Маджестик Театр на Бродвее: Архитектура и История

Broadway theater in Manhattan, New York
the Majestic Theatre on 44th Street, which is a Broadway theater

The Majestic Theatre was designed by Herbert J. Krapp in a Spanish style and constructed from 1926 to 1927 for the Chanin brothers. It was part of an entertainment complex along with the Lincoln Hotel and the Masque and Royale theaters, which Krapp also designed in a Spanish style. The Majestic was designed to be the largest theater in that complex, initially with about 1,800 seats. The Majestic is operated by the Shubert Organization.

The facade contains two asymmetrical sections. The western section is wider and contains the auditorium entrance. The eastern section, which contains the stage house, is narrower and taller than the western section. In both sections, the ground floor is clad in rusticated blocks of terracotta, and the upper stories contain gold colored, bonded Roman brick. The entrance is topped by a cast iron marquee. Above that is a sign advertising the production at the theater. Additional doors lead from the stage house portion of the facade. A wide ovolo band runs above the base. Near the top of the auditorium facade are false balconettes, which consist of corbels supporting ornamental terracotta railings. The parapet of the auditorium facade contains a terracotta coping. The central part of the pediment has an ornamental finial, The auditorium's orchestra level and balcony are both accessed from the same lobby. This layout was part of an effort by Irwin Chanin, one of the developers, to "democratize" the seating arrangement of the theater. For a similar reason, the Majestic was designed with a single balcony rather than the typical two since Chanin had perceived the second balcony to be distant. However, the interior of the Majestic was designed in a different style than that of the exterior. By comparison, the interiors of the neighboring Royale and Masque were continuations of the "modern Spanish" facades of these theaters.

The ticket lobby, accessed from the western section of the theater building, contains three double doors that lead north to the entrance foyer. The entrance foyer is rectangular in plan and extends through the depth of the theater. The mezzanine, one story above the entrance foyer, contains a hallway surrounding the auditorium. The balcony staircase contains wrought iron railings and lighting sconces on the walls. The balcony staircase contains walls with alternating molded and flower/urn panels, and there are Corinthian style capitals above the flower/urn panels. The ceiling of the staircase consists of a half dome with vine and cameo panels. while according to The Broadway League, there are 1,645 seats. The discrepancy arises from the fact that there are 1,645 physical seats and 36 standing only spots. The physical seats are divided into 885 seats in the orchestra, 292 at the front of the balcony, 436 at the rear, and 32 in the boxes. There are brass wall sconces on the orchestra walls. The rearmost row in the orchestra's rear section has a decorative iron rail behind it, and another iron railing wraps around the front and sides. A sounding board curves onto the ceiling above the proscenium arch. The sounding board has a considerably sized elliptical relief of the goddess Venus in the center. On either side of the oval panel are curved panels with latticework and decorated perimeters. During the 1900s and 1910s, many theaters in Midtown Manhattan were developed by the Shubert brothers, one of the major theatrical syndicates of the time. The Chanin brothers developed another grouping of theaters in the mid 1920s. Though the Chanins largely specialized in real estate rather than theaters, Irwin Chanin had become interested in theater when he was an impoverished student at the Cooper Union. He subsequently recalled that he had been "humiliated" by having to use a separate door whenever he bought cheap seats in an upper balcony level. By October 1926, the Chanins had decided to construct and operate a theatrical franchise "in New York and half a dozen other large cities in the United States". Herbert Krapp had already designed the 46th Street, Biltmore, and Mansfield theaters for the Chanins in 1925 and 1926.

The Chanin brothers had acquired the Klaman site in May 1925. The Chanins planned to build a hotel on Eighth Avenue and three theaters on the side streets. The brownstones on the site were razed starting in May, That July, the Chanin brothers received a $7.5 million loan for the four developments from S. W. Straus & Co. Irwin Chanin launched a competition the same month, asking the public to suggest names for the three theaters. The names of the three theaters were announced in December 1926. The large theater became the Majestic; the mid sized theater, the Royale; and the small theater, the Masque. The following month, the Chanins gave A. L. Erlanger exclusive control over bookings at the three new theaters and their five existing houses. The Majestic Theatre opened on March 28, 1927, with the musical Rufus LeMaire's Affairs. The Majestic was the third and last theater to open in the Chanin development. The opening of the Majestic, Masque, and Royale signified the westward extension of the traditional Broadway theater district, as well as an expansion of the Chanins' theatrical developments. Each of the Chanin theaters was intended for a different purpose: the 1,800 seat Majestic for "revues and light operas", the 1,200 seat Royale for "musical comedies", and the 800 seat Masque for "intimate" plays. Rufus LeMaire's Affairs was a flop, closing after 56 performances. Later in 1927, the Majestic hosted the Black revue Rang Tang and a premiere of Love Call. In its early years, the Majestic hosted several original productions that flopped, as well as more successful productions that were transferred from elsewhere. For example, notable original failures in 1928 included The Patriot with John Gielgud, running 12 performances, and The Big Fight with boxer Jack Dempsey, running 31 performances. By contrast, successful transfers of that year included Behold the Bridegroom, which had 88 total performances, and Rio Rita, which had nearly 600 total performances. In exchange, the Shuberts sold a parcel of land on the Upper West Side to the Chanins,

