Mark Hellinger Theatre

Mark Hellinger Theatre
Mark Hellinger Theatre in June 2007
Address	237 West 51st Street
City	New York City
Country	USA
Architect	Thomas W. Lamb
Capacity	approx. 1,506
Type	Former Broadway & cinema
Opened	April 22, 1930
Previous names	WB Hollywood Theatre[1] (1930-1940) 51st St. Theatre[1] (1940-1948) Mark Hellinger Theatre[1] (1948-1991) Times Square Church[1] (1991 - present)
Current use	Times Square Church

The Mark Hellinger Theatre is a generally used name of a former legitimate Broadway theatre located at 237 West 51st Street in midtown Manhattan. The building is still standing and substantially unaltered; in 1991, it was converted into the Times Square Church.^[1] The theatre is most notable for the original production of My Fair Lady, which ran from 1956-1962.^[2]

History

1930s

Designed by architect Thomas W. Lamb, the theatre was built by Warner Bros. as a deluxe New York City movie palace to showcase their then-revolutionary Vitaphone sound films.^[1] It opened as the Warner Bros. Hollywood Theatre on April 22, 1930, with the film Hold Everything.

Although built as a cinema, the stage was made large enough for live performances. The first of these was in 1934, Calling All Stars, a revue with Martha Raye.^[3] Live performances were not particularly successful during its first decade.

1940s

In 1940, Warner Brothers renamed it the 51st Street Theatre. In 1948, wealthy producer Anthony Brady Farrell purchased the house, renovated it, and renamed it the Mark Hellinger Theatre, in honor of noted Broadway journalist and critic who had recently died in 1948.^[1] It opened under its new name on January 22, 1949, with the Farrell produced musical All for Love.

1950s and '60s

Under Farrell's ownership, the Hellinger Theatre continued to primarily showcase musicals; however, he had greater success as a landlord than producer. Of five musicals Farrell produced, only one, Texas Li'l Darling (1949) ran for more than 200 performances. Two on the Aisle (1951) and Plain and Fancy (1955) had respectable runs, but the venue had it greatest success with the smash hit My Fair Lady which ran from 1956-1962 for a total of 2,717 performances.^[2][4]

Other respectable runs included On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1965) and Katharine Hepburn's only Broadway musical, Coco (1969).

1970s and '80s

The Nederlander Organization purchased the venue in 1970. Jesus Christ Superstar played at the Hellinger from 1971-73 for a total of 711 performances. Sugar Babies ran from 1979 - 1982, for a total of 1,208 performances. Throughout the remainder of the 1980s, the Hellinger continued to showcase musicals, mostly unsuccessful. The theatre was the set for the 1985 film "A Chorus Line". The film based on the hit Broadway musical. The movie starred Michael Douglas, Alyson Reed, and Audrey Landers (from TV's "Dallas").

1991 to present

In 1991, the Nederlander Organization sold the theatre to the Times Square Church. Before selling, Nederlander allegedly refused a purchase offer from British impresario Cameron Mackintosh.^{[citation needed]} The Times Square Church has maintained the theatre's interior decor intact and it is open to the public regularly for services and tours.

Design

Although the front entrance to the building currently is located on 51st Street [1], this was originally a side entrance. The main entrance was a small, unassuming entrance at 1655 Broadway, with a narrow lobby leading to a Grand Foyer on 51st Street.^[5] In 1930, it was desirable for a first-run motion picture theatre in Times Square to have an entrance, no matter how small, on Broadway. These doors were sealed off in 1934.

The rococo interior is typical of the 1920s movie palace design. The coved ceiling has dozens of murals [2] reminiscent of Boucher and Watteau, depicting 18th-century French aristocracy.

The spectacular rotunda lobby [3] is dominated by eight fluted Corinthian columns and a ceiling that is decorated with colorful murals of classical scenes. This and other interior spaces were designed by Leif Neandross, chief designer of the Rambusch Decorating Company.

The auditorium seating capacity is approximately 1,506, one of the largest in the theatre district. The stage is among the largest and best-equipped of all of New York's theatres. A large plaster-of-Paris crown rests above the proscenium [4].

Notable productions

External links

• Mark Hellinger Theatre at Internet Broadway Database, with historic photographs
• The Hollywood Theatre at CinemaTreasures.org
• Collins, Glenn (Dec. 7, 1991). "Hellinger Theater Sold To Church". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/07/theater/hellinger-theater-sold-to-church.html. Retrieved 15 July 2009. 

References