American Airlines Theatre (New York). Producer brothers Arch and Edgar Selwyn had the intimate theatre built on 42nd Street in 1918 and named it after themselves. George Keister designed the Italian Renaissance‐style house with only 1,051 seats, and it was a favorite for intimate plays. The opening production was a failed vehicle for Jane Crowl called Information Please, but over the years the Selwyn had many hit plays and small musicals. The theatre switched to films in 1934 and remained a movie house into the 1990s when the house was returned to legitimacy under the 42nd Street Redevelopment plan. It reopened in 2000 as the American Airlines Theatre, the airline corporation providing a large contribution to the nonprofit Roundabout Theatre, who made it its permanent Broadway house. Redesigned (and mostly rebuilt) as a 750‐seat house, the spacious, modern theatre opened with a revival of The Man Who Came to Dinner starring Nathan Lane.
American Airlines Theatre
| American Theater Guide: American Airlines Theatre |
| Wikipedia: American Airlines Theatre |
The American Airlines Theatre is a Broadway theatre, located at 227 West 42nd Street, New York City.
Contents |
History
Design
Originally named the Selwyn Theatre, it was constructed by the Selwyn brothers, Edgar and Archie, in 1918. It was one of three theatres they built and controlled on 42nd Street, along with the Apollo and the Times Square Theatre. It was decorated in the style of the Italian Renaissance, and originally had 1,180 seats.[1] At the time of its opening, the design had several innovations. Its most novel feature was separate smoking rooms for men and women.[1] Additionally, each dressing room was equipped with a shower and telephone.[1]
Productions
The venue initially hosted major musical and dramatic productions, including Cole Porter's Wake Up and Dream, and in October 1930 Clifton Webb appeared there in Three's a Crowd [2], but eventually became a cinema. It would return to legitimate theatre several times over the next six decades, but eventually fell into disrepair. It was used briefly in the early 1990s as a home for the Times Square Visitors Center and for a limited production of Eugene O'Neill's The Hairy Ape, but for the most part, stood vacant.
Renovation
The City and State of New York took possession of the Selwyn in 1990. In 1992, it was one of six 42nd Street theatres to fall under the protection of the New 42nd Street organization. The Roundabout Theatre Company committed to renovating the Selwyn in 1997. It was restored to its former grandeur, renamed the American Airlines, and reopened on June 30, 2000. The American Airlines, which is still informally known by its former name among many theatre fans, currently serves as the home of the Roundabout and houses its major productions.
Productions since June 30, 2000
| Show | Opening day | Closing day | Notes |
| The Man Who Came to Dinner | July 27, 2000 | October 8, 2000 | Revival |
| Betrayal | November 14, 2000 | February 4, 2001 | Revival 2001 Tony Award Best Revival of a Play nominee |
| Design for Living | March 15, 2001 | May 13, 2001 | Revival |
| Major Barbara | July 12, 2001 | September 16, 2001 | Revival |
| The Women | November 8, 2001 | January 13, 2002 | Revival |
| An Almost Holy Picture | February 7, 2002 | April 7, 2002 | |
| The Man Who Had All the Luck | May 1, 2002 | June 30, 2002 | Revival |
| The Boys from Syracuse | August 18, 2002 | October 20, 2002 | Revival |
| Tartuffe | January 9, 2003 | February 23, 2003 | Revival |
| A Day in the Death of Joe Egg | April 3, 2003 | June 1, 2003 | Revival 2003 Tony Award Best Revival of a Play nominee |
| Big River | July 24, 2003 | September 21, 2003 | Revival 2004 Tony Award Best Revival of a Musical nominee |
| The Caretaker | November 9, 2003 | January 4, 2004 | Revival |
| Twentieth Century | March 25, 2004 | June 6, 2004 | Revival |
| After the Fall | June 25, 2004 | September 12, 2004 | Revival |
| 12 Angry Men | October 28, 2004 | May 15, 2005 | 2005 Tony Award Best Revival of a Play nominee |
| The Constant Wife | June 16, 2005 | August 21, 2005 | Revival 2006 Tony Award Best Revival of a Play nominee |
| A Naked Girl on the Appian Way | October 6, 2005 | December 4, 2005 | |
| The Pajama Game | February 23, 2006 | June 17, 2006 | Revival 2006 Tony Award Best Revival of a Musical |
| Heartbreak House | October 11, 2006 | December 17, 2006 | Revival |
| Prelude to a Kiss | March 8, 2007 | April 29, 2007 | Revival |
| Old Acquaintance | June 28, 2007 | August 19, 2007 | Revival |
| Pygmalion | September 21, 2007 | December 16, 2007 | Revival |
| The 39 Steps | January 10, 2008 | March 16, 2008 | 2008 Best New Play Nominee |
| Les Liaisons Dangereuses | May 1, 2008 | July 6, 2008 | Revival 2008 Tony Award Best Revival of a Play Nominee |
| A Man for All Seasons | October 7, 2008 | December 14, 2008 | Revival |
| Hedda Gabler | January 25, 2009 | March 28, 2009 | Revival |
| The Philanthropist | April 26, 2009 | July 5, 2009 | Revival |
| After Miss Julie | October 22, 2009 | December 6, 2009 | Broadway Premiere |
| Present Laughter | January 21, 2010 | March 21, 2010 | Revival |
| Lips Together, Teeth Apart | April 9, 2010 | June 20, 2010 | Revival |
References
- ^ a b c Bianco, Anthony (2004). Ghosts of 42nd Street: A History of America's Most Infamous Block. New York: Harper Collins. p. 82. ISBN 0-688-17089-7.
- ^ Parker, John (ed), Who's Who in the Theatre, 10th revised edition, London, 1947: 1430
External links
- Broadway Theatre Guide with full show details for the American Airlines Theatre
- Information and virtual tour at the Roundabout Theatre site
- The Selwyn at the New 42nd Street
- Seating chart
- American Airlines Theatre at the Internet Broadway Database
Sources
- Broadway Theatres: History and Architecture, William Morrison, 1999, Dover Publications, ISBN 0486402444
- Lost Broadway Theatres, Nicholas Van Hoogstraten, Princeton Architectural Press, 1997, ISBN 1-56898-116-3
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Coordinates: 40°45′23.4″N 73°59′15.8″W / 40.7565°N 73.987722°W
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 | American Theater Guide. The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. Copyright © 2004 by Oxford University Press, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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