Wikipedia

Lucille Lortel Theatre

TheLucille Lortel Theatreis anoff-Broadwayplayhouse at 121Christopher StreetinManhattan'sWest Village.It was built in 1926 as a 590-seat movie theater called the New Hudson, later known as Hudson Playhouse. The interior design is largely unchanged, though as of 2024it has 295 seats.

Lucille Lortel Theatre
Theatre de Lys
(2013)
Map
Address121Christopher Street
Manhattan,New York
United States
Coordinates40°44′00″N74°00′21″W/ 40.73333°N 74.00583°W/40.73333; -74.00583
OwnerLucille Lortel Foundation
Typeproscenium
Capacity299
OpenedJune 9, 1953
Website
www.lortel.org/Theatre/History

In the early 1950s, the site was converted to an off-Broadway theater asTheatre de Lys,opening on June 9, 1953, with a production ofMaya,a play bySimon GantillonstarringKay Medford,Vivian Matalon,andSusan Strasberg.[1]It closed after seven performances. Much more successful wasThe Threepenny Operawhich opened March 10, 1954, with a cast that includedBea Arthur,John Astin,Lotte Lenya,Leon Lishner,Scott Merrill, Gerald Price,Charlotte RaeandJo Sullivan.[2]Because of an incoming booking, it was forced to close after 96 performances. Re-opening September 20, 1955, with largely the same cast,The Threepenny Operathis time played until December 17, 1961, a then record-setting run for a musical in New York City.[3]

In 1955, financierLouis Schweitzeracquired the building as an anniversary present for his wife, actress-producerLucille Lortel.In 1981, the year of her 81st birthday, the theatre was renamed in her honor. After Lortel's death in April 1999, she left the theatre to the Lucille Lortel Foundation.[4][5]

Timeline of productions

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References

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  1. ^Maya,​Lucille Lortel Theatre​at theInternet Off-Broadway Database
  2. ^The Threepenny Opera(1954),​Lucille Lortel Theatre​at theInternet Off-Broadway Database
  3. ^The Threepenny Opera(1955),​Lucille Lortel Theatre​at theInternet Off-Broadway Database
  4. ^Nemy, Enid (April 6, 1999)."Lucille Lortel, Patron Who Made Innovative Off Broadway a Star, Is Dead at 98".The New York Times.
  5. ^Silverman, Fran (February 5, 2006)."Preserving a Theater Legacy in Westport".The New York Times.
  6. ^Shaw, Helen (April 22, 2006)."Review:The School for Scandal".Time Out.New York.
  7. ^"Aubrey Plaza to Make Stage Debut in Danny and the Deep Blue Sea Off-Broadway".Playbill.RetrievedApril 25,2024.
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