The Orpheum Circuit was a chain of vaudeville and movie theaters . It was founded in 1886, and operated through 1927 when it was merged into the Keith-Albee-Orpheum corporation, ultimately becoming part of the Radio-Keith-Orpheum (RKO) corporation.
119-681: The Orpheum Circuit was started by the vaudeville impresario Gustav Walter , who opened the Orpheum Opera House in San Francisco in June 1887. This first Orpheum seated 3500 and quickly became one of the most popular theaters in San Francisco attracting a wide variety of people. The Orpheum's tickets were scaled to draw a mixed audience. Customers bought tickets to the Orpheum because of its diverse program that ranged from knockabout comedy to opera. It drew
238-682: A Broadway theater . That July, the Nederlander Organization agreed to purchase the Palace from RKO for about $ 1.4 million or $ 1.6 million. The Nederlanders also acquired the ground lease, which had 52 years remaining in its term. The last film to play the RKO Palace was Harlow in August 1965, and the Nederlanders formally acquired the theater the same month. The Nederlanders incorporated
357-442: A DoubleTree Suites), designed by Fox & Fowle , was built on the site between 1987 and 1991, replacing the office wing on Broadway. The hotel had 460 suites and was 43 stories tall. The theater's facade was almost entirely hidden behind 10,000 square feet (930 m ) of billboards for the first 120 feet (37 m) of the hotel's height, as per zoning regulations governing buildings on Times Square. The hotel leased
476-425: A frieze , as well as exit doors with curved pediments . The ceiling of the second balcony has ventilation grates, which are not part of the original design. The orchestra level has boxes on either side, divided by white-marble barriers with black-marble baseboards. On either side of the proscenium are arched niches with a doorway at orchestra level and a box at the first balcony level. Each niche's box contains
595-453: A $ 2 billion mixed-use structure with a 669-room hotel, which was built around, above, and below the Palace's auditorium. The new structure retains the lowest 16 stories of the DoubleTree structure. The area occupied by the 1987 lobby was replaced with retail space, extending three levels below ground. This required the auditorium to be raised by about 30 feet (9.1 m). The auditorium
714-517: A brick or terracotta facade on 47th Street. The interior had French decorations. The auditorium originally had a seating capacity of 1,820, with double balcony levels and 20 boxes arranged in tiers. It was characterized as having an ivory-and-bronze color scheme. Five massive girders spanned the auditorium; each measured 86 feet (26 m) long and 8 feet (2.4 m) deep, weighing 30 short tons (27 long tons; 27 t). There were also 32 or 36 dressing rooms. An Embassy Suites hotel (later
833-514: A doorway with pilasters on either side, which are topped by console brackets that support a curved pediment with a tympanum . The niches are topped by a recessed lunette that resembles a shell or sunburst. The niches originally contained three boxes each, but these were extensively altered in a 1965 renovation. Additional boxes exist on both sides of both balcony levels. The first balcony level has one additional box behind each niche. The second balcony level has five curved boxes on each side in
952-532: A feature film, which continued for several months. The last vaudeville accompaniment took place on November 12, 1932, with Nick Lucas and Hal Le Roy appearing on the closing bill. Thereafter, the Palace was converted to a movie palace , showing films exclusively under RKO Pictures . The film-only policy was not initially successful because many major studios already operated their own theaters in Times Square. Theatrical historian Louis Botto said that "from
1071-420: A harmonious show. Successful programs delivered diversity and Orpheum managers avoided similar types of acts on the same playbill. The entire show was packaged to achieve maximum efficiency and momentum from the top of the show to the final curtain. Booking agents tried to engage an act at a theater only once a season. Programs offered at the Orpheum theaters varied in length from around seven to fifteen acts with
1190-424: A large stage behind an oversized proscenium arch. The auditorium's width is slightly greater than its depth. The foyer and lobby were designed with plaster decorations in high relief , which alluded to the vaudeville presented at the Palace, while the stage itself was originally sloped . Though the auditorium's orchestra level was originally at the ground story, it was raised to the third story when TSX Broadway
1309-479: A late-night crowd since it was the only theater open late with performances lasting until two in the morning. The Orpheum's shows were advertised to appeal to "elite audiences" and were "suitable for refined young ladies". One reporter noted that upon seeing a show at the Orpheum, he saw just as many female attendees as male. Despite his success, Walter was in debt, and in 1891, faced with bankruptcy, he leased his theater and its management to John Cort . Cort took over
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#17329318981691428-475: A nine act bill being the average. The show would open with a "dumb (silent) act" to allow for late arrivals. These acts were typically acrobats, jugglers, dancers, or animal acts. The second slot was meant to grab the audience's attention and arouse expectations. These acts were often a talented singing team or repartee. The third spot was sure-fire entertainment such as a humorous playlet or fast paced revue featuring singing or dancing spectacle. The fourth position
1547-977: A partnership. With Lehman as a partner, the two continued to expand the Orpheum Circuit throughout the Midwest. They leased the Creighton Theater in Omaha, Nebraska and built the Denver Orpheum at a cost of $ 350,000. With these five theaters, Meyerfeld now ran the "Great Orpheum Circuit". In order to continue expanding the Orpheum Circuit's operation, Meyerfeld made a deal with the Western Circuit of Vaudeville Theaters (WCVT), an association of theater owners based in Chicago. Lehman proceeded to Chicago and established an office there for booking acts into their Orpheum theaters. It
1666-430: A performance on August 28, 1935, before 800 theatergoers. Bossalina's act was not a trapeze but rather fixed towers in which the acrobats were "cast from one to the other". Comedian Pat Henning started his act in front of a curtain that was pulled right after the accident. Bossalina died in 1963. According to television channel NY1 , sightings of Bossalina only occurred through the 1980s, though another source cited
