205-596: Studio 54 is a Broadway theater and former nightclub at 254 West 54th Street in Midtown Manhattan , New York City. Opened as the Gallo Opera House in 1927, it served as a CBS broadcast studio in the mid-20th century. Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager opened the Studio 54 nightclub , retaining much of the former theatrical and broadcasting fixtures, inside the venue in 1977. Roundabout Theatre Company renovated
410-448: A cabaret license from the DCA, which did not grant Studio 54 a permanent cabaret license for more than a year. A contributing factor was that the city government only employed three cabaret inspectors, who could not validate all of the city's cabaret licenses in a timely manner. Additionally, the DCA rarely fined unlicensed cabarets more than $ 25. At the beginning of June 1978, DCA officials said
615-527: A cross-platform interchange between local and express services. Some four-track lines with express service have two tracks each on two levels and use both island and side platforms. Since the majority of the system was built before 1990, the year the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) went into effect, many New York City Subway stations were not designed to be accessible to all. Since then, elevators have been built in newly constructed stations to comply with
820-577: A "caterers' permit" every day; these permits were intended for weddings or political events, but they technically allowed the venue to serve alcohol. The club also did not have a certificate of occupancy or a public assembly license, prompting tipsters to complain to several federal agencies. On May 21, 1977, the NYSLA raided the nightclub for selling liquor without a license. The club reopened the next night, serving fruit juice and soda instead of liquor. Studio 54 continued serving non-alcoholic drinks exclusively until
1025-472: A 7:00 p.m. or 8:00 p.m. "curtain". The afternoon " matinée " performances are at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays and at 3:00 p.m. on Sundays. This makes for an eight-performance week. On this schedule, most shows do not play on Monday and the shows and theatres are said to be "dark" on that day. The actors and the crew in these shows tend to regard Sunday evening through Monday evening as their weekend. The Tony award presentation ceremony
1230-827: A Theater Advisory Council, which included Papp. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City , Broadway theaters closed on March 12, 2020, shuttering 16 shows that were playing or were in the process of opening. The Broadway League shutdown was extended first to April, then to May, then June, then September 2020 and January 2021, and later to June 1, 2021. Then-governor Andrew Cuomo announced that most sectors of New York would have their restrictions lifted on May 19, 2021, but he stated that Broadway theatres would not be able to immediately resume performances on this date due to logistical reasons. In May 2021, Cuomo announced that Broadway theaters would be allowed to reopen on September 14, and
1435-494: A Vignelli-style interactive subway map, "The Weekender", an online map that provides information about any planned work, from late Friday night to early Monday morning. In October 2020, the MTA launched a digital version of the map showing real-time service patterns and service changes, designed by Work & Co . Several privately produced schematics are available online or in printed form, such as those by Hagstrom Map . Out of
1640-467: A backlit moon and spoon, which became an icon of the Studio 54 nightclub. The club's promoters mailed out 8,000 invitations and made phone calls to numerous figures on "a good social list". Studio 54 officially opened on April 26, 1977, with workers rushing to finish the decorations just hours before the grand opening. Although the space could fit 2,500 guests, four thousand people attended the club on opening day. Hundreds of prospective patrons lined up around
1845-449: A booming economy and abundant creative talent kept Broadway hopping. To this day, the shows of the 1950s form the core of the musical theatre repertory." Kenrick notes that "the late 1960s marked a time of cultural upheaval. All those changes would prove painful for many, including those behind the scenes, as well as those in the audience." Of the 1970s, Kenrick writes: "Just when it seemed that traditional book musicals were back in style,
2050-467: A business card; the networking events quickly became popular, often attracting 1,500 guests. For other events, Studio 54 implemented an invitation system, which enabled its operators to restrict some events to select guests without turning them away at the door. The club's mailing list had 200,000 names by 1984. Frank Cashman acquired the $ 3 million lien on the club in late 1984. The same year, Studio 54 also hosted special musical performances, starting with
2255-663: A cast. There are still, however, performers who are primarily stage actors, spending most of their time "on the boards", and appearing in screen roles only secondarily. As Patrick Healy of The New York Times noted: Broadway once had many homegrown stars who committed to working on a show for a year, as Nathan Lane has for The Addams Family . In 2010, some theater heavyweights like Mr. Lane were not even nominated; instead, several Tony Awards were given for productions that were always intended to be short-timers on Broadway, given that many of their film-star performers had to move on to other commitments. According to Mark Shenton, "One of
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#17328561571542460-434: A challenge to the stage. At first, films were silent and presented only limited competition. By the end of the 1920s, films like The Jazz Singer were presented with synchronized sound, and critics wondered if cinema would replace live theatre altogether. While live vaudeville could not compete with these inexpensive films that featured vaudeville stars and major comedians of the day, other theatres survived. The musicals of
2665-526: A company of twelve actors from Britain to the colonies with his brother Lewis as their manager. They established a theatre in Williamsburg, Virginia , and opened with The Merchant of Venice and The Anatomist . The company moved to New York in 1753, performing ballad operas and ballad-farces like Damon and Phillida . During the Revolutionary War , theatre was suspended in New York City. But after
2870-661: A corporation to operate the nightclub, but they struggled to obtain a liquor license from the New York State Liquor Authority (NYSLA). They hired Carmen D'Alessio , who had hosted monthly parties at Maurice Brahms 's Infinity nightclub, as the club's publicist. To finance the nightclub, the operators of the Marlborough Gallery bought nearly all of the stock in Harden and Polany's corporation in November 1976. At
3075-552: A discount of 20 to 50%. The TKTS booths are located in Times Square , in Lower Manhattan , and at Lincoln Center . This service is run by Theatre Development Fund . Many Broadway theatres also offer special student rates, same-day "rush" or "lottery" tickets, or standing-room tickets to help ensure that their theatres are as full—and their grosses as high—as possible. According to The Broadway League , total Broadway attendance
3280-407: A dozen 16-foot-high (4.9 m) poles with flashing lights. Fisher and Marantz adapted the existing rigging system to generate special effects such as confetti, snow, fog, and weather. On the ceiling was a 30-by-40-foot (9.1 by 12.2 m) cyclorama , which could project images of many different galaxies. Other decorations included depictions of volcanos, sunrises, and sunsets. Aero Graphics designed
3485-896: A few exceptions, compared with London runs, until World War I . A few very successful British musicals continued to achieve great success in New York, including Florodora in 1900–01. In the early years of the twentieth century, translations of popular late-nineteenth century continental operettas were joined by the "Princess Theatre" shows of the 1910s, by writers such as P. G. Wodehouse , Guy Bolton , and Harry B. Smith . Victor Herbert , whose work included some intimate musical plays with modern settings as well as his string of famous operettas ( The Fortune Teller (1898), Babes in Toyland (1903), Mlle. Modiste (1905), The Red Mill (1906), and Naughty Marietta (1910)). Beginning with The Red Mill , Broadway shows installed electric signs outside
3690-619: A few stretches of track run at ground level; 40% of track is above ground. Many lines and stations have both express and local services. These lines have three or four tracks. Normally, the outer two are used by local trains, while the inner one or two are used by express trains. As of 2018 , the New York City Subway's budgetary burden for expenditures was $ 8.7 billion, supported by collection of fares, bridge tolls, and earmarked regional taxes and fees, as well as direct funding from state and local governments. Alfred Ely Beach built
3895-462: A final party on the night of February 2–3, 1980, with Diana Ross and Liza Minnelli singing for numerous guests. Rubell and Schrager began serving their sentences two days afterward. Ultimately, Rubell and Schrager were paroled after a year, and Schrager received a presidential pardon decades later. The NYSLA unanimously voted not to renew Studio 54's liquor license on February 28, 1980, citing Rubell's and Schrager's criminal convictions, although
4100-577: A justice for the New York Supreme Court , the state's trial-level court, ordered the NYSLA to grant Studio 54 a liquor license that October. The NYSLA's chairman complied with the Supreme Court ruling but objected to it, claiming that the judge had been influenced by Studio 54's upscale clientele. The New York Court of Appeals upheld the Supreme Court's decision in June 1978. Schrager also applied for
4305-527: A larger theatre. Other productions are first developed through workshops and then out-of-town tryouts before transferring to Broadway. Merrily We Roll Along famously skipped an out-of-town tryout and attempted to do an in-town tryout—actually preview performances —on Broadway before its official opening, with disastrous results. After, or even during, successful runs in Broadway theatres, producers often remount their productions with new casts and crew for
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#17328561571544510-764: A letter or a number and "lines" have names. Trains display their route designation. There are 28 train services in the subway system, including three short shuttles . Each route has a color and a local or express designation representing the Manhattan trunk line of the service. New York City residents seldom refer to services by color (e.g., "blue line" or "green line") but out-of-towners and tourists often do. The 1 , C , G , L , M , R , and W trains are fully local and make all stops. The 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , A , B , D , E , F , N , and Q trains have portions of express and local service. J , Z , 6 , and 7 trains vary by direction, day, or time of day. The letter S
4715-594: A liquor license from the NYSLA, which agreed to grant the license on the condition that Rubell and Schrager not be involved in any way. Fleischman also repainted the interior and removed the original club's light fixtures, and he paid the New York state government $ 250,000 in back taxes . Studio 54 officially reopened to the public on September 15, 1981. Fleischman and his partner Jeffrey London mailed out 12,000 invitations for Studio 54's reopening, which were delivered on 25-watt silver lightbulbs. Jim Fouratt and Rudolf Piper were hired as Studio 54's new managers. Initially,
