The theater was built for Harry Frazee – the Broadway impresario – who is now more famous for being the owner of the Boston Red Sox, who sold Babe Ruth’s contract to the New York Yankees, when he needed money for his Broadway ventures. Designed by architect Henry B. Herts. The exterior of the theater was built in the French Neo-classical style, whereas the interior is in a Beaux Arts style. the theater got its name from Longacre Square, which was what Times square was known as, then.
We know the difficulty some people run into when buying tickets. While you are here you will see tickets for all of the upcoming shows at the Longacre Theatre. Each link will be for a different show or date. You will find all kinds of seats within. If you don’t see the date that works for you, be sure to hit the load more button for even more events. The best seats are just a couple of clicks away so don’t give up just yet.
Originally, the theater was built with a seating capacity of 1,400 but was later reduced to 1,091 seats. The theater never did well in the early days, and when Frazee got into financial difficulties, he sold the theater, which further changed hands many times, before it was sold, in 1919, to the Shubert subsidiary – Astor Theater Incorporated.
The Productions
The Longacre Theater opened on May 1, 1913, with William Hurlbut-Frances’ comedy Are You A Crook.
Kick In, starring John Barrymore and Katherine Harris, and A Pair of Sixes in 1914; Nothing but the Truth in 1916; and Leave It to Jane in 1917, by Guy Bolton, P.G. Wodehouse, and Jerome Kern; were some of the notable productions during Frazee’s time.
In the 1920s, the theater saw the great Ethel Barrymore make three appearances for Rosie Bernd, Romeo and Juliet, and Laughing Lady. In 1925, George S. Kaufman premiered his hit comedy The Butter and Egg Man. 1929 saw Clark Gable in Hawk Island, and Jessica Tandy in The Matriarch in 1930.
In 1935, the Group Theater presented Clifford Odets’ three productions – Waiting for Lefty, Till the Day I Die, and Paradise Lost. The productions featured Odets, himself, along with Elia Kazan, Bobby Lewis, Stella Adler, Morris Carnovsky, and Sanford Meisner.
From 1943 to 1953, the Shubert Organization leased Longacre Theater as a radio and television house to WOR. It returned to its legitimacy in 1953 with Dorothy Parker’s The Ladies of the Corridor.
Some significant shows were Mademoiselle Colombe in 1954, starring Julie Harris and Robert Redford; Mark Twain Tonight in 1966, with Hal Holbrook; Harold Pinter’s No Man’s Land in 1976, starring John Gielgud; a revival of The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel featuring Al Pacino, in 1977; and two hits produced by Shubert in 1978 and 1980 – Ain’t Misbehavin’ which ran 1604 performances, and Children of a Lesser God, which ran for more than 2 years. Check out A Bronx Tale playing in the theater.
Best Seats in the Longacre Theater
Grabbing the best seats in the theater can be difficult. Whether it is price or timing something has to give. In the case of the Longacre, you are better off acting sooner than later. Currently showing LEOPOLDSTADT, you could have a hard time finding seats. However, if you look hard enough you can find some specials on seats in the outer sections. If price isn’t a big thing, look center stage about 10-20 rows back. This will give you a full-scale view and some great sound to go with it. Good luck sifting through the seating chart and be sure to check the listings above.
