New Amsterdam Theatre
214 W. 42nd Street,
New York,
NY
10036
214 W. 42nd Street,
New York,
NY
10036
23 people
favorited this theater
Showing 151 - 175 of 232 comments
I believe Disney is putting Mary Popins into the New Amsterdam.
The Lion King has officially left the New Amsterdam. It is now playing (starting June 13th) at the Minskoff Theater.
I have read that 42nd street theatres in the seventies grossed as much as the rest of Manhattan put together. Based on the concept of an economy of businesses that pays its own way, these crap houses with their exploitation, sexploitation and blaxploitation certainly appeared to accomplish an economic success model. No matter what one feels about crack whores, the Shuberts, crooked politicians, pimps, Disney, the police, male hustlers, the Brandts or Popeye’s Chicken – 42nd Street may have been the first true experiment in undisturbed capitalism. It should have been preserved and studied.
For the Hollywood version, see IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE, not ILSA, SHE WOLF OF THE SS.
I saw Connie Stevens and Vincent Price in “Two on a Gillotine” plus another picture here in the 1950’s. The New Amsterdam charged the highest price on 42nd Street, 99c at night (compared to $1.80 to $2.00 at Radio City, Rivoli, and other Broadway first run houses.) Like all New York theatres, patrons could smoke in the balcony. (Yeegads!). The theatre was run-down then, but plenty of moviegoers always. Shows ran from about 8 AM continuous to about 4:30 AM.
Don’t let anybody tell you TV closed down the 42nd Street theatres, or the beautiful movie palaces on Broadway. It was bad government, and New Yorkers' blind determination to re-elect bad government at every opportunity. If drug sellers, pimps and prostitutes take over a neighborhood and are not interfered with by the legal system, then family entertainment dies. They had crack whores by the dozens on Broadway and 7th Avenue in the Times Square area in the 1970’s and not even police-in-pairs entered 42nd Street in those days. It was New York’s choice to let their beautiful city go straight to hell back then. New York lost 20% of its population and literally went bankrupt, to be bailed out by loans from Uncle Sam. Happily New York came to their senses and cleaned up their act —– but the loss of virtually every great movie palace was part of the price of their insane foolishness.
Yes. And Lee Major’s film career really took off after that, didn’t it? Remember “The Norsemen”, the ridiculous Viking epic he starred in with Mel Ferrer and an aging Cornel Wilde? I also seem to recall some sort of horrible killer piranha movie he was in around this same time. I guess they made for a few decent paychecks between the end of “Six Million Dollar Man” and the beginning of “The Fall Guy”!
I remember STEEL as one of those “so bad, it is good” films. It is the story of construction workers putting up a high rise and fighting all kinds of silly problems, personal or otherwise. The soundtrack treated the climax as if it was a ROCKY type triumph with a lot of whoppin' and hollerin'. A real redneck saga from the “who cares?” genre.
Double feature ad from the Daily News (12/12/80) listing the New Amsterdam as well as the RKO Cinerama and a number of neighborhood grinds:
Steel/The Children
Of course, all three Manhattan theaters opted for a different 2nd feature. I saw this pairing as advertised either at the RKO Lawrence or the Studio 1 in Lynbrook.
Below are a few shots I took in 1993 of the New Amsterdam facade and entrance. It appeared at the time that some work was going on within, as one of the doors was ajar and some lighting and light construction equipment could be seen down the outer lobby hall.
The front door
Marquee and blade sign
New Amsterdam and Cine 42
I think its interesting to compare that first shot of the theater entrance with the somewhat wider angle view of the same area (from almost the same vantage point) taken some 30-plus years earlier that Warren posted a while back:
Exploitation Mania
Had to reorganize my photobucket account so the link to the photo I posted above has changed. A couple of recent night shots of the New Amsterdam marquee can now be found here.
Look at this great ad for the neighborhood run of “Glenn Miller Story”. I wonder if the first show was at 5:30 pm on the opening day at all the theatres or it was just a catch line.
View link
Actually, I loved the strip during those days! I’ve always had mixed feelings about the redevelopment of 42nd Street. Here’s a quote from that page:
“Mid-block off 42nd Street are nine(9) historic theaters. These turn-of-the-century architectural treasures are being restored to their original grandeur. Repertory, non-profit and legitimate theatre productions will be presented. Disney is a major theater player in the area.”
