The Little Orchestra Society is an American orchestra based at 630 9th Avenue, Suite 807 in New York City. It was founded in 1947 by Thomas Scherman , who served as its conductor until his death in 1979. From 1979 to 2011 the Orchestra was led by Dino Anagnost. Its membership has ranged between 45 and 60 musicians. The orchestra's name is borrowed from The Little Orchestra of London , which was formed by Felix Mendelssohn during the Bach Revival . In 2019, the Orchestra named David Alan Miller its new Artistic Advisor.
171-455: Its first concert took place at Town Hall in Manhattan on October 27, 1947. In 1959 the orchestra toured to eight Asian countries including Vietnam , Hong Kong, India, and Japan, performing the music of Henry Cowell . Pierre Monteux guest conducted the orchestra on April 2, 1957, in a concert that included Johannes Brahms ' Serenade No. 2 in A Major . Monteux had recorded the serenade in
342-619: A frontage of 125 ft (38 m) on 44th Street and a depth of about 100 ft (30 m). On the same block, the Hotel Gerard , Hudson Theatre , and Millennium Times Square New York are to the west. Other nearby buildings include the Algonquin Hotel to the east, 1166 Avenue of the Americas to the northeast, the Americas Tower and High School of Performing Arts to the north,
513-434: A loge , or theatrical box. The front of the balcony contains a wrought-iron balustrade. The auditorium retains most of its original wicker seat designs, except for the loge, where modern theatrical seats have been installed. The original seats were capable of unusually high levels of acoustic absorption; they were replaced in the 1980s by seats with similar acoustic qualities. The writer Harold C. Schonberg wrote that only
684-586: A "favorable" lease agreement, paying only for taxes, fixed expenses, and utility use. The group's inaugural program included revivals of The Crucible , The Little Hotel on the Side , and The Master Builder . The National Actors Theatre's productions at the Belasco were mostly flops. The Belasco was then used to host the puppet show A Little More Magic in 1994. The Belasco then hosted other productions such as Hamlet , A Doll's House , Honour , and Ring Round
855-400: A $ 281,000 grant in 1992 to fund the restoration of Town Hall's marquee. The architect Bonnie Roche was also hired to replace the doors, add information kiosks, and make the venue wheelchair-accessible. Town Hall had become profitable by the late 1990s, with an attendance of 400,000 in 1996. The Town Hall Foundation was raising money for a roof replacement, seat refurbishment, and repainting of
1026-407: A Murder (1961), Seidman and Son (1962), The Last Analysis (1964), Inadmissible Evidence (1965), and The Subject Was Roses (1966). The Killing of Sister George , which was hosted at the Belasco in 1966, was shown without incident, despite being more explicit about lesbian themes than Trio had two decades prior. The 1969 production Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie? featured
1197-399: A Past (1917). In the 1910s and 1920s, David Belasco was particularly involved in the theatrical development of several actresses, including Blanche Bates, Ina Claire , Katharine Cornell , Jeanne Eagels , and Lenore Ulric . Among the films in which they starred were Polly With a Past , featuring Claire; Daddies (1918), with Eagles; and The Son-Daughter (1919), with Ulric. During
1368-566: A Wise Child (1929) were among the other successful productions of the 1920s. His last-ever production at the theater was Tonight or Never , which premiered in November 1930. Since Belasco missed the original opening performance of Tonight or Never due to illness, a second one was hosted for his benefit in March 1931. David Belasco died in May 1931 after a long illness, and theatrical manager B. F. Roeder
1539-572: A broadcast studio. NBC used the theater as a broadcast location for four years. At that time, several Broadway theaters had been converted to broadcast studios due to a lack of studio space in New York City. The studio broadcasts included plays from the Theatre Guild of the Air series and NBC Symphony Orchestra concerts. The game show Take It or Leave It was also broadcast from the Belasco while it
1710-513: A ceremony where Sanders's grand-niece Eleanor Butler Roosevelt would have laid the cornerstone. E. B. Roosevelt could not attend because she was sick, so her husband Theodore Roosevelt Jr. laid the cornerstone for Town Hall on January 24, 1920. At a June 1920 dinner of the Economic Club, real-estate operator Joseph P. Day raised $ 7,500 in subscriptions for Town Hall, then tried to compel its attendees to give $ 100 each by locking them inside
1881-400: A cornice with modillions. The wall surfaces above the entablature are designed to resemble leather. The side-wall panels have gilded sconces, and the ceiling has a chandelier suspended from it. The main entrance is from the south wall, above which are murals by Everett Shinn. The east wall contains doors to the auditorium. At the center of the north wall, directly opposite the entrance doors,
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#17328580603452052-614: A decline in the quality of productions hosted at the Belasco, it continued to show Broadway plays and musicals. The theater was renovated multiple times over the years, including in the 1920s, 1970s, and 2000s. The Belasco Theatre is on 111 West 44th Street, on the north sidewalk between Seventh Avenue and Sixth Avenue , near Times Square in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City . The rectangular land lot covers 12,552 sq ft (1,166.1 m ), with
2223-421: A different dramatist, for a total of 21 people. The arms of Stuyvesant and Goethe were depicted in the shield to the left of the stage, while the arms of Greece and Shakespeare were depicted in those to the right. Concealed behind the stained-glass panels are 500 lamps. This illumination was meant to give an impression of "real daylight". George Keister designed the dome lighting. David Belasco intended
2394-584: A dining room. Town Hall was dedicated on January 12, 1921, with 1,600 audience members listing to speeches by John J. Pershing and Henry Waters Taft . At its opening, Town Hall hosted lectures during the morning, receptions during the afternoon, and mass meetings in the evening. A magazine from the building's completion wrote that McKim, Mead & White "are responsible for a very beautiful building, lovely in its graceful lines and simplicity". The New-York Tribune wrote: "The need of wise citizenship in New York
2565-452: A floor of terrazzo tiles, as well as classically styled pilasters and a paneled ceiling. The northern wall of the lobby has a screen divided into three portions. The central section of the screen has a set of double doors, flanked by Ionic -style engaged columns . The outer sections of the screen are made of marble with window openings, and they contain Doric -style pilasters. On either side of
2736-409: A keystone. A rectangular terracotta panel with eared corners is placed above each window. Above the cornice, a brick triangular pediment rises over the center three bays. There is an oval window at the center of the pediment, with a terracotta frame and keystones, as well as a cornice with modillions above the pediment. The westernmost portion of the 44th Street elevation is the office section, which
2907-416: A library leading to a dining room, large baths, and narrow passages. Belasco had a collection of erotica and medieval art in a hidden Gothic-style room. Scattered across the duplex were banners, rugs, books, and what one biographer called "a vast, confusing medley of collectors' treasures". After Belasco died in 1931, Sardi's restaurant received some artifacts for its "Belasco Room". Some books went to
3078-476: A library, as well as communal spaces such as a bar, lounge, and dining area. The fourth story, which corresponded to the penthouse, had a kitchen and space for employees and food storage. Many of the original decorations, including plaster walls, paneled piers, and neoclassical moldings, still exist. The second story was intended to contain offices for the League for Political Education, as well as its subsidiaries,
3249-593: A live album in 1966, Bill Evans at Town Hall . Belasco Theatre The Belasco Theatre is a Broadway theater at 111 West 44th Street, between Seventh Avenue and Sixth Avenue , in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City . Originally known as the Stuyvesant Theatre , it was built in 1907 and designed by architect George Keister for impresario David Belasco . The Belasco Theatre has 1,016 seats across three levels and has been operated by The Shubert Organization since 1948. Both
3420-401: A metal-product manufacturer, received no salary from the foundation; Lawrence Zucker was hired as the director. NYU also provided a $ 70,000 subsidy, giving financial support to Town Hall for two years. The foundation did not raise any money for two years after acquiring the venue. Instead, the foundation operated Town Hall exclusively as a rental venue, charging $ 1,200 to host an event outside
3591-450: A mockup of a Childs Restaurants franchise. The Belasco hosted several other productions in the 1920s. Lionel Atwill starred in Deburau during 1920, and Kiki ran 580 performances the following year. The Belasco hosted Laugh, Clown, Laugh! with Lionel Barrymore in 1923, as well as Tiger Cats with Katharine Cornell in 1924. Lulu Belle was another successful production at
