Hudson Theatre

Hudson Theatre

The Hudson Theatre in 2003.
Address 139-141 West 44th Street
New York City
United States
Owner Millennium & Copthorne Hotels
Operator Ambassador Theatre Group
Capacity 970
Construction
Opened 1903
Reopened 2017
Architect J.B. McElfatrick & Son; Israels & Harder
Website
http://www.thehudsonbroadway.com
The Hudson Theatre on a 1910s trading card.

The Hudson Theatre is a Broadway theater located at 139-141 West 44th Street,[1]:1 between Times Square and 6th Avenue, New York City. Currently closed, the Hudson most recently operated as a conference center and television studio. The theater is owned by Millennium & Copthorne Hotels.

In December 2015, it was announced that the UK-based Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) had signed a long term lease on the theater. The company plans to invest in a multimillion-dollar refurbishment of the venue, bringing it back into full-time use as a Broadway playhouse.[2]

History

The architectural firm of J. B. McElfatrick & Son made initial drawings for the Hudson Theatre in 1902, but the firm of Israels & Harder took the project over by 1903.[1]:9 When the Hudson opened, on October 19 of that year with Ethel Barrymore starring in Cousin Kate, it had a number of distinctive architectural features, including an unusually large foyer, a triple-domed ceiling, and a system of diffused lighting.[3][4][5] Built by theatrical producer Henry B. Harris, his wife managed the theatre after his death on the RMS Titanic.

From the 1930s through the 1950s the theater served as a radio and television studio, originally as a CBS Radio Playhouse from 1937 to 1950, until NBC purchased it in 1950, where Broadway Open House and The Kate Smith Hour originated. In 1954, it became home to The Tonight Show with host Steve Allen.

Developer Abraham Hirschfeld purchased the structure in 1956, and after returning it to use as a legitimate theater in the 1960s, he converted it to a movie house in 1974. Finally, in 1980 it became the Savoy rock club.[1]:14–5 In 1987, the building received landmark status.[1]:1,18

When owner Henry Macklowe developed the surrounding lots into a new luxury hotel, he incorporated the landmarked theater, using it as a conference center and auditorium.[6] Millennium & Copthorne Hotels bought the hotel and the Hudson in 1995. As of 2015 the Hudson Theatre was used as a conference and party space for the Millennium Broadway Hotel; stand-up comedy shows for broadcast on the Comedy Central cable network were taped there.

In 2015 it was announced that the British-based Ambassador Theatre Group would assume management of the Hudson from the hotel and convert it back into a legitimate Broadway theater,[7] planned to be open and ready for the 2016–17 season. On reopening the Hudson will be the 41st theater operating on Broadway and also the oldest, having originally opened slightly earlier in 1903 than the Lyceum and New Amsterdam Theatres.[8] The Tony Awards Administration Committee ruled in October 2016 that the Hudson Theatre is deemed to be a Tony-eligible theatre, starting in the 2016-2017 season, with "970 seats without the use of the orchestra pit and 948 seats when the orchestra pit is utilized by a production."[9]

Notable productions

Hudson Theatre

The Savoy

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Hudson Theater Designation Report (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. November 17, 1987.
  2. ↑ Snow, Georgia (December 16, 2015). "ATG secures second Broadway theatre with reopening of historic Hudson".
  3. ↑ "The New Hudson Theatre". The New York Times. October 18, 1903.
  4. ↑ "Miss Ethel Barrymore in Cousin Kate". The New York Times. October 20, 1903.
  5. ↑ "The Hudson Theatre". Architects' and Builders' Magazine. Vol. 36 No. 5 (February 1904). p. 200. Online at HathiTrust.
  6. ↑ "Hudson Theatre". Internet Broadway Database website. Archived March 2, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
  7. ↑ Riedel, Michael (March 11, 2015). "Broadway's newest landlord is a colorful, 'Mormon'-loving Brit". New York Post.
  8. ↑ Viagas, Robert. "Hudson Theatre Will Be Reopened as Broadway House" Playbill, December 16, 2015.
  9. ↑ Viagas, Robert. "Tony Administration Committee Rules on 'Cats' and 'Paramour' " Playbill, October 14, 2016
  10. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/1983/02/07/arts/music-noted-in-brief-king-sunny-ade-band-in-new-york-debut.html
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Coordinates: 40°45′25″N 73°59′05″W / 40.75694°N 73.98472°W / 40.75694; -73.98472

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