Broadway History: The Eugene O'Neil Theatre
I am sure you have all figured out by now I can get pretty nerdy when it comes to theater history. (I attribute that to my parents. On vacations, they were always taking us to tour old buildings and museums.) There is just something magical about old theaters that has always fascinated me. I think it's because Manhattan is constantly changing, adding new buildings and tearing down old ones, but these beautiful old theaters have truly stood the test of time! (Plus I still have a bunch of pictures in winter coats that I am trying to quickly use up because it's not winter anymore haha) So let's dive into the history of the Book of Mormon's Broadway home: the Eugene O'Neil Theatre.
The Edwin Forrest Theatre was built for the Shuberts by architect Herbert J. Krapp. (I haven't writen about the Schubert family yet, but they are a big deal.) It was the first theatre to use steel frame construction. Previously, steel frames had only been used in constructing skyscrapers and big apartment buildings. The Shubert brothers chose to name their new theatre after the first American-born Broadway star, Edwin Forrest. This set the trend of Broadway theaters being named after playwrights. The theatre opened on November 24, 1925 with the musical "Mayflowers". The Forrest Theatre was the first part of the Shuberts’ plan to build a multi theatre-hotel complex. Unfortunately, the project was never completed because the Great Depression hit in 1929. The Forrest Theatre only survived off the revenue earned from the attached hotel.
In 1945, the theatre was sold, renovated and renamed the Coronet Theatre. Thirty-seven productions and fourteen years later, things changed for the theatre again. In 1959, the owner, Broadway producer Lester Osterman, rechristened and renamed the theatre the Eugene O'Neil in honor of the playwright. My favorite fact about this theatre is that the famous American playwright, screenwriter and author Neil Simon owned it in the 1960s. Seven of his plays were performed there.
The O'Neil Theatre is currently owned by Jujamcyn Company. (The name Jujamcyn drives me nuts by the way. Apparently, it’s a combination of the owner’s children's names.) They bought the theatre from Neil Simon in 1982 with the goal of presenting as much new American work as possible. And with hits including Spring Awakening and M. Butterfly, they’ve been quite a success.
FUN FACTS
The Eugene O'Neil Theatre sits at 230 West 49th street, between Broadway and 8th Avenue.
There are said to be both a boy and a girl ghost living in the theatre.
About 169 productions have been performed there since the theatre opened.
(Forrest Theatre = 70, Coronet Theatre = 37, O'Neil Theatre = 62)
The Book of Mormon set the O'Neil Theatre box office record in 2013. The production made more than two million dollars during just nine performances during December of that year.