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#17328580603453762-576: A new clubhouse at 113 West 43rd Street. The plans for Town Hall were announced in April 1919. McKim, Mead & White had prepared plans for the building, which was expected to cost $ 500,000 and be completed by the next year. The structure was to house the League for Political Education, the Civic Forum, and the Economic Club. That July, Russell B. Smith began to raze the existing row houses. Work on Town Hall began on October 10, 1919. The League then scheduled
3933-572: A new theater on the roof. The 1978 preservation effort led the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) to consider the venue for city landmark status. The LPC designated the facade and auditorium as city landmarks in November 1978. Following the landmark designation, the electronic organ was removed. Hudson Guild then asked the LPC for permission to convert Town Hall into two auditoriums, but its application
4104-421: A pair of Ionic terracotta pilasters at each end, as well as two single pilasters in the center. At the second story, each of the center bays contains tripartite casement windows . Above the windows are terracotta lintels, which are separated into three panels and are topped by a course of dentils . At the third story, each center bay has a round-arched window, surrounded by paneled terracotta blocks and topped by
4275-410: A pair of wood-and-glass doors flanked by pilasters; this provides access to the balcony. A large metal canopy hangs above the doorways. An egg-and-dart molding and a Greek key frieze runs above the ground story on 44th Street. The upper stories are asymmetrical. The office section of the theater is at the extreme western end of the facade, while a pair of pavilions flanks three vertical bays on
4446-431: A pediment and a brass figure. A brass standing rail originally was placed in front of the ticket window but was removed. The auditorium has a ground-level orchestra, boxes , two balconies, promenades on the three seating levels, and a large stage behind the proscenium arch. The auditorium's width is greater than its depth. The auditorium has 1,016 seats. These are divided into 527 seats at orchestra level, 283 on
4617-438: A pediment atop the central section, and contain carved swags and garlands . The organs themselves were donated in 1922 but saw little use and were removed in 1960. The organ pipes remain in place, but paintings were placed within the screens in a 1983 renovation. The elevators on the western side of the ground floor, lead to the second through fourth stories. The second and third stories were designed with club offices and
4788-472: A performance by the Trio de Lutece. In 1914, the theater hosted Molnár's The Phantom Rival , which introduced the concept of blacking out the lights to change sets and costumes, rather than lowering the curtain. The following year, the Belasco premiered The Boomerang , and the stage apron was adjusted for The Boomerang . Other notable productions in the 1910s included Seven Chances (1916) and Polly With
4959-471: A performance of her humorous analysis of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen , which was recorded. Duke Ellington performed for The Fresh Air Fund in 1957, and Carlos Montoya gave a guitar recital. The events in 1958 included Betty Allen 's first New York City performance; the American Opera Society 's presentation of The Coronation of Poppea ; and the 25th Year Retrospective Concert of
5130-570: A production's light rehearsal than to the combined total of all other production costs. By the mid-1900s, Belaso sought to develop a new theater where he could control all aspects of design. What is now the Belasco Theatre was developed by Meyer R. Bimberg , who organized the Stuyvesant Theatre Company in 1906 with $ 275,000 in capital . In June 1906, Belasco announced he would manage the theater and name it after Peter Stuyvesant,
5301-474: A restoration program for their Broadway theaters. To raise money for the Belasco Theatre's upkeep, the Shubert Organization leased some of the site's unused air development rights to Feldman Equities in November 1986. The air rights were used to increase the height of the adjacent skyscraper being built at 120 West 45th Street. Under the terms of the deal, the Belasco had to remain active for as long as
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5472-618: A revue in which all the cast members were nude, moved from the Eden Theatre to the Belasco in 1971. Despite the quality of the productions, the Shubert Organization retained the Belasco in nearly original condition. For the production of The Rocky Horror Show (1975), the Shuberts added stands and temporarily removed some orchestra seating. This was followed by a series of short runs including An Almost Perfect Person (1977), The Goodbye People (1979), and Hide and Seek (1979). In
5643-496: A run at the Hayes Theater , and ran until June. This was followed in November 2024 by the musical Maybe Happy Ending . The Belasco Theater is the subject of an urban legend that David Belasco's ghost haunts the theater every night. According to actors and backstage personnel, the ghost would be seen in clerical-like wear, sitting in an empty box during the opening night of a production. Several actors have reported that
5814-493: A screening of amateur films in 1929. Town Hall sponsored the first season of the Town Hall Endowment Series in 1930. The series featured such figures as Mischa Elman , Margaret Matzenauer , John McCormack , Rosa Ponselle , and Sergei Rachmaninoff , who all appeared in the 1931–1932 season, as well as Feodor Chaliapin for the 1932–1933 season. The series originally had five performances per season, but this
5985-407: A series of concerts and speeches. At the time, the lobby and marquee were being renovated; an electronic organ was installed during this time. A task force also recommended that NYU sell off Town Hall to save money. Ross resigned as director in 1974 and was replaced by Jesse Reese. By March 1975, the venue was in danger of closing permanently unless $ 365,000 was pledged by that August to support
6156-418: A shower and bathtub on each floor. There were thirty-five rooms in total. The dressing rooms overlooked the side and rear alleys for natural light exposure, and the eastern wall was a thick fireproof wall separating the dressing rooms from the rest of the theater. The eastern portion of the theater contains a ten-room duplex apartment, which was built for Belasco in 1909. The apartment's design complements
6327-465: A single balcony, with a small stage behind the proscenium arch. The auditorium has a seating capacity of 1,495. Every effort was taken to ensure that no seats had obstructed views, which led to the Town Hall's long-standing mantra "Not a bad seat in the house". The balcony is cantilevered from the structural framework, which obviated the need for columns that blocked audience views. The balcony has
6498-506: A terracotta keystone above the arch. Above the entablature, the fourth story of the office section has quoins at either corner. There are three arched windows at the fourth story, surrounded by terracotta frames and topped by terracotta keystones. The windows are separated by Ionic pilasters, supporting a frieze and egg-and-dart molding of the same material. The interior color scheme was devised largely by Wilfred Buckland, who worked for Belasco's studios. Everett Shinn designed murals for
6669-510: A thick wall, was constructed on the west side of the theater. The eastern part of the theater is topped by a private duplex apartment built in 1909. The primary elevation of the facade faces south on 44th Street and is made of red brick in Flemish bond , with terracotta decorative elements. It is split into an office section to the west and the main theater section to the east. The side walls are faced in plain brick. The 44th Street elevation
6840-431: A thousand members. The club, which accepted both men and women, aimed to promote "a finer public spirit and a better social order". Town Hall acquired a property at 125 West 43rd Street in May 1930, and architect Louis Jallade filed plans to expand the original structure by five stories, as well as develop a twelve-story wing at number 125. This addition was never completed, and Town Hall instead expanded its offices into
7011-443: A venue, Town Hall was compared with the ideal of a New England town hall, with one book likening the venue to "an idea with a roof over it". This imagery was reinforced by reporters such as Hildegarde Hawthorne , who noted that "America was born in her town halls", as well as another writer, who said "New York's small town longings rise in the concrete". Architectural writer Robert A. M. Stern wrote that Town Hall, along with
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7182-537: A way to gain revenue. The first musical event held at the venue was a recital by Spanish violinist Juan Manén on February 12, 1921. That December, German composer Richard Strauss gave three concerts, an event the Town Hall Foundation described as giving "the hall it's [ sic ] christening as an ideal space for musical performances". Cellist Pablo Casals made his debut in January 1923, followed
