Like an increasingly polished Midtown Manhattan, the . Review of Evita at New York City Center [36], During the mid-20th century, the seating capacity was reduced to approximately 2,932. [130][131] City Center planned to establish a theatrical company for the 19451946 season, which would present revivals of plays;[132] during that season, the center hosted 614,000 guests. [39][40] The 1982 renovation also included raising the entire orchestra and raking the first ten rows. The Beggar's Opera by John Gay was one of the most popular ballad operas during this time period. [50] As of 2022[update], MTC operates two off-Broadway spaces in the basement, known as Stage I and Stage II. A. Austin Yang October 6, 2022, 09:54. [120] By the end of the first operating season in May 1944, the theater had grossed over $414,000 from 171 performances, which had attracted 346,000 guests. The corners are chamfered at the top; this was intended to serve as a transition between the cube-shaped lower stories and the domed roof. The Shriners also had trouble booking a theater except during the workday. [24] The roof was renovated in the mid-2000s. [251] City Center's mezzanine was renamed after Robert Joffrey, the head of the Joffrey Ballet, in 1988. Returns to New York City Center", "Arlene Shuler to Step Down as President of New York City Center", "City Center President and CEO Arlene Shuler to Step Down in 2022", "New York City Center, Home Of Popular 'Encores!' [133] Officials installed an air-conditioning system in the auditorium in mid-1946. Published May 9, 2022 Apart from celebrating new year's eve in Times Square, enjoying a normal day in the Square is a must-do on every trip to New York City. [143] The City Center Art Gallery operated between 1953 and 1961. [257][258] The Joffrey Ballet had stopped regularly performing at City Center after 1991 due to a lack of money. 10 Broadway Fun Facts - Loving New York Nicknamed "The Crossroads of the World", and the notional center of Manhattan. In the twentieth century, the Broadway district became the center of mainstream American theater and the home of some of the best-known musical and dramatic productions in the English-speaking world. [231], Throughout the late 1970s, the 55th Street theater continued to be used mainly for dance performances,[236] attracting companies such as the Dance Theatre of Harlem. [230] The CCMD concentrated its resources on the ballet and opera companies at Lincoln Center. [149][150] City Center's deficit grew to over $72,000 during the 19501951 season. [20][21] The northern portion of the building, at 12 stories high, is also taller than the rest of the building. The word "Mecca" was originally inscribed at the top of the large arch. The modern-day lobby is divided into outer and inner sections. [145] Theatrical critic Brooks Atkinson wrote that "all of the City Center's programs lose money. [3] The building's "L"-shaped land lot covers 25,153 square feet (2,336.8m2), extending 200 feet (61m) northward to 56th Street,[4] with frontage of 150 feet (46m) along 55th Street and 100 feet (30m) on 56th Street. [35][36] Both balcony levels are supported by girders that are cantilevered from the rear of the auditorium. [38] During a 1982 renovation, City Center officials removed another 186 seats from the orchestra, reducing it to 2.746 seats. [24][65], The Mecca Temple's auditorium first opened to the general public in May 1925, when it hosted a fashion show. [237][35] City Center's resident dance companies included the Alvin Ailey, Paul Taylor, Merce Cunningham, and Martha Graham companies; this led to the center being known as "America's premier dance theatre". Pulitzer-winning playwright Lynn Nottage has three new works in New It technically continues far beyond city limits, eventually ending in Sleepy. [123][124] The Ballet Russe de Monte-Carlo began performing at City Center in late 1944[125] and remained there for five years. Tickets & Tours - Broadway, New York City - Viator [256] She also launched the Fall for Dance Festival, which sold dance tickets for $10, to attract both audiences and dance companies. [312], The New Dramatists Committee and City Center formed the Elinor Morgenthau Players and Playwrights Workshop in April 1951, with funding from the family of former U.S. Treasury secretary Henry Morgenthau Jr., whose wife Elinor had been on the CCMD's board. A new musical with a noteworthy cast and creative team will be developed at the Eugen O'Neill Theater Center's 2023 National Music Theater Conference. [291][292] In January 1965, the CCMD became a member company of Lincoln Center. [81][82] Rabinoff planned to leave the exterior intact while remodeling the interior for ballet, opera, and concerts. [96] The city government hired Aymar Embury II the same month to renovate the Mecca Temple's auditorium. Theatres with higher seating capacities that aren't one of the 41 designated Broadway theatres are also considered "off Broadway." Some such examples include New York City Center, Radio City Music Hall, and the Apollo Theater. ", "Encores! In 