4920-460: A month in late 1928. In the meantime, the theater also hosted events such as dance performances, a violin recital, and a choir performance. Radiant Productions leased the theater in September 1929, with plans to present a dozen plays for three weeks each. Their first and only production, Ladies Don't Lie , was a critical failure. That October, Radiant transferred its lease to William R. Kane, who staged
5125-521: A more experimental, challenging, and intimate performance than is possible in the larger Broadway theatres. Some Broadway shows, however, such as the musicals Hair , Little Shop of Horrors , Spring Awakening , Next to Normal , Rent , Avenue Q , In the Heights , Fun Home , A Chorus Line , Dear Evan Hansen , and Hamilton , began their runs Off-Broadway and later transferred to Broadway, seeking to replicate their intimate experience in
5330-436: A movable bridge. To be admitted to Studio 54 was a status symbol, even on nights when the club was open to the public. When Studio 54 opened, admission generally cost $ 7 or $ 8, but guests could pay for an annual membership in exchange for discounted tickets. Tickets were more expensive on weekends, and all ticket prices were increased on nights with performances. Rubell made the final decisions over whether guests were allowed in
5535-539: A negative COVID-19 test (PCR within 72 hours or antigen within six hours of the performance start time). Beginning November 8, those ages 5–11 also had the option to provide proof of at least one vaccination shot. Effective December 14, in accordance with NYC's vaccination mandate, guests ages 5–11 were required to have at least one vaccination shot until January 29, 2022, where they had to be fully vaccinated. The vaccine mandate lasted until April 30, and attendees were also required to wear face masks until July 1. During
5740-1128: A new age of American playwright with the emergence of Eugene O'Neill , whose plays Beyond the Horizon , Anna Christie , The Hairy Ape , Strange Interlude , and Mourning Becomes Electra proved that there was an audience for serious drama on Broadway, and O'Neill's success paved the way for major dramatists like Elmer Rice , Maxwell Anderson , Robert E. Sherwood , Clifford Odets , Tennessee Williams , and Arthur Miller , as well as writers of comedy like George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart . Classical revivals also proved popular with Broadway theatre-goers, notably John Barrymore in Hamlet and Richard III , John Gielgud in Hamlet , The Importance of Being Earnest and Much Ado About Nothing , Walter Hampden and José Ferrer in Cyrano de Bergerac , Paul Robeson and Ferrer in Othello , Maurice Evans in Richard II and
5945-456: A one-year lease for the theater, exhibiting television projectors there. RCA subsidiary NBC installed a 9-by-12-foot (2.7 by 3.7 m) television screen by the end of 1940. Early the following year, NBC installed a 15-by-20-foot (4.6 by 6.1 m) projection screen on the stage, spending $ 25,000 to $ 30,000 on the project. The first public exhibition of the theater's screen was in May 1941, when over
6150-529: A public authority presided by New York City, was created in 1953 to take over subway, bus, and streetcar operations from the city, and placed under control of the state-level Metropolitan Transportation Authority in 1968. Organized in 1934 by transit workers of the BRT, IRT, and IND, the Transport Workers Union of America Local 100 remains the largest and most influential local of the labor unions. Since
6355-500: A rate acceptable to the producers, they may continue to run in the expectation that, eventually, they will pay back their initial costs and become profitable. In some borderline situations, producers may ask that royalties be temporarily reduced or waived, or even that performers—with the permission of their unions—take reduced salaries, to prevent a show from closing. Theatre owners, who are not generally profit participants in most productions, may waive or reduce rents, or even lend money to
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6560-409: A rectangular room with leather and wood decorations, as well as a red, purple, and brown color palette. The room contains 140 seats in a cabaret-style arrangement and 16 seats in a bar to the right. Originally, 54 Below presented shows every day of the week, with 4,000 performances in its first five years. In partnership with musician Michael Feinstein , the club was renamed Feinstein's/54 Below in 2015;
6765-630: A revival of Tennessee Williams 's A Streetcar Named Desire in April 2005. For the 2005–2006 season, Studio 54 staged Eugene O'Neill 's A Touch of the Poet and Bertolt Brecht 's The Threepenny Opera . The theater then hosted the plays The Apple Tree and 110 in the Shade in the 2006–2007 season; The Ritz and Sunday in the Park with George in the 2007–2008 season; and Pal Joey and Waiting for Godot in
6970-431: A run of 253 performances. The first theatre piece that conforms to the modern conception of a musical, adding dance and original music that helped to tell the story, is considered to be The Black Crook , which premiered in New York on September 12, 1866. The production was five-and-a-half hours long, but despite its length, it ran for a record-breaking 474 performances. The same year, The Black Domino/Between You, Me and
7175-638: A series of concerts by Julie Budd . Meanwhile, the club was gradually losing long-time regulars to competing discotheques, including the Palladium , which Rubell and Schrager had opened after being released from prison. The club also faced several lawsuits from disgruntled high-profile guests, such as football player Mark Gastineau and a basketball player. Fleischman filed for bankruptcy in November 1985; he had planned to spend $ 250,000 on renovations to attract guests. The club closed in April 1986 because it could not obtain liability insurance, in part because Studio 54
7380-574: A short-lived revival of the comedy A Tailor-Made Man there. At a foreclosure auction in December 1929, the theater's mortgagee Hemphill Realty Corporation bought the theater for $ 1,045,000. Gallo sold his lease to an unidentified buyer in January 1930, as he wanted to focus on operating a radio station. Richard Herndon took over as the theater's managing director, renaming it the New Yorker Theatre
7585-481: A show to keep it running. Some Broadway shows are produced by non-commercial organizations as part of a regular subscription season— Lincoln Center Theatre , Roundabout Theatre Company , Manhattan Theatre Club , and Second Stage Theater are the four non-profit theatre companies that currently have permanent Broadway venues. Some other productions are produced on Broadway with "limited engagement runs" for several reasons, including financial issues, prior engagements of
7790-482: A station, passengers may use station booths (formerly known as token booths) or vending machines to buy their fare, which is currently stored in a MetroCard or OMNY card. Each station has at least one booth, typically located at the busiest entrance. After swiping the card at a turnstile, customers enter the fare-controlled area of the station and continue to the platforms. Inside fare control are "Off-Hours Waiting Areas", which consist of benches and are identified by
7995-614: A term that can also apply to non-commercial, avant-garde , or productions held outside of traditional theater venues. The Theater District is an internationally prominent tourist attraction in New York City . According to The Broadway League , shows on Broadway sold approximately US$ 1.54 billion worth of tickets in both the 2022-2023 and the 2023–2024 seasons. Both seasons featured theater attendance of approximately 12.3 million each. Most Broadway shows are musicals . Historian Martin Shefter argues that "Broadway musicals, culminating in
8200-554: A thousand audience members watched a live broadcast of a boxing match between Billy Soose and Ken Overlin at Madison Square Garden . In September 1941, the Top Dollar Theatre company unsuccessfully tried to lease the venue from the Bowery Savings Bank. The New Yorker Theatre then briefly hosted the children's play The Adventures of Marco Polo at the end of that December. The Columbia Broadcasting System ( CBS ) leased
8405-528: A total of 850 miles (1,370 km) including non-revenue trackage . Of the system's 28 routes or "services" (which usually share track or "lines" with other services), 25 pass through Manhattan, the exceptions being the G train, the Franklin Avenue Shuttle , and the Rockaway Park Shuttle . Large portions of the subway outside Manhattan are elevated, on embankments , or in open cuts , and
Studio 54 - Misplaced Pages Continue
8610-565: A venue for plays under the name Burton's Theatre. The Astor Opera House opened in 1847. A riot broke out in 1849 when the lower-class patrons of the Bowery Theatre objected to what they perceived as snobbery by the upper-class audiences at Astor Place: "After the Astor Place Riot of 1849, entertainment in New York City was divided along class lines: opera was chiefly for the upper-middle and upper classes, minstrel shows and melodramas for
8815-489: A yellow sign. A typical subway station has waiting platforms ranging from 480 to 600 feet (150 to 180 m) long. Some are longer. Platforms of former commuter rail stations—such as those on the IND Rockaway Line , are even longer. With the many different lines in the system, one platform often serves more than one service. Passengers need to look at the overhead signs to see which trains stop there and when, and at
9020-601: Is a rapid transit system in New York City serving the boroughs of Manhattan , Brooklyn , Queens , and the Bronx . It is owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority , an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 27, 1904, the New York City Subway is one of the world's oldest public transit systems, one of
9225-480: Is approximately 8 feet 9 inches (2.67 m) wide and 51 feet 4 inches (15.65 m) long, whereas B Division equipment is about 10 feet (3.05 m) wide and either 60 feet 6 inches (18.44 m) or 75 feet (22.86 m) long. The different lengths for the B Division fleet are necessary because 75-foot cars can not be used over the BMT Eastern Division . Cars purchased by
9430-601: Is complemented by two sister cabaret venues: Upstairs at 54 on the second floor since 2001, and 54 Below in the basement since 2012. The heyday of the 1970s club features in numerous exhibitions, films, and albums, with memorabilia from the nightclub appearing at auctions. Studio 54 was originally designed by Eugene De Rosa as the Gallo Opera House, which contained 1,400 seats when it opened in 1927. De Rosa's original plans called for lounges, restrooms, and promenades on three stories, as well as an opera museum below
9635-406: Is no nightly system shutdown for maintenance, tracks and stations must be maintained while the system is operating. This work sometimes necessitates service changes during midday, overnight hours, and weekends. When parts of lines are temporarily shut down for construction purposes, the transit authority can substitute free shuttle buses (using MTA Regional Bus Operations bus fleet ) to replace
9840-427: Is smaller than the peak of the system. In addition to the demolition of former elevated lines, which collectively have resulted in the demolition of over a hundred stations, other closed stations and unused portions of existing stations remain in parts of the system. Many stations in the subway system have mezzanines . Mezzanines allow for passengers to enter from multiple locations at an intersection and proceed to
10045-547: Is used for three shuttle services: Franklin Avenue Shuttle , Rockaway Park Shuttle , and 42nd Street Shuttle . Though the subway system operates on a 24-hour basis , during late night hours some of the designated routes do not run, run as a shorter route (often referred to as the "shuttle train" version of its full-length counterpart) or run with a different stopping pattern. These are usually indicated by smaller, secondary route signage on station platforms. Because there