7353-410: Is set back from the curb. The northern elevation is not visible from the street since it faces another building. The first-story facade contains a blind arcade with seven arches containing double doors. The westernmost door leads to the upper story, the five center doors lead to the theater, and the easternmost door leads to the box office. The arches are accessed by either one or two steps, since
7524-656: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . The Town Hall (New York City) The Town Hall (also Town Hall ) is a performance space at 123 West 43rd Street, between Broadway and Sixth Avenue near Times Square , in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City . It was built from 1919 to 1921 and designed by architects McKim, Mead & White for the League for Political Education . The auditorium has 1,500 seats across two levels and has historically been used for various events, such as speeches, musical recitals, concerts, and film screenings. Both
7695-399: Is a splayed brick lintel and a wood-framed sash window. Five of the arched openings have steel-and-glass canopies above them. The canopies are cantilevered from steel rods that extend diagonally from the facade. There are three such canopies: one above each outermost arch and one above the center three doorways. Underneath each canopy are spherical lamps, with glass shades at the edges of
7866-416: Is about 60 ft (18 m) tall, while the rear elevation is cited as being 80 ft (24 m) or 90 ft (27 m) tall. To comply with fire regulations at the time of the Belasco's construction, the theater is surrounded by an alley measuring 10 ft (3.0 m) wide. Due to the presence of the alley, the theater only measures 105 by 100 ft (32 by 30 m). On 44th Street,
8037-432: Is accessed from the ticket lobby at the southwest corner of the orchestra. The rear (south) end of the orchestra contains four octagonal columns containing capitals of stained glass, which hold up the first balcony level, and emergency exit doors on the east wall. The columns are placed behind the last row of seats. Other than those columns, the two balcony levels are cantilevered, allowing all rows an unobstructed view of
8208-409: Is an ornate box office within an arched opening. The main ticket window is flanked by Corinthian-style colonnettes on either side, which support an arched pediment; there are also arched panels to the left and right of the ticket window. In addition, there are Corinthian columns placed on marble bases on either side of the box office opening. Above the opening is the cornice and a carved aedicule with
8379-467: Is designed in a similar style as the main theater facade, though it is distinctly demarcated from the rest of the facade. which is flanked on either side by terracotta quoins. The second story of the office section has a tripartite window with a terracotta lintel . The third story of the offices contains a Palladian window , which consists of an arched window flanked by rectangular windows on each side. The Palladian window has Ionic terracotta pilasters and
8550-491: Is on 123 West 43rd Street, between Broadway and Sixth Avenue near Times Square , in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City . The land lot covers 12,563 square feet (1,167.1 m ), with a frontage of 125 feet (38 m) on 45th Street and a depth of 100.42 feet (31 m). Nearby buildings include the Millennium Times Square New York , Hudson Theatre , Hotel Gerard , and
8721-458: Is on the fourth story above the eastern pavilion. On 44th Street, the apartment has quoins at either corner, a brick facade, and a Palladian window. Engaged columns and terracotta pilasters flank the center portion of the Palladian window, while multi-paned windows form the side portions of the window. An egg-and-dart molding runs above the apartment facade. The three center bays are delineated by
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#17328580603458892-454: The America's Town Meeting of the Air radio program, broadcast from Town Hall between 1935 and 1956. New York University (NYU) leased Town Hall afterward, but the venue began to decline in popularity during the 1950s and 1960s. NYU closed the auditorium in 1978 due to financial shortfalls, and Town Hall was then renovated and reopened as a performance venue by the Town Hall Foundation. Town Hall
9063-502: The Eddie Condon's Jazz Concerts radio program from 1944 to 1945. One such concert by Dizzy Gillespie , Charlie Parker , Don Byas , Al Haig , Curley Russell , Max Roach , and Sid Catlett on June 22, 1945, was the first public performance of the jazz style that came to be known as bebop . Another jazz concert in 1946, featuring Billie Holiday 's first solo appearance, sold out rapidly. Town Hall's musical popularity peaked in
9234-560: The Durst Organization , developer of the neighboring building at 1133 Avenue of the Americas , for $ 25,000 a year. By the end of that decade, Lincoln Center had completed its new Alice Tully Hall , and Town Hall was largely supplanted in stature. This was evidenced by the number of bookings at both venues in 1969: while Tully Hall was nearly completely booked, less than half of available dates at Town Hall were booked. In 1971, Jerrold Ross became director of Town Hall, and he scheduled
9405-553: The Garden that year. Also played at the Stuyvesant were The Fighting Hope (1908) and The Easiest Way (1909). During 1909, Belasco constructed the duplex apartment above the eastern part of the theater. The same year, Belasco made an agreement with Klaw and Erlanger , enabling their respective firms to display products at each other's theaters. Just a Wife was produced at the Stuyvesant in early 1910. The Stuyvesant Theatre
9576-537: The Group Theatre started showing its productions at the Belasco, relocating Gold Eagle Guy from another theater. The Group Theatre's subsequent productions included Awake and Sing! , Dead End , Golden Boy , and Rocket to the Moon . Dead End had 684 performances before closing in 1937, making it the Belasco's longest-running play, a record that stood for eight decades. The following decade commenced with
9747-551: The Hudson Guild acquired the lease to Town Hall at $ 1 per year. He created the Town Hall Theater Foundation and announced that the auditorium would be split into two smaller theaters. The Town Hall Foundation was to take title to the venue while the Town Hall Theater Foundation would operate it. Amid opposition to the plan, Anderson then said he would consider retaining the original 1,500-seat auditorium and erecting
9918-604: The Lyceum Theatre and 1540 Broadway to the northwest, 1500 Broadway to the southwest, and the Chatwal New York hotel and the Town Hall to the south. The Belasco Theatre was designed by George Keister , the architect of the neighboring Hotel Gerard, in the neo-Georgian style . It was constructed from 1906 to 1907 as the Stuyvesant Theatre and was originally operated by David Belasco . The neo-Georgian style
10089-570: The Martin Scorsese film The Irishman . For The Irishman , the Belasco's first film screening in its history, the theater was retrofitted with a production booth, surround sound, and a projection screen. The theater staged Girl from the North Country in early 2020 before it closed on March 12, 2020 , due to the COVID-19 pandemic . The theater reopened on October 13, 2021, with Girl from
10260-531: The New York Public Library , but most objects were auctioned off. The Shubert Organization removed some decorations in the 1980s, and air ducts were subsequently installed in the apartment. Times Square became the epicenter for large-scale theater productions between 1900 and the Great Depression . Manhattan's theater district had begun to shift from Union Square and Madison Square during
10431-705: The New York Supreme Court . Meanwhile, Judy Holliday had her first major success in Kiss Them for Me (1945), while Marlon Brando had his first widely noticed success in Truckline Cafe (1946). Other productions during the 1940s included Home of the Brave (1945), Burlesque (1946) with Bert Lahr , Me and Molly (1948) with Gertrude Berg , and The Madwoman of Chaillot (1948) with Martita Hunt and Estelle Winwood . Jelin initially refused to leave
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#173285806034510602-670: The New York University (NYU)'s alumni club signed a five-year lease with Town Hall Inc. to use the upper floors formerly occupied by the Town Hall Club. NYU then renovated the two top floors. The NYU alumni clubhouse opened on September 12, 1956. Concurrently, the university booked Town Hall for all evenings for the following several months, eliminating Town Hall's mounting debt load. NYU and Town Hall Inc. also signed an agreement in which NYU would take over Town Hall's programming, and NYU president Alvin C. Eurich became chairman of
10773-507: The Tammany Hall Building at 44 Union Square , were two "unofficial civic monuments" built between the first and second world wars. Within the first year of Town Hall's opening, it had seen 200,000 guests. Some of Town Hall's popularity came from a variety of speeches and programs regarding social issues, but the musical productions were also major attractions. Over a million people used Town Hall within its first three years. At
10944-505: The backstage areas to be clean and comfortable, even prohibiting stagehands from spitting onto the floor. There were chairs behind the stage for actors to rest, as well as padded floors behind the proscenium so actors could walk on and off stage without making noise. Adjoining the auditorium was a six-story wing for dressing rooms. Each of the dressing rooms were arranged similarly to contemporary residential apartments, with concrete floors natural light, ventilation, hot and cold water, and
