Lyric Theatre
213 W. 42nd Street,
New York,
NY
10036
213 W. 42nd Street,
New York,
NY
10036
11 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 107 comments found
It was also showing on Loews showcase all over town.
As late as 1965 the Lyric was still “premiering” motion pictures albeit smutty ones:
Per NY Times 8/12/65: BOB HOPE, get some soap and scrub out that blue humor! “I’ll Take Sweden,” which United Artists opened yesterday at the midtown Lyric Theater, is altogether unworthy of a beloved sunshine man who has cheered millions. The picture is an altogether asinine little romp, laboriously eking out a winding trail of sexual innuendoes, with some pasted-on backgrounds of Sweden and much mad racing in and out of bedrooms. And it couldn’t be duller or more obvious.
The Lyric went back and forth with movies and plays from 1915 to 1925. In the early twenties it spent more time as a cinema than as a playhouse.
So the Lyric wasn’t strictly a playhouse until 1934?
A silent movie with Douglas Fairbanks.
Was the 1922 Robin Hood a movie or a play?
Yes, the new “The Great Gatsby” shows Robin Hood sign on a Broadway or Times Square theater in 1922 and in another thread Al Alvarez replied to my question that it had its local original run here at the Lyric.
Robin Hood?
Looking to contact anybody who may have worked at the Lyric – usher, box office, concession stand, anything – back in the 1970s or 80s… putting together an oral history… thank thanks!
Marquee pictured in this 1929 trade article about the Columbia Theatrephone system: Boxoffice
This undated photo was probably taken around the time in the 1930s that the Lyric switched from legit playhouse to “grind” cinema: nypl
The movie playing in that image posted on January 28 is MONEY FROM HOME with Martin and Lewis. Originally released in 3-D, it opened flat in New York, first at the Paramount and then at Loew’s theaters throughout the five boroughs.
Wow, robboehm, it says right on the ad “Lyric 42nd Street between 7th and 8th” and the telephone number 730-0323. I called that number so many times over the years, it’s like a flashback seeing it again! (And rob, now may be a good time to use the “remove” option on your 4:48pm post!)
Rob. Check the top of the ad. While the 42nd Street Lyric is not listed among the neighborhood houses showing the flick at the bottom of the ad, there is an announcement at the top of the ad for a live appearance by Smokey Robinson at this Lyric Theatre.
Well, the Lyric shown in this ad is in New Jersey. But all these are problematic. In this one they show the Hempstead being in Queens and a Rialto in Riverhead. There never was a Rialto in Riverhead. There was the Capitol which became the Riverhead and the Suffolk. And, while I’m throwing names around, there used to be a Lyric in Oyster Bay which subsequently became the Oyster Bay.
I actually went right for the photo there, too. Original link was just for the thumbnail image.
Here it is.
You put the “here it is” in square brackets [ ] and put the link itself in parentheses immediately following the close bracket (with no space).
This Lyric is mentioned in the same newspaper ad as the one currently displayed at the listing for the RKO Alden Theatre for “Big Time.” The movie was apparently playing there, though the nearby National is the only theatre listed for Manhattan. Simultaneous 42nd Street bookings usually went unlisted in the press to “protect” mainstream midtown theatres from losing customers. The Lyric also had stage facilities for a personal appearance, while the National did not.
And, unfortunately, they took most of their links with them.
LostMemory and Warren G. Harris both stopped posting in 2009. Where’d they go? They added so much to this site.
Here’s a link to a partial view of the Lyric’s original auditorium with two balconies: ibdb
Great picture, Soren. As were the other Times Square photos on his website. I’m already trying to figure out what was playing at the Lyric. Looked like Dean Martin in a still.
My grandfather took this picture of a woman working in the ticket booth of the Lyric in 1954.
View link
Hare are exterior views from 1956 of all the cinemas on the north side of West 42nd Street between Eighth Avenue and Broadway/Seventh Avenue: View link
The former Ford Center for the Performing Arts / Hilton Theatre will be renamed soon “The Foxwoods Theatre. Foxwoods Resorts Casino has won the naming rights to the theatre.