Playbill’s photo series Inside the Theatre captures the dazzling architecture and unseen details of the world’s most famous theatres, taking you inside all 41 of the Broadway houses. This week, we invite you into the Stephen Sondheim Theatre on 43rd Street, home to Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.
The Sondheim Theatre was constructed by architect H.C. Ingalls and originally owned by Henry Miller. It opened in 1918 as Henry Miller’s Theatre, and the following year, was home to George Gershwin’s first complete Broadway score: La, La, Lucille. The venue has showcased stars such as Noel Coward, Leslie Howard, Helen Hayes, and Ruth Chatterton. The longest-running show to play the theatre was Urinetown The Musical from 2001–2004.
Flip through photos of the theatre below:
Step Inside Broadway’s Stephen Sondheim Theatre
Step Inside Broadway’s Stephen Sondheim Theatre
Inside the Theatre, the photo feature series that documents Broadway’s historic playhouses, continues with the Stephen Sondheim Theatre.
15 PHOTOS
The Stephen Sondheim Theatre opened on April 1, 1918 as Henry Miller’s Theatre after the London-born actor and producer. Marc J. Franklin
Henry Miller inaugurated his namesake playhouse with Louis Evan Shipman’s romantic comedy The Fountain of Youth starring himself. Marc J. Franklin
Designed by Architects Allen, Ingalls, and Hoffman, the 950-seat theatre was made after to feel like a cozy, intimate venue for audiences. Marc J. Franklin
Stephen Sondheim Theatre lobby Marc J. Franklin
Early in its history, the theatre showcased the work of legends such as Noel Coward, Leslie Howard, Helen Hayes, and Ruth Chatterton. Marc J. Franklin
One of Broadway’s all-time greatest talents marked a milestone at Henry Miller’s Theatre: composer George Gershwin wrote his first complete score to a musical, La, La, Lucille, which opened in 1919. Marc J. Franklin
In addition, the theatre premiered many iconic plays including Thornton Wilder’s Our Town and R.C. Sherriff’s Journey’s End. Marc J. Franklin
In 1968, the Nederlanders sold the theatre to developer Seymour Durst. As Durst set out to purchase and rebuild an entire city block, the theatre played movies and became a discotheque in the 1970s. Marc J. Franklin
In 1998, the theatre was renovated by the Roundabout Theatre Company and re-opened with an acclaimed Broadway revival of Cabaret. Marc J. Franklin
In 2004, the Durst Organization and Bank of America demolished the building, leaving only the building’s original façade, in order to create a new state of the art “green” theatre, designed to minimize its energy use and contribution to environmental pollution. Marc J. Franklin
Beautiful: The Carole King Musical currently plays the Sondheim Theatre, where it opened January 12, 2014. With a book by Tony and Academy Award nominee Douglas McGrath, direction by Marc Bruni, and choreography by Josh Prince, Beautiful details the life and career of Carole King.