11115-417: The facade and interior of the theater are New York City landmarks . The main facade on 44th Street is made of red brick in Flemish bond , with terracotta decorative elements. The ground floor contains the entrance, while the upper stories are asymmetrical and topped by a pediment . Belasco and his company had their offices in the western wing of the theater. A ten-room duplex penthouse apartment occupies
11286-580: The 1910s, an adjustable apron measuring 5 ft (1.5 m) wide was built in front of the curtain, which could be used to widen the stage to 85 ft (26 m). A gridiron was placed 76 ft (23 m) above the stage, while the fly galleries were on either side of the stage and 30 ft (9.1 m) above it. At the center of the stage is an elevator trap measuring about 10 ft (3.0 m) deep and either 20 ft (6.1 m) or 18 ft (5.5 m) wide. The trap could raise or lower an entire set to either of two basement levels below
11457-494: The 1920s, Ulric appeared in Kiki (1921), The Harem (1924), Lulu Belle (1926), and Mima (1928). Theatrical historian Ken Bloom characterized the actresses as "Belasco heroines". Belasco initially paid close attention to accurate representation of details in the theater's productions. He was adamant that laundry scenes should contain functioning laundries capable of washing and ironing real clothes, and for one production he made
11628-507: The 1977–1978 season, the announcement of Town Hall's closure had resulted in the loss of over $ 165,000 of potential revenue for 1978–1979. After Town Hall's closure was announced, the Committee to Save Town Hall organized a campaign to preserve the venue. Despite the advocacy in favor of Town Hall, NYU's trustees closed the venue and planned to turn over the operation to the nonprofit Town Hall Foundation. In September 1978, Craig Anderson of
11799-403: The 1980s, but they were restored in 2010. The boxes are supported on console brackets and contain angled railings with foliate decoration; a colonnette separates each pair of boxes. The boxes' wall sections are flanked by octagonal columns with capitals of stained glass, which support an arch with a molding. At the tops of the boxes' wall sections are murals depicting love. A staircase connects
11970-555: The Belasco in May 1944 and leased it to Max Jelin for two years that July. A particularly controversial production was Trio , which discussed the topic of lesbianism when it opened in December 1944, but which was forced to close two months later in February 1945. In the aftermath of the Trio controversy, the theater's owners evicted Jelin, who was only reinstated in January 1946 after suing in
12141-490: The Belasco, Nederlander , and Walter Kerr theaters. The Belasco hosted The Speed of Darkness in 1991. The National Actors Theatre , led by Tony Randall , began showing productions at the Belasco later the same year. The Shuberts had leased the Belasco to the National Actors Theatre so the venue could remain active as part of the agreement concerning the theater's air rights. The National Actors Theatre had
12312-832: The Belasco, on the merit that the designations severely limited the extent to which the theaters could be modified. The lawsuit was escalated to the New York Supreme Court and the Supreme Court of the United States , but these designations were ultimately upheld in 1992. The Shuberts, the Nederlanders, and Jujamcyn formed the Broadway Alliance in June 1990, wherein each company set aside one of its theaters to present dramas and comedies at reduced ticket prices. The program covered
12483-456: The Belasco, with 461 performances. The Belasco also hosted the musical Hit the Deck in 1927, one of the few to take place in the theater. David Belasco renovated the theater for the production of Mima. Though he redesigned the proscenium arch's decorations and added metal sheathing to the balconies and orchestra boxes, he lost $ 250,000 on the productions. The Bachelor Father (1928) and It's
12654-538: The Belasco. There were two short productions in that year: Enchanted April and Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks . More productions followed later in the 2000s, including Dracula, the Musical , Julius Caesar , Awake and Sing! , Journey's End , Passing Strange , American Buffalo , and Joe Turner's Come and Gone . During the production of Awake and Sing! in 2006 and Joe Turner's Come and Gone in 2009,
12825-573: The Broadway debut of Al Pacino . With the decline of the Broadway-theater industry in the late 1960s, the quality of the Belasco's productions also decreased. A New York Times article in 1975 said the theater had "not seen the opening night of a hit since 1966", though the Belasco was still the second-oldest remaining Broadway theater, after the Lyceum. The off-Broadway production Oh! Calcutta! ,
12996-562: The Chatwal New York hotel to the north; the Belasco Theatre to the northeast; the Bank of America Tower and Stephen Sondheim Theatre to the south; 4 Times Square to the southwest; and 1500 Broadway to the west. Town Hall was designed by McKim, Mead & White in the Georgian Revival style and constructed from 1919 to 1921 as a lecture venue. Teunis (Dennis) J. van der Bent of
13167-508: The Civic Forum and the Economic Club . In addition, there was to be an adjoining political science library. The third story and the roof were to be arranged with space for a social club. While the League's offices were occupied from the building's completion, the two upper stories were not furnished until the end of 1924. As ultimately completed, the third floor was equipped with two main dining rooms and four private dining rooms. In addition,
13338-542: The Georgian facade of the Stephen Sondheim Theatre immediately across the street. The western elevation abuts an adjacent four-story building, which was formerly an annex of Town Hall and retains a connection at a single story. The eastern elevation is clad with common brick and originally was not visible from the street, but the site immediately to the east was redeveloped in the 1970s with an office building, which
13509-406: The League had no dedicated clubhouse. The Economic Club and Civic Forum were both founded in 1907 as offshoots of the League for Political Education. In 1912, Anna Blakslee Bliss gave money to fund the construction of a dedicated clubhouse; her initial donation of $ 1,000 was followed the next year by a larger donation. Plans for a dedicated clubhouse for the League were first announced in 1914;
13680-436: The League's director. The League formally reorganized as Town Hall Inc. in January 1938, with Denny as the new organization's president. The move reflected the fact that political education was no longer the League's priority, especially with Town Hall hosting Town Meeting over the last several years. Town Meeting was being broadcast on 78 stations by 1939; the show's own popularity was largely fueled by its setting within
13851-610: The Moon in the late 1990s. Feldman Equities considered buying the Belasco in 1996 but ultimately did not do so. The first musical to play the Belasco in the 2000s was James Joyce's The Dead . This was followed by the musical Follies in 2001 and Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune in 2002. As part of a settlement with the United States Department of Justice in 2003, the Shuberts agreed to improve disabled access at their 16 landmarked Broadway theaters, including
14022-595: The New Amsterdam director-general. The theater would be designed by George Keister and would cost about $ 300,000. Keister filed plans with the New York City Department of Buildings in September 1906, by which the excavation was nearly completed. On December 5, 1906, several hundred guests including Bronson Howard , Blanche Bates , and Frances Starr attended the theater's cornerstone-laying ceremony, and
14193-470: The North Country . That show closed in January 2022 before returning for a limited engagement from April to June. Ain't No Mo' was staged at the Belasco during December 2022, followed by Good Night, Oscar from April to August 2023. The musical How to Dance in Ohio opened at the Belasco in December 2023 for a limited run. The play Appropriate transferred to the Belasco in March 2024, following
14364-477: The Shuberts agreed in 1985 to let the New York Shakespeare Festival use the Belasco rent-free. The festival opened in November 1986 and hosted students' Shakespeare productions at the theater through 1987. Joseph Papp led the program, whose $ 2.5 million cost was partly funded by the city government and several local newspapers. During the 1980s, the Shuberts renovated the Belasco as part of
14535-428: The Stuyvesant Theatre. It opened on October 16, 1907, and was expanded in 1909 with Belasco's apartment. Belasco renamed the venue for himself in 1910. After his death in 1931, Katharine Cornell and then the wife of playwright Elmer Rice leased the space. The Shuberts bought the theater in 1948 and leased it to NBC for three years before returning it to legitimate use in 1953. Through the late 20th century, despite