10250-520: Is usually held on a Sunday evening in June to fit this schedule. In recent years, some shows have moved their Tuesday show time an hour earlier to 7:00 pm. The rationale for this move was that since fewer tourists take in shows midweek, Tuesday attendance depends more on local patrons. The earlier curtain makes it possible for suburban patrons to get home by a reasonable hour after the show. Some shows, especially those produced by Disney , change their performance schedules fairly frequently depending on
10455-567: The 142nd Street and Myrtle Avenue junctions, whose tracks intersect at the same level, as well as the same-direction pairs of tracks on the IRT Eastern Parkway Line at Rogers Junction . The 7,700 workers who built the original subway lines were mostly immigrants living in Manhattan. More recent projects use tunnel boring machines , which increase the cost. However, they minimize disruption at street level and avoid already existing utilities. Examples of such projects include
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#173285615715410660-600: The 472 stations , 470 are served 24 hours a day. Underground stations in the New York City Subway are typically accessed by staircases going down from street level. Many of these staircases are painted in a common shade of green, with slight or significant variations in design. Other stations have unique entrances reflective of their location or date of construction. Several station entrance stairs, for example, are built into adjacent buildings. Nearly all station entrances feature color-coded globe or square lamps signifying their status as an entrance. The current number of stations
10865-532: The 63rd Street Lines , opened in 1989. The new South Ferry station was built and connected to the existing Whitehall Street–South Ferry station in 2009. The one-stop 7 Subway Extension to the west side of Manhattan, consisting of the 34th Street–Hudson Yards station, was opened in 2015, and three stations on the Second Avenue Subway in the Upper East Side were opened as part of Phase 1 of
11070-597: The American Theatre Wing , a service organization. While the League and the theatrical unions are sometimes at loggerheads during those periods when new contracts are being negotiated, they also cooperate on many projects and events designed to promote professional theatre in New York. Of the four non-profit theatre companies with Broadway theatres, all four ( Lincoln Center Theater , Manhattan Theatre Club , Roundabout Theatre Company , and Second Stage Theatre ) belong to
11275-684: The Chicago "L" plans all stations to be accessible in the 2030s, the Toronto subway will be fully accessible by 2025, and Montreal Metro plans all stations to be accessible by 2038. Both the Boston and Chicago systems are as old or older than the New York City Subway, though all of these systems have fewer stations than the New York City Subway. Newer systems like the Washington Metro and Bay Area Rapid Transit have been fully accessible from their opening in
11480-531: The IND Sixth Avenue Line was completed in 1940, the city went into great debt , and only 33 new stations have been added to the system since, nineteen of which were part of defunct railways that already existed. Five stations were on the abandoned New York, Westchester and Boston Railway , which was incorporated into the system in 1941 as the IRT Dyre Avenue Line . Fourteen more stations were on
11685-697: The IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line , which ran directly underneath the World Trade Center . Sections of the tunnel, as well as the Cortlandt Street station, which was directly underneath the Twin Towers, were severely damaged. Rebuilding required the suspension of service on that line south of Chambers Street. Ten other nearby stations were closed for cleanup. By March 2002, seven of those stations had reopened. Except for Cortlandt Street,
11890-717: The IRT subway debuted in 1904, the typical tunnel construction method was cut-and-cover . The street was torn up to dig the tunnel below before being rebuilt from above. Traffic on the street above would be interrupted due to the digging up of the street. Temporary steel and wooden bridges carried surface traffic above the construction. Contractors in this type of construction faced many obstacles, both natural and human made. They had to deal with rock formations and groundwater, which required pumps. Twelve miles of sewers, as well as water and gas mains, electric conduits, and steam pipes had to be rerouted. Street railways had to be torn up to allow
12095-567: The League of Resident Theatres and have contracts with the theatrical unions which are negotiated separately from the other Broadway theatre and producers. ( Disney also negotiates apart from the League, as did Livent before it closed down its operations.) The majority of Broadway theatres are owned or managed by three organizations: the Shubert Organization , a for-profit arm of the non-profit Shubert Foundation, which owns seventeen theatres;
12300-493: The Nederlander Organization , which controls nine theatres; and ATG Entertainment , which owns seven Broadway houses. Both musicals and straight plays on Broadway often rely on casting well-known performers in leading roles to draw larger audiences or bring in new audience members to the theatre. Actors from film and television are frequently cast for the revivals of Broadway shows or are used to replace actors leaving
12505-516: The New York City Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) mandated that Rubell and Schrager stop selling memberships and refund existing members. The club failed to refund all memberships immediately, and Schrager claimed that November that only 40 members had applied for refunds. The club generally opened at 10 p.m., with crowds peaking at midnight; the bar closed at 4 a.m., and the rest of the club stayed open until 6 a.m. According to Rubell,
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#173285615715412710-603: The R142 , R142A , R143 , R160 , R179 and R188 were placed into service. These cars are collectively known as New Technology Trains (NTTs) due to modern innovations such as LED and LCD route signs and information screens, as well as recorded train announcements and the ability to facilitate Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC) . As part of the 2017–2020 MTA Financial Plan, 600 subway cars will have electronic display signs installed to improve customer experience. Riders pay
12915-468: The Roaring Twenties , borrowing from vaudeville, music hall , and other light entertainment, tended to ignore plot in favor of emphasizing star actors and actresses, big dance routines, and popular songs. Florenz Ziegfeld produced annual spectacular song-and-dance revues on Broadway featuring extravagant sets and elaborate costumes, but there was little to tie the various numbers together. Typical of
13120-660: The Theater District and Lincoln Center along Broadway , in Midtown Manhattan , New York City . Broadway and London 's West End together represent the highest commercial level of live theater in the English-speaking world . While the Broadway thoroughfare is eponymous with the district, it is closely identified with Times Square . Only three theaters are located on Broadway itself: Broadway Theatre , Palace Theatre , and Winter Garden Theatre . The rest are located on
13325-504: The Western world , as well as the eleventh-busiest rapid transit rail system in the world. The subway carried 2,027,286,000 unlinked, non-unique riders in 2023. Daily ridership has been calculated since 1985; the record, over 6.2 million, was set on October 29, 2015. The system is also one of the world's longest. Overall, the system contains 248 miles (399 km) of routes, translating into 665 miles (1,070 km) of revenue track and
13530-626: The extension of the IRT Flushing Line and the IND Second Avenue Line . Since the opening of the original New York City Subway line in 1904, multiple official and planning agencies have proposed numerous extensions to the subway system. One of the more expansive proposals was the " IND Second System", part of a plan to construct new subway lines in addition to taking over existing subway lines and railroad rights-of-way. The most grandiose IND Second Subway plan, conceived in 1929,
13735-621: The president of Cyprus was once rejected because the doormen thought he was the president of New York City's Cypress Hills Cemetery . When one of Saudi king Khalid 's sons was rejected, the Saudi embassy to the United States wrote Rubell a letter, asking that Khalid's son not be rejected again. The band Chic wrote a song in 1978, " Le Freak ", after being refused entry to the club on New Year's Eve 1977, despite having been invited by Grace Jones. Even club members were not guaranteed entry. In June 1978,
13940-558: The "only viable option" for the theatre company. Cabaret 's producer Sam Mendes had considered Studio 54's dilapidated condition to be an ideal setting for the production, just as the Henry Miller had been. Roundabout spent over $ 1 million converting the former nightclub into a 950-seat theater, buying old seats from the Imperial Theatre and installing them in the mezzanine. Cabaret moved to Studio 54 in November 1998, doubling
14145-458: The "party favors" that the two men gave to their friends. In exchange, federal prosecutors agreed not to charge the men with obstruction of justice and conspiracy . By then, the club was in danger of losing its liquor license after the owners had pleaded guilty to tax evasion, as the NYSLA did not give liquor licenses to convicted felons. Rubell and Schrager were each sentenced to three and a half years in prison in January 1980. The two men attended
14350-409: The 1920s were lighthearted productions such as Sally ; Lady Be Good ; Sunny ; No, No, Nanette ; Harlem ; Oh, Kay! ; and Funny Face . Their books may have been forgettable, but they produced enduring standards from George Gershwin , Cole Porter , Jerome Kern , Vincent Youmans , and Rodgers and Hart , among others, and Noël Coward , Sigmund Romberg , and Rudolf Friml continued in
14555-410: The 1970s. In November 2016, the New York City Subway had 6712 cars on the roster. A typical New York City Subway train consists of 8 to 11 cars, although shuttles can have as few as two, and the train can range from 150 to 600 feet (46 to 183 m) in length. The system maintains two separate fleets of cars, one for the A Division routes and another for the B Division routes. A Division equipment
14760-450: The 1980s, make the current fleet of subway cars graffiti-free, as well as order 1,775 new subway cars. By the early 1990s, conditions had improved significantly, although maintenance backlogs accumulated during those 20 years are still being fixed today. Entering the 21st century, progress continued despite several disasters. The September 11 attacks resulted in service disruptions on lines running through Lower Manhattan, particularly
14965-415: The 2008–2009 season. For the 2009–2010 season, the theater presented Carrie Fisher 's solo performance Wishful Drinking , as well as and James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim's revue Sondheim on Sondheim . Broadway theatre Broadway theatre , or Broadway , is a theatre genre that consists of the theatrical performances presented in 41 professional theaters , each with 500 or more seats, in
15170-415: The 2020–2024 Capital Program. This would allow one of every two to four stations on every line to be accessible, so that all non-accessible stops would be a maximum of two stops from an accessible station. In 2022, the MTA agreed in a settlement to make 95 percent of subway and Staten Island Railway stations accessible by 2055. By comparison, all but one of Boston's MBTA subway stations are accessible,
