Ethel Barrymore Theatre
The Ethel Barrymore Theatre is a two-tier theatre on Broadway in New York, located at 243 West 47th Street in Manhattan. It opened in 1928, named after actress Ethel Barrymore, who was offered a theatre by Lee and J.J. Shubert, who built theatres for performers who were associated with them.
History
In the 1910s and 1920s, theatres were being designed and built in New York’s Broadway area. Architect Herbert J. Krapp, who designed the original Brooks Atkinson Theatre, was commissioned to design a new theatre by the Shuberts, to be named after actress, Ethel Barrymore.
Ethel Barrymore (15th August 1879 – 18 thJune 1959) was an American actress and a member of the Barrymore family of actors, with a career spanning stage, screen and radio. Her work spanned six decades, and she was regarded as “The First Lady of the American Theatre”. In 1927, the Shuberts offered to build her a theatre and commission a play for her to premiere in her namesake house. The theatre opened on 20th December 1928, with The Kingdom of God, which she had personally selected.
The theatre is the Shuberts’ only surviving theatre, and has been used continuously as a theatre since 1928, unlike many others that have been repurposed at various points. Throughout its history, it has been home to iconic works such as Gay Divorce, A Streetcar Named Desire, Tea and Sympathy, I Love My Wife, Speed-the-Plow, Death of a Salesman, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, and Betrayal, which starred Daniel Craig. The Tony Award-winning musical, The Band’s Visit, played from November 2017 through to April 2019
Prior to the COVID-19 shutdown on 12th March 2020, the theatre had been home to The Inheritance, written by Matthew Lopez and directed by Stephen Daldry, which opened at the Young Vic in London in March 2018. The Inheritance had previously announced it was to close on 15 March 2020, meaning it was unable to play its final four performances.
As part of reopening Broadway, following the COVID-19 closures, Barry and Fran Weissler announced plans to restage Waitress for a limited run, with Sara Bareilles in the lead role of Jenna. The theatre became the first to reopen on Broadway, with Waitress opening on 2 September 2021; it is due to close on 9 January 2022, vacating the theatre ready for new musical, Paradise Square.
Waitress broke the single-performance house record on Friday 3 September 2021, grossing $197,878, beating the record held by Betrayal, which was $184,476.
| Name | Ethel Barrymore Theatre |
| Owner | Shubert Organization |
| Capacity | 1058 people |
| Opened | 1928 |