14706-507: The Town Hall board in 1957. NYU fully acquired Town Hall in March 1958, and the venue became known as The Town Hall of New York University, an educational and cultural center directed by Ormand Drake. The annex at 125 West 43rd Street, which had been used for offices for Town Meeting , was sold in early 1959. The Town Hall of NYU held its first performances in October 1958. Within a few months, The New York Times had written that "Town Hall
14877-411: The Town Hall building. The Town Hall 50th Anniversary Committee, under Denny's leadership, started raising funds for a five-story expansion to Town Hall in 1940, though this was also not built. Town Hall also started a fundraiser in 1946 to pay off the $ 200,000 mortgage on the building. The venue was musically successful between 1946 and 1948, immediately after World War II. During October 1947 alone,
15048-472: The Town Hall in early 1935, and contralto Marian Anderson made her Town Hall debut that December after facing discrimination against African-Americans at other venues. Alice Tully sang at Town Hall in 1936, and young violinist Isaac Stern debuted at Town Hall the next year. Other performers of the decade included Lily Pons in 1938 and the Von Trapp family the same year. The Kolisch Quartet gave
15219-519: The Town Hall was initially intended as a speaking hall, it quickly became known for musical performances and recitals, leading one New York Times writer to call it an "accidental concert hall". McKim, Mead & White had written in 1921 that the venue could be adapted to "concerts, moving picture exhibitions, and similar entertainment". Throughout its history, the Town Hall has hosted performances by hundreds of musicians and composers. Town Hall hosted musical performances and other recitals initially as
15390-563: The Truth and / the Truth Shall Make You Free'". On either side are two empty niches surrounded by limestone frames. The niches are topped by round arches and contain similar keystones to the openings below them. There are light fixtures at the bases of the niches, as well as on the sills of the round arches. Above the niches and plaque is a set of sash windows with brick and limestone frames. A Greek key band course runs above
15561-468: The auditorium is two stories tall, it has been described in contemporary publications as a four-story space. The lobby is accessed from the five center doorways on 43rd Street. It has a largely rectangular plan, except for the north wall, which corresponds to the auditorium's rear wall. A contemporary publication called the lobby "a memorial to public-spirited citizens not now living who were leaders of their day in public usefulness". The lobby contains
15732-412: The auditorium onto the street or the alley, including ten from orchestra level. According to news reports published when the theater opened, the entire theater could be evacuated in three minutes. The Belasco's color scheme consisted largely of blue, green, and brown hues. The theater was also mechanically advanced for its time, with heating, cooling, and ventilating systems. There were no radiators in
15903-509: The auditorium within six months. The NYU Club and Alvin Ailey Dance Company would continue to use the upper stories, and NYU planned to hand over operation to "a responsible group" rather than demolish it. By then, the venue was mostly vacant during prime-time evenings and weekends, and the neighborhood had become dilapidated. The high crime rates of Times Square also discouraged potential events. Although 355 events had been hosted in
16074-401: The auditorium's 1,500 seats. James Speyer donated an organ to the auditorium in 1922. Anna Blakeley Bliss donated money to cover the estimated $ 500,000 cost of completing the interior in either 1922 or 1923. In April 1924, Ely announced that Town Hall needed to raise another $ 600,000 to pay off its debts. Two donors had pledged $ 400,000 on the condition that the remaining funds be raised by
16245-419: The auditorium. In addition, the cellar contained a fire pump capable of 250 U.S. gal (950 L; 210 imp gal) per minute, supplied by a 15,000 U.S. gal (57,000 L; 12,000 imp gal) water tower on the roof and a 10,000 U.S. gal (38,000 L; 8,300 imp gal) reserve tank in the basement. Below the stage was a mezzanine with heating coils. Each side of
16416-399: The building named after them; anyone who gave $ 1.5 million would get the entire auditorium named in their honor. Some $ 250,000 had been raised toward the proposed cost by April 1982. The work was to be performed over a five-year period in three phases. In 1983, the federal government allocated funds to Town Hall's renovation. Leffler also obtained grants from private foundations to fund
16587-499: The building wheelchair-accessible and relocate some of the rooms. The renovated hall officially reopened on October 14, 1984. The NYU Club continued to occupy Town Hall's upper-story clubhouse space until 1989 when it filed for bankruptcy. The clubhouse space was leased the following to the New Yorker Club, a majority-minority social club, which raised $ 800,000 to renovate the clubhouse space. The Town Hall Foundation received
16758-599: The building; the National Endowment for the Arts would provide a $ 400,000 grant if the remainder was raised privately. The federal government would provide another $ 300,000 to fund the proposed $ 1.5 million cost of the renovation. By 1981, Town Hall was finally profitable and was raising $ 2 million for operation and restoration. The foundation planned to install plaques on the auditorium's seats to honor donors who gave over $ 1,000. Larger donors would also get different parts of
16929-456: The canopy. The centers of the canopies' undersides have large spherical lamps, which are surrounded by smaller spheres. A Greek key band course runs above the mezzanine. The middle stories generally lack window openings and are faced in brick. The center of the facade has a limestone plaque that contains the words "The Town Hall / Founded by / the League for Political Education / 1894–1920 / 'Ye Shall Know
17100-426: The ceiling. The lighting was intended to be indirect, with 2,500 bulbs in total. The proscenium arch consists of a band with a Greek key molding, supported on either side by ornamented pilasters with Composite-style capitals. Above the center of the arch is a keystone with foliate decorations. The proscenium measures 25 feet (7.6 m) tall and 49.5 feet (15.1 m) wide. The stage curves slightly outward from
17271-410: The center where the mural is only 6 ft (1.8 m) tall. The mural has 29 pairs of figures, which depict emotions such as music, grief, tranquility, allurement, blind love, and poetry. Directly in front of the stage was an orchestra pit measuring 32 feet across and 7 ft (2.1 m) deep. The stage itself originally measured 80 ft (24 m) wide and 27 ft (8.2 m) deep. In
17442-442: The clubhouse would have been at 108–120 West 49th Street. The 49th Street clubhouse, which would likely have been designed by James E. Ware , was never built. The League's real estate committee then researched alternate sites before recommending the plots at 113–123 West 43rd Street, near Times Square. The committee recommended the site because of its proximity to transit. The plots were then purchased in 1917 for $ 425,000. At
17613-487: The eastern section of the site is higher than the western section. Fluted limestone pilasters flank the doors. Each double door has wooden frames and glass panes, above which are multi-pane transom windows. Each doorway has a limestone tympanum above it, as well as a lunette window with a keystone . The extreme ends of the facade, on either side of the blind arcade, contain metal double doors that lead to The Town Hall's backstage hallways. Above each of these end doors
17784-424: The end of that June. Ultimately, more than three thousand people donated to fund Town Hall's development. The upper stories were completed by the end of December 1924. To celebrate the venue's debts being paid off, Town Hall's management ceremonially burned the mortgage documents on the fourth anniversary of the venue's opening. The Town Hall Club was established within the two top stories in January 1925, with
17955-452: The existing four-story building at 125 West 43rd Street. Eventually, Town Hall, alongside Carnegie Hall and the old Metropolitan Opera House at 39th Street , became one of New York City's top musical venues in its 20th-century heyday. The neighboring Aeolian Hall closed not long after Town Hall opened. Ely hired George V. Denny Jr. as an associate director of the league in 1930. Denny thought "an honest system of political education"
18126-506: The exterior and interior of the building are New York City landmarks , and the building is on the National Register of Historic Places as a National Historic Landmark . Town Hall was designed in the Georgian Revival style and has a brick facade with limestone trim. The base contains seven arched doorways that serve as the venue's entrance. The facade of the upper stories contains a large limestone plaque, niches, and windows. Inside
18297-434: The firm was in charge of the overall design, and Russell B. Smith was the supervising engineer. The interior work was completed by Louis Jallade after the building opened. Wallace Clement Sabine has been popularly cited as a consultant in the design of Town Hall's auditorium, but he died before the building was completed. Town Hall was originally built for the League for Political Education . The Georgian Revival style