1785-457: A performer can describe the anxieties, the joys, the anticipation, and the exultation of a week's engagement at the Palace. The walk through the iron gate on 47th Street through the courtyard to the stage door, was the cum laude walk to a show business diploma. A feeling of ecstasy came with the knowledge that this was the Palace , the epitome of the more than 15,000 vaudeville theaters in America, and
1904-469: A period from May to December 1913, the Palace had performances every day for the next two decades. By December 1914, Variety was characterizing the Palace as "the greatest vaudeville theater in America, if not the world". The death of Willie Hammerstein the same year, and the subsequent closure of the Victoria, contributed to the Palace's popularity. Keith also died in 1914, giving Albee even more control of
2023-531: A private one inside. The theater entrance was 40 feet (12 m) wide and contained an outer lobby with either Pavanazzo or yellow Carrara marble and a Siena-marble inner lobby. The lobbies were accessed by two sets of stained-glass, bronze-framed screen doors . There were stairs to the upper floors in the inner lobby. Past the two lobbies was a foyer that led directly to the auditorium (see Palace Theatre (New York City) § Auditorium ). The theater wing measured 88 by 125 feet (27 by 38 m). It had
2142-573: A result, the Palace dropped its vaudeville policy in July 1957. Its film screenings began with James Cagney 's Man of a Thousand Faces on August 13, 1957. The films included The Diary of Anne Frank , which premiered in 1959. The Palace hosted one more vaudeville performance by Harry Belafonte in December 1959. The RKO Palace was no longer profitable as a cinema by March 1965, and RKO considered selling it to Sherman S. Krellberg for conversion into
2261-463: A successful run in 1956, this time with Alan King . While the shows were successful, they did not lead to a revival of the vaudeville format. According to theatrical historian Ken Bloom , the Palace "limped along into the fifties with an occasional good week", but the popularity of television had restricted the profitability of the Palace's vaudeville. Performances by Jerry Lewis and Liberace , in 1957, failed to attract enough audience members. As
2380-463: A ten-week-long run. After considering a three-a-day production, the Palace moved to four shows a day in May 1932 and lowered its admission prices. A fifth show was subsequently added, but this failed to increase the number of attendees. The last week of straight vaudeville at the Palace premiered July 9, 1932, featuring Louis Sobol . Afterward, the Palace instituted a mixed policy of vaudeville before
2499-403: A terraced arrangement, with higher boxes being further from the stage. The fronts of the balcony-level boxes have decorative moldings, while the undersides of these boxes contain foliate ornamentation. Originally there were 20 boxes at orchestra level, 23 at the first balcony, and 12 at the second balcony. There was also a projection booth behind the balcony for film screenings, which was built in
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#17329318981692618-594: A theater in a city where another member operated a venue. This new arrangement created an oligopoly that now dominated the big time booking business. This powerful alliance had the power to not only blacklist performers, but now to blacklist any other manager that was not a part of its agreement. As vaudeville continued in its popularity, so did the Orpheum Circuit. By the end of 1909, Orpheum theaters had opened in Atlanta, Memphis, Mobile, Birmingham, Salt Lake, Ogden, and Logan. In addition, Beck and Meyerfeld made an agreement with
2737-407: A three-level auditorium at 47th Street , which is a New York City designated landmark . The auditorium contains ornately designed plasterwork, boxes on the side walls, and two balcony levels that slope downward toward the stage . When it opened, the theater was accompanied by an 11- or 12-story office wing facing Broadway, also designed by Kirchhoff & Rose. The Palace was most successful as
2856-521: A trapeze artist or a silent picture. Beginning with the re-opening of the San Francisco Orpheum in 1893, the Orpheum theaters were host to numerous topflight entertainers, variety combinations, opera companies, and orchestral ensembles from across the United States and Europe. During the early stages of the circuit, Walter would travel to find the best talent making the Orpheum's playbills among
2975-459: A truce in 1906, wherein Orpheum would control vaudeville west of Chicago and Keith–Albee would control vaudeville east of Chicago, including New York City. This truce was implemented in 1907. Beck and Herman Fehr announced in December 1911 that they had leased the site with plans to construct a venue, the Palace Theatre. Beck's representatives initially said the Palace would not be part of
3094-466: A vaude-film combination. Beck eventually resigned from the Orpheum in 1923 to become involved with a theater in New York. After his departure Heiman was elected president. Heiman realized that movies were capturing a larger audience and began to give more priority and top billing to featured films rather than live acts in the Orpheum theaters. It cost him less money to rent the feature films and they gave him
3213-460: A vaudeville house in the 1910s and 1920s. Under RKO Theatres , it became a movie palace called the RKO Palace Theatre in the 1930s, though it continued to host intermittent vaudeville shows in the 1950s. The Nederlander Organization purchased the Palace in 1965 and reopened the venue as a Broadway theater the next year. The theater closed for an extensive renovation from 1987 to 1991, when
3332-760: Is a Broadway theater at 1564 Broadway , at the north end of Times Square , in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City . Designed by Milwaukee architects Kirchhoff & Rose , the theater was funded by Martin Beck and opened in 1913. From its opening to about 1929, the Palace was considered among vaudeville performers as the flagship venue of Benjamin Franklin Keith and Edward Franklin Albee II 's organization. The theater had 1,648 seats across three levels as of 2018 . The modern Palace Theatre consists of
3451-438: Is an old-ivory bronze chandelier measuring 14 feet (4.3 m) across, which hangs from a pendant on the ceiling. The proscenium arch measures 44 feet (13 m) across. It contains pellet, egg-and-dart , and acanthus-leaf moldings surrounding a band of acanthus leaves. The top of the arch consists of a keystone with a molding of a child's head. A sounding board rises above the proscenium arch, with foliate bands at
