Minskoff Theatre (Broadway) 

The Minskoff Theatre, perched on the third floor of One Astor Plaza, the fifty-five-story office tower on the site of Broadway's old Astor Hotel, derives its name from Sam Minskoff and Sons, builders and owners of the high-rise. The modern theatre, with a very large seating capacity of 1,621 seats, was designed by the architectural firm of Kahn and Jacobs and offers a spectacular view of the Great White Way from the glass front of the building on all levels of the theatre. The theatre features an arcade that runs from Forty-fourth to Forty-fifth streets. Inside the spacious lobby, dual escalators take playgoers to the third level of the Grand Foyer of the house. Here there are coat-checking concessions and bars. Additional escalators rise to the fourth, or orchestra, level. At the time of the theatre's opening in 1973, Robert A. Jacobs, partner-in-charge of Kahn and Jacobs, told PLAYBILL: "A theatre that is thirty-five feet in the air is quite an innovation. 

According to the old building code in Manhattan, a theatre's orchestra floor had to be within three feet of the sidewalk. We think we've created one of the most exciting, three-dimensional processional routes for the theatregoers--a series of forms, changes in ceiling heights, and spatial explosions. The whole processional, from the moment you enter and rise thirty-five feet to the theatre level, is a theatrical event in itself. Our forms are purely architectural, beautifully proportioned in relation to the processional drama you're going through." Mr. Jacobs stated that his firm had kept everything simple in the theatre's decor, without hiring what he called "exotic interior desecraters." The decorations consisted of color used in paint, carpeting, and in vinyl on walls. The theatre was done primarily in white and gold, with charcoal-gray seats, which are roomy, comfortable, and offer an excellent view. The orchestra floor rakes steeply toward the stage. 

Hundreds of small, clear G lamps sparkle in the lobbies, and crystal-basket lights glow in the auditorium. The ceiling is broken into two sections with a narrow grid between them for the stage lights. The proscenium has removable mesh panels on both sides, and the mezzanine, with 590 seats, has narrow side projections instead of box seats. The stage has an innovation: all the flies are on the upstage wall instead of on the side wall. Part of the stage is trapped and can be extended out over the orchestra pit. The dressing rooms are sumptuous and the rest rooms are large, cheerful, and comfortable. The Minskoff Theatre opened on March 13, 1973, with a lavish revival of the 1919 musical "Irene." Debbie Reynolds played the title role and sang the show's classic "Alice Blue Gown." The cast also included Patsy Kelly, Monte Markham, Janie Sell, Ruth Warrick, Carmen Alvarez, and George S. Irving, who won a Tony Award for his performance. The musical ran until the fall of 1974. 

It was succeeded by two special shows: "Charles Aznauour on Broadway" and "Tony Bennett and Lena Horne Sing." The 1975 season at the Minskoff was extremely varied. It began on a sober note with Henry Fonda in his one-man show "Clarence Darrow." The raucous Bette Midler was next in her salty "Clams on the Half Shell Revue." In the fall of that year, Pearl Bailey and Billy Daniels brought their version of "Hello, Dolly!" to the theatre. The 1976 attractions included a shortlived rock version of "Hamlet" called "Rockabye Hamlet," with rocker Meat Loaf playing a priest. This was followed by the Dutch National Ballet and the Chinese Acrobats of Taiwan. The 1977 season brought Merce Cunningham and Dance Company, followed by the long-running musical "Pippin," which moved here from the Imperial. The year ended with engagements of Cleo Laine and "Star Wars Concert Live." Nureyev made a dance appearance at the Minskoff in 1978 with the Murray Lewis Dance Company. 

