Majestic Theatre (Broadway)
The Majestic Theatre is a Broadway theater at 245 West 44th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1927, the theater was designed by Herbert J. Krapp in a Spanish style and was built for real-estate developer Irwin S. Chanin. It has 1,681 seats across two levels and is operated by The Shubert Organization. Both the facade and interior are New York City landmarks.
This article is about the Majestic Theatre on 44th Street, which is a Broadway theater. For the Majestic Theatre that physically stood on Broadway from 1903 to 1954, see Majestic Theatre (Columbus Circle).
The facade is designed in a Spanish style with golden brick, terracotta, and stone and is divided into two sections. The western portion of the facade contains the theater's entrance, with fire-escape galleries and a terracotta pediment above. The eastern portion is the stage house and is topped by archways. The auditorium contains Adam style detailing, steep stadium seating at the orchestra level, a large balcony, and an expansive plaster dome. Due to the slope of the seats, the rear of the orchestra is one story above ground. An interior leads to a large staircase, which connects to the rears of both the orchestra and the balcony. The balcony has extensive decoration, and there are also box seats near the front of the auditorium at balcony level.
The Majestic, Bernard B. Jacobs, and John Golden theaters, along with the Lincoln Hotel, were all developed by Chanin and designed by Krapp as part of a theater/hotel complex. The Shuberts have operated the Majestic since 1930. The Majestic was always intended as a venue for major musical theater productions because of its large size. Among the shows that premiered at the Majestic are Carousel, South Pacific, The Music Man, Camelot, A Little Night Music, and The Wiz. From 1988 to 2023, the theater housed The Phantom of the Opera, which was the longest-running production in Broadway history when it closed.
Site[edit]
The Majestic Theatre is on 245 West 44th Street, on the north sidewalk between Eighth Avenue and Seventh Avenue, near Times Square in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City.[3][4] The land lot is nearly rectangular, with a recess at the northwest corner. The lot covers 13,625 square feet (1,265.8 m2), with a frontage of 140.5 feet (42.8 m) on 44th Street and a depth of 100.42 feet (31 m).[4] The Majestic Theatre shares the city block with the Row NYC Hotel to the west. It adjoins six other theaters clockwise from north: the John Golden, Bernard B. Jacobs, Gerald Schoenfeld, Booth, Shubert, and Broadhurst. Other nearby structures include the Music Box Theatre and Imperial Theatre one block north; One Astor Plaza to the east; 1501 Broadway to the southeast; and Sardi's restaurant, the Hayes Theater, and the St. James Theatre to the south.[4]
The Majestic is part of the largest concentration of Broadway theaters on a single block.[5] The Majestic, Masque (Golden), and Royale (Jacobs) theaters and the Lincoln Hotel (Row NYC Hotel) had all been developed concurrently.[6] The site of all four buildings had previously been occupied by twenty brownstone residences.[7] The site was part of the Astor family estate from 1803[8] to 1922, when it was sold to Henry Claman.[9][10] The plots collectively measured 200 feet (61 m) wide along Eighth Avenue, 240 feet (73 m) along 44th Street, and 250 feet (76 m) along 45th Street.[10][11]