1959, two as-yet-untested stars made their Broadway debuts: Mary Rodgers, with a gorgeous score that put her on the map, and Carol Burnett, in her first stage role as the brassy, loveable Princess Winifred the Woebegoneor "Fred" to her friends.More than six decades later, musical theater legend Sutton Foster (The Music Man) returns to the City Center stage alongside an all-star . [41][279], Just before the theater reopened, the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater signed a contract to become City Center's main dance company. series attracted people "who probably hadn't been here in 20 years, if they weren't dance fans". [10], When the Mecca Temple was constructed in 1923, the city block had contained garages, stables, and a school. Although people refer to the entire Subdistrict as Broadway, only three theaters are on Broadway itself. [82] The theater had reopened by November 1941. [277] A $75 million renovation of City Center finally began in March 2010. [295], Upon the theater's 75th anniversary in 2018, The New York Times characterized City Center as "a multidisciplinary space for artists in theater, dance and music". New York City, officially the City of New York, historically New Amsterdam, the Mayor, Alderman, and Commonality of the City of New York, and New Orange, byname the Big Apple, city and port located at the mouth of the Hudson River, southeastern New York state, northeastern U.S. New York City Center (previously known as the Mecca Temple, City Center of Music and Drama, and the New York City Center 55th Street Theater [2]) is a performing arts center at 131 West 55th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. series had become popular. [100][101] The next month, the Board of Estimate gave the CCMD a permit to stage live shows within the Mecca Temple. The outermost arches are the widest and are connected directly to stage rear, as is the center arch, which is slightly narrower. [212] Daykin was also credited for turning City Center from a rental hall into an organization that produced its own shows. [158] The CCMD saw an $220,000 operating loss during the 19551956 season, although grants and donations covered much of this cost. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) wrote that, at the time, it was the largest piece of steel ever installed in a New York City building. [28] The five central arches are grouped together and lead to the theater's lobby. [220] The CCMD ultimately decided to retain the existing building in early 1975. musical theater series and the Fall for Dance Festival annually. [194][230] John S. Samuels III became the chairman of the board of governors the same year. The group said . [25][28] The upper portion of the 55th Street facade is relatively plain in design, except for lancet windows on the sides. [20][25] Early plans called for the facade to be laid in contrasting shades of sandstone; ultimately, the building was clad with golden Ohio sandstone. [45] In January 1971. the CCMD proposed taking over Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theater and renovating it. Buffalo Bills Rival New York Jets, Aaron Rodgers to Star in Hard Knocks There are 41 Broadway theatres in New York City. [181] Another former constituent company was the City Center Cinematheque, which was proposed in 1970[45] but never formally opened. [90][91] La Guardia and Morris cofounded the City Center of Music and Drama (CCMD) with tax lawyer Morton Baum, who was described as "the financial, production, and political brain that held it together". New York City Center has announced that current Encores! [46] Squadron received a $700,000 federal grant in mid-1981 to renovate the 55th Street theater,[238][53] but Samuels still wished to redevelop the 55th Street site, prompting criticism from City Center's board. [39][40], The Manhattan Theatre Club moved into City Center's basement in 1984,[48][49] and the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated City Center as a city landmark that year. [75] Aside from opera, dance, theatrical productions, and concerts, the auditorium's events in the 1930s included a Federal Theatre Project circus,[76] a protest meeting attended by over one-fifth of the city's Armenian population. Broadway Musicals - New York Theatres and Musicals [94] To attract working-class audiences, La Guardia proposed that shows start at 5:30 p.m., after the end of the workday. [224], U.S. National Register of Historic Places, New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, New York International Ballet Competition, Encores! [4][3], The neighborhood was historically part of an artistic hub that developed around the two blocks of West 57th Street from Sixth Avenue west to Broadway during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, following the opening of Carnegie Hall. [17] The main auditorium's interior contained Moorish motifs such as multi-pointed stars, lancet windows, and large chandeliers hanging from molded ceiling plasterwork. List of Broadway Theaters - Which One is Best? - TourScanner [19], The building contains a steel superstructure. It is located at the southern tip of the U.S. state of New York. [18], The Shriners had stopped using the building completely by 1940. [35] City Center was again downsized in 2011 to approximately 2,250 seats. Immediately beneath the main auditorium are two smaller theaters, one of which is used by MTC; these occupy what was originally a banquet hall. The Shriners decided in 1921 to construct the 55th Street building after having outgrown their previous headquarters, and the new building was dedicated on December 29, 1924. [2][17] The building's design is Neo-Moorish, although sources have described the 55th Street wing as "Moresco-Baroque" and "delightfully absurd". [47] The Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) moved to The Space in 1984[48][49] and divided the basement into two auditoriums. [37] The first balcony level is supported by a pair of diagonal girders on either end because of its unusual shape. [44], After an attempt in 1970 to convert City Center's basement into a cinematheque,[45] the basement became a 299-seat off-Broadway theater called The Space in 1981. In 1750, Thomas Kean and Walter Murray opened one of the first theatres in New York City on Nassau Street. The Phantom of the Opera has been on New York's Broadway since 1988: During these more than 30 years the musicals was performed more than 13,000 times and the Phantom has changed 15 times. This space did not contain columns. Modern-Day Theater. Today, Broadway is a billion-dollar industry. [237], The Theatrical Assistance Group Foundation converted City Center's basement into a 299-seat off-Broadway theater in early 1981. As of 2023[update], Arlene Shuler is listed as the president and CEO of New York City Center Inc.[294][295] For the fiscal year that ended in June 2020, the organization recorded $21,340,158 in revenue and $23,620,235 in expenses, for a total net loss of $2,280,077. [235] Subsequently, the 55th Street building was almost entirely controlled by the 55th Street Theater Foundation, led by lawyer Howard Squadron. [26], The southern part of the building, which contains the theater, is largely clad with ashlar sandstone and contains a large pointed arch spanning nearly the entirety of the facade. Villarejo's name had been circulating in the Spanish press for years. [58] Mecca Temple paid Yale University $400,000 for the lots at 131135 West 55th Street in Midtown Manhattan in December 1921. [204] While negotiations for the MSG site were ongoing, CCMD officials announced in early 1970 that they would convert the 55th Street theater's basement into the City Center Cinematheque, with one or more movie theaters and a film museum. [28], Originally, the Mecca Temple included a three-level auditorium with space for 5,000 people in total. Residence Inn . Off-Center, dedicated to hosting rarely-heard off-Broadway musicals, premiered in mid-2013. [96] The New York City Dance Theater performed at City Center during the 19491950 season,[141][142] although it did not schedule any performances afterward. [78] Manufacturers Trust foreclosed on the building in 1937 after the Shriners failed to make mortgage payments. Other nearby buildings include 140 West 57th Street, 130 West 57th Street, and the Parker New York hotel to the northeast, as well as the 55th Street Playhouse to the southwest and 1345 Avenue of the Americas to the southeast. As such, he placed the clubrooms and lodge rooms on the northern half of the site, which was narrower and faced 56th Street. Broadway Theater District Hotels New York City.com : Profile [26] At the end of that year, City Center formed a partnership with the neighboring Carnegie Hall. [28][30], The upper 11 stories are clad with yellow brick. series. [306] As of 2019, the series is directed by Lear deBessonet. [225] The 55th Street theater had hosted dance performances nearly exclusively for several years, so the CCMD planned to construct a dance theater in the proposed skyscraper. [250] City Center continued to host ballet and dance shows, as well as events such as the New York International Ballet Competition. [144], Several months before City Center's lease expired in 1950, musicians' labor union Local 802 had proposed buying the building for $850,000. [50], New York City Center Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established in 1976, controls the theater. Broadway & Off-Broadway Theatre Venues | NewYorkTheaterGuide.com [172], After the City Opera suspended the beginning of its 1957 season due to financial deficits,[173] Kirstein unsuccessfully proposed reorganizing City Center and establishing a new opera company. [212][261] Daykin perceived Encores! [223][224], The City Center 55th Street Theater Foundation took over the 55th Street theater in August 1976,[233] subleasing the theater from the CCMD. [29][18] Fresh air traveled from the intake to a fan and heater room above the auditorium's proscenium, and air was then distributed through the floor slabs of each level. Two-time Pulitzer . Great American