Next came a musical version of the play "Look Homeward, Angel," called simply, "Angel." lts cast included Fred Gwynne, Frances Sternhagen, Don Scardino, Leslie Ann Ray, Patti Allison, and Joel Higgins, but the Thomas Wolfe classic did not succeed as a musical and it closed after five performances. Another unsuccessful musical opened in 1978. It was called "King of Hearts" and it was adapted from the film of the same name. The cast included Donald Scardino, Millicent Martin, Pamela Blair, Gary Morgan, Timothy Scott, and Michael McCarty. It expired after forty-eight performances. In late 1978 an elaborate spectacle, "Ice Dancing", opened here. lt was followed by Bejart--Ballet of the Twentieth Century. A musical called "Got Tu Go Disco" was a quick failure in 1979. Appearances by Shirley Bassey and the Chinese Acrobats and Magicians of Taiwan followed. A revival of "West Side Story" in 1980 was moderately successful, running for 341 performances. 

A revival of Cole Porter's "Can-Can," however, proved a disaster in 1981, despite the dancing of Zizi Jeanmaire and the choreography of Roland Petit. It folded after 5 showings. In the fall of 1981 the successful revival of "The Pirates of Penzance" moved here from the Uris Theatre and stayed for over a year. In the spring of 1983, an ill-advised musicalization of Robert E. Sherwood's Pulitzer Prize play, "Idiot's Delight," closed on its opening night, despite the fact that the book and lyrics were by Alan Jay Lerner and the music by Charles Strouse. The title song of "Dance a Little Closer" was especially lilting. Starring Len Cariou and Liz Robertson, and featuring George Rose, the musical sadly was Lerner's last. Next came "Marilyn: An American Fable," another fiasco. It purported to be a musical biography of the late sex goddess Marilyn Monroe, but the critics were not kindly disposed toward the enterprise. It vanished after two weeks. 

"The Tap Dance Kid" moved here from the Broadhurst on March 27, 1984 and stayed until August 11, 1985, winning Tony Awards for Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Hinton Battle) and Best Choreography (Danny Daniels). In early 1986, personal appearances were made here by Patti Labelle, Peter, Paul & Mary and TNT. In April of that year, a new prodution of "Sweet Charity" opened with Debbie Allen, Bebe Neuwirth and Michael Rupert. The revival won the following Tony Awards: Best Revival; Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Rupert); Best Featured Actress (Bebe Neuwirth); Best Costumes (Patricia Zipprodt). It ran for 368 performances. On February 9, 1988, a new production of "Cabaret" moved here from the Imperial Theatre with Joel Grey recreating his Tony Award-winning role of the M.C. and Alyson Reed, Gregg Edelman, Regina Resnick and Werner Klemperer in other leading roles. It had a run of 262 performances. 

The next musical at this theatre was an elaborate patriotic spectacle called "Teddy & Alice," set to tunes by John Philip Sousa with book by Jerome Alden and Lyrics by Hal Hackaday. Original songs were provided by Richard Kapp. Len Cariou played Teddy Roosevelt, Nancy Hume was Alice Roosevelt and Ron Raines was Nick Longworth. It had a short run of 77 performances. More successful was the next Minskoff musical, "Black and Blue," a lavish revue using standard blues and hit songs of the past. It won Tony Awards for Ruth Brown (Best Actress in a Musical), Claudio Segovia and Hector Orezzoli (Best Costume Design) and the four choreograpers of the production. It played here until January 20, 1991 acheiving 829 performances. In November, 1991 Cathy Rigby played a return engagement in the title role of "Peter Pan," which she had played at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre the previous season. A spectacular, muti-media production from Poland, "Metro," did not repeat its success on Broadway. 

It only lasted 13 performances. On November 10, 1993, a sumptuous new production of the Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice musical "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" opened and had a successful run, starring Micheal Damian in the title role. The Andrew Lloyd Webber musical "Sunset Boulevard" starring Glenn Close opened in November, 1994. The Minskoff Theatre is owned by the Minskoff Organization and is under the direction of this firm and James M. Nederlander. lt is an ideal house for large-scale musicals, dance companies, and personal-appearance shows. As an added attraction, it houses a downtown branch of the Theatre Collection of the Museum of the City of New York, where there are continuous theatrical exhibitions