18468-467: The first balcony, and 200 on the second balcony, as well as 24 box seats and 25 standing-only spots. The orchestra was designed with 15 rows of seats. There were also twelve boxes in total. The seats were all made by the American Seating Company. Each seat was of heavy wood, upholstered in dark brown leather, and the back of each chair was embossed with an emblem of a bee. The auditorium
18639-635: The first decade of the 20th century. From 1901 to 1920, forty-three theaters were built around Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, including the Belasco Theatre. David Belasco himself had been involved in operating Oscar Hammerstein 's Republic Theatre (now the New Victory Theater ), in the Theater District on 42nd Street , since 1902. Belasco was heavily focused on theatrical lighting; in many cases, he invested more money and devoted more time to
18810-441: The fly galleries. The switchboard had 65 or 75 dimmers. There is a large gilded-and-glass chandelier hanging from the auditorium's main ceiling. The ceiling was designed with 22 stained-glass panels, each depicting two shields and being illuminated from above. Twenty of these panels depicted Shakespeare in the dexter (right) position and various dramatists in the sinister (left) position. Each of these panels depicted
18981-861: The fourth floor contained a library decorated with American pine from floor to ceiling. The room, measuring 77 by 42 feet (23 by 13 m), was described in the New York Herald Tribune as "probably the largest pine room in the country", containing three large pine columns and alcoves with space for 9,000 books. Eleanor Butler Sanders and five other prominent suffragists established the League for Political Education in 1894 to advocate for women's suffrage . The group held popular "town meetings" about social issues and had 600 members by 1899. The initial meetings were held in Sanders's house and attracted mainly women. Subsequent meetings attracted more men and were hosted in various venues around New York City, since
19152-403: The fourth story of the office wing to the west. The unit had its own small private elevator, as well as a living room with a 30-foot ceiling. The duplex contained eccentric items including a collection of ancient pieces of glass; a room containing Napoleon memorabilia, such as a strand of Napoleon's hair; and a bedroom designed with Japanese furnishings. Also in the duplex were a dining room,
19323-444: The ghost would try to speak to them. One caretaker reportedly also heard rattling from the chains of Belasco's private elevator, which had long since been abandoned. Other accounts have described unexplained footsteps; doors and curtains moving randomly; and the elevator moving while not in use. Sightings of a second ghost, called the "Blue Lady", have been reported at the theater. This ghost, reported as an "icy cold blue mist",
19494-461: The ground story, a rectangular lobby leads to the auditorium. The upper stories originally housed offices for the League for Political Education the Civic Forum, the Economic Club , and the Town Hall Club. Town Hall's auditorium opened on January 12, 1921, and was originally intended as a place for speeches, but Town Hall subsequently became one of New York City's top musical venues in its 20th-century heyday. The first public-affairs media programming,
19665-522: The ground-story facade consists of a water table made of granite, above which is burnt brick in Flemish bond . There are four pairs of doors at the center of the facade, above which is an entablature made of terracotta . These doors are separated by terracotta pilasters in the Tuscan style. On either side of the central doorways are wood-framed display boards. The facade's westernmost portion corresponds to
19836-402: The hall hosted 52 concerts. Town Hall was still used for many solo musical performances during the 1950s. The mid-1950s coincided with a general decrease in the number of performance events. While similar venues like Carnegie Hall saw similar decreases in recitals, Town Hall was particularly affected because it was smaller than other venues such as Carnegie Hall . Furthermore, Times Square
20007-406: The interior was "much the most beautiful in New York". Belasco served as the producer or director of almost 50 productions at the theater for the next two decades; the majority of these ran for at least a hundred performances. Among the early productions at the theater were The Warrens of Virginia , which premiered in 1908, and The Devil , which premiered simultaneously at the Stuyvesant and
20178-473: The interior. The foundation also wanted to produce its own events, so it started raising funds for a sound system, and it also sought to create a chamber orchestra and host a festival of foreign films. In March 2012, the United States Department of the Interior designated Town Hall as a National Historic Landmark . The Rockwell Group proposed replacing the lighting on the facade and marquee in 2019. While
20349-419: The late 1940s and early 1950s. During June 1947, Town Hall hosted a Louis Armstrong concert, which led to the formation of Louis Armstrong and His All Stars . In 1949, Burl Ives gave a folk-song concert, which was popular enough that the audience requested seven encore performances. Lotte Lenya gave a concert in 1951 in memory of her late husband, composer Kurt Weill . In April 1953, Anna Russell gave
20520-422: The late 1970s, there were also plans to convert the Belasco to a cabaret venue. Through the late 20th century, the Shuberts generally used the theater for the final runs of productions that had previously played at other Shubert venues. These productions included Ain't Misbehavin ' (1981) and Accidental Death of an Anarchist (1984). Afterward, the Belasco remained inactive for two years, though
20691-464: The lobby. It originally was decorated in a walnut-brown and gold color scheme, but this was changed to black and gold sometime in the 20th century. The floor is made of mosaic tiles and terrazzo. The walls of the lobby are wainscoted in Rouge Duranche marble, with paneling and Corinthian pilasters above the wainscoting. Partway up the wall is an entablature around the entire room, which contains
20862-565: The longest running show at the Belasco. Other shows to play the Belasco in the 2010s included End of the Rainbow , Golden Boy , a double bill of Twelfth Night and Richard III , Blackbird , The Glass Menagerie , The Terms of My Surrender , Farinelli and the King , Gettin' the Band Back Together , and Network . During November 2019, Netflix leased the theater to screen
21033-467: The middle stories. The attic contains seven double-hung sash windows, which are larger than those in the midsection. Each window has an iron grille below it, as well as a limestone lintel with a keystone above. There are recessed brick panels between each of the attic windows, each of which contains a limestone lozenge. Both of the outermost bays contain recessed panels with an ocular window inside. The attic contains an Adamesque limestone frieze above
21204-450: The morning hours. Within a year of taking over Town Hall, the foundation had started restoring parts of the auditorium. Town Hall was added to the National Register of Historic Places in April 1980, which the foundation celebrated later that year with a concert and a plaque. To avoid running a deficit, the foundation planned performances only if there was funding for them. The Town Hall Foundation needed to raise $ 1.2 million to restore
21375-675: The music of John Cage . Igor Stravinsky gave the U.S. premiere of his composition Threni in 1959. Nina Simone performed in September 1959, and the concert was released as Nina Simone at Town Hall , her first live album. Shows in the 1960s included a benefit for the Morningside Mental Hygiene Clinic in 1960, Bob Dylan 's large-concert debut in 1963, and a Coretta Scott King Freedom Concert in 1964. Jazz composer and bandleader Charles Mingus held two concerts there, resulting in his live albums from October 1962 and April 1964 . Bill Evans and his trio recorded
21546-407: The next month by a dance recital by Ruth St. Denis . Singer and actor Paul Robeson first performed Black spiritual songs at the Town Hall in 1927, guitarist Andrés Segovia first gave a recital in 1929, and Richard Tauber made his American premiere there in 1931. In its first decade, the Town Hall's other events included Edna St. Vincent Millay 's public poetry reading debut in 1928 and
21717-501: The next several years. The LPC designated both the facade and the interior as landmarks on November 4, 1987. This was part of the LPC's wide-ranging effort in 1987 to grant landmark status to Broadway theaters. The New York City Board of Estimate ratified the designations in March 1988. The Shuberts, the Nederlanders , and Jujamcyn collectively sued the LPC in June 1988 to overturn the landmark designations of 22 theaters, including
21888-422: The office stories and has a granite stoop with two steps. The steps are flanked by iron railings and lead to two pairs of wood-and-glass doors, which connect to the ticket lobby. These doorways are set within the same opening, with Doric terracotta pilasters on either side and an entablature above. A metal gate leads to an alley on the west. The easternmost section contains a stoop with three steps, which lead to
