Broadway Theatre

Broadway Theatre (New York). Three New York playhouses have used the name of the celebrated street on which they were situated. The first Broadway Theatre was in lower Manhattan and was modeled after London's Haymarket Theatre, though it was much larger (4,500 seats). It opened in 1836 with the hope of rivaling the popularity of the Park Theatre, but it failed to do so and was torn down in 1859. The second playhouse named after Broadway was located at 41st Street, the northern edge of the city when it opened in 1888. It was a large musical house designed by J. B. McElfatrick and was popular until the theatre district moved to the Times Square area. It was briefly a movie house before being torn down in 1929. The current Broadway Theatre opened as a movie house called the Colony in 1924. Eugene DeRosa designed it with 1,765 seats and a plush, spacious feeling to it. Over the years the house has served as both a film and theatre venue, getting its current name in 1930. The Shubert‐owned theatre is ideal for large musicals, and during its history it has housed such giants as This Is the Army (1942), Gypsy (1959), Les Miserables (1987), and Miss Saigon (1991).