Cort Theatre
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The Cort Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 138 West 48th Street in midtown-Manhattan. The Shubert Organization purchased the theatre in 1927, two years before Cort's death.[1]
John Cort, founder of the Northwestern Theatrical Association,[2] commissioned architect Thomas W. Lamb to design the theater. Its whose façade was modeled on the Petit Trianon in Versailles. The resulting 1082-seat Cort Theater is the only Lamb theater still extant and functioning as a legitimate theater. The interior was designed in the style of the era of Louis XVI, with a Pavanozza marble lobby with plasterwork panels. The arch of the proscenium stage consists of perforated plaster treated with art glass, and was designed to be lit during performances. The arch still exists as of 2007, although the lighting feature is no longer in operation. The Shubert Organization acquired the theater in 1927.[1]
It opened on December 20 1912 with Laurette Taylor starring in the play Peg o' My Heart, which ran for 603 performance, an auspicious start for the new venue.[1] Numerous famous British actors have appeared at the Cort: Basil Rathbone played Dr. Nicholas Agi in The Swan in October 1923, and in April 1927 appeared as Vladimir Dubriski in Love is Like That. In October 1924 Henry Daniell appeared as Aubrey Tanqueray in The Second Mrs Tanqueray, was there again in August 1943 in Murder Without Crime, and in January 1946 appeared as Leontes in The Winter's Tale.
The theatre was used as a television studio housing The Merv Griffin Show from 1969-72.
[edit] Notable productions
- 1932: The Blue Bird
- 1937: Room Service
- 1954: The Rainmaker
- 1955: The Diary of Anne Frank
- 1958: Sunrise at Campobello
- 1960: Once Upon a Mattress
- 1961: Purlie Victorious
- 1963: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
- 1974: The Magic Show
- 1985: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
- 1999: Kat and the Kings
- 2002: Hollywood Arms
- 2005: On Golden Pond
- 2006: Barefoot in the Park
- 2007: The Little Dog Laughed
- 2007: Radio Golf
- 2007–2008: The Homecoming
[edit] References
- Who's Who in the Theatre, edited by John Parker, tenth edition, revised, London, 1947, pps: 477-478 and 1184.
[edit] External links
Broadway theatres | |
|---|---|
| Shubert | Ambassador Theatre · Ethel Barrymore Theatre · Belasco Theatre · Booth Theatre · Broadhurst Theatre · Broadway Theatre · Cort Theatre · John Golden Theatre · Imperial Theatre · Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre · Longacre Theatre · Lyceum Theatre · Majestic Theatre · Music Box Theatre · Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre · Shubert Theatre · Winter Garden Theatre |
| Nederlander | Brooks Atkinson Theatre · George Gershwin Theatre · Lunt-Fontanne Theatre · Marquis Theatre · Minskoff Theatre · Nederlander Theatre · Neil Simon Theatre · Palace Theatre · Richard Rodgers Theatre |
| Jujamcyn | Al Hirschfeld Theatre · Walter Kerr Theatre · Eugene O'Neill Theatre · St. James Theatre · August Wilson Theatre |
| Roundabout | American Airlines Theatre · Studio 54 |
| Other | Vivian Beaumont Theatre (owned by LCT) · Biltmore Theatre (owned by MTC) · Circle in the Square Theatre (independent) · Helen Hayes Theatre (independent) · Hilton Theatre (owned by Clear Channel) · New Amsterdam Theatre (leased by Disney) |
| Active but no longer Broadway houses | City Center of Music and Drama · Hammerstein's Theatre/Manhattan Theatre · Hudson Theatre · New Victory Theatre · Manhattan Opera House |
| Defunct and/or Demolished | 39th Street Theatre · 44th Street Theatre · 48th Street Theatre · 49th Street Theatre · 52nd Street Theatre · Adelphi Theatre · American Theatre · Apollo Theatre · Astor Theatre · Bandbox Theatre · Belmont Theatre · Berkeley Lyceum Theatre · Bijou Theatre · Broadway Theatre (41st St.) · Casino Theatre · Center Theatre · Central Theatre · Century Theatre (46th St.) · Century Theatre (62nd St.) · Circle Theatre · Cosmopolitan Theatre · Criterion Theatre · Daly's Theatre (30th St.) · Daly's 63rd Street Theatre · Earl Carroll Theatre · Edison Theatre · Eltinge Theatre · Empire Theatre · Fifth Avenue Theatre · Frolic Theatre · Fulton Theatre · Gaiety Theatre · Garrick Theatre · George M. Cohan's Theatre · Hampden's Theatre/Harkness Theatre · Henry Miller's Theatre · Herald Square Theatre · Hippodrome Theatre · Jardin de Paris · John Golden Theatre/Cort's 58th Street Theatre · Klaw Theatre/Avon Theatre · Knickerbocker Theatre · Latin Quarter · Liberty Theatre · Lincoln Square Theatre · Manhattan Theatre (33rd St.) · Mark Hellinger Theatre · Maxine Elliott's Theatre · Mayfair Theatre (44th St.) · Mayfair Theatre (46th St.) · Mercury Theatre · Morosco Theatre · New Century Theatre · New York Theatre (44th St.) · Nora Bayes Theatre · Olympia Theatre · Playhouse Theatre · Playhouse Theatre (6th Ave.) · President Theatre · Princess Theatre (29th St.) · Princess Theatre (39th St.) · Proctor's Theatre · Punch and Judy Theatre/Charles Hopkins Theatre · Rialto Theatre · Sam H. Harris Theatre · Savoy Theatre · Star Theatre · Theatre Republic · Times Square Theatre · Vanderbilt Theatre · Victoria Theatre · Waldorf Theatre · Wallack's Theatre/Harris Theatre · Wallack's Theatre/Palmer's Theatre · Wallack's Lyceum Theatre · Waverley Theatre · Winter Garden Theatre (Jenny Lind Hall) · Ziegfeld Theatre |
