Minskoff Theatre
The Minskoff Theatre is a Broadway theater on the third floor of the One Astor Plaza office building in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1973, it is operated by the Nederlander Organization and is named after Sam Minskoff and Sons, the building's developers. There are approximately 1,710 seats[a] in the auditorium, spread across an orchestra level and a balcony. Over the years it has hosted musicals, dance companies, and concerts.
Address
The Minskoff was designed by Kahn and Jacobs, who designed One Astor Plaza. It was one of the first theaters constructed under the Special Theater District amendment of 1967. The theater's main entrances are from a passageway connecting 44th and 45th Streets, in the middle of a city block between Broadway to the east and Eighth Avenue to the west. There are escalators leading from the ground floor to the lobby, where further escalators lead to the auditorium. One Astor Plaza's eastern section is directly above the theater and has to be supported entirely by the theater's roof.
One Astor Plaza was initially proposed in 1967 without any theaters. The Minskoff Theatre was added during the planning process; in exchange, One Astor Plaza's developers were allowed to erect a taller building with additional floor area. The first major production at the Minskoff, Irene, was followed by a series of short-lived productions in the 1970s. The theater subsequently hosted long runs such as West Side Story, The Pirates of Penzance, Black and Blue, and Sunset Boulevard in the 1980s and 1990s. Though many of the Minskoff's early productions were unprofitable, since 2006 it has housed the musical The Lion King, which became the highest-grossing Broadway musical ever in 2014.
History[edit]
Construction[edit]
Sam Minskoff & Sons had hired Kahn and Jacobs to design One Astor Plaza in 1967,[18][17] having acquired the site the previous year.[19] At the time, city officials were encouraging the westward expansion of office towers in Manhattan. There were few efforts to preserve existing Broadway theaters, since theatrical experts believed the existing theaters (all built before World War II) were functionally obsolete.[17][20] Consequently, the plans for One Astor Plaza initially did not include a theater.[16][17] The Minskoffs had applied for zoning amendments for their new tower, and a member of the New York City Planning Commission (CPC) notified the Urban Design Group (UDG) about the application. This brought the attention of New York City mayor John Lindsay, a fan of Broadway theater. The UDG proposed that One Astor Plaza include a theater, a suggestion that the Minskoffs initially opposed. However, the Minskoffs ultimately relented after appealing to CPC chairman Donald H. Elliott, then to mayor Lindsay.[17]
In October 1967, the CPC proposed the Special Theater District Zoning Amendment, which gave zoning bonuses to office-building developers who included theaters.[21][22][23] The proposed legislation would directly allow theaters in One Astor Plaza and the Uris Building,[24][25] which would be the first completely new Broadway theaters since the Mark Hellinger Theatre was completed in 1930.[26][27][b] The CPC approved the theater amendment that November,[6][24][29] and the New York City Board of Estimate gave final approval to the proposal the next month.[30][31] As planning progressed, members of the Broadway-theatre industry expressed concerns that theatrical experts had not been consulted in the design of One Astor Plaza's theater.[32] In March 1968, the CPC scheduled a public hearing to determine whether the Astor and Uris theater permits should be approved, including a second theater in the Uris Building.[31] Six parties testified in favor; the Shubert Organization, the largest operator of Broadway theaters, was the only dissenting speaker.[33] The CPC approved the theater over the Shuberts' objections,[27][34] as did the Board of Estimate.[35] Albert W. Selden had tentatively agreed to lease the Broadway theater in One Astor Plaza.[28][36]
Mayor Lindsay attended the groundbreaking ceremony for One Astor Plaza on October 10, 1968.[37][38] The inclusion of the Broadway theater, and the complex engineering involved in the project, delayed the building's construction. Although Minskoff & Sons president Jerome Minskoff had agreed to the theater as "our way of paying the city back", he said this had increased costs by up to 30 percent, from $55 to $70 million.[16][39] Furthermore, Selden insisted that a modern technical system be installed in the new theater, which would add $400,000 to the cost.[40] By 1971, though the theater was almost complete, it was still not officially named.[41] The next August, the theater's first production was announced: a revival of the comedy Irene.[42][43] The developers informed Broadway producers that any production in the theater would need $21,000 a week to break even.[44]