3570-537: Is at 1568 Broadway , at the southeast corner of Seventh Avenue and 47th Street , in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It faces Duffy Square , the northern end of Times Square . The theater's site abuts the I. Miller Building and Embassy Theatre to the south. The Palace Theatre was designed by Milwaukee architects Kirchhoff & Rose and was completed in 1913. The theater
3689-480: Is scheduled to close on December 8 after 24 previews and 29 regular performances. The ghost of acrobat Louis Bossalina allegedly haunts the theater. Observers have said that the ghost is a white-clothed figure swinging in the air before emitting a "blood-curdling scream" and falling. Bossalina, who was a member of the acrobatic act the Four Casting Pearls, was injured when he fell 18 feet (5.5 m) during
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3808-411: Is supported by columns that, in turn, rest on caissons extending 45 feet (14 m) deep. About 10,000 square feet (930 m ) of back of house space was created as part of the project. The main entrance was also relocated to 47th Street, where the facade was raised and a marquee sign was installed. Escalators along 47th Street connect the new entrance to a new orchestra-level lobby next to
3927-455: The 25th Tony Awards in 1971. During this time, the theater hosted the musical Applause , which had opened in 1970 and ran for 896 performances over two years. The next hit was the musical Lorelei , which opened in 1974 and lasted ten months. The musical Man of La Mancha ran at the Palace for three months in 1977; it was followed in 1979 by the musical Oklahoma! , which had 301 performances. Yet another musical, Woman of
4046-527: The Film Booking Office to form RKO Pictures in 1928, the circuit's vaudeville houses became movie houses. In 1929, the Keith's booking office relocated from the fifth floor of the office wing to the sixth. To attract vaudeville-goers, the Palace added an electric piano in the lobby and colored lights in the auditorium during the late 1920s. Vaudeville was still popular as late as 1931, when Kate Smith had
4165-671: The Wigwam Variety Hall on the same street. In 1886, he then built a grand theater on O'Farrell Street which would seat 3500. This was the Orpheum Opera House which staged performances of opera, plays and vaudeville . The prices started at 10 cents for the balcony or children up to 50 cents for a box. This was low at the time and the theater soon became the most popular in San Francisco. Following this success, he opened another Orpheum in Los Angeles and then another in Sacramento. This
4284-451: The 1930s and removed in the 2020s. Pendentives at each corner of the auditorium support a wide coved ceiling . The cove is divided into a set of panels with different types of scrolls and floral moldings. The front of the cove, near the sounding board, has a cartouche with putti . There is a flat ceiling surface with a pair of curved triangular panels, as well as a dome with modillions , rosettes , and fruit-and-flower moldings. There
4403-436: The 1930s on, it was a constant struggle for survival" for the Palace, which frequently flipped between film-only, vaudeville/film, and live performance formats. The Palace reverted to a vaudeville-before-film policy on January 7, 1933, two months after it started showing films exclusively. The venue spent the next two years alternating between film-only and vaudeville-before-film formats. For fourteen years beginning in 1935,
4522-541: The 47th Street lots measured 137 by 100 feet (42 by 30 m). This structure was designed by Kirchhoff & Rose, with James J. F. Gavigan as an associate architect. The steelwork was constructed by the George A. Just Company. The office wing was an 11-story or 12-story structure, which served as the theater's main entrance. In the original building's later years, the entrance had a marquee . The office wing had an ornate marble facade, as well as two public elevators and
4641-493: The All State Amusement Corporation to operate the theater. For the Palace to break even , each production would have to gross $ 65,000 a week. The Nederlanders spent $ 500,000 to renovate the venue into a legitimate theater . Many of the decorations that were added after the theater's opening were removed, revealing the original design. Among the decorations uncovered were ironwork, marble balustrades, and
4760-659: The Beast from 1994 to 1999, before it transferred to the Lunt-Fontanne . Aida , which ran from 2000 through 2004, had 1,852 performances. The theater also staged Legally Blonde: The Musical from 2007 to 2008; West Side Story from 2009 to 2011; Priscilla, Queen of the Desert from 2011 to 2012; and Annie from 2012 to 2014. As part of a settlement with the United States Department of Justice in 2014,
4879-719: The Century ran a limited engagement from November 2016 to January 2017, and Sunset Boulevard also had a limited engagement from February to June 2017. In 2015, the Nederlander Organization and Maefield Development announced another renovation in conjunction with the TSX Broadway development. The project would include a new lobby and entrance on 47th Street as well as dressing rooms and other patron amenities. The landmark interior would be raised 30 feet (9.1 m) to accommodate ground-floor retail spaces. The LPC approved
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4998-553: The Combine in trade was formed. The agreement essentially carved up the country into two sections, drawing a line through Cincinnati. The Orpheum Circuit and its leaders were in control of the territory west of the line to the Pacific Coast. They also had control of much of the south from Louisville to New Orleans as well as western Canada. This new arrangement guaranteed the owners territorial rights and prohibited owners from establishing
5117-584: The Keith-Albee circuit was now in control of 51 percent of the Palace’s stock. Beck maintained his 25 percent interest and consented to be the chief booker for the theater. In 1919, twenty-seven small-time Vaudeville theaters located in middle-sized cities in the Midwest joined the Orpheum Circuit. These theaters were operated by Marcus Heiman and Joseph Finn. Meyerfeld retired as the Orpheum’s president in 1920 and Beck
