Palace Theatre

Palace Theatre, New York, on Broadway, between 46th and 47th Streets. This epitome of the big American vaudeville theatre was built by the impresario Martin Beck (1865–1940), who later built the Martin Beck Theatre. Seating 1,358, it opened in 1913, but at first, partly because of its uptown location, it was not very successful. A visit by Sarah Bernhardt brought it into the limelight, and it was acquired by a syndicate. The outstanding stars of vaudeville made their appearance at the Palace and it became the mecca for entertainers from all over the world; but with vaudeville's decline and the end of ‘two-a-day’ performances in 1932 the theatre had to fight for survival. There were combination bills of films and vaudeville, appearances by such stars as Judy Garland and Danny Kaye, and even ‘four-a-day’ programmes, but in the end the building became a cinema. It took on a new lease of life, however, after its acquisition in 1965 by the Nederlanders, when it became the home of big musicals and also provided offices for many theatrical organizations. Famous musicals staged there have been Sweet Charity (1966), George M! (1968), Applause (1970), and Lorelei (1974). After a break in 1974 when the RSC appeared in a revival of Boucicault's London Assurance there were more musicals: a revival of Oklahoma! in 1979, Woman of the Year (1981), and La Cage aux folles (1983).