Show Finder
Broadway Theatre
Address
1681 Broadway
New York, NY 10019
Public Transport
Accessibility
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Elevator/Escalator
There are no elevators or escalators at this theatre. -
Assisted Listening System
Reservations are not necessary. Drivers license or ID with printed address required as a deposit. Please call: (212) 582-7678 to reserve in advance. -
Wheelchair Info
Wheelchair seating available in the Orchestra section only. Theatre is not completely wheelchair accessible. -
Entrance
No stairs at the entrance to the lobby. -
Folding Armrests
Six (6) seats with folding armrests available as mobility seats. -
Parking
The closest lot is Maestro Parking, 888 8th Avenue. -
Restroom
Unisex wheelchair accessible restroom located on lobby level. -
Seating
Orchestra: No steps. Mezzanine: 2 flights of stairs (up 31 steps) 11 steps/landing/9 steps/landing with restrooms/3 steps/landing/8 steps. Please note, once on the Mezzanine level there are approx 2 steps up/down per row. Entrance to Mezz. is behind Front Mezzanine row F and in front row A of rear mezzanine. -
Telephone
A pay phone is located in the theatre lobby. -
Visual Assistance
Vision seats in the front of the orchestra for purchase on the phone, in person, or on the website. -
Water Fountain
Water available from the bar. Water fountain down one flight of stairs in lower lobby.
Theater Description
The Broadway Theatre (formerly Universal's Colony Theatre, B.S. Moss' Broadway Theatre, Earl Carroll's Broadway Theatre, and Ciné Romais) was designed by architect Eugene De Rosa for Benjamin S. Moss, it opened as B.S. Moss's Colony Theatre on Christmas Day 1924 as a venue for vaudeville shows and motion pictures. The theater has operated in many capacities and under many names. It was re-named Universal's Colony Theatre, B.S. Moss' Broadway Theatre, and Earl Carroll's Broadway Theatre before becoming a legitimate theater house simply called Broadway Theatre on December 8, 1930. In 1937, known as Ciné Roma, it showed Italian films. For a short time during the 1950s it showed Cinerama films.On November 18, 1928 the first Mickey Mouse cartoon released to the public, Steamboat Willie, debuted at the Colony. Producer Walt Disney returned on November 13, 1940 to debut the feature film Fantasia in Fantasound, an early stereo system.
The legitimate theater opened in 1930 with The New Yorkers by Cole Porter. Stars such as Milton Berle, Alfred Drake, Jose Ferrer, Eartha Kitt, Vivien Leigh, Zero Mostel, and Mae West have appeared on stage.
The Shubert Organization bought the theater in 1939 and renovated it extensively in 1956 and 1986. It has long been a popular theatre for producers of musicals because of large seating capacity, and the large stage, which is nearly sixty feet deep. Often plays that have become successful in smaller theaters have transferred to the Broadway Theatre.
