Martin Beck (Al Hirschfeld Theatre)

302 West 45th Street / New York City, NY

The Al Hirschfeld Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 302 West 45th Street in midtown-Manhattan.

Designed by architect G. Albert Lansburgh for vaudeville promoter Martin Beck, the theatre opened as the Martin Beck Theatre
with a production of Madame Pompadour (see program below) on November 11, 1924. It was the only theater in New York
that was owned outright without a mortgage. It was designed to be the most opulent theater of its time, and has dressing rooms
for 200 actors. The theatre has a seating capacity of 1,292 for plays and 1,282 for musicals.

Famous appearances include Basil Rathbone as Romeo to the Juliet of Katharine Cornell in December 1934; Frank Langella in Dracula;
Christina Applegate as the title role in Sweet Charity; David Hyde Pierce as Lt. Coffi in the musical Curtains; Will Swenson in Hair.

On June 21, 2003, it was renamed the Al Hirschfeld Theatre in honor of the caricaturist famous for his drawings of
Broadway celebrities, and reopened on November 23, 2003, with a revival of the musical Wonderful Town.

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