5236-580: The LPC in June 1988 to overturn the landmark designations of 22 theaters, including the Palace, on the merit that the designations severely limited the extent to which the theaters could be modified. The lawsuit was escalated to the New York Supreme Court and the Supreme Court of the United States , but these designations were ultimately upheld in 1992. Meanwhile, the office wing was demolished (except for
5355-511: The Monday afternoon shows were subscription holders. Performing comedians would select "stooges" from the Palace's box seats. The audience members in the right-side first-balcony boxes would generally assist the performers. Throughout vaudeville's heyday, the headliners (usually billed next to the closing act) included: Other performers appearing at the Palace included: The circuit became Keith–Albee–Orpheum in 1925 and it acquired film companies
5474-545: The Nederlanders agreed to improve disabled access at their nine Broadway theaters, including the Palace. Also in early 2014, the orchestra seating was rearranged as part of a $ 200,000 renovation prior to the opening of Holler If Ya Hear Me ; that musical opened in June 2014 and ran for six weeks. An American in Paris , a stage adaptation of the 1951 MGM film , opened in April 2015 for an 18-month run. The Illusionists : Turn of
5593-494: The Orpheum interests and, therefore, would not be used to show vaudeville. Beck subsequently recanted, saying he would use the Palace for vaudeville. In February 1912, Kirchhoff & Rose and Gavigan filed plans with the New York City Department of Buildings for a theater building at Broadway and 47th Street. Due to the truce between Orpheum and Keith–Albee, Edward Albee initially said any vaudeville act that played
5712-521: The Orpheum. It opened in 1898 to a sold out house. Three months after the Kansas City opening, Walter died due to an appendicitis attack. Business for the theaters continued as usual and all contracts held. Meyerfeld was elected as the circuit's new president. In 1899 Meyerfeld persuaded Martin Lehman, owner of the Los Angeles theater, to officially fold his theater into the Orpheum's operation and join him in
5831-458: The Palace right up the street from the Victoria owned by Albee. In addition, Beck decided he wanted to build a new circuit of Orpheum theaters in the east, all of which violated the territorial agreement of the Combine. As early as 1908, rumors of Beck's intention to put Orpheum theaters on the east coast were printed and tensions rose between the eastern and western managers. Each side of the circuit pushed to increase their territories and in 1910,
5950-410: The Palace showed movies almost exclusively. The booking office in the Palace Theatre's office wing moved several blocks away to Radio City Music Hall . There was a brief return to a live revue format in 1936, when Broadway producer Nils Granlund staged a series of variety shows, beginning with "Broadway Heat Wave" featuring female orchestra leader Rita Rio . Among the films shown at the RKO Palace
6069-527: The Palace would not be allowed on the Keith–Albee circuit. Albee demanded that Beck turn over three-quarters ownership to use acts from the Keith–Albee circuit, to which Beck acquiesced. Albee moved the B. F. Keith office to the fifth floor, and the UBO office moved to the office wing as well. Furthermore, Willie Hammerstein held the exclusive franchise to vaudeville performances around Times Square. Because of
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#17329318981696188-402: The Palace. Albee sometimes traded on the performers' desire for this goal by forcing acts to accept smaller profits. To "play the Palace" meant that entertainers had reached the pinnacles of their vaudeville careers. The theater itself was nicknamed the "Valhalla of Vaudeville". Performer Jack Haley wrote: Only a vaudevillian who has trod its stage can really tell you about it ... only
6307-426: The Victoria had played to capacity two days in a row, the Palace had to give out free coupons to half the guests and still struggled to fill the balcony seats. The Palace's first success was the one-act play Miss Civilization, featuring Ethel Barrymore , six weeks after the theater opened. It was only after an appearance by French actress Sarah Bernhardt on May 5, 1913, that the Palace became popular. Except for
6426-588: The WVMA with Meyerfeld as the president and Beck as vice president of this new association. Managers of the Eastern and western wings of the VMA often bickered over issues and goals of their enterprise and so by the end of 1904, the alliance split into two separate booking circuits-the WVMA and EVMA. By 1906 the WVMA included more than 60 theaters. In 1906, negotiations began to create another alliance between Keith's eastern theaters and
6545-464: The WVMA. These meetings were interrupted on April 18, 1906 when a devastating earthquake and fire hit San Francisco and destroyed the Orpheum theater. This disaster caused negotiations between the east and west to temporarily cease. A new Orpheum theater was built and opened in January 1907. In May, negotiations for the new east-west alliance continued until finally, mid-June 1907, an agreement was reached and
6664-522: The Year , opened in 1981 and stayed for two years. The Palace's most successful production in its first two decades was La Cage aux Folles , which opened in 1983 and ran for more than four years. Developer Larry Silverstein had planned to build a skyscraper on the Palace Theater's site since the mid-1980s. Such a development was contingent on his ability to acquire a Bowery Savings Bank branch at
6783-402: The artist's behavior such as drinking, gambling, and cursing as well as any offensive material that was eliminated from their routines during rehearsal. Contracts with artists often included a cancelation clause which allowed managers the power to dismiss an act if the artists did not perform to the manager's satisfaction. The manager's power was absolute and vaudevillians lacked job protection. At
6902-484: The backstage facilities were enlarged. The Palace Theatre's original facade on 47th Street, consisting of rusticated limestone blocks at the first floor and brick on the upper stories, still remained but was not protected as a New York City landmark. The theater's lobby was also not protected as a landmark. During the late 2010s and early 2020s, the DoubleTree/Palace site was redeveloped as part of TSX Broadway,
7021-545: The big-time circuit west of Chicago. In May 1901, Meyerfeld and Beck, along with other big-time Vaudeville theater owners such as Benjamin Franklin Keith and Edward Franklin Albee II who dominated the Eastern Vaudeville Circuit, met to discuss uniting vaudeville theaters nationwide. On May 29, the bylaws and constitution of the Vaudeville Managers Association (VMA) was signed. This organization
