The David Nederlander Theatre
USA /
New Jersey /
West New York /
West 41st Street, 208-218
World
/ USA
/ New Jersey
/ West New York
World / United States / New York
theatre
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5-story theater completed in 1921. Built by Walter C. Jordan, the 1,232-seat Broadway theater was formerly knows as the Billy Rose Theatre and National Theatre. The Nederlander Organization purchased the venue in 1979 and briefly renamed it the Trafalgar Theatre before dubbing it the David T. Nederlander Theatre in 1980. One of the Nederlander Organization's nine Broadway theaters, it holds the distinction of being the southernmost theater in the theater district.
It is clad in reddish-orange brick and green cast-iron, seven bays wide. The five eastern bays on the ground floor are framed in white-painted cast-iron, with paneled piers and lintels. There are two entrances at the eastern two bays, with paired brass-and-glass double-doors, and paired show-windows in the next three bays. The 2nd-from-west bay has a small service entrance up a small set of steps, and a larger freight entrance and loading dock in the westernmost bay. The four bays next to the easternmost one are covered by a projecting green cast-iron marquee; each of the four panels of the marquee are divided by six light bulbs (in two columns of three) set in rosettes, with each panel having a central medallion and an edging of foliate ornament. The two inner bays of the marquee are topped by stylized metal lettering spelling "The David Nederlander Theatre", and the two outer bays are topped by ornamental cresting. The roof of the marquee slopes back gently to a 5-bay balcony - partly projecting and partly recessed, with green iron railings. The western bay of the balcony, extending over the service entrance, spans just the 2nd floor, with an iron roof. The other four bays encompass an expansive, triple-height open area, fronted by a grid of green iron pilasters and girders with elaborate ornament, including wreaths, torches, and medallions. There is another iron railing at the upper part, with a diagonal staircase descending from east to west behind the pilasters and girders. A low-sloped green metal roof caps the balcony area.
On either side of the balcony area, the 3rd-4th floors have double-height blind round-arches outlined with bulbs and topped by terra-cotta keystones. Another arch fills the westernmost bay. The main roof line is marked by a dentiled cornice. At the west end, slightly set-back, is a 1-story brick extension with a shallow peaked roof.
The venue has hosted a wide variety of shows, including the Mercury Theatre production of William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, Edmond Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac, Noël Coward's Private Lives, Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and the Tony award winning Rent, from 1996-2008.
When RENT, set in the Alphabet City neighborhood of Manhattan's East Village, opened in 1996, the theater underwent remodeling of the façade and interior to resemble a downtown nightclub. When Rent closed in 2008, refurbishing quickly got underway for the new show, a revival of Guys and Dolls starring Oliver Platt and Lauren Graham. The show played only 147 performances and was a box office failure when it closed June 14, 2009. The Neil Simon plays, Brighton Beach Memoirs and Broadway Bound were to premiere at the theater in the fall, and perform alternating shows. However, due to weak ticket sales for Brighton Beach Memoirs, the show closed November 1, 2009 and the planned production of Broadway Bound was canceled. The musical Million Dollar Quartet made its Broadway debut at the theatre April 11, 2010 and played through June 12, 2011. Following MDQ, Newsies opened for a limited engagement, which was subsequently converted to an open run. Newsies closed August 24, 2014, and began touring in October. A musical, Honeymoon in Vegas began previews November 18, 2014, with its official opening on January 15, 2015. Amazing Grace, played from the summer through the fall of 2015. A new musical, Disaster!, by Seth Rudetsky and Jack Plotnick, began performances on February 9, 2016.
It is clad in reddish-orange brick and green cast-iron, seven bays wide. The five eastern bays on the ground floor are framed in white-painted cast-iron, with paneled piers and lintels. There are two entrances at the eastern two bays, with paired brass-and-glass double-doors, and paired show-windows in the next three bays. The 2nd-from-west bay has a small service entrance up a small set of steps, and a larger freight entrance and loading dock in the westernmost bay. The four bays next to the easternmost one are covered by a projecting green cast-iron marquee; each of the four panels of the marquee are divided by six light bulbs (in two columns of three) set in rosettes, with each panel having a central medallion and an edging of foliate ornament. The two inner bays of the marquee are topped by stylized metal lettering spelling "The David Nederlander Theatre", and the two outer bays are topped by ornamental cresting. The roof of the marquee slopes back gently to a 5-bay balcony - partly projecting and partly recessed, with green iron railings. The western bay of the balcony, extending over the service entrance, spans just the 2nd floor, with an iron roof. The other four bays encompass an expansive, triple-height open area, fronted by a grid of green iron pilasters and girders with elaborate ornament, including wreaths, torches, and medallions. There is another iron railing at the upper part, with a diagonal staircase descending from east to west behind the pilasters and girders. A low-sloped green metal roof caps the balcony area.
On either side of the balcony area, the 3rd-4th floors have double-height blind round-arches outlined with bulbs and topped by terra-cotta keystones. Another arch fills the westernmost bay. The main roof line is marked by a dentiled cornice. At the west end, slightly set-back, is a 1-story brick extension with a shallow peaked roof.
The venue has hosted a wide variety of shows, including the Mercury Theatre production of William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, Edmond Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac, Noël Coward's Private Lives, Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and the Tony award winning Rent, from 1996-2008.
When RENT, set in the Alphabet City neighborhood of Manhattan's East Village, opened in 1996, the theater underwent remodeling of the façade and interior to resemble a downtown nightclub. When Rent closed in 2008, refurbishing quickly got underway for the new show, a revival of Guys and Dolls starring Oliver Platt and Lauren Graham. The show played only 147 performances and was a box office failure when it closed June 14, 2009. The Neil Simon plays, Brighton Beach Memoirs and Broadway Bound were to premiere at the theater in the fall, and perform alternating shows. However, due to weak ticket sales for Brighton Beach Memoirs, the show closed November 1, 2009 and the planned production of Broadway Bound was canceled. The musical Million Dollar Quartet made its Broadway debut at the theatre April 11, 2010 and played through June 12, 2011. Following MDQ, Newsies opened for a limited engagement, which was subsequently converted to an open run. Newsies closed August 24, 2014, and began touring in October. A musical, Honeymoon in Vegas began previews November 18, 2014, with its official opening on January 15, 2015. Amazing Grace, played from the summer through the fall of 2015. A new musical, Disaster!, by Seth Rudetsky and Jack Plotnick, began performances on February 9, 2016.
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nederlander_Theater
Nearby cities:
Coordinates: 40°45'19"N 73°59'17"W
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- Midtown (North Central) 0.6 km
- Hell's Kitchen (Clinton) 1 km
- Chelsea 1.4 km
- Hudson River Park 1.5 km
- Manhattan 3.2 km
- Hudson County, New Jersey 7.6 km
- Queens 15 km