15375-521: The ADA. (Most grade-level stations required little modification to meet ADA standards.) Many accessible stations have AutoGate access. In addition, the MTA identified "key stations", high-traffic and/or geographically important stations, which must conform to the ADA when they are extensively renovated. Under plans from the MTA in 2016, the number of ADA accessible stations would go up to 144 by 2020. As of May 2024 , there were 145 ADA-accessible stations. Over
15580-536: The American Airlines Theatre. Haimes also wanted to renovate the theater, including expanding the orchestra pit and replacing the rigging system. After Cabaret closed in January 2004, Roundabout staged several shows a year at both theaters, and Studio 54 hosted a mixture of musicals and plays. The Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman musical Assassins was Roundabout's first new production at Studio 54, opening in April 2004. A revival of another musical by
15785-565: The Bowery Savings Bank leased the theater to the Palladium Operating Corporation, which planned to convert it into an "English"-style music hall. The Palladium Music Hall opened the next month; it was to host a new show every two weeks, with two bands performing during dinnertime. The Palladium had trouble paying wages within three weeks of its opening, and it closed permanently at the beginning of February 1936. The Works Progress Administration (WPA)'s Federal Music Project leased
15990-536: The Broadway national tour, which travels to theatres in major cities across the country. Sometimes when a show closes on Broadway, the entire production, with most if not all of the original cast intact, is relaunched as a touring company, hence the name "Broadway national tour". Some shows may even have several touring companies out at a time, whether the show is still running in New York or not, with many companies "sitting down" in other major cities for their own extended runs. For Broadway national tours of top-tier cities,
16195-603: The Broadway orchestra is governed by an agreement with the musicians' union (Local 802, American Federation of Musicians) and The Broadway League. For example, the agreement specifies the minimum size of the orchestra at the Minskoff Theatre to be eighteen, while at the Music Box Theatre it is nine. Most Broadway shows are commercial productions intended to make a profit for the producers and investors ("backers" or "angels"), and therefore have open-ended runs (duration that
16400-445: The CBS shows that involved panel discussions . Members of the public could also buy tickets to view these tapings. The New York Times said in 1965 that many of the regular audience members were older women. The soap opera Love of Life was produced at Studio 52 until 1975 and was the last show to be taped there. CBS moved most of its broadcast operations out of Studio 52 in 1976 and placed
16605-704: The COVID-19 shutdown, the Shubert Organization, the Nederlander Organization, and Jujamcyn had pledged to increase racial and cultural diversity in their theaters, including naming at least one theater for a Black theatrical personality. The August Wilson Theatre , owned by Jujamcyn, had been renamed after Black playwright August Wilson in 2005. The Shuberts announced in March 2022 that the Cort Theatre , which
16810-564: The Cakewalk (1898), and the highly successful In Dahomey (1902). Hundreds of musical comedies were staged on Broadway in the 1890s and early 1900s made up of songs written in New York's Tin Pan Alley involving composers such as Gus Edwards , John Walter Bratton , and George M. Cohan ( Little Johnny Jones (1904), 45 Minutes From Broadway (1906), and George Washington Jr. (1906)). Still, New York runs continued to be relatively short, with
17015-586: The City of New York since the inception of the IND and the other divisions beginning in 1948 are identified by the letter "R" followed by a number; e.g.: R32 . This number is the contract number under which the cars were purchased. Cars with nearby contract numbers (e.g.: R1 through R9 , or R26 through R29 , or R143 through R179 ) may be relatively identical, despite being purchased under different contracts and possibly built by different manufacturers. From 1999 to 2019,
17220-451: The Erlanger syndicate. During this time, the play Lightnin' by Winchell Smith and Frank Bacon became the first Broadway show to reach 700 performances. From then, it would go on to become the first show to reach 1,000 performances. Lightnin' was the longest-running Broadway show until being overtaken in performance totals by Abie's Irish Rose in 1925. The motion picture mounted
17425-523: The Henry Miller Theatre (now Stephen Sondheim Theatre) on 43rd Street , where the nonprofit Roundabout Theatre Company's successful revival of the Broadway musical Cabaret was playing. Roundabout quickly began searching for alternative venues and, in September 1998, decided to move the production to Studio 54. The old nightclub required extensive renovations and was not air-conditioned, but Roundabout's artistic director Todd Haimes considered it
17630-454: The League confirmed that performances would begin to resume in the fall season. Springsteen on Broadway became the first full-length show to resume performances, opening on June 26, 2021, to 1,721 vaccinated patrons at the St. James Theatre . Pass Over then had its first preview on August 4, and opened on August 22, 2021, becoming the first new play to open. Hadestown and Waitress were
17835-497: The Mafia made more money" than Studio 54, which made $ 7 million in its first year. Upon Studio 54's first anniversary in April 1978, which attracted 3,000 guests, Rubell said the club's popularity contradicted sentiments that the club "wouldn't last more than a couple of months". That October, Rubell and Schrager closed the club for nine days, spending $ 500,000 on renovations. The work included adding spotlights and mirrored walls, as well as
18040-427: The New York City Subway system. The studio was one of seven that CBS operated in New York City. At that time, several Broadway theaters had been converted to TV studios due to a lack of studio space in the city. Likely the first television show to be produced at Studio 52, was The 54th Street Revue , which premiered in May 1949. Another early show produced at Studio 52 was The Fred Waring Show in 1950. Studio 52 and
18245-451: The New Yorker Theatre in August 1942 for use as a radio soundstage. The theater operated as a radio and television studio for three decades, known as Radio Playhouse No. 4 or Theater No. 4. , then converted for television in 1949, becoming CBS-TV Studio 52. Shielded television cameras had to be developed due to strong magnetic interference from equipment at a neighboring power substation for
18450-481: The New Yorker and the adjacent office building for $ 650,000 in December 1932. The bank leased the theater to Continental Music Halls Inc. for five years in September 1933. Continental announced plans to convert the theater into a nightclub called Casino de Paree (sometimes spelled Casino de Paris), with dining areas on two stories and a kitchen in the basement. The club's operators spent $ 200,000 on renovations, reopening
18655-592: The Opera at the Majestic Theatre became the longest-running Broadway musical, with 7,486 performances, overtaking Cats . The Phantom of the Opera closed on Broadway on April 16, 2023, soon after celebrating its 35th anniversary, after a total of 13,981 performances. Attending a Broadway show is a common tourist activity in New York. The TKTS booths sell same-day tickets (and in certain cases, next-day matinee tickets) for many Broadway and Off-Broadway shows at
18860-531: The Post was the first show to call itself a "musical comedy". Tony Pastor opened the first vaudeville theatre one block east of Union Square in 1881, where Lillian Russell performed. Comedians Edward Harrigan and Tony Hart produced and starred in musicals on Broadway between 1878 ( The Mulligan Guard Picnic ) and 1890, with book and lyrics by Harrigan and music by his father-in-law David Braham . These musical comedies featured characters and situations taken from
19065-568: The San Carlo Company's large-scale production of La bohème . The Gallo was one of three legitimate theaters to open in New York City during 1927; at the time, the city had over 200 legitimate theaters. The San Carlo Company performed for two weeks. A revival of the play Electra opened at the Gallo that December, followed the same month by Juno and the Paycock . A $ 660,000 mortgage was placed on
19270-547: The Studio 54 building become "anything but a nightclub". Since 1998, the nonprofit Roundabout Theatre Company has operated Studio 54 as a Broadway theater, branded as Roundabout Theatre at Studio 54 . It is one of Roundabout's three Broadway theaters, alongside the Todd Haimes Theatre and the Stephen Sondheim Theatre . In July 1998, the collapse of a construction hoist at 4 Times Square blocked access to
19475-595: The abandoned LIRR Rockaway Beach Branch (now the IND Rockaway Line ), which opened in 1955. Two stations ( 57th Street and Grand Street ) were part of the Chrystie Street Connection , and opened in 1968; the Harlem–148th Street terminal opened that same year in an unrelated project. Six were built as part of a 1968 plan : three on the Archer Avenue Lines , opened in 1988, and three on
19680-595: The adjacent office building to Pilevsky, which it foreclosed upon in June 1994. Later that month, the theater and building were auctioned off. CBS, the Manhattan Theatre Club , and Viacom were among those that showed interest in acquiring the theater and building. Allied Partners, run by the Hadar family, ultimately acquired the properties for $ 5.5 million. Allied then renovated the office building. Cabaret Royale closed in January 1995, and Allied announced plans to convert
19885-526: The arriving train to identify it. There are several common platform configurations. On a double track line, a station may have one center island platform used for trains in both directions, or two side platforms , one for each direction. For lines with three or four tracks with express service, local stops will have side platforms and the middle one or two tracks will not stop at the station. On these lines, express stations typically have two island platforms, one for each direction. Each island platform provides
20090-500: The auditorium. CAT Entertainment acquired Scher's interest in the Ritz in December 1992, and CAT was itself acquired by Cabaret Royale Corporation the next year. In July 1993, the Ritz announced it would close down and reopen as a topless bar . CAT Entertainment spent $ 3 million renovating the theater, including the stage area. CAT also resurrected both the nightclub and the Studio 54 trademark, which had never been properly registered by any of
20295-488: The authors and also in numerous unlicensed productions). They were imitated in New York by American productions such as Reginald Dekoven 's Robin Hood (1891) and John Philip Sousa 's El Capitan (1896), along with operas, ballets, and other British and European hits. Charles H. Hoyt 's A Trip to Chinatown (1891) became Broadway's long-run champion when it surpassed Adonis and its 603 total performances in 1893, holding
20500-435: The beginning of the nineteenth century, the area that now comprises the Theater District was owned by a handful of families and comprised a few farms. In 1836, Mayor Cornelius Lawrence opened 42nd Street and invited Manhattanites to "enjoy the pure clean air." Close to 60 years later, theatrical entrepreneur Oscar Hammerstein I built the iconic Victoria Theater on West 42nd Street. Broadway's first "long-run" musical