7140-477: The birth of a great theatrical tradition." Rather, the public mostly considered its $ 2 admission fees to be expensive. The media widely mocked the opening bill; four days after the Palace opened, Variety magazine printed an article entitled "Palace $ 2 Vaudeville a Joke: Double-Crossing Boomerang". Also problematic was the presence of Hammerstein's Victoria Theatre , a much more successful and established vaudeville venue. The Variety article noted that, while
7259-426: The columns were two concrete-encased steel trusses, measuring 130 feet (40 m) long by 57 feet (17 m) tall and connected by 17 crossbeams. The theater's lobby, as well as the hotel's entrance and some retail shops, were on the ground story. The entrance to the theater was at approximately the same location as in the original building, and the lobby from the old office wing was preserved. The theater lobby
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#17329318981697378-572: The corner of 47th Street and Seventh Avenue, surrounded by the original Palace Theatre building. Even after acquiring that site, he had to wait until after the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) reviewed the theater for city-landmark status in 1987. If the landmark status was approved, Silverstein would have to build around the theater. This was part of the LPC's wide-ranging effort in 1987 to grant landmark status to Broadway theaters. Ultimately, only
7497-532: The depth of the orchestra and contains two staircases about halfway through. The front of the balcony has decorative moldings with classical masks, while its underside contains plaster moldings of ropes. The second balcony contains rope moldings on its underside, which form a rectangular pattern. The front edge of the second balcony's underside contains guilloche moldings interspersed with oak branches, above which are decorative moldings with masks. The second balcony's side walls have decorative pilasters that support
7616-509: The eastern managers purchased controlling interest in Cincinnati, Louisville, and Indianapolis. At the end of 1911, Beck officially obtained a multi-year lease on a large piece of property in Times Square, New York where construction for the Palace Theater began in February 1912. Even though each side denied it, the east-west alliance teetered on the brink of collapse. Additional competition between
7735-611: The finance and business acumen. Meyerfield organized a chain of theaters from the Pacific coast to the Mid-West. The Kansas City Orpheum opened in 1898 but then Gustav Walter died of appendicitis on 9 May. Meyerfield immediately announced that the show would go on and the Orpheum circuit continued to expand with Martin Beck as its general manager. This theatrical biography is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Palace Theatre (New York City) The Palace Theatre
7854-566: The following year. With the Great Depression came a rise in the popularity of film and radio, and vaudeville saw a steep decline. The Paramount Theatre of 1926 and Roxy Theatre of 1927, in particular, were major competitors to the Palace. Many bills were held at the Palace for several consecutive weeks due to their popularity, which turned away subscription holders who wished for more variety; furthermore, many acts demanded increased salaries. After Keith–Albee–Orpheum merged with RCA and
7973-422: The inner lobby with zebra wood and black marble walls. Additionally, aluminum and bronze frames were installed in the outer lobby. The work also included installing doors between the inner and outer lobbies. The renovations were finished in August 1939. Further renovations followed in the early 1940s, when some of the boxes were removed since they did not have a good view of the cinema screen. The RKO Palace
8092-541: The interior was designated as a landmark; a similar status for the exterior was denied. The LPC wrote that the Palace Theatre would be "virtually uncontested" as the most famous Broadway theaters. In late 1987, the theater closed after the last performance of La Cage aux Folles . The New York City Board of Estimate ratified the landmark designation in March 1988. The Nederlanders, the Shuberts , and Jujamcyn collectively sued
8211-406: The line-up was a well-known fully staged production number. It was a spectacle that excited the audience without over-shadowing the following act. The eighth position was the famous headliner-the star position. The entire playbill was built around the star and was the show's high point that was meant to wow the audience and send them home happy. The final act of the night was another "dumb" act such as
8330-466: The lines of English music halls", with events such as ballets, rather than "strict vaudeville". The theater finally opened on March 24, 1913, with headliner Ed Wynn . Tickets cost $ 1.50 for matinees and $ 2.00 for nighttime performances. The screenwriter Marian Spitzer wrote of opening day: "The theatre itself, living up to advance publicity, was spacious, handsome and lavishly decorated in crimson and gold. But nothing happened that afternoon to suggest
8449-485: The lobby ), as were two stories above the auditorium and two ancillary structures. Silverstein developed a 43-story Embassy Suites hotel on the site. The theater received a $ 1.5 million renovation as part of the $ 150 million hotel project. The hotel was completed in September 1990. The Will Rogers Follies opened in the renovated theater on May 1, 1991, running until 1993. The Palace then presented Beauty and
8568-406: The molded ceiling of the lobby. In the basement, workers found a gold vault that was filled with paint cans, as well as crystal chandeliers. The auditorium was outfitted with red decorations and gold-and-cream walls, while the basement was renovated to include a dressing room for the primary performer. Two bars were installed: one in the lobby and one in the basement. The renovations made the Palace
8687-446: The most electric in the nation. After an act played a theater, the manager of that theater would send a report to the booking department. The report would include criticism of the act and measured the audience's response. These reports served as a guide to further booking efforts. Performers careers and futures in the business depended on these reports. The performers often complained that the reports were unfair. Managers also reported on
