AMERICAN AIRLINES THEATER
Architect: George Keister
Built: 1918 One of the last great theatres to be built on 42nd Street, the former Selwyn Theatre opened in 1918 and was initially home to works by George Kaufman, Noel Coward and Cole Porter. Over the decades, hard times and the deterioration of the Times Square area took their toll on the theatre, leaving it derelict and in disrepair. The Selwyn Theater was built by Edgar and Arch Selwyn in 1918, behind the brothers' six-floor office building. The theater's auditorium, designed by architect George Keister in an early Italian Renaissance style, was painted blue and antique gold, and was decorated with large murals, wreath moldings, dentils, scrolled modillions and stone balusters. Opening night on October 2, 1918 found Jane Cowl starring in Information, Please, which she also wrote. After the play's failure, Ms. Cowl returned in The Crowded Hour, which had better luck with audiences. The theater's first real successes, though, came with Buddies in 1919, and Tickle Me in 1920. Then, in 1921, two of Broadway's luminaries—Mrs. Leslie Carter and John Drew—joined to star in Somerset Maugham's The Circle. George S. Kaufman and Marc Connelly presented their musical Helen of Troy, New York in 1923, followed by Charlot Revue starring Beatrice Lillie, Gertrude Lawrence and Jack Buchanan. Kaufman returned to the stage of the Selwyn in 1924 with co-author Edna Ferber and their play The Royal Family, which caricatured the flamboyant theatrical personalities of the Drews and the Barrymores. Other successes were 1928's This Year of Grace starring Beatrice Lillie and the play's author Noel Coward, Cole Porter's Wake Up and Dream in 1929, and then Three's a Crowd with Fred Allen, Clifton Webb and Fred MacMurray. The Selwyn grinded out movies between 1934 and 1950, until its use was returned to legitimate theater with Sartre's The Respectful Prostitute, a condensed, hour-long show that ran five times a day, alternating with a feature film. This experiment of combining stage and screen entertainment continued for just one more show, Ladies Night in a Turkish Bath, after which the Selwyn became a double-feature movie house. The New 42nd Street signed a 99-year master lease, during May 1992, with the City and State of New York for six theaters known as the Apollo, Liberty, Lyric, Selwyn, Times Square and Victory. (The Empire theater came under The New 42nd Street's master lease once it was fully restored in April 2000.) A Memorandum of Understanding was signed, in September 1997, between The New 42nd Street and Roundabout Theatre Company for the use of the Selwyn Theater. Renamed the American Airlines Theatre, the Selwyn re-opened on July 27, 2000 with the Roundabout Theatre Company's revival of The Man Who Came To Dinner. With guidance from the City's Historical Preservation Committee and dedicated craftsmen, artists and construction professionals, the space was transformed, excavated, reshaped and restored to become a beautiful new home for the Roundabout Theatre Company and its audiences. With restored murals and theatre boxes, excellent acoustics and sightlines and a complete restoration of original ornamental plasterwork, Roundabout's American Airlines Theatre is truly a gem in the heart of the rejuvenated Times Square district. |
|
 |
