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Identifier
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1145
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Formerly Known As
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Erlanger's Theatre (1927 - 1932)
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Description
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Built by and originally named after Broadway booking agent Abraham Erlanger, Erlanger's Theatre reportedly cost $1.5 million and opened with the musical The Merry Malones (https://www.playbill.com/venue/view-more?venue=00000150-aacd-d8be-af71-ffef1884000a). After Erlanger died in 1930, Lodewick Vroom acquired the theatre from the Astor family in 1932. The theatre had reverted to their ownership, as the original landowners, after Erlanger's estate defaulted on the rent. Vroom renamed the theatre after the St. James's Theatre in London. The Shuberts began operating the St. James through their subsidiary Select Theatres Corporation in 1941. In 1956 the Shuberts, who owned half of the theatres in New York City, were forced to sell the St. James as part of the ruling of a US federal antitrust case against them. The St. James became the first Broadway theatre operated by the newly formed Jujamcyn Theatres when Scarborough House Inc, purchased the theatre for $1.75 million in 1957 and leased it to Jujamcyn. The theatre was renovated in 1958 for $600,000, 1985 for $1.5 million, 1999 for $3 million, and 2016 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._James_Theatre). It operated as a live theatre venue throughout its history.
Notable productions: Oklahoma!, The King and I, Hello, Dolly!, The Who's Tommy, The Producers, Frozen, and Into the Woods (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._James_Theatre).
Number of Seats: 1684 (https://www.playbill.com/venue/st-james-theatre-vault-0000000133)
Both the facade and the auditorium interior are New York City landmarks. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._James_Theatre)
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Contributor
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Singraldi, John (interiors by)
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Date Opened
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26 September 1927
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Address
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246 West 44th Street, New York, NY, 10036
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Operator
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Jujamcyn Theaters
St. James
Into the Woods
Spamalot