8806-461: The most important of any given week, with the harshest audience. A failed act would generally be eliminated from the evening shows. Because of the constant rotations of acts, Variety observed in 1914 that the theater was "using up headliners at an alarming rate". At its peak, the Palace's annual profit was $ 500,000, and the average bill was paid $ 12,000. About three-quarters of revenue was from subscriptions, and many patrons who regularly visited
8925-484: The musical Sweet Charity . The production ran at the Palace for 608 performances. The Nederlanders wished to keep the Palace Theatre open even when there was no theatrical engagement. For some time, the Palace showed films and presented concert performances between engagements. Judy Garland's performance in July 1967 was recorded for a live album, Judy Garland at Home at the Palace: Opening Night ; it
9044-405: The only Broadway theater that was actually on Broadway, and, with 1,732 seats, the largest Broadway house. Ralph Alswang oversaw the restoration of the Palace. The Stage magazine printed the Palace Theatre's programs, competing with Playbill magazine, the traditional publisher of stage programs. On January 29, 1966, the Palace opened as a Broadway venue with the original production of
9163-420: The operations of the Orpheum for two years until his own bankruptcy led to Walter being rehired as manager. This time, Walter had the financial backing of Morris Meyerfeld . Meyerfeld became Walter's business partner, investing $ 50,000 as his share. As co-owner, Meyerfeld managed the business and financial aspects of the Orpheum while Walter managed the talent and booking for the theater. As partners they re-opened
9282-404: The opportunity to cut the seven to fifteen act bill to an average of five acts which also saved money. But the Orpheum found it difficult to obtain first-run films since it was not allied with a major motion picture studio. By 1927, the circuit's box office revenue fell and profits stagnated due to competition from movie palaces and production houses. In the east, the Keith-Albee circuit was having
9401-562: The original building was partly demolished and replaced with the DoubleTree Suites Times Square Hotel; the theater was reopened within the DoubleTree in 1991. The DoubleTree Hotel was mostly demolished in 2019 to make way for the TSX Broadway development. As part of this project, the Palace closed again in 2018 and was lifted 30 feet (9.1 m) in early 2022. The renovation was completed in May 2024. The Palace Theatre
9520-570: The performers. However, this never happened. The VMA never abolished their commission and as a result the White Rats lost many of their members and became less powerful. The booking offices of the Orpheum were constantly busy. The halls and elevators would be crowded all day with Vaudeville performers seeking audiences with booking powers. In other rooms booking agents tried to sell the acts they represented. Bookers tried to arrange fast paced playbills showcasing acts which would dovetail together to create
9639-464: The perimeter. At the center of the sounding board, above the stage, is a circular panel depicting a lyre . The orchestra pit is at the front of the orchestra seating level, in front of the proscenium. It dates from a 1965 renovation and contains high walls. The stage is behind the proscenium arch and orchestra pit. The stage historically had a Wurlitzer Opus 303 organ. The orchestra and stage both have stage lifts . The vaudevillian Martin Beck
9758-484: The plan in November 2015, even as many preservationists expressed concern over the idea. The New York City Council approved the plan in June 2018, allowing the redevelopment to progress. The musical SpongeBob SquarePants was the last show to play at the theater prior to the renovation, running from December 2017 to September 2018. Demolition of the existing structure began in late 2019. Platt Byard Dovell White
9877-489: The raised auditorium. In total, the theater was expanded from 40,000 to 80,000 square feet (3,700 to 7,400 m ). The auditorium, which the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) has protected as a city landmark, is the only portion of the original theater that survives. It is placed in a rigid enclosure that is structurally separate from the buildings within which it has been housed. The auditorium has boxes, two balconies above an orchestra level, and
9996-413: The realization that you have been selected to play it. Of all the thousands upon thousands of vaudeville performers in the business, you are there. This was a dream fulfilled; this was the pinnacle of Variety success. A typical bill would have nine acts, who would perform twice a day. The bills were rotated every Monday. Consequently, the Monday matinee was generally considered among vaudevillians to be
10115-404: The rehearsals prior to the show, theater managers were instructed to scrutinize the artist's attire and routines. Anything found to be offensive was asked to be changed or removed. The Orpheum managers went to extreme lengths to not offend their audiences and risk their reputation for wholesome entertainment. As a result, acts were often censored. Gustav Walter (impresario) Gustav Walter
10234-536: The rest of the nation that continuing to attract quality acts was difficult and expensive. By offering more opportunities to perform, Meyerfeld persuaded Walter that they would entice more performers to come to their theater from the east coast and Europe. The next logical city to Meyerfeld was Los Angeles. The pair leased the Grand Opera House and opened the Los Angeles Orpheum to a sold out house in 1894. It
10353-495: The same issues. These similar problems spurred discussions between the two regarding a merger. It was clear that a merger of the circuits would bolster their financial footing and allow them to continue to compete in the changing entertainment industry. In December 1927 an agreement was reached to merge the two circuits into the Keith-Albee-Orpheum circuit (KAO) which was officially incorporated on June 28, 1928. In 1928, KAO
10472-526: The smaller Sullivan-Considine vaudeville chain in 1908 that allowed the Orpheum to book artists in their theaters in Seattle, Spokane, Portland, and Butte. In 1911–1912, the Orpheum acquired theaters in Winnipeg, Calgary, and Edmonton, Canada. Beck wanted to continue to build the Orpheum's influence and power. He became obsessed with opening a large Orpheum theater in New York and started to put plans in place to build
