Palace Theatre

Palace Theatre (New York). Built by Martin Beck on Broadway between 46th and 47th streets, the house was opened in early 1913. By that time, however, Beck had lost it. The 1,800‐seat jewel box in crimson and gold quickly became the flagship of the Keith circuit and America's leading vaudeville house. “To play the Palace” was the ambition of all two‐a‐day performers. With the coming of sound films and the demise of vaudeville, it became a film house in the 1930s. A policy of vaudeville was reinstated briefly in the early 1950s. In 1965 the house was extensively renovated and redesigned by Ralph Alswang, and opening with Sweet Charity, the Palace became a major home to Broadway musicals for the first time in its long history. It has continued to be a popular home for large musicals, such as Applause (1970), La Cage aux Folles (1983), The Will Rogers Follies (1992), Beauty and the Beast (1994), and Aida (2000).