Imperial Theatre (New York). The 1,400‐seat musical house on West 45th Street has had only fifty‐seven tenants in its eighty‐year history and rarely has it been empty, testifying to the number of hits that have played here. The playhouse was designed by Herbert J. Krapp with entrances on both 45th and 46th Streets and they have both been needed to handle the crowds for Rose‐Marie (1924), Annie Get Your Gun (1946), Fiddler on the Roof (1964), Pippin (1972), Les Misérables (transferred in 1990), and other smash musicals. The Shuberts built the Imperial and had success with it even during the Depression. It remains a Shubert house.
Imperial Theatre
| American Theater Guide: Imperial Theatre |
| Wikipedia: Imperial Theatre |
This article is about the Broadway theatre. For other uses, see Imperial Theatre (disambiguation).
| Imperial Theatre | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Imperial Theatre, February 2003 | |
| Address |
249 West 45th Street
|
| City | |
| Country | United States |
| Architect | Herbert J. Krapp |
| Owned by | The Shubert Organization |
| Capacity | 1417 |
| Type | Broadway, Musical Theatre |
| Opened | December 25, 1923 |
| www.imperialtheater.net | |
The Imperial Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 249 West 45th Street (George Abbott Way) in midtown-Manhattan. The theatre seats up to 1417 people.
The Shubert Organization's fiftieth venue in New York City, it was constructed to replace their outdated Lyric Theatre. Designed by architect Herbert J. Krapp specifically to accommodate musical theatre productions, it opened on December 25, 1923 with the Oscar Hammerstein II-Vincent Youmans production Mary Jane McKane. Since then, it has hosted numerous important musicals, including Annie Get Your Gun (1946), Fiddler on the Roof (1964), Dreamgirls (1981), The Mystery of Edwin Drood (1985) and Les Miserables (1990), which played at the theatre until 2003.
Among the famed 20th century composers and lyricists whose works were housed here are Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart, Irving Berlin, Harold Rome, Frank Loesser, Lionel Bart, Bob Merrill, Stephen Sondheim, Jule Styne, E.Y. Harburg, Harold Arlen, and George and Ira Gershwin. Performers who have graced the stage include Gertrude Lawrence, John Gielgud, Clifton Webb, Montgomery Clift, Mary Boland, Ray Bolger, Desi Arnaz, Mary Martin, Ethel Merman, Zero Mostel, Danny Kaye, Jerry Orbach, Shelley Winters, Bernadette Peters, Ben Vereen, George Rose, Hugh Jackman, and John Lithgow.
Notable productions
- 1924: Rose Marie
- 1926: Oh, Kay!
- 1927: The Desert Song
- 1928: The New Moon
- 1932: Flying Colors
- 1933: Of Thee I Sing; Let 'Em Eat Cake
- 1935: Jubilee
- 1936: On Your Toes
- 1938: Leave It to Me!
- 1939: Too Many Girls
- 1940: Louisiana Purchase
- 1941: Let's Face It!
- 1943: One Touch of Venus (Kurt Weill's Broadway debut)
- 1944: Song of Norway
- 1946: Annie Get Your Gun
- 1949: Miss Liberty
- 1950: Call Me Madam
- 1952: Wish You Were Here
- 1955: Silk Stockings
- 1956: The Most Happy Fella
- 1957: Jamaica
- 1959: Destry Rides Again
- 1960: Gypsy
- 1961: Carnival!
- 1963: Oliver!
- 1964: Fiddler on the Roof
- 1967: Cabaret
- 1968: Zorba
- 1970: Minnie's Boys; Two by Two
- 1971: On the Town
- 1972: Pippin
- 1977: Mark Twain Tonight!; Chapter Two
- 1979: They're Playing Our Song
- 1981: Dreamgirls
- 1985: The Mystery of Edwin Drood
- 1988: Chess
- 1989: Jerome Robbins' Broadway
- 1990: Les Misérables
- 2003: The Boy from Oz
- 2005: Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
- 2006: High Fidelity (closed after only 14 performances)
- 2007: Coram Boy, August: Osage County (limited run)
- 2008: Billy Elliot the Musical
External links
- Imperial Theatre at the Internet Broadway Database
- Shubert Organization website
- Imperial Theatre home page
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Coordinates: 40°45′32″N 73°59′16″W / 40.75889°N 73.98778°W
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