10591-507: The stage. Both balcony levels have curved fronts and cantilever above the orchestra, sloping downward toward the stage. All three levels contain promenades, which have cornices on their ceilings. Staircases behind each promenade connect the three levels of seating. One of the staircases was nicknamed the "Judy Garland staircase" because the actress Judy Garland would use it for surprise entrances. In addition, an elevator connects all three seating levels. The first balcony level extends half
10710-425: The theater had been raised 16 or 17 feet (4.9 or 5.2 m), in March 2022, the lifting process was temporarily paused while the new structural frame was installed. The lifting process was completed on April 5, 2022, though the formal celebration was held the next month. Afterward, the permanent supports under the auditorium were installed. At the time, TSX Broadway was planned to be completed in 2023, though this
10829-429: The theater in 1893 and made the Orpheum the place to go for a night on the town. It was regularly sold out, including standing room. Following their success in San Francisco, Meyerfeld encouraged Walter to open more theaters. Meyerfeld argued that in order to entice more performers to make the journey to perform at their theater, they needed to make the trip worthwhile. San Francisco was so far removed geographically from
10948-461: The two occurred when Percy Williams announced the sale of his eight theaters in 1911. In 1912, an agreement was reached for both circuits to buy the Williams six theaters with the Keith-Albee circuit owning 44 percent and the Orpheum circuit owning an estimated 25 to 43 percent. With this purchase, the Orpheum Circuit now had interests in New York and its surrounding areas and a new territorial agreement
11067-418: The unused air rights above the Palace Theatre to achieve a greater height than would normally be allowed under zoning regulations. The hotel was placed above and around the theater's original auditorium and stage house. The hotel rooms were supported by four steel-and-concrete "super columns", which each measured 145 feet (44 m) tall and were placed to the west and east of the auditorium. Resting on
11186-429: The vaudeville restriction, Werba & Luescher obtained an option on the new theater in mid-1912. Hammerstein initially refused to sell his exclusive vaudeville franchise to Albee, but Hammerstein agreed to a $ 200,000 settlement in May 1913, after the theater had opened. The Palace's programming was still unknown to the public until February 1913, when The New York Times announced the theater would be "something along
11305-525: The western board, including Meyerfeld and Beck. Members of the board would meet weekly to judge performers and book them into houses as well as establishing salaries. All five Orpheum theaters were now a part of VMA. Between 1901 and 1905, the Orpheum had doubled in the size of its holdings to eight theaters with new venues now in New Orleans (1902) and Minneapolis (1904). In 1904, the WCVT was replaced completely by
11424-576: Was a 19th-century German impresario who managed vaudeville theaters in San Francisco and founded the Orpheum Circuit — a chain of vaudeville theaters from the Pacific Coast to the Mid-West. Walter immigrated to the US in 1865. He moved to San Francisco in 1874, where he opened a concert saloon called The Fountain on Kearny Street . He managed the Vienna Gardens on Stockton Street and then opened
11543-463: Was a comedian or singer who were audience favorites. These performers excited audiences even more. The fifth spot was designed to climax and end the first half of the program with a bang. It needed to be a big sensation with a proven ability to enthrall the audience before intermission. After intermission the sixth act was selected to recapture the audience's attention. It was often an amusing speaker, lively musician, or another "dumb" routine. Seventh in
11662-475: Was a competitor of the Orpheum Circuit. Pantages owned theaters in almost every city where the Orpheum had venues and offered quality entertainment for low-admission. To prevent Pantages from signing their performers, the Orpheum resorted to the blacklist. During the years of the VMA, performers were encouraged to book through the association and pay a commission fee. The VMA threatened to blacklist artists who did not use their services. The White Rats organization
11781-407: Was appointed as the new president with Heimanas appointed as the new vice president. The circuit now included forty-five vaudeville theaters in thirty-six cities. Heiman and Beck continuously differed in their opinions over questions of theater building and programing. Beck preferred the big-time traditional model of live vaudeville acts while Heiman wanted smaller theaters that favored the new trend of
11900-477: Was at this point that the pair hired Martin Beck to run the booking operations of the theaters. Beck's goals became to "make the Orpheum circuit bring the highest forms of art within reach of the people with the slimmest purses". This alliance now allowed vaudevillians twenty to forty weeks of performing from Chicago to the Pacific Coast. In 1900, the circuit was incorporated in order to better finance and organize its five theaters. The Orpheum theaters now dominated
12019-430: Was built. The New York Times described the auditorium as " Baroque with Beaux-Arts influences". Many of the original design features were removed over the years and were restored in the 2020s using plaster molds and historical photographs. As of 2024 , the theater has 1,648 seats; prior to its closure in 2018, the auditorium had 1,743 seats. The orchestra level has a raked floor that slopes downward toward
12138-432: Was closed for a $ 60,000 renovation in early 1949. It received new seats and carpets; upgraded acoustic features and stage; and a new ticket booth in the lobby. Beginning in May 1949, under RKO vice president Sol Schwartz, the RKO Palace tried to revive vaudeville with a slate of eight acts before a feature film. Within two months of vaudeville being reintroduced, Schwartz said patronage was "very encouraging". The Palace
12257-495: Was closed for a two-week renovation in October 1951. After the Palace reopened, Judy Garland staged a 19-week comeback at the venue , supported by acts such as Max Bygraves . This was the first occurrence of two-a-day vaudeville at the Palace in nearly 18 years. The Palace also attracted acts including Lauritz Melchior , José Greco , Betty Hutton , Danny Kaye , Dick Shawn , and Phil Spitalny . Garland returned for
12376-599: Was created to eliminate harmful competition. The creation of the VMA centralized the vaudeville empire. Performers were organized and toured along a prearranged route. For the first time, Eastern and Western Circuits were linked in an agreement. The VMA divided the country into two wings — the Western Vaudeville Managers Association (WVMA) and the Eastern Vaudeville Managers Association (EVMA). The Orpheum-WCVT officials were on
