415 93704 3 CHARM AND HUMOR IN DADDY LONG LEGS Ruth Chatterton Excels as Judy in Jean Webster s Play Made from Her Book The New York Times September 29 1914 p 11 Ruth Chatterton Dies Was Actress 4 Decades The Deseret News Salt Lake City Utah November 25 1961 p A7 Retrieved March 22 2015 Premiere on Wednesday Daily News New York City August 14 1933 Retrieved August 11 2020 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gaiety Theatre 46th Street Manhattan Gaiety Theatre at the Internet Broadway Database 40 45 31 N 73 59 07 W 40 758544 N 73 985406 W 40 758544 73 985406 nbsp This article about a theater building in the United States is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte nbsp This article about a building or structure in Manhattan is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Gaiety Theatre New York City amp oldid 1215505877, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