20705-476: The biggest changes to the commercial theatrical landscape—on both sides of the Atlantic—over the past decade or so is that sightings of big star names turning out to do plays has [sic] gone up; but the runs they are prepared to commit to has gone down. Time was that a producer would require a minimum commitment from his star of six months, and perhaps a year; now, the 13-week run is the norm." The minimum size of
20910-537: The bill was not passed. The Save the Theatres campaign then turned their efforts to supporting the establishment of the Theater District as a registered historic district . In December 1983, Save the Theatres prepared "The Broadway Theater District, a Preservation Development and Management Plan", and demanded that each theater in the district receive landmark designation. Mayor Ed Koch ultimately reacted by creating
21115-456: The block to enter, and several celebrities could not get in, despite having been invited. Studio 54 had been launched as the disco dancing and music trend was gaining popularity in the U.S. Its popularity grew rapidly, especially after the publication of a widely-circulated picture that showed actress Bianca Jagger at the club, riding a white horse. In the month after its opening, the club served an average of 2,000 guests per night, although it
21320-538: The cabaret application had not been approved because of multiple violations of fire codes, though the New York City Fire Department refused to provide further details about these violations. The DCA could also deny a permanent license because of unresolved consumer complaints, such as those concerning Studio 54's annual memberships. The DCA refused to renew Studio 54's temporary cabaret license in August 1978 because Schrager and Rubell had not refunded all of
21525-404: The club admitted guests as young as 13 and had falsely advertised itself as selling alcoholic beverages. Studio 54 was dilapidated by the late 1980s; the walls had peeling paint, while the auditorium's dome had been concealed by a dropped ceiling . Neil Cohen and John Scher, owners of the Ritz nightclub, leased the space from Philip Pilevsky for 25 years in 1989. They spent $ 2 million to restore
21730-503: The club became "one of the single most effective showcases for newly visible gay clout". By 1978, there was a private dance floor behind a movable scrim on the main dance floor, as well as a VIP room in the basement, which could only be accessed by a hidden stairway. The club also hosted private parties that, at a minimum, cost tens of thousands of dollars. The invitations to the parties were extravagant, using such materials as "Cupid's arrows, inflatable hearts, [or] jars of confetti". Among
21935-477: The club had engaged in "unfair labor practices". In December 1978, a tipster called the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), alleging that Rubell and Schrager were skimming profits. The tip came from a disgruntled ex-employee, who also alleged that cocaine was illegally being stored in the basement. Shortly after, IRS agents raided Studio 54 and arrested Rubell and Schrager. The club continued to operate
22140-432: The club hosted "Modern Classix nights" during Wednesdays and Sundays, while it hosted disco music for the remainder of the week. There was also a 32-track recording studio in the basement, which was used for recording promotional videos and rock concerts. Notable figures associated with the second iteration of Studio 54 included doorman Haoui Montaug , as well as Paul Heyman , who was a photographer, producer, and promoter at
22345-466: The club included fundraisers for local politicians, as well as a Halloween party hosted by the staff of People magazine. Studio 54 was also a filming location for several music videos, such as those for several songs in Musique 's album Keep On Jumpin' . Schrager did not have a liquor license when the club opened, despite having applied to the NYSLA for such a license. Instead, the nightclub applied for
22550-528: The club reverted to the name 54 Below when the partnership ended in July 2022. Josh Hadar of Allied Partners created a 175-seat cabaret space on the second floor, called Upstairs at Studio 54. The space opened in February 2001 and is accessed via its own entrance at ground level. This space was used exclusively for special events. Performances occurred during nights when plays were not being staged. The musical Newsical
22755-435: The club was allowed to continue operating. The club lost its liquor license on February 29, and the club started serving fruit punch the next day. Studio 54's lawyers also announced that they would create a board of directors to operate the club. The third co-owner, Jack Dushey, had received a $ 10,000 fine and had been sentenced to five years of unsupervised probation after being convicted of conspiracy charges in March 1980. By
22960-407: The club's basement. In anticipation of increasing interest in rock music, Rubell and Schrager spent $ 1.2 million to renovate Studio 54 in late 1979. They installed a grand chandelier and a fly system above the stage, as well as removing seats from the balcony. Rubell and Schrager ultimately pleaded guilty to tax evasion in November 1979, after New York magazine published a cover story describing
23165-399: The club's exclusivity, saying in a November 1977 interview with New York magazine: "I turned away 1,400 people last Saturday." The club's doormen could be extremely selective, sometimes to the point that "they propelled themselves into a comedy universe" according to Haden-Guest. Rubell once told a "ravishingly beautiful woman" that she could enter for free if she took off all her clothes;
23370-483: The club's liquor license. The authority would not issue a liquor license as long as the club was involved in active litigation. Mike Stone Productions leased the club from Rubell and Schrager in early 1981, and the club started hosting private events again, albeit without alcoholic drinks and only on Friday and Saturday nights. Rubell's company sold the building to Philip Pilevsky for $ 1.15 million in cash in August 1981, leasing back space from Pilevsky. Fleischman applied for
23575-516: The club. A notable guest during this time was Drew Barrymore , who was nine years old when her mother took her to Studio 54. Within three months of the club's reopening, Fleischman had ousted Fouratt and Piper, who opened the Danceteria nightclub. In 1982, social activist Jerry Rubin started hosting "Business Networking Salons", a networking event for businesspeople, at the club on Wednesday nights. Prospective guests would only be admitted if they had
23780-457: The club. Celebrities usually were allowed to enter immediately. According to a 1977 Wall Street Journal article, "very beautiful" members of the public were almost always admitted, while men entering alone were invariably rejected to prevent predatory behavior. Guests were divided into four categories, ranging from the "No Goods" (who could never be admitted) to the "No Fuck-ups" (important clients who were admitted instantly). Rubell bragged about
23985-410: The complexity of the system (Manhattan being the smallest borough, but having the most services), but they do show major city streets as an aid to navigation. The newest edition took effect on June 27, 2010, and makes Manhattan bigger and Staten Island smaller, with minor tweaks happening to the map when more permanent changes occur. Earlier diagrams of the subway, the first being produced in 1958, had
24190-425: The correct platform without having to cross the street before entering. Inside mezzanines are fare control areas, where passengers physically pay their fare to enter the subway system. In many older stations, the fare control area is at platform level with no mezzanine crossovers. Many elevated stations also have platform-level fare control with no common station house between directions of service. Upon entering
24395-407: The dance floor and rigging system. Rubell and Schrager retained D'Alessio to promote Studio 54. The renovation involved the construction of a dance floor, a balcony, and a disco booth, as well as the addition of mirrors, light bars, and floating vinyl platforms. The orchestra seated 250 people, and the balcony had another 500 seats. The lighting system, which required three people to operate, included
24600-422: The decade ended with critics and audiences giving mixed signals." Ken Bloom observed that "The 1960s and 1970s saw a worsening of the area [Times Square] and a drop in the number of legitimate shows produced on Broadway." By way of comparison, in the 1950 to 1951 season (May to May) 94 productions opened on Broadway; in the 1969 to 1970 season (June to May) there were 59 productions (fifteen were revivals). In
24805-418: The door but a democracy on the dance floor". Studio 54 enforced a photography ban to protect guests' privacy, but some images were still published, including a widely circulated image of Canadian first lady Margaret Trudeau without her underwear. Many guests used club drugs , and they often engaged in open sexual activity on the club's balcony and in private basement rooms. The Journal characterized most of
25010-562: The effort. At Papp's behest, in July 1982, a bill was introduced in the 97th Congress , entitled "H.R.6885, A bill to designate the Broadway/Times Square Theatre District in the City of New York as a national historic site". The legislation would have provided certain U.S. government resources and assistance to help the city preserve the district. Faced with strong opposition and lobbying by Mayor Ed Koch's Administration and corporate Manhattan development interests,
25215-429: The end of that month, Rubell was considering selling the club, despite having promised just two months prior that he would never sell Studio 54. Among those who expressed interest in the club were restaurateur Mark Fleischman , television host Dick Clark , and record executive Neil Bogart . The club closed down at the end of that March, as the revocation of the liquor license had caused a sharp decrease in business. Early
25420-582: The entire Broadway production is transplanted almost entirely intact and may run for many months (or years) at each stop. For example, the first U.S. tour of The Phantom of the Opera required 26 53-foot-long (16.1 m) semi-trailers to transport all its sets, equipment, and costumes, and it took almost 10 days to properly unload all those trucks and install everything into a theater. New York City Subway July 3, 1868 ; 156 years ago ( 1868-07-03 ) (first elevated, rapid transit operation) [REDACTED] The New York City Subway
25625-468: The events at Studio 54 was a New Year's Eve party hosted by event planner Robert Isabell , who dumped four tons of glitter onto the floor, creating a four-inch layer that could be found in attendees' clothing and homes several months later. The organizers of a Valentine's Day party in 1979 imported 3,000 Dutch tulips, transported 4,000 square yards (3,300 m) of sod from Bermuda, and rented eight antique sculptures that each cost $ 17,000. Other events at
25830-456: The everyday life of New York's lower classes and represented a significant step forward from vaudeville and burlesque, towards a more literate form. They starred high-quality professional singers ( Lillian Russell , Vivienne Segal , and Fay Templeton ), instead of the amateurs, often sex workers, who had starred in earlier musical forms. As transportation improved, poverty in New York diminished, and street lighting made for safer travel at night,
26035-438: The first demonstration for an underground transit system in New York City in 1869 and opened it in February 1870. His Beach Pneumatic Transit only extended 312 feet (95 m) under Broadway in Lower Manhattan operating from Warren Street to Murray Street and exhibited his idea for an atmospheric railway as a subway. The tunnel was never extended for political and financial reasons. Today, no part of this line remains as