22059-457: The orchestra level to the boxes on the east wall. Next to the boxes is the proscenium arch, which consists of a wide band surrounded by foliate patterns, as well as a molding with brackets. The proscenium is small in comparison to other Broadway theaters, measuring about 32 ft (9.8 m) high and 30 ft (9.1 m) wide. There is a mural within the arch, measuring 35 ft (11 m) long by 8 ft (2.4 m) tall, except at
22230-410: The preceding year, but this performance too was recorded. The orchestra commissions new works and has given 65 world premieres (by composers including Franz Schubert , Douglas Moore , and David Diamond ), and more than 175 U.S. and New York premieres by such composers as Antonio Vivaldi , John Corigliano , and Christopher Rouse . This article about a United States classical music orchestra
22401-436: The production My Dear Children in 1940. The play featured John Barrymore 's last Broadway appearance and was generally negatively panned, even though its $ 50,000 of advance ticket sales was among the largest such figure of any Broadway show. More successful were Johnny Belinda (1940), Mr. and Mrs. North (1941), and Dark Eyes (1943). The Belasco Theatre Corporation, a syndicate headed by John Wildberg, purchased
22572-624: The programming over the next three years. The Shubert Organization granted $ 125,000 for Town Hall that May, and enough money was raised by August to sustain the venue for two years. A fundraiser was held that November to raise the remaining money. Still, NYU president John C. Sawhill warned in mid-1977 that there was not enough money to keep Town Hall open past 1978. Town Hall had $ 5 in its bank account by 1978, and there were concerns that Town Hall could be demolished. With Town Hall's annual operating costs ranging from $ 50,000 to $ 100,000, NYU's board of trustees voted in February 1978 to close
22743-478: The proscenium arch. The gilded cornice just beneath the ceiling contains acanthus leaves , under which are dentil blocks. The cornice is supplemented by a band with Greek key fretwork and guilloche moldings. The plaster ceiling is split into coffers , with Greek key and guilloche moldings between each coffer. The center of the ceiling has an Adamesque ornamental medallion with a large chandelier hanging from it. Smaller chandeliers hang from various other parts of
22914-427: The proscenium, measuring 20.5 feet (6.2 m) deep at its center and 16.5 feet (5.0 m) deep at its sides. The back of the stage area was designed with a tapestry. On either side of the stage are round-arched screens, which formerly framed the auditorium's organs. Each arch has a sill that contains foliate decorations and is supported by scrolled brackets. The screens themselves are divided into three parts, with
23085-434: The rear doors connect the orchestra to the first balcony level. The orchestra level is wheelchair-accessible via the side doors, but the balcony levels can only be accessed by steps. The balcony levels have wainscoting on both the side and rear walls, as well as gilded wall sconces on the side walls. The balconies have paneled bands on their undersides, with light fixtures underneath. Small stained-glass chandeliers hang over
23256-425: The renovation, but nineteen banks rejected the foundation's request for a mortgage. The mortgage ultimately came from Apple Bank chairman Jerome McDougal, who, as a child, had performed in a brass band at Town Hall. By mid-1984, the Town Hall Foundation received an Urban Development Action Grant of $ 428,000, and The Kresge Foundation had donated another $ 100,000, enough to pay for a full renovation. Town Hall
23427-432: The rest of the facade. The entire third story is topped by an entablature with a molded frieze, a set of dentils, and a heavy cornice with modillions . The cornice wraps around to the side elevations of the facade. The pavilions are made of burnt brick and generally lack windows. A metal sign assembly hangs in front of the west pavilion. The eastern corner of the east pavilion has a terracotta quoin . Belasco's apartment
23598-416: The screen are staircases that lead up to the first mezzanine level of the auditorium. These stairs have balustrades with iron balusters and walnut wooden railings. Underneath the stairs are additional doorways that lead into the auditorium's orchestra level. Double doors with multiple glass panes lead east to the box office and west to the elevator banks. The auditorium has a parterre -level orchestra and
23769-464: The seating on the balcony had good acoustics, as the balcony's presence muffled the sounds at orchestra level. The lower sections of the side walls contain marble paneling, which is topped by a molding with a torus motif. Above that, the walls are made of artificial stone , carved in rusticated blocks. Each of the corners contains a fluted pilaster with a Composite -style capital . The side walls contain two niches, which are designed similarly to
23940-562: The second balcony. In front of the balconies are bosses topped by foliate bands. Until 2010, the second balcony was accessed by a different entrance from the other seats. This arrangement was a vestige of an operation in which theater patrons were separated into two classes, an arrangement more common in West End theatre than Broadway theatre. On either side of the stage is a wall section, which originally contained two boxes on either balcony level. The first balcony boxes had been removed before
24111-502: The segregated entrance providing access to the second balcony was removed. Decorative elements such as the stained glass and murals were restored, and amenities such as restrooms and seats were replaced. The theater reopened on October 2, 2010, with a showing of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown . In 2014, Hedwig and the Angry Inch opened its first Broadway production and became
24282-414: The skyscraper used the air rights. To increase the occupancy of the Belasco and other little-used Broadway theaters, the League of American Theaters and Producers negotiated with Broadway unions and guilds during the late 1980s. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) had started considering protecting the Belasco as an official city landmark in 1982, with discussions continuing over
24453-445: The stage. Four pairs of exit doors on the rear wall of the orchestra lead directly to the central doors on the sidewalk. There are gilded wall sconces next to and between two sets of the doors on the rear wall. The orchestra has a raked floor and painted wood paneling on the side walls. Four boxes, each with six seats, flanked the stage at the orchestra level, though these have since been removed. Staircases on either side of
24624-500: The stage. The lower basement level is 30 ft (9.1 m) or 32 feet deep. A platform with the preceding scene's props, built similarly to a large wagon, could be loaded onto the trap, then swapped in the basement with another platform loaded with the next scene's props. Some 4,500 electric lights were distributed in the stage area. The footlights on the stage were arranged in seven sections. There were five sets of "border lights", with 270 lamps in each, as well as 88 sockets in
24795-418: The theater had three separate sets of fire escapes , and the western side had a marble-and-stone staircase leading directly into the alley there. The additional exits were constructed to prevent crowd crushes , such as happened in the 1876 Brooklyn Theatre fire , where hundreds had died. The entrance lobby is a nearly square space, accessed from the westernmost entrance on 44th Street. John Rapp designed
24966-449: The theater was formally dedicated as David Belasco's Stuyvesant Theatre. The total cost of the theater was estimated at more than $ 750,000, including $ 300,000 for the building itself. David Belasco's Stuyvesant Theatre opened on October 16, 1907, with the musical A Grand Army Man featuring Antoinette Perry . One critic called the theater "the most complete and satisfactory playhouse in existence". Another publication said that
25137-420: The theater was leased by Lincoln Center Theater . In mid-2009, after Joe Turner's Come and Gone closed, the Belasco closed for a renovation. By then, producers considered the theater to be small compared to most other Broadway venues. Francesca Russo oversaw the restoration of the auditorium, while McLaren Engineering Group was the primary contractor. The boxes at the first balcony level were restored, and
25308-453: The theater when his lease expired in 1947, but the New York Supreme Court ultimately forced him to do so. The Belasco Theatre was sold in November 1948 for $ 442,000 in cash. Although the new owners planned to demolish the theater in the future, the Shubert Organization took over management in the interim. The Shuberts themselves were subsequently reported as having been the buyers; by mid-1949, they were negotiating to lease it to NBC as
25479-403: The theater, but the floor contained a plenum system with 350 ducts. The plenum system used to evenly distribute the heat from two boilers, either of which could heat the theater on its own. When a sufficient level of heat had been reached, the heat was shut off and fresh air was distributed through the plenum system, using large blowers. Air outflow passed through hidden openings in the ceiling of
25650-460: The theater. The Belasco was outfitted with the most advanced stagecraft tools available including extensive lighting rigs, a hydraulics system, and vast wing and fly space. Like the neighboring Lyceum Theatre, it was built with ample workshop space underneath the stage. Tiffany Studio designed lighting fixtures throughout the theater, which were executed by theatrical-lighting specialists Nimis & Nimis . Nineteen emergency exits lead from
