Theater
On January 29, 1966, the Palace reopened as a legitimate theatre with the original production of the musical Sweet Charity, although for a period of time it showed films and presented concert performances by Bette Midler, Liza Minnelli, Josephine Baker, Eddie Fisher, Shirley MacLaine, Diana Ross, Vikki Carr, and the like between theatrical engagements.
In the late 1980s, a towering hotel was built above the theater, cantilevered over the auditorium; today, the theater is practically invisible behind an enormous wall of billboards and under the skyscraper, and only the marquee is visible.
The theatre was the original home to the musical Beauty and the Beast, running over five years before moving to another theatre. A notable tenant and one of the longest running shows was Aida, which ran for over four years, from 2000 through 2004, and 1,852 performances and won four Tony awards. The theatre recently housed Legally Blonde: The Musical, a stage adaptation of the 2001 film, which played its final performance on October 19, 2008. A revival of West Side Story opened on March 19, 2009 and closed on January 2, 2011.
The theatre was home to the musical Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, which closed in June 2012. The Broadway revival of Annie opened at the Palace Theatre on October 3, 2012 in previews and November 8, 2012 officially.
The Palace Theatre is currently owned and operated by the Nederlander Organization and Stewart F. Lane.
Read more about this topic: Palace Theatre (Broadway)
Famous quotes containing the word theater:
“Will TV kill the theater? If the programs I have seen, save for “Kukla, Fran and Ollie,” the ball games and the fights, are any criterion, the theater need not wake up in a cold sweat.”
—Tallulah Bankhead (1903–1968)
“This ... is an age of specialization, and in such an age the repertory theater is an anachronism, a ludicrous anachronism.”
—Minnie Maddern Fiske (1865–1932)
“The primary function of a theater is not to please itself, or even to please its audience. It is to serve talent.”
—Robert Brustein (b. 1927)