Musicals in Concert, which presented rarely heard musicals starting in 1994. [126][127] To prevent a future mayoral administration from shuttering City Center,[128][129] the CCMD renewed its lease of the building in July 1945 for five years, paying at least $10,000 a year. [310] City Center and Jazz at Lincoln Center launched a partnership during the 20112012 season, starting with the show Cotton Club Parade. [273][274], The partnership with Carnegie Hall was canceled in early 2007, prompting Shuler to delay City Center's renovation;[275] by mid-2008, Shuler planned to begin renovations at the end of the next year. [164] The building needed repairs by the mid-1950s, and the city government did not always fix these issues promptly. Housed in a beautiful neo-Moorish theater since 1943, New York City Center celebrates the best of dance, music, and theater and reflects the eclecticism, energy, and spirit of New York City. The Sunday Read: 'The Spy Who Called Me' - The New York Times A Brief History of Broadway NYCdata | Culture - Baruch College [223][224] In addition, the CCMD co-produced the American Ballet Theatre (ABT). ", "Theater; The Brothers Viertel, a Theatrical Tag Team", "Jack Viertel Stepping Down at Encores! [56] The row house contained a grill room on the ground floor, a lounge and committee room on the second floor, executive offices on the third floor, and an assembly room on the fourth floor. The two horseshoe arches on either side lead to staircases that ascend to the theater's mezzanine and first balcony. [183] In advance of the 1964 New York World's Fair, the City Ballet announced that it would move to the New York State Theater at Lincoln Center after the 19631964 season. [265] City Center continued to host visiting dance companies like the ABT, which resumed performances there in 1996;[266] it also operated a dance-education program for middle-school students, which served 5,000 pupils per year by 1999. [200] Later the same year, the CCMD appointed Norman Singer as the organization's general administrator[201] and Richard Clurman as the chairman of its board. New York City Center (previously known as the Mecca Temple, City Center of Music and Drama, and the New York City Center 55th Street Theater[2]) is a performing arts center at 131 West 55th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. [184][185] By the CCMD's 20th anniversary in December 1943, the theater had received 16 million total guests over twenty 40-week seasons. About New York City Center Our Mission & Commitment to Anti-Racism 2023 - 2024 Season 2024 Encores! Don't hesitate to review our list of . [164] The following season, the CCMD recorded an operating deficit of over $550,000, although donations covered almost all of this deficit. July 10, 2023. Instead, on the fourth through ninth stories, the center of the facade contains six vertical piers, which are made of projecting bricks that are angled outward. [20][25], The theater's domed roof measures 104ft (32m) wide and 50ft (15m) tall, with 28,475 pieces of Spanish roof tile. Instead, it was spanned by a set of deep lattice trusses, which were flanked by deep plate girders; these formed the floor of the auditorium. presented musicals such as Du Barry Was a Lady and Pal Joey. [267] The auditorium had been renovated, but The New York Times reported in 1999 that City Center needed to spend between $8 million and $10 million on repairing the mechanical systems. [50], In 2004, New York City Center introduced the annual Fall for Dance Festival. [63][64] The building was dedicated on December 29, 1924, with the invocation offered by Episcopal bishop William T. Manning; contemporary sources characterized the building as a "mosque". [1] [254] Starting in mid-1990, part of the auditorium was closed for restoration,[255] and Altria began sponsoring dance shows at City Center. [87] That September, the New York City government bought the building for $100,000 at a foreclosure auction. Half of the regular members created their own plays and presented them at City Center, while the other regular members and the alternates studied plays by established playwrights. [283] After Shuler resigned as City Center's president in 2021,[286][287] Michael S. Rosenberg was appointed as City Center's new director in September 2022. [66][67] By then, the building was complete except for interior decorations and the installation of seats on the first floor. [35] By 1980, the 55th Street Theater Foundation was profitable, although the ABT and the Feld company had moved out. [52], The three lodge rooms were placed in the northern wing of the building. New York, New York - Broadway | Tickets | Broadway | Broadway.com Is New York City Center Considered Broadway? [24][25] The auditorium and banquet hall were placed on the wider southern half, facing 55th Street, since these spaces were to be used much more frequently. [80] A writer for The New York Times reported that the auditorium had been relegated to "political oratory, all sorts of organizational harangues and resolutions, [and] second-rate