New Victory Theater

In 1902, the impresario David Belasco took over the theater's stewardship. Belasco gave the theater his name; made extensive alterations to its interior, including more subdued colors and ornamentation; and placed a glass canopy in front of the entrance. A string of hits followed, showcasing such talents as George Arliss, Tyrone Power, Mary Pickford and Lillian Gish. After 1914, when Belasco moved on to other venues, a series of producers continued to mount plays and vaudeville shows. Renamed the Republic, the theater enjoyed its biggest hit ever in 1923 with Abie's Irish Rose, one of Broadway's longest-running shows.

Legitimate theater at the Republic finally ceased in 1932, when Billy Minsky opened Broadway's first striptease house there. Minsky accelerated the structure's already radical facelift. By that time, the front staircase had been demolished; a large marquee replaced Belasco's iron and glass outdoor canopy; and a showy sign concealed the front upper level doors. Minsky painted a brash checkerboard pattern on the facade, juxtaposed with the faces of his leading ladies, and installed a double runway down the middle of the auditorium.

Burlesque shows continued to grind until 1937, when they were banned by Mayor LaGuardia. In a burst of wartime patriotism, the theater was renamed the Victory and showed second-run motion pictures over the next several decades. When 42nd Street's decline reached new depths in the 1970s, the Victory became the block's first XXX-rated movie house. Little changed until the late 1980s, when it became the setting for brief runs of two inventive, legitimate productions: En Garde Arts' Crowbar, and Theatre for a New Audience's Romeo and Juliet. 

The City's First Theater for Youth

The New 42nd Street sparked the revitalization of the block when it renovated the Victory and reopened it in December 1995 as The New Victory Theater--New York's first theater for kids and families. The street rapidly evolved after the debut of The New Victory Theater: in spring 1997, the Walt Disney Company opened the restored New Amsterdam Theatre; The New 42nd Street's Lyric and Apollo Theaters were leased to Livent (and subsequently Clear Channel Entertainment) to form the Ford Center for the Performing Arts, which opened in December 1997; the Liberty and Empire were leased to Forest City Ratner and then merged into an entertainment complex, which includes a 25-screen cineplex operated by American Multi-Cinemas and the renowned Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum; and, most recently, The New 42nd Street leased the Selwyn to the Roundabout Theatre Company, which opened the renovated theater in July 2000 as the "American Airlines Theatre." In July 2004, the Times Square theater was leased to *ecko unltd. to develop a new flagship retail location
   
Newsday raved that "sitting in The New Victory Theater is like being inside a treasure chest," and with just 499 seats in the house, audiences are guaranteed an intimate connection to world-class artists and their thoughtful, inspiring, sometimes gritty, sometimes hilarious productions. 

For the past 100 years, Oscar Hammerstein's theater has remained a catalyst for change on 42nd Street. Under the direction of The New 42nd Street, The New Victory Theater launched 42nd Street as a premier destination, once again, for all of New York's citizens and visitors.

We hope you'll join us for a show or two this season and see for yourself why New York Magazine dubbed The New Vic "New York's Best Theater for Kids!" With 10 productions to choose from, there's literally something for everyone – theater, dance, circus arts, comedy, music and puppetry – and all at astonishingly affordable ticket prices.