26240-463: The first musicals to resume performances on September 2, 2021. The 74th Tony Awards were also postponed; the Tony nominations were announced on October 15, 2020, and took place on September 26, 2021. On July 30, 2021, it was announced that all Broadway theaters required attendees to provide proof of full COVID-19 vaccination . The rule applied to guests ages 12+. Those under age 12 were required to provide
26445-482: The five-cent fare of the time, or 10¢ ($ 3 in 2023 dollars ). In 1940, the city bought the two private systems. Some elevated lines ceased service immediately while others closed soon after. Integration was slow, but several connections were built between the IND and BMT. These now operate as one division, called the B Division . Since the former IRT tunnels are narrower, have sharper curves, and shorter station platforms, they cannot accommodate B Division cars, and
26650-400: The former IRT remains its own division, the A Division . Many passenger transfers between stations of all three former companies have been created, allowing the entire network to be treated as a single unit. During the late 1940s, the system recorded high ridership, and on December 23, 1946, the system-wide record of 8,872,249 fares was set. The New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA),
26855-507: The gastronomic, bibulous, and entertainment needs of any mortal". The club's operators bought the theater and adjacent office building in March 1934. The club's cheap revues competed with Broadway musicals with higher-priced tickets. Rose withdrew from the venture in September 1934 because of disagreements over pay. The Casino de Paree was closed for renovations in February 1935, reopening two weeks later. The Casino de Paree abruptly closed after filing for bankruptcy in April 1935. That December,
27060-494: The hurricane included the restoration of the new South Ferry station from 2012 to 2017; the full closure of the Montague Street Tunnel from 2013 to 2014; and the partial 14th Street Tunnel shutdown from 2019 to 2020. Annual ridership on the New York City Subway system, which totaled nearly 1.7 billion in 2019, declined dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic and did not surpass one billion again until 2022. When
27265-463: The line at the beginning of 2017. Many rapid transit systems run relatively static routings, so that a train "line" is more or less synonymous with a train "route". In New York City, routings change often, for various reasons. Within the nomenclature of the subway , the "line" describes the physical railroad track or series of tracks that a train "route" uses on its way from one terminal to another. "Routes" (also called "services") are distinguished by
27470-403: The lines and leased them to the companies. The first line of the city-owned and operated Independent Subway System (IND) opened in 1932. This system was intended to compete with the private systems and allow some of the elevated railways to be torn down but stayed within the core of the city due to its small startup capital. This required it to be run 'at cost', necessitating fares up to double
27675-509: The memberships. Also in August 1978, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) sued Rubell and Schrager, alleging that the co-owners had failed to pay licensing fees for six performances that ASCAP had staged at Studio 54 earlier that year. Studio 54 ultimately paid ASCAP for a license in November 1978. The National Labor Relations Board was also investigating the club by February 1979 after some workers alleged that
27880-544: The middle-class, variety shows in concert saloons for men of the working class and the slumming middle-class." The plays of William Shakespeare were frequently performed on the Broadway stage during the period, most notably by American actor Edwin Booth who was internationally known for his performance as Hamlet . Booth played the role for a famous 100 consecutive performances at the Winter Garden Theatre in 1865 (with
28085-737: The modern-day New York City Subway system were already in service by then. The oldest structure still in use opened in 1885 as part of the BMT Lexington Avenue Line in Brooklyn and is now part of the BMT Jamaica Line . The oldest right-of-way, which is part of the BMT West End Line near Coney Island Creek , was in use in 1864 as a steam railroad called the Brooklyn, Bath and Coney Island Rail Road . The first underground line of
28290-469: The most-used, and the one with the most stations, with 472 stations in operation (423, if stations connected by transfers are counted as single stations). The system has operated 24/7 service every day of the year throughout most of its history, barring emergencies and disasters. By annual ridership, the New York City Subway is the busiest rapid transit system in both the Western Hemisphere and
28495-690: The neighboring Studio 50 (now the Ed Sullivan Theater ) were among CBS's busiest stages by the early 1960s. The theater hosted such shows as What's My Line? , The $ 64,000 Question , Video Village , Password , To Tell the Truth , Beat the Clock , The Jack Benny Show , I've Got a Secret , Ted Mack and the Original Amateur Hour , and Captain Kangaroo . Studio 52 was used to tape many of
28700-421: The next month, Fleischman agreed to buy an option that would allow him to purchase the club for $ 5 million. Mark Fleischman announced his plan to take over Studio 54, seeking to host live shows there and obtain a liquor license from the NYSLA. Studio 54 remained shuttered through the rest of the year, in large part because Rubell and Schrager continued to file legal objections against the NYSLA's revocation of
28905-532: The next month. The first production at the renamed theater was the Henrik Ibsen play The Vikings , which had a short run in May 1930. The New Yorker hosted more dance recitals before the opening of its next legitimate show, Electra , in December 1930. Oliver D. Bailey signed a five-year lease for the theater in January 1931. In general, the theater suffered from low attendance during the Great Depression. Among
29110-420: The next sixteen years. However, smaller vaudeville and variety houses proliferated, and Off-Broadway was well established by the end of the nineteenth century. A Trip to Coontown (1898) was the first musical comedy entirely produced and performed by African Americans in a Broadway theatre (inspired largely by the routines of the minstrel shows ), followed by the ragtime -tinged Clorindy: The Origin of
29315-465: The night of the raid. A federal grand jury indicted Rubell and Schrager on charges of tax evasion in June 1979, observing that the two men had skimmed $ 2.5 million, or as much as 60 percent of Studio 54's receipts over the past two years. In an unsuccessful attempt to lessen the charges against the club's co-owners, Schrager's lawyer Mitchell Rogovin alleged that Hamilton Jordan , chief of staff to U.S. president Jimmy Carter , had used cocaine in
29520-463: The nightclub continued under new management before becoming the Ritz rock club in 1989, then the Cabaret Royale bar in 1994. The Roundabout Theatre Company renovated the space in 1998 to relocate its production of the musical Cabaret , which ran at Studio 54 until 2004. The modern theater has since hosted multiple productions each season. The main auditorium, with 1,006 seats on two levels,
29725-552: The number of potential patrons for the growing number of theatres increased enormously. Plays could run longer and still draw in the audiences, leading to better profits and improved production values. As in England, during the latter half of the century, the theatre began to be cleaned up, with less prostitution hindering the attendance of the theatre by women. Gilbert and Sullivan 's family-friendly comic opera hits, beginning with H.M.S. Pinafore in 1878, were imported to New York (by
29930-623: The numbered cross streets, extending from the Nederlander Theatre one block south of Times Square on West 41st Street, north along either side of Broadway to 53rd Street , and Vivian Beaumont Theater , at Lincoln Center on West 65th Street. While exceptions exist, the term "Broadway theatre" is used predominantly to describe venues with seating capacities of at least 500 people. Smaller theaters in New York City are referred to as off-Broadway , regardless of location, while very small venues with fewer than 100 seats are called off-off-Broadway ,
30135-524: The orchestra and 487 in the balcony. The theater contained nightclub tables during the late 20th century, which were removed in 1998 after Studio 54's re-conversion into a theater and replaced with raked seating. Ida Louise Killam designed the original interior with a gold, blue, and rose palette . One early observer described the theater as having "a Roxy foyer and a Paramount promenade". The orchestra seats were originally divided by five aisles. The orchestra-level walls were clad with walnut , and
30340-425: The orchestra and balcony had "excellent sound and sightlines". The Ritz was primarily a rock club, but it also hosted performances of pop music and salsa music. The Ritz was one of the most active nightclubs in the United States, with about 150 shows annually, until its promoters started booking fewer shows in mid-1991. Despite declining profits in 1992, the club's owners were planning to add a 250-seat side room next to
30545-404: The perception of being more geographically inaccurate than the diagrams today. The design of the subway map by Massimo Vignelli , published by the MTA between 1972 and 1979, has become a modern classic but the MTA deemed the map flawed due to its placement of geographical elements. A late night-only version of the map was introduced on January 30, 2012. On September 16, 2011, the MTA introduced
30750-556: The performers, or temporary availability of a theatre between the end of one production and the beginning of another. However, some shows with planned limited engagement runs may, after critical acclaim or box office success, extend their engagements or convert to open-ended runs. This was the case with 2007's August: Osage County , 2009's God of Carnage , 2012's Newsies , and 2022's Take Me Out . Historically, musicals on Broadway tend to have longer runs than "straight" (i.e., non-musical) plays. On January 9, 2006, The Phantom of
30955-464: The plays of George Bernard Shaw , and Katharine Cornell in such plays as Romeo and Juliet , Antony and Cleopatra , and Candida . In 1930, Theatre Guild 's production of Roar, China! was Broadway's first play with a majority Asian cast. As World War II approached, a dozen Broadway dramas addressed the rise of Nazism in Europe and the issue of American non-intervention. The most successful
31160-480: The primary floors. By 1933, when it was being used as the Casino de Paree nightclub, the theater had 650 seats on the orchestra level and 500 seats in the balcony. CBS documents show that, when the theater was used as CBS Studio 52 in the mid-20th century, it had 828 seats on three levels: 312 in the orchestra, 371 in the balcony, and 145 in a mezzanine . The modern-day theater has 1,006 seats across two levels: 519 in
31365-504: The prior owners or operators. John Neilson took over the venue with plans to reopen it as an uptown location of the Stringfellows nightclub. The remodeled nightclub opened in January 1994 and was operated as "Cabaret Royale at Studio 54". Most of the old theater's architectural detail had been covered up by then. Meanwhile, the Bank of Tokyo had previously granted a mortgage on the theater and
31570-407: The production moved to the 44th Street Theatre . The play Medicine Show then premiered at the New Yorker in April 1940, closing after a month. This was the theater's last Broadway show for nearly six decades. The Bowery Savings Bank again owned the New Yorker Theatre by late 1940, and the bank's real-estate agent Joseph O'Gara was looking to lease the venue. That October, RCA Manufacturing signed