If only that had been the case. Only the New Amsterdam, Victory and Selwyn theaters were restored to their “original granduer” in the end. The Lyric and Apollo were dismantled with certain elements incorporated into the new now-named Hilton Theater, the Times Square is going retail, the Liberty is sitting there waiting for lord knows what, the Empire is a multiplex lobby, the Rialto, Harris and Anco have been pounded to dust. Hmmm. That’s 10 theaters. I assume they didn’t mean to include the Rialto in the counting. Still, only 3 of the 9 were eventually restored to original purposes.
I guess the more I think about it, the more I understand that there is a part of me that is happy that at least one bit of that dirty ole street still stands tall and proud over the entrance to the New Amsterdam.
Here’s some great photos of the Empire in the “old 42nd St” from the 70’s and 80’s. I really don’t think I’d want to go back to that:
http://www.digeronimopa.com/projects/42nd.htm
I suppose I can see both sides of this debate. As an architecture buff, I would have loved to have seen the original ornate facade restored to its 1903 appointments, but as a movie theater fan I have to admire the retention of the marquee and blade. With the restoration of the Victory and Lyric, the new Selwyn/American Airlines entrance, the conversion of the Times Square Theater to retail space, the flashy AMC marquee on the relocated Empire facade and the loss of the Harris, Liberty, Rialto and Anco facades, the New Amsterdam presents us with the only remaining physical vestige of the Duece’s good old bad old grind house days. I still think it is at odds with the splendor that exists within, but I can live with and appreciate it for what it is.
And the New Victory facade dull? The reproduction of that magnificent torchiered exterior staircase is a vast improvement on the plain facade and boxy marquee that had replaced the original entrance all those years ago. There’s enough color on the block with Madam Toussad’s, McDonald’s “marquee” and the battling AMC and Loews marquees at the western end of the block.
Meanwhile, the Ecko Unlimited conversion of the old Times Square Theater is still ongoing. As of last Friday night, the building remains obscured behind construction netting and a plywood shed. No word on when the store will be opened, other than the “early 2006” announcements made a year ago.
I love the exterior. All the flashiness and lights and that big vertical sign. Even though it is again a playhouse, I am glad they kept the cinema’s extravagant signage. We don’t have much of that left in New York, and I appreciate it every time I walk by. It’s an eye-popping throwback to a time I miss. While I admire the authenticity of the Victory and Lyric’s exterior, they are just a bit dull.
Disney doesn’t do anything small, so I don’t really know if “counting it’s pennies” would be what is the problem here. Look at the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood, and what they invested in that.
They invested so much on the interior of the New Amsterdam, it just boggles my mind that it would just be “cheapness” that would stop them from doing the exterior. It has to be something more.
I’m assuming that $$ was the deciding factor, not paying tribute to its cinema days. Replacing an ugly modern marquee with something more appropriate is outrageously expensive by itself…..redoing the facade entirely is very expensive….and Disney is well known for counting their pennies. What would be nice is, now that the theatre is reopened and an obvious success, that a further restoration be done for the facade. But I wouldn’t be surprised if it would be complicated by landmark law….even though it looks stupid in tandem with the interior, but it does qualify as an “historic” exterior.
I agree Ed. The theater was a movie house for most of it’s life, but it’s interior was the interior it has now. I just don’t feel the 1930’s exterior is appropriate considering what the interior is like. The restored the theater to it’s original design, and that should have included the exterior too.
As for a tribute to the former days of cinema, that’s all well and good too, however, let’s think of a legit theater (take your pick) that was multiplexed, and it spend most of it’s life in that multiplexed form showing movies. Then it closes, and it comes time to renovate the theater. Just because for most of it’s life it was multiplexed, would that mean you don’t restore it to it’s former glory, and just leave let’s say the balcony walled off or something, just because that’s a “tribute” to the cinema days?
I feel that’s the same situation here. Why not restore the theater to it’s ORIGINAL glory, even if it spent most of it’s life with it’s bland plain, cinema exterior?
One of the big decisions in preservation is what “date” to do a restoration to, and one of the things that complicates it is more recent alterations are part of the history of the building. I’m not familiar with NYC’s landmark laws, but I would not be surprised if there would have been restrictions, or at least complications, on restoring the original facade, since it was landmarked with this one.