After acquiring the Majestic in 1929, the Shuberts staged the revue Pleasure Bound, choreographed by Busby Berkeley, The Majestic hosted several operettas in the early 1930s. Lew Leslie's International Revue with Gertrude Lawrence, Harry Richman, and Jack Pearl opened in 1930 at the then exorbitant cost of $200,000, but it closed after only three months. The Majestic also hosted Artists and Models, The Student Prince flopped in 1931, and a transfer of Earl Carroll's Murder at the Vanities. The following year, impresario S. M. Chartock presented a season of Gilbert and Sullivan works, with a rotation of five productions. The Shuberts were experiencing financial problems by then, and following a foreclosure proceeding, the Shuberts leased the Majestic and Masque in September 1934. The Moscow Art Players performed eight Russian plays in repertory Otherwise, most of the Majestic's productions in 1935 were failures, except for Earl Carroll's Sketchbook. The Broadway theater industry declined during the Great Depression, and the Majestic, Masque, and Royale were auctioned in November 1936 to satisfy a $2 million mortgage against the theaters. A representative of the Shubert family bought the rights to operate the theaters for $700,000, but the Bankers Securities Corporation retained a half interest. In 1937, the Majestic saw little success with revivals of The Bat The musical Stars in Your Eyes premiered at the Majestic in 1939, followed by a longer run of Yokel Boy the same year. Long running transfers from other theaters continued into the next decade, including Margin for Error in 1940 This was followed in 1943 by yet another long running transfer, Junior Miss, The first of these, Carousel, opened in 1945 and ran 890 performances, Rodgers and Hammerstein's Allegro also opened in 1947 running 315 performances

The Majestic hosted numerous long running musicals for the rest of the 1950s, though these were met with varying reception. By the Beautiful Sea, starring Shirley Booth, was moderately received upon its opening in 1954, staging 268 performances. ultimately running 888 times. and ultimately ran 1,375 performances. Despite initial setbacks, Camelot eventually ended with 873 performances. In 1963 alone, these included Hot Spot, featuring Judy Holliday's last Broadway appearance; This was followed in 1964 by Anyone Can Whistle with Lee Remick, Angela Lansbury, and Harry Guardino, A transfer of the hit Funny Girl was staged at the Majestic in 1966, managed only 65 performances in 1974. After The Wiz was transferred, Liza Minnelli starred in The Act in 1977. The Majestic hosted several relatively short runs in the late 1970s and early 1980s. First Monday in October opened in 1978, featuring Henry Fonda and Jane Alexander, and the Michael Bennett musical Ballroom opened the same year. Opening in 1979 was I Remember Mama, which was both Richard Rodgers's last composition and Liv Ullmann's Broadway debut. as well as Bette Midler's solo show Bette! Divine Madness. In 1980, the long running musical Grease was presented at the Majestic for the last five weeks of its run, and a moderately successful revival of Brigadoon. with discussions continuing over the next several years. The LPC designated the Majestic's facade and interior as a landmark on December 8, 1987. This was part of the LPC's wide ranging effort in 1987 to grant landmark status to Broadway theaters. The New York City Board of Estimate ratified the designations in March 1988. The Shuberts, the Nederlanders, and Jujamcyn collectively sued the LPC in June 1988 to overturn the landmark designations of 22 theaters, including the Majestic, on the merit that the designations severely limited the extent to which the theaters could be modified. The lawsuit was escalated to the New York Supreme Court and the Supreme Court of the United States, but these designations were ultimately upheld in 1992.

In March 1987, Shubert chairman Bernard B. Jacobs announced that the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical The Phantom of the Opera would be hosted at the Majestic, following negotiations with producer Cameron Mackintosh. 42nd Street was moved to the St. James the next month to make way for Phantom. Initially, Mackintosh was hesitant to relocate Phantom to the Majestic, citing the seating areas' dimensions, and was considering moving the musical to a competing theater. Efn|According to a New York Times article from December 1986, Mackintosh was considering hosting the musical at the Martin Beck Theatre (operated by Jujamcyn) or the Minskoff Theatre (operated by the Nederlanders). The proscenium opening was enlarged, allowing audiences to see the musical's titular character. After a record advance sale of $17 million, Phantom officially opened on January 26, 1988. The musical, which had been successful during its West End run in London, was also successful in its Broadway production. Phantom was still playing to full houses a year after its opening. The Broadway run of Phantom played continuously at the Majestic through the end of the 1990s. In addition to Phantom, the Majestic hosted memorials such as those of Leonard Bernstein, Mary Martin, and Bernard B. Jacobs. The Majestic also hosted the 50th Tony Awards in 1996 on the set of Phantom. For Uta Hagen's 80th birthday in 1999, the Majestic staged a one time reading of the play Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, in which Hagen had starred. Phantom continued to be popular in the 21st century, and it became the longest running show in Broadway history in 2006, surpassing the musical Cats. Between performances, the Majestic hosted memorials and tributes, such as those of Tony Randall, Cy Coleman, Kitty Carlisle, and Gerald Schoenfeld. As part of a settlement with the United States Department of Justice in 2003, the Shuberts agreed to improve disabled access at their 16 landmarked Broadway theaters, including the Majestic. The Shuberts sold of unused air development rights above the Majestic to Tishman Realty in 2008, which were used for a nearby hotel, and the Shuberts sold a further of air rights above the Majestic and Broadhurst in 2013. Phantom became the first Broadway musical in history to run for 10,000 performances on February 11, 2012. By April 2019, Phantom had been staged over 13,000 times. The theater closed on March 12, 2020, due to the COVID 19 pandemic. It reopened on October 22, 2021, with performances of Phantom and a party outside the Majestic. The musical struggled to regain pre pandemic attendance levels, grossing $850,000 to $1 million per week, which was not enough to cover the show's extremely high operating costs. As a result, its producers announced in September 2022 that the production would close on February 18, 2023, shortly after its 35th anniversary. Attendance surged after the announcement, with a record gross of $2.2 million on the week of November 21, 2022, and the closing date was extended to April 16, 2023. Phantom had run for 13,981 performances at the time of its closure.