31775-423: The production plays), meaning that the length of their presentation is not set beforehand, but depends on critical response, word of mouth, and the effectiveness of the show's advertising, all of which determine ticket sales. Investing in a commercial production carries a varied degree of financial risk. Shows need not make a profit immediately; should they make their "nut" (weekly operating expenses), or lose money at
31980-442: The production's capacity. Richard Hadar announced in early 1999 that he would operate a nightclub within the theater, which would still host performances of Cabaret during the day. By 2001, Roundabout was negotiating to buy Studio 54 from the Hadar family, which would allow the theatre company to own a Broadway theater for the first time. Early the next year, the Hadar family agreed to sell the theater for around $ 25 million. To fund
32185-640: The productions of Rodgers and Hammerstein , became enormously influential forms of American popular culture " and contributed to making New York City the cultural capital of the world . New York City's first significant theatre was established in the mid-18th century, around 1750, when actor-managers Walter Murray and Thomas Kean established a resident theatre company at the Theatre on Nassau Street in Lower Manhattan , which held about 280 people. They presented William Shakespeare 's plays and ballad operas such as The Beggar's Opera . In 1752, William Hallam sent
32390-464: The purchase, Roundabout would receive up to $ 32 million in tax-exempt bonds and $ 9 million from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA). Roundabout finalized its purchase in July 2003, paying $ 22.5 million, of which $ 6.75 million came from the DCA and $ 17.7 million came from tax-exempt bonds. Allied continued to own the office space above the theater. Roundabout planned to use Studio 54 to host larger productions that could not be staged at
32595-447: The rest reopened in September 2002, along with service south of Chambers Street. Cortlandt Street reopened in September 2018. In October 2012, Hurricane Sandy flooded several underwater tunnels and other facilities near New York Harbor , as well as trackage over Jamaica Bay . The immediate damage was fixed within six months, but long-term resiliency and rehabilitation projects continued for several years. The recovery projects after
32800-468: The routes proposed over the decades have never seen construction, discussion remains strong to develop some of these lines, to alleviate existing subway capacity constraints and overcrowding, the most notable being the proposals for the Second Avenue Subway . Plans for new lines date back to the early 1910s, and expansion plans have been proposed during many years of the system's existence. After
33005-403: The routes that would normally run on these lines. The Transit Authority announces planned service changes through its website, via placards that are posted on station and interior subway-car walls, and through its Twitter page. Current official transit maps of the New York City Subway are based on a 1979 design by Michael Hertz Associates . The maps are not geographically accurate due to
33210-531: The run ending just a few months before Booth's brother John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln ), and would later revive the role at his own Booth's Theatre (which was managed for a time by his brother Junius Brutus Booth Jr. ). Other renowned Shakespeareans who appeared in New York in this era were Henry Irving , Tommaso Salvini , Fanny Davenport , and Charles Fechter . Theatre in New York moved from Downtown gradually to Midtown Manhattan , beginning around 1850, seeking less expensive real estate. At
33415-401: The same team, Pacific Overtures , opened that December. Following these two productions, Broadway historian Louis Botto wrote that Studio 54 "had finally fully been welcomed into the Broadway family nearly 80 years after Fortune Gallo first dreamed of it". Roundabout completed some renovations in 2005, which involved installing raked seating and an exhibit in the promenade. The theater hosted
33620-467: The season. This is done in order to maximize access to their target audience. Most Broadway producers and theatre owners are members of The Broadway League (formerly "The League of American Theatres and Producers"), a trade organization that promotes Broadway theatre as a whole, negotiates contracts with the various theatrical unions and agreements with the guilds, and co-administers the Tony Awards with
33825-427: The space into a virtual reality gaming venue at a cost of $ 10 million. In anticipation of Studio 54's conversion, the nightclub hosted a final party on May 23, 1996, featuring disco star Gloria Gaynor and performers such as Crystal Waters and RuPaul . The virtual-reality complex was never built because of a lack of demand, and the club's space was instead rented out for private events. Allied Partners preferred that
34030-546: The space into a Broadway house in 1998. The producer Fortune Gallo announced plans for an opera house in 1926, hiring Eugene De Rosa as the architect. The Gallo Opera House opened November 8, 1927, but soon went bankrupt and was renamed the New Yorker Theatre. The space also operated as the Casino de Paree nightclub, then the Palladium Music Hall, before the Federal Music Project staged productions at
34235-461: The stage for 657 performances. Chinatown itself was surpassed by the musical Irene (1919) in 1921 as the longest-running Broadway musical, and even earlier, in March 1920, by Lightnin' (1918) as the longest-running Broadway show. In 1896, theatre owners Marc Klaw and A. L. Erlanger formed the Theatrical Syndicate , which controlled almost every legitimate theatre in the U.S. for
34440-727: The subway opened on October 27, 1904, almost 36 years after the opening of the first elevated line in New York City (which became the IRT Ninth Avenue Line ). The 9.1-mile (14.6 km) subway line, then called the "Manhattan Main Line", ran from City Hall station northward under Lafayette Street (then named Elm Street) and Park Avenue (then named Fourth Avenue) before turning westward at 42nd Street . It then curved northward again at Times Square , continuing under Broadway before terminating at 145th Street station in Harlem . Its operation
34645-508: The subway system runs on surface or elevated tracks, including steel or cast-iron elevated structures , concrete viaducts , embankments , open cuts and surface routes. As of 2019 , there are 168 miles (270 km) of elevated tracks. All of these construction methods are completely grade-separated from road and pedestrian crossings, and most crossings of two subway tracks are grade-separated with flying junctions . The sole exceptions of at-grade junctions of two lines in regular service are
34850-453: The theater building in January 1928. The American Opera Company opened its season there the same month, performing there until March. Ballet Moderne also performed there for two weeks in April 1928. Philip Goodman leased the theater for five years in mid-1928. Goodman used the theater to stage a production of Laurence Stallings and Oscar Hammerstein II 's musical Rainbow , which ran for less than
35055-503: The theater building's roof. The modern mezzanine-level promenade has an exhibit with information on the theater's current production. The theater also contains a bar in its lobby, which is a tribute to the former Studio 54 nightclub. The cabaret club 54 Below opened in Studio 54's basement on June 5, 2012. It was designed by architect Richard H. Lewis, set designer John Lee Beatty , lighting designer Ken Billington , and sound designer Peter Hylenski . A staircase from ground level leads to
35260-521: The theater during the autumn, renting it out for legitimate shows at other times. The venue was originally supposed to open in January 1927, but this was delayed because the opera company had an extended engagement in San Francisco. Prior to the venue's opening, Gallo transferred his interest in the San Carlo Company to his nephew Aurelio Gallo, allowing the elder Gallo to focus on operating the new theater. The opera house opened on November 8, 1927, with
35465-500: The theater for three years starting in 1937. CBS began using the venue as a soundstage in 1942, then as a television studio until 1975. Schrager and Rubell opened the Studio 54 nightclub on April 26, 1977, as disco was gaining popularity in the U.S. Infamous for its celebrity guest lists, quixotic entry policies, extravagant events, rampant drug use , and sexual hedonism, Studio 54 closed in 1980 after Schrager and Rubell were convicted of tax evasion . A scaled-back version of
35670-747: The theater into a nightclub called Studio 54. It would be one of several discotheques to operate in Midtown Manhattan during the late 1970s. Rubell and Schrager formed the Broadway Catering Corp., which spent $ 400,000 to transform the theater into a nightclub. Rubell, Schrager, and Jack Dushey each owned a one-third stake in the venture, and they had hired several people to create the club by early 1977. These included architect Scott Bromley, interior designer Ron Doud, lighting designer Brian Thompson, and set designer Richie Williamson. Lighting designers Jules Fisher and Paul Marantz were hired to design
35875-417: The theater up for sale. By 1976, German-born male model Uva Harden was planning to open a nightclub in New York City, which he tentatively called "Studio". Harden and Israeli entrepreneur Yoram Polany agreed to take over the old CBS Studio 52 that year. Polany and another friend of Harden's independently recommended that the nightclub be called "Studio 54" because it was on 54th Street. Harden and Polany formed
36080-536: The theater's productions in 1931 were the plays Gray Shadow , Young Sinners , Ebb Tide , and It Never Rains ; the musical Fast and Furious ; and performances by the New Yorker Grand Opera Company. The next year, the theater hosted several plays performed by the Spanish-speaking theatrical company La Compania Dramatic Espanola, as well as another dance festival. The Bowery Savings Bank bought
36285-470: The theater, adding fixed seating at orchestra level and installing production equipment above the stage. Cohen and Scher anticipated that the club could fit 3,000 people, including standees, although the theater only had about 1,800 seats. The Ritz relocated from the East Village to Studio 54 on April 5, 1989. According to The New York Times , the new Ritz was more popular than the old location because both
36490-514: The theater, as well as four of the office floors, in November 1936; the venue would host operas and concerts by the WPA's Theatre of Music. The WPA renovated the theater over the next two months, opening the Theater of Music on January 24, 1937. The WPA renewed its lease later the same year. An all-black WPA cast from Chicago presented The Swing Mikado at the New Yorker Theatre in early 1939; after two months,
36695-522: The theatres. Since colored bulbs burned out too quickly, white lights were used, and Broadway was nicknamed "The Great White Way". In August 1919, the Actors' Equity Association demanded a standard contract for all professional productions. After a strike shut down all the theatres, the producers were forced to agree. By the 1920s, the Shubert Brothers had risen to take over the majority of the theatres from
36900-474: The theatrical producer and director who established The Public Theater , led the "Save the Theatres" campaign. It was a not-for-profit group supported by the Actors Equity union to save the theater buildings in the neighborhood from demolition by monied Manhattan development interests. Papp provided resources, recruited a publicist and celebrated actors, and provided audio, lighting, and technical crews for
