New Amsterdam Theatre
214 West 42nd Street,
New York,
NY
10036
214 West 42nd Street,
New York,
NY
10036
19 people
favorited this theater
The New Amsterdam Theatre was opened as a live theatre on October 26, 1903 with a production of Shakspeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. The theatre was the first to be designed by the young architects Herts & Tallant, who had just returned to New York from a trip to Paris France, where they had seen examples of the ‘new’ Art Nouveau style, and they incorporated this in the design of the theatre. The New Amsterdam Theatre is a rare example of this style in the United States, and here it is certainly one of the most scrumptious examples of the style. The building also contained the 680-seat Ariel Gardens Rooftop Theatre which opened in June 1904 with Fay Templeton in “A Little Bit of Everything”, a musical revue.
The main house became well known as a venue for the lavish “Zeigfeld Follies” from 1913 to 1927, featuring stars such as Ruby Keeler, Fred & Adele Astaire, Al Jolson, Fanny Brice, Marilyn Miller, Eddie Cantor, the Dolly Sisters, W.C. Fields and Helen Morgan. The New Amsterdam Theatre was closed as a live theatre in January 1937, with John Houston in Shakepeare’s “Othello”
It reopened as a 2nd run movie theatre in June 1937, with the Warner Bros. all star movie “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. An Art Moderne style sign was designed for the front of the theatre by noted architect John Eberson. The Ariel Gardens Rooftop Theatre was renamed Frolic Theatre and was closed on November 16, 1943 with Jim Bowles in the play “Goodbye Again”. It was converted into a rehearsal space and later a television studio, which was closed in spring of 1982, and still awaits restoration.
The New Amsterdam Theatre was closed as a movie theatre in 1985. It was purchased by the Nederlander Organization, who hoped to restore the building back to live use, but neither the 42nd Street area it was set in, nor the the time was right, and the entire building gradually began a downward spiral of dilapidation.
Purchased and restored by the Walt Disney Company in 1995-97, the New Amsterdam Theatre was the centerpiece of the Times Square renewal of the 1990’s. Though the interior had become a wreck, no expense was spared in restoring all of the Art Nouveau details. The Art Moderne sign on the facade was retained as a very interesting attribute to the theatre. Because the New Amsterdam Theatre reopened as a flagship showplace for Disney’s live shows, so much redevelopment occurred in Times Square that after a lull of decades, the area once again became crowded with pedestrians and an entertainment and commercial hub for the city.
Beautifully restored, the New Amsterdam Theatre is now Disney’s premiere showcase for its stage shows. It reopened on May 18, 1997 with a concert “King David”. In a nod to its cinema heritage, the New Amsterdam Theatre screened Disney’s animated feature “Hercules” in June 1997.
After being presented for years, the stage version of the “The Lion King” was succeeded on November 16, 2006 by the stage version of “Mary Poppins” which originated at the Prince Edward Theatre in London, England.
Contributed by
Ken Roe
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Recent comments (view all 274 comments)
i am confused now. i had read in a book on the 12 theaters that
once graced 42 St. between 7th and 8th Avenues that the auditorium
of the Liberty was closed up and located behind Madame Tussuad’s Wax Museum. now as you directed i looked up the listing for the
Candler Theater better known as the Harris. if i understood it
correctly the Harris Theater was torn down to build Madame Tussuad’s. but i thought the Candler/Harris Theater was in back
of the Candler Building not adjacent to it. i don’t see how the
Liberty auditorium could have been right behind the Candler/Harris
auditorium.
Let me try that again.
View link
i thank AlAlvarez for posting the street chart as to the situation
of which theaters were where. but it only prompts another question
on my part. so here goes. the Lew Fields/Anco Theater and the American were torn down, the Eltinge/Empire never went back to
41 St.,the Liberty auditorium is closed up,the New Amsterdam is
alive and well which leaves the Candler/Harris. now from the chart
the entrance/lobby of the theater ran alongside the Candler building and the body of the theater the auditorium was actually on
41 St. so when Madame Tussuad’s was built they completely torn
down not only the entrance/lobby area but the auditorium as well?
The Harris was completely torn down and replaced by a new building. If you google map that stretch of West 41st Street, you can clearly see the old rear facade of the Liberty as well as the New Amesterdam (with its two sets of fire-escapes running all the way to the old roof-top theater space). Between these two is an entirely new green-colored structure that is nearly completely windowless. This is where the auditorium would have been.
Took the kids to see Mary Poppins last May and snapped a few shots that I added to my New Amsterdam Theatre photobucket album.
Some of the shots are overviews that we’ve seen before – the balcony boxes, lower lobby lounge – but I tried to concentrate on some other details as well to mix it up a little.
That link should take you to the first new pic in the series. Just click “Next” to see the rest of them. I think there are 21 images from that day. The complete album has 57 images – most of which I either posted here already or purloined from this site.
If you click on the image once, it will enlarge it to full size. Click on it again and it will go back to the original size that opened. I don’t know when they added the concession stand to the lower lobby lounge – there are photos of this room by Ken Roe back in 2006, I believe, where the fireplace is unobstructed by any concessions.
Just checked â€" that photo of the fireplace in the lower lobby lounge from Ken Roe was taken in 1997 right after renovations. The image was re-posted above by HowardBHaas on Jan 4, 2008.
Ed, what theatre was where Mickey D is..good use of marquee..
The McDonald’s marquee was built entirely new for the franchise over the main entrance to the Candler Building within the last 15 years. There was never a movie entrance at that exact spot. The Harris Theater had it’s entrance and marquee just to the right of where the McD’s entrance is today.
was the Harris/Candler Theater torn down because it was in
such condition that it was unrepairable or because no one wanted
to spend the time and money to properly renovate it as they did with the New Amsterdam?
Bigjoe59… The Harris was in fine condition. It was the longest surviving of the original theaters on the block, showing movies several years into the ‘90’s. I guess it was deemed insignificant compared to the six other houses that were “protected” by the New 42nd Street organization. We see where that has gotten the Liberty and Times Square Theatres.