25821-495: The time of Town Hall's opening, its interior, aside from the lobby and auditorium, remained incomplete because there was not enough money. Town Hall sought extra donations to complete the work. In late 1921, the Societies Realty Corporation obtained a $ 500,000 loan from William A. White & Sons. Ely announced the following year that he would form a 100-person Town Hall Council and seek $ 1,000 pledges for each of
25992-473: The time, Manhattan's theater district was in the process of shifting from Union Square and Madison Square to the vicinity of Times Square, with forty-three Broadway theaters being erected there from 1901 to 1920. The Societies Realty Corporation, which had been formed to construct the building, received a $ 300,000 loan for the site in 1918. That February, the League announced it would organize "a new club for men and women interested in civic problems", with
26163-421: The top of the eastern wing and contained Belasco's collection of memorabilia. The interior features Tiffany lighting and ceiling panels, rich woodwork, and expansive murals by American artist Everett Shinn . The auditorium consists of a ground-level orchestra and two overhanging balconies, with boxes at the second balcony level. The theater was developed by Meyer R. Bimberg and operated by David Belasco as
26334-415: The windows. Above this is a set of dentils and a balustrade . The Town Hall's lobby and auditorium are on the lower levels, and the offices are on the upper levels. The auditorium is semicircular in plan and is surrounded by the backstage and front of house areas. Two passageways, one each on the extreme west and east ends of the ground story, provide access from the street to backstage areas. While
26505-417: The world premiere performance of Béla Bartók 's String Quartet No. 6 at Town Hall in 1941. Especially popular at Town Hall were performances of jazz music. Guitarist Eddie Condon began holding a series of jazz concerts at Town Hall in February 1942, and he began hosting a biweekly series of jazz concerts that November. By 1944, the performances were sold out, and NBC Blue broadcast the concerts under
26676-559: Was an NBC studio. The Belasco reopened as a legitimate Broadway venue on November 5, 1953, with The Solid Gold Cadillac . Other Broadway productions in the 1950s included The Flowering Peach (1954), Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1955), and Nude with Violin (1957). The Belasco's production of All the Way Home , which premiered in 1960, won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama . Other notable productions included Write Me
26847-581: Was appointed as the executor of Belasco's estate, continuing to operate the theater. That August, Katherine Cornell and her husband Guthrie McClintic signed a lease to operate the theater for two years. At the time, the theater was appraised at $ 800,000. McClintic directed Brief Moment , the first production to take place at the theater under Cornell's management. Cornell herself appeared in two productions: Lucrece (1932) and Alien Corn (1933). Cornell and McClintic had six productions total, including Criminal at Large (1932). Hazel Rice, whose husband
27018-636: Was broadcast on the NBC Blue Network every Thursday night (the Blue Network eventually split from NBC to become the American Broadcasting Company , or ABC). The Town Hall Club on the building's upper stories stopped hosting weekly roundtable luncheons when Town Meeting aired. When Town Meeting was not being broadcast, Town Hall continued to be used as a venue for speeches, musical recitals, and other events and performances. Town Hall
27189-631: Was changed in 1933 to eight performances. Outside of the Endowment Series, the Colonial Dames of America and the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America presented a play in 1932, which depicted the inauguration of George Washington as U.S. president. Pianist Ruth Slenczynska made her debut at the Town Hall in 1933, aged eight. Antonia Brico 's all-woman orchestra debuted at
27360-415: Was chosen for its connotations of grassroots democracy . The main elevation of the facade, facing south on 43rd Street, is clad in brown brick with Flemish bond and is divided into three horizontal sections. The openings have limestone trim around them. Generally, the facade is nine bays wide and is designed to appear as a four-story structure. When it was completed, Town Hall's facade complemented
27531-458: Was closed in July 1984 for a renovation spanning two and a half months. The facade was cleaned, while the auditorium was refurbished and restored, with a new carpet and renovated seats. Because of the landmark status of the building, the seats were restored to their original condition rather than being replaced, while the rear wall was coated in wash to preserve the acoustics. Leffler also sought to make
27702-459: Was denied twice. Because of this disagreement, Anderson reneged from his lease of Town Hall in January 1979. The venue saw a net loss of $ 138,000 in 1978 and $ 200,000 in 1979. In March 1979, the Town Hall Foundation took title to Town Hall, though NYU continued to collect payments from the air rights. The foundation, led by Marvin Leffler, acquired the Town Hall for a nominal fee of $ 10. Leffler,
27873-499: Was falling into decline at the time, and Town Hall was being used more often for the premieres of fledgling artists before they appeared at Carnegie Hall or Lincoln Center . Town Hall Inc. evicted the Town Hall Club from the building in April 1955 after falling into debt and failing to pay $ 9,500 of rent. The Town Hall Club filed for bankruptcy on April 6, 1955. It had only 650 members at the time, far below its peak of 1,900. Town Meeting ultimately ended in 1956. In October 1955,
28044-428: Was frequently called the "busiest theater on Broadway", though it was neither a Broadway theater nor physically on Broadway. Despite Town Hall's success, the League for Political Education still did not own Town Hall outright by 1936, as it still rented the auditorium and offices. Town Hall's leadership planned another expansion of the building in 1937, but this was not carried out. The same year, Denny succeeded Ely as
28215-505: Was much emptier than usual by too high a rent scale". This was worsened by the opening of Lincoln Center in 1962, which drew events away from Town Hall. For over a decade after NYU's takeover, Town Hall was "abandoned by the great names in music who had once made it a mecca for the finest in recitals and chamber music", according to the Times . The organ was removed by 1960. To raise money, in 1966, NYU leased some air rights above Town Hall to
28386-483: Was never greater. May the new Town Hall aid materially in its growth." The U.S. president Woodrow Wilson and president-elect Warren G. Harding both sent congratulatory telegrams to celebrate Town Hall's opening. At the time, the League had 6,000 members in total. Some $ 1.25 million or $ 1.35 million had already been spent on its construction. Town Hall, under its first director Robert Erskine Ely , extended its programming to benefit New York City at large. As
28557-467: Was playwright Elmer Rice , purchased the Belasco in August 1934 for $ 330,000. She made minor alterations to the theater but generally found it in "good condition". Rice had two productions, Judgment Day (1934) and Between Two Worlds (1934), both of which were flops. The Belasco estate filed to foreclose upon the theater in February 1936 and reacquired the theater from Rice that March. In late 1934,
28728-399: Was renamed the Belasco Theatre on September 17, 1910, and the first Belasco Theatre on 42nd Street became Hammerstein's Republic Theatre. Not long afterward, the Belasco hosted The Concert (1910) and Return of Peter Grimm (1911), both with over 200 performances. The Belasco also hosted some musical performances, such as a wind instrument ensemble led by Georges Barrère , as well as
28899-405: Was selected because a similar style was used on many early government buildings of New York City. The original name was a homage to Peter Stuyvesant , a director-general of New Amsterdam , the 17th-century Dutch colony that later became New York City. Compared to its contemporaries, the Belasco is relatively small. A wing for offices and dressing rooms, separated from the rest of the theater by
29070-400: Was supposedly an actress that fell to her death in an elevator shaft. After Oh! Calcutta! played at the theater, the ghost of David Belasco reportedly stopped appearing. By the 2000s, people reported that the ghost had reappeared. In Hedwig and the Angry Inch , Hedwig briefly discusses the history of the Belasco and references the ghost of Belasco, claiming that if the ghost appears on
29241-452: Was vital to the "safety of American democracy", and he believed that Americans should be exposed to multiple viewpoints. In 1934, Denny was inspired to create America's Town Meeting of the Air , a radio show to promote the free exchange of ideas; it became the first public-affairs media program. NBC approved a limited run of the show in early 1934, and Town Meeting premiered at Town Hall on May 30, 1935, to wide praise. The show
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