12495-434: Was divided into two sections leading into a foyer. Above that was a five-story atrium with some of the hotel's public spaces, which were placed between the beams, and 36 guestroom stories. A 12-foot-wide (3.7 m) emergency exit was preserved on the eastern side of the theater. Within the theater itself, mezzanine restrooms, an air-conditioning system, and an elevator to the second balcony were installed. Furthermore,
12614-463: Was followed the same year by a double bill with Eddie Fisher and Buddy Hackett . Later in 1967, the musical Henry, Sweet Henry had a relatively short run of 80 performances. More successful was George M! , which opened in 1968 and ran over 400 performances. During the 1970s, the Palace hosted live performances from Josephine Baker , Bette Midler , Vikki Carr , Shirley MacLaine , and Diana Ross . The Palace additionally hosted
12733-412: Was formed to fight the VMA and protect performers rights. VMA members, including the Orpheum, viewed this growing organization as a threat and would blacklist any performer who joined the rats. To retaliate, the white rats initiated a series of strikes and walk-outs in 1901. On March 6, 1901 the VMA managers and white rats leaders met to discuss deal. The managers agreed to rescind their commission fee for
12852-399: Was funded by Martin Beck , a vaudeville entrepreneur. The theater has been housed in three buildings over the years. While the interior space dates to the 1913 design by Kirchhoff & Rose, the original theater building was partly demolished in 1988 and the theater space was renovated inside the DoubleTree Suites Times Square Hotel, completed between 1990 and 1991. The DoubleTree Hotel
12971-402: Was hired to redesign the Palace Theatre's interior. The reconstruction was originally estimated to keep the Palace closed until 2021. The renovation was delayed during 2019 because the contractors needed to inspect an adjacent building, but the property's owners did not grant permission for the inspection for over a year. The old 1568 Broadway building was being demolished by early 2020. Work
13090-472: Was itself demolished in 2019 to make way for the TSX Broadway development. The Palace Theatre was originally composed of an office wing along Times Square, as well as the theater wing on 47th Street that contained the auditorium. The original building's site was assembled from ten land lots at 1564–1566 Broadway and 156–170 West 47th Street, which were arranged in an "L" shape. The Broadway lots collectively measured 40 by 80 feet (12 by 24 m), while
13209-528: Was made. Albee used the new Combine agreement to gain control of the Orpheum’s Palace Theater which opened under Beck and the Orpheum's control in 1913. He threatened to take legal action against Meyerfeld and Beck claiming that their ownership of the Palace was a violation of their new territorial agreement. Meyerfeld realized that the partnership with Albee was more important than the Palace and agreed to sell his financial stake. With this transaction
13328-415: Was merged with Joseph P. Kennedy 's Film Booking Offices of America (FBO) film company under the aegis of RCA . The result was Radio-Keith-Orpheum (RKO) which consisted of the former KAO theater chain and a new film studio, Radio Pictures (later called RKO-Radio), one of the major Hollywood studios of the 1930s and 1940s. The smaller Pantages theater circuit owned and operated by Alexander Pantages ,
13447-555: Was now customary for performers to stop in Los Angeles after playing in San Francisco. Walter and Meyerfeld continued to expand their operations by opening more theaters on the road between the Midwestern United States and their Pacific Coast theaters. Due to its railroad connections and thriving economy, Kansas City, Missouri was chosen as their next location. The pair leased the Ninth Street Theatre and renamed it
13566-499: Was only interrupted for three weeks during the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City , as the TSX Broadway project had hotel rooms and was thus classified as an "essential jobsite". Construction of TSX Broadway's superstructure began the next year. The theater also underwent a renovation, which involved restoring the plasterwork and original chandelier, adding sound insulation, and erecting a new box office and new restrooms. The auditorium
13685-439: Was raised starting in January 2022. During the lift, the bottom of the auditorium was cushioned by a 5-foot-thick (1.5 m) layer of concrete, installed by foundation engineer Urban Foundation Engineering. The lift was conducted using 34 hydraulic posts, which were sunk 30 feet (9.1 m) into the ground. The posts consisted of telescoping beams, which moved the auditorium by 0.25 inches (6.4 mm) an hour. After
13804-453: Was the RKO picture Citizen Kane , which had its world premiere at the theater in 1941. In preparation for the 1939 New York World's Fair , RKO began to erect a 40-by-25-foot (12.2 by 7.6 m) marquee in front of the office wing in April 1939. The next month, RKO announced the Palace would be renovated. The alterations included renovating the outer lobby with black-and-white granite walls and
13923-451: Was the operator of the Orpheum Circuit , which in the early 20th century was the dominant vaudeville circuit on the West Coast of the United States . Its East Coast complement was the Keith–Albee circuit, composed of Benjamin Franklin Keith and Edward Albee , who operated venues both by themselves and through their United Booking Office. The Orpheum and Keith–Albee circuits had proposed
14042-411: Was the start of the successful Orpheum Circuit which became a major chain of theatres. Walter overspent on expensive acts from Europe such as Parisian ballet or a Hungarian boys military band. His chronic shortage of money led him the lease the Orpheum to John Cort in 1891. The financial panic of 1893 forced Cort out and Walter returned to manage the Orpheum with Morris Meyerfeld, Jr. providing
14161-438: Was then delayed to the first quarter of 2024. Although the cost of the renovation was estimated in 2022 at $ 50 million, the project ultimately cost $ 80 million. In March 2024, the Nederlander Organization announced that the theater would reopen on May 28, 2024, with a concert residency by Ben Platt . The residency lasted for 18 performances. This was followed by the musical Tammy Faye , which opened in November 2024 and
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