Broadway Theatre

Broadway Theatre

No, we're not talking about the collection of 500-seat theaters scattered throughout midtown Manhattan – rather, just one. And not the four other stages named The Broadway, either. Maybe you know it as Universal's Colony Theatre. How about B.S. Moss' Broadway Theatre, Early Carroll's Broadway Theatre, or Ciné Romais? Ringing any bells?

The Broadway Theatre, located at 1681 Broadway between West 52nd and 53rd streets, has been standing since 1924, and has been known by all these names. A premier film house and vaudeville venue for several years, it screened the world's first introduction to Mickey Mouse in Steamboat Willie, in 1928. After a stint in legit theater — first gaining the name The Broadway Theatre in 1930 — the building became a film house again, screening the Disney masterpiece Fantasia in 1939. The Broadway flip-flopped once more between legitimate theater and motion picture exhibition in the 1950s before finally settling indefinitely as a 1761-seat Broadway theater.

Both the house and stage of The Broadway Theatre is quite large, creating a model venue for flashy musical comedies. The interior's Italian Renaissance style, designed by architect Eugene DeRosa, was resurfaced in polished granite in 1991, around the same time a skyscraper was built above the theater.

The Broadway Theatre has over the years been host to many hits and stars like Irving Berlin's This is the Army (1942), Sammy Davis, Jr. in Mr. Wonderful (1956), Andrew Lloyd Weber and Tim Rice's Evita (1979), and the Broadway adaption of The Color Purple (2005).

Currently on stage at The Broadway Theatre is Shrek the Musical, based on DreamWorks Oscar-winning film. Nineteen songs and 27 cast members have been delighting audience members since the show opened in December 2008.

- Callie Worsham