prize fights". [165][166], The CCMD continued to lose money, recording a deficit of $225,000 for the 19531954 season, even as annual attendance had reached 962,000. To convince the city government to fix the leaking roof, Morris invited mayor Vincent R. Impellitteri to the City Center on a rainy night; the mayor's program soon became soaked, and the roof was fixed shortly afterward. MapFight - New York City (US) size comparison [283] This affected two of the theater's most popular programs;[284] the Encores! At the time, the gallery attracted 2,500 monthly visitors, and it had displayed 3,600 artworks, one-eighth of which had been sold. [175][176] After the 19561957 season, City Center's drama company stopped performing for several seasons. At that point, City Center had a $10 million annual budget, 38 full-time staff members, and hundreds of part-time staff, even as its production costs were increasing. [89] Mayor Fiorello La Guardia and New York City Council president Newbold Morris began planning to convert the Mecca Temple into a theater. [20][21][22] The roof is carried by a large 65-short-ton (58-long-ton; 59t) girder measuring 92.5 feet (28.2m) long and 13 feet (4.0m) wide. The Dark Lady features a book . [156][157] The law was enacted later the same year. [30] After the city government moved into the theater in 1943, the space was repainted white because it was easier to maintain. [169] Further losses during the 19591960 season prompted officials to increase the center's maximum ticket prices by mid-1960. Manhattan/Theater District - Wikitravel [178], As early as 1959, the CCMD was negotiating to move all of its shows from the former Mecca Temple to the newly-developed Lincoln Center on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The precautions are designed to ensure the show goes on in an industry that is a vital to New York City's economy and supports about 97,000 jobs, according to the Broadway League. program and continued to host dance and off-Broadway shows at City Center, although the Times wrote in 2009 that "Fall for Dance has redefined the theater's identity". DoubleTree Guest Suites. [260][262] Upon City Center's 50th anniversary in 1993, it still largely hosted ballet and dance companies, including Joffrey Ballet and the Martha Graham, Alvin Ailey, Trisha Brown, and Paul Taylor dance companies; the MTC also presented off-Broadway shows there. [298], The New York City Center Choreography Fellowship, established during the 20112012 season, accepts three fellows per season. [215] The organization had recorded a net operating loss of $3.7 million for the 19711972 season, but it had not received enough grants and donations to offset these losses,[215] which grew during the next year. Renaissance New York. The order's previous headquarters had been located at Sixth Avenue and 23rd Street since 1875. [61][62] The Mecca Temple received a $1 million mortgage loan from Manufacturers Trust in July 1924. It makes up 35% of the city's total area. [17] When the Mecca Temple was converted to the City Center, the lodge rooms became rehearsal studios. [299] Fellows receive a stipend, are given access to rehearsal space, and receive administrative support from City Center officials. [217] Later that year, the Board of Estimate extended the theater's lease for another 52 years. The northern section is much simpler in design, with a largely windowless brick facade, and contains four rehearsal studios and a 12-story office tower. in 2001 as a "major guardian of America's musical-theater heritage". [311][312] These shows are presented separately from the Encores! [205] To fund the $5.2 million cost of renovating the Beaumont, the CCMD planned to demolish the 55th Street theater and replace it with an office skyscraper containing a 3,000-seat theater. [231], The Joffrey Ballet, the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater, the American Ballet Theatre, and the Eliot Feld Ballet proposed taking over the 55th Street theater in April 1976, alleging that the CCMD had retained control over the building while forcing the ballet companies to subsidize their own operation. New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia and New York City Council president Newbold Morris established the City Center of Music and Drama Inc. (CCMD) to operate the building as a municipal performing-arts venue, which reopened on December 11, 1943. [32] By 2010, the building contained 12 stories of offices, a main auditorium with 2,753 seats, two smaller auditoriums in the basement, and four studios. [134], City Center remained popular in the late 1940s, with over 750,000 guests during the 19461947 season. Times Square, Broadway and 7th Ave, stretching from 42nd to 48th Sts. [271][272] City Center hired architecture firm Helpern Architects and contractor Nicholson & Galloway in 2005 to repair the theater's leaky roof for $2.8 million. [33][278] Designed by Ennead Architects LLP, the work included improved sightlines, improved seating, and a new canopy, as well as restoration of historical elements.