37105-461: The time, the average age of theatergoers was 40.4; nearly two-thirds of the audience were women; and 29% identified as a racial minority. The classification of theatres is governed by language in Actors' Equity Association contracts. To be eligible for a Tony, a production must be in a house with 500 seats or more and in the Theater District, which are the criteria that define Broadway theatre. Off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway shows often provide
37310-527: The time, the gallery's owner Frank Lloyd had just been ordered to pay $ 9 million to artist Mark Rothko 's estate in the Rothko case . After continued delays, Harden met with entrepreneurs Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager , who agreed to partner with him in the nightclub's operation. Harden was eventually forced out of the club's operation, while Polany left on his own volition. In November 1976, Billboard magazine reported that Schrager and Rubell planned to convert
37515-402: The trimmings at balcony level and in the mezzanine lounge were also made of walnut. The vaulted ceiling contained a dome measuring 50 feet (15 m) across, as well as indirect lighting. This dome is decorated with medallions. According to CBS documents, Studio 54's proscenium arch measures 27 feet 0 inches (8.23 m) high and 43 feet 8 inches (13.31 m) wide. There
37720-407: The tunnel was completely within the limits of the present-day City Hall station under Broadway. The Great Blizzard of 1888 helped demonstrate the benefits of an underground transportation system. A plan for the construction of the subway was approved in 1894, and construction began in 1900. Even though the underground portions of the subway had yet to be built, several above-ground segments of
37925-558: The twenties, there were 70–80 theaters, but by 1969, there were 36 left. During this time, many Broadway productions struggled due to low attendance rates, which resulted in perceived mediocrity among such plays. For this reason, the Theatre Development Fund was created with the purpose of assisting productions with high cultural value that likely would struggle without subsidization, by offering tickets to those plays to consumers at reduced prices. In early 1982, Joe Papp ,
38130-535: The union's founding, there have been three union strikes over contract disputes with the MTA: 12 days in 1966 , 11 days in 1980 , and three days in 2005 . By the 1970s and 1980s, the New York City Subway was at an all-time low. Ridership had dropped to 1910s levels, and graffiti and crime were rampant. Maintenance was poor, and delays and track problems were common. Still, the NYCTA managed to open six new subway stations in
38335-410: The vast majority of the club's guests were not celebrities but, rather, members of the public who just wanted to dance. The Washington Post wrote in November 1977 that the club attracted "a mix of punks, hairdressers, socialites, and suburbanites", while The New York Times said the club was "tolerant of errant squares". Andy Warhol , a regular guest of Studio 54, said the club was "a dictatorship on
38540-560: The vein of Victor Herbert. Live theatre has survived the invention of cinema. Leaving these comparatively frivolous entertainments behind and taking the drama a step forward, Show Boat premiered on December 27, 1927, at the Ziegfeld Theatre . It represented a complete integration of book and score, with dramatic themes, as told through the music, dialogue, setting, and movement, woven together more seamlessly than in previous musicals. It ran for 572 performances. The 1920s also spawned
38745-428: The venue on December 12, 1933. It was one of three theaters near 54th Street that were converted to nightclubs in the mid-1930s. There were 1,150 seats on two levels. The stage was used as a dance floor, accessed by steps from the orchestra level, and was flanked by two bands. Billy Rose organized two shows a night, for which guests paid $ 1.50 to $ 2 per ticket. According to Variety , the nightclub "just about satisfies
38950-685: The war's end, theatre resumed in 1798, when the 2,000-seat Park Theatre was built on Chatham Street on present-day Park Row . A second major theatre, Bowery Theatre , opened in 1826, followed by others. By the 1840s, P.T. Barnum was operating an entertainment complex in Lower Manhattan. In 1829, at Broadway and Prince Street, Niblo's Garden opened and soon became one of New York's premier nightspots. The 3,000-seat theatre presented all sorts of musical and non-musical entertainments. In 1844, Palmo's Opera House opened and presented opera for only four seasons before bankruptcy led to its rebranding as
39155-496: The woman was later hospitalized for frostbitten nipples. The selective admissions policies led some guests to bypass the front door in an attempt to enter. According to Haden-Guest, one potential guest got stuck in a ventilation shaft and died, an account that Schrager later confirmed. Some of Studio 54's spurned clientele fled to other clubs such as New York, New York. When the club was renovated in 1978, Rubell and Schrager sealed its courtyard to prevent people from entering there. There
39360-455: The women guests as "beneficiaries of a fabulously lucky genetic selection" and that the men guests generally had an "aura of self-esteem born in the knowledge that one can successfully choose among the select". Celebrity appearances, which were almost guaranteed, were frequently showcased in New York City's daily newspapers and in gossip columns . The nightclub was also frequented by many gay celebrities, leading Anthony Haden-Guest to write that
39565-717: The work. The foundations of tall buildings often ran near the subway construction, and in some cases needed underpinning to ensure stability. This method worked well for digging soft dirt and gravel near the street surface. Tunnelling shields were required for deeper sections, such as the Harlem and East River tunnels, which used cast-iron tubes. Rock or concrete-lined tunnels were used on segments from 33rd to 42nd streets under Park Avenue ; 116th to 120th Streets under Broadway ; 145th to Dyckman Streets (Fort George) under Broadway and St. Nicholas Avenue ; and 96th Street and Broadway to Central Park North and Lenox Avenue . About 40% of
39770-538: The years, the MTA has been involved in a number of lawsuits over the lack of accessibility in its stations. The Eastern Paralyzed Veterans Association filed what may have been the first of these suits in 1979, based on state law. The lawsuits have relied on a number of different legal bases, but most have centered around the MTA's failure to include accessibility as a part of its plans for remodeling various stations. As of January 2022 , ADA-accessibility projects are expected to be started or completed at 51 stations as part of
39975-507: Was Lillian Hellman 's Watch on the Rhine , which opened in April 1941. After the lean years of the Great Depression , Broadway theatre had entered a golden age with the blockbuster hit Oklahoma! , in 1943, which ran for 2,212 performances. According to John Kenrick 's writings on Broadway musicals, "Every season saw new stage musicals send songs to the top of the charts. Public demand,
40180-539: Was 14.77 million in 2018–2019, compared to 13.79 million in 2017–2018. The average age of the Broadway audience in the 2017–18 theater season was 40, the lowest it had been in nearly two decades. By 2018, about 20% of Broadway tickets were sold to international visitors, although many visitors reported not being able to use their tickets. In 2022–2023, the first full season since the COVID-19 pandemic, Broadway theaters sold 12.3 million tickets, of which 35% were to local residents and 17% to international visitors. At
40385-531: Was a 50-performance hit called The Elves in 1857. In 1870, the heart of Broadway was in Union Square , and by the end of the century, many theatres were near Madison Square . Theatres arrived in the Times Square area in the early 1900s, and the Broadway theatres consolidated there after a large number were built around the square in the 1920s and 1930s. New York runs continued to lag far behind those in London, but Laura Keene 's "musical burletta" The Seven Sisters (1860) shattered previous New York records with
40590-407: Was a fly system 58 feet (18 m) above the stage. Backstage were six dressing rooms, as well as a 15-by-40-foot (4.6 by 12.2 m) rehearsal space at stage left. To avoid disrupting the construction of the New York City Subway 's Eighth Avenue Line , structural engineer David M. Oltarsh placed the Gallo Opera House's foundation, orchestra, and balcony within an enclosure that was suspended from
40795-423: Was also a private entrance on 53rd Street , reflecting the "stratification" of the nightclub. On several occasions, would-be guests attacked the doormen after being denied admission, and several guests pulled out guns when they were rejected. The club's security guards often cleared out trash cans within a several-block radius because of high concerns over violence. Some notables were denied admission. For instance,
41000-412: Was leased to the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT), and over 150,000 passengers paid the 5-cent fare ($ 2 in 2023 dollars ) to ride it on the first day of operation. By the late 1900s and early 1910s, the lines had been consolidated into two privately owned systems, the IRT and the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT, later Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation , BMT). The city built most of
41205-544: Was losing so many of the lawsuits in which it was involved. Subsequently, Shalom Weiss took over Studio 54. The nightclub tended to attract a young and racially mixed clientele who were frequently involved in fights, prompting complaints from local residents. City officials revoked the club's cabaret license for two years in January 1989 after finding that the club's patrons frequently used cocaine illegally. The officials alleged that Studio 54 employees not only encouraged illegal drug use but also used cocaine themselves. In addition,
41410-431: Was only open on Tuesdays through Saturdays. By August 1977, the club had become so successful that Rubell and Schrager were considering opening similar nightclubs in Los Angeles and London . Rubell ultimately chose not to open similar clubs around the world, saying: "I'm very cautious about protecting the name and not cheapening it." In November 1977, Dan Dorfman of New York magazine quoted Rubell as saying that "only
41615-419: Was staged there from October 2004 to April 2005. In July 1926, theatrical impresario Fortune Gallo leased a site at 254 West 54th Street and hired Eugene De Rosa to design a 16-story office building at the site, with a 1,400-seat theater at its base. Z. D. Berry and Robert Podgur would build the venue at an estimated cost of $ 2 million. Gallo planned to present the San Carlo Grand Opera Company's productions at
41820-410: Was to be part of the city-operated IND, and was to comprise almost 1 ⁄ 3 of the current subway system. By 1939, with unification planned, all three systems were included within the plan, which was ultimately never carried out. Many different plans were proposed over the years of the subway's existence, but expansion of the subway system mostly stopped during World War II . Though most of
42025-458: Was under renovation at the time, would be renamed after actor James Earl Jones . In June 2022, the Nederlanders announced that the Brooks Atkinson Theatre would be renamed after Lena Horne , The James Earl Jones Theatre was rededicated in September 2022, while the Lena Horne Theatre was rededicated that November. Although there are some exceptions, shows with open-ended runs generally have evening performances Tuesday through Saturday, with
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