I agree, Bway. The interior is magnificent 1903 Art Nouveau opulence and the exterior is 1930’s grind-house honky tonk. I suppose the Art Moderne blade and clock have their charms (and reminds me of the tawdry 42nd Street I knew and loved from the 80’s), but its certainly an extreme clash of architectural styles. A restoration of the original facade would have been much more appropriate and a nice compliment to the restored Lyric and New Victory facades across the street.
What I always wondered is why since Disney spend such a fortune on beautifully restoring the interior of this theater, that they left the remuddled exterior as it was. Why didn’t they restore the exterior fascade to the way it was built since they did so much of that on the interior? Why would they leave this exterior?
Yes… hdtv267 has the correct information about The Lion King’s closing and re-opening dates. Mary Poppins begins previews at the New Amsterdam on October 14th with an opening night of November 16th.
Gypsy Rose Lee might have never played the New Amsterdam, but she did play across the street in burlesque at the old Victory Theater when it was known as the Republic. I visit the renovated and rechristened New Victory several times a year with my kids and was there this past Friday when I snapped this nighttime photo of the New Amsterdam’s illuminated marquee and blade sign:
View link
So, The Lion King moves from a fabulously ornate and historic 1903 gem to a cold, utilitarian, modernist 1970’s house. Quite an extreme move, in terms of architecture and ambience.
I received this in my company e-mail – I thought it would be nice to share. A GREAT opportunity to get what APPEARS to be a FREE peak at this theatre! (I would call to confirm eligibility to attend – corporate affiliation may be required – this looks like a promotion to push group sales to companies)
Date: Tuesday, February 21 2006 12:54 pm
From: Joe Tropia <>
Subject: A Special Look at MARY POPPINS
You are invited to a special behind the scenes look at the newest production from Disney Theatrical and Cameron Mackintosh.
Tuesday, February 28th, 2006
5:30 p.m. at the New Amsterdam Theatre
The event is general admission seating and will last approximately one hour!
Her carpet bag is packed, her umbrella is unfurled, and come the fall, MARY POPPINS takes up residence at Broadway’s magnificent New Amsterdam Theatre. Based on P.L. Travers' cherished stories and the classic 1964 Walt Disney film, MARY POPPINS – currently one of London’s biggest sensations – features the Sherman brothers' original Academy Award-winning songs, and OliverAward-winning director Richard Eyre leads a dream team of vision and stagecraft, bringing to life the story of the Banks family and their magical nanny.
MARY POPPINS marks the first collaboration between Disney, producer of the acclaimed THE LION KING, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, and TARZAN®, and Cameron Mackintosh, legendary producer of the record-breaking THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, CATS and LES MISÉRABLES. The result is a new musical so extraordinarily enchanting that you’ll have just one word for it: “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!”
GROUPS ARE NOW ON SALE for what is certain to be one of the hottest tickets of 2006! Special Early Bird Discounts are available for groups (minimum 15 persons) booked and paid prior to May 5th, featuring Orchestra and Front Mezzanine seats for $88.00 and Balcony seats as low as $20.00 and $32.00 for most performances! Call us today or visit us on the web for more details! Previews begin October 14th toward an opening night of November 16th!
Please fill out the following information and either
e-mail to or fax to 212-541-4892:
NAME:
COMPANY:
MAILING ADDRESS:
PHONE NUMBER:
FAX NUMBER:
E-MAIL ADDRESS:
NUMBER OF TICKETS: 1 or 2
All information must be filled out for your request to be processed! Tickets will be mailed in advance! Seating is limited and all requests will be filled on a first-come/first-served basis!
All requests must be submitted no later than Friday, February 24th. Confirmations will be sent shortly thereafter. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns. Thanks!
Best,
Joe Tropia
Sales & Marketing Coordinator
Broadway.com/Theatre Direct
1650 Broadway, 9th Floor
New York, NY 10019
1.800.BROADWAY
212.541.8457 x177 direct
212.541.4892 fax
“The Lion King” is still at the New Amsterdam. Disney announced the move to the Minskoff a few months ago. My recollection is that the move will take place in early summer. “Mary Poppins” opens at the New Amsterdam in November.
Is the Lion King still playing at the New Amsterdam? I heard it may be moving to another theater, but don’t know if it did or not.
Alto, in the 30s The New Amsterdam was home to the Ziegfeld Follies where Gypsy Rose Lee appeared. jerry