Nederlander Theatre

Nederlander Theatre shown with its Rent façade

David T. Nederlander Theatre (formerly the Billy Rose Theatre and National Theatre, commonly shortened to the Nederlander Theatre) is a 1,232-seat Broadway theatre located at 208 West 41st Street, in New York City. One of the Nederlander Organization's nine Broadway theatres, the legacy of the theatre began with David Tobias Nederlander, for whom the theatre is named.

Built by Walter C. Jordan in 1921, the theatre was originally named the National Theatre. It was renamed the Billy Rose Theatre in 1959, and in 1979 was very briefly renamed the Trafalgar Theatre; it became the David T. Nederlander Theatre in 1980. It housed Times Square Church before The Nederlander Organization sold the Mark Hellinger Theatre to the church's pastor, David Wilkerson.

A wide variety of shows have played the Nederlander, including Shakespeare's Julius Caesar and King Lear, Edmond Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac, Noel Coward's Private Lives, Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and the Tony award winning Rent. Lena Horne won a 1981 Tony Award for her performance at the Nederlander in her eponymous Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music.

Located in the Times Square Theatre District, the Nederlander had recently held the title of the only Broadway theatre located south of 42nd Street to currently host a performance—until Rent closed on September 7, 2008, after twelve years. Set in the Alphabet City neighborhood of Manhattan's East Village, the Rent production occasioned the remodeling of the façade and interior of the theatre to resemble a downtown nightclub. When Rent closed in 2008, refurbishing quickly went underway for their new show, a revival of Guys and Dolls starring Oliver Platt and Lauren Graham. The show played only 147 performances and was a box office failure when it closed on June 14, 2009. Recently the Neil Simon plays, Brighton Beach Memoirs and Broadway Bound were to premiere at the theatre in the fall, and perform alternating shows. However, due to extremely weak ticket sales for Brighton Beach Memoirs, the show closed on November 1, 2009 and the other planned production of Broadway Bound was canceled.

The musical Million Dollar Quartet made its Broadway debut at the theatre in spring 2010[1] and closed on June 12, 2011 [2].

On November 15, 2011, it was announced that Newsies!: The Musical would be opening on Broadway at the Nederlander for a limited engagement, from March 15-June 10, 2012[3]

Notable productions

• 1943: The Patriots (play)
• 1948: Lend an Ear
• 1955: Inherit the Wind
• 1962: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
• 1964: Conversation At Midnight
• 1996: Rent
• 2009: Guys and Dolls
• 2009: Brighton Beach Memoirs/Broadway Bound (billed as "The Neil Simon Plays")
• 2010: Million Dollar Quartet
• 2012: Newsies! The Musical

See also

• Theatre in Detroit
• Nederlander Organization
• James L. Nederlander

External links

• Official site
• Broadway Theatre Guide
• Nederlander Detroit
• Nederlander Theatre at the Internet Broadway Database
• Playbill: At This Theatre
• The Star-Ledger article about renovation
• American Theatre Wing: In The Wings: Theatre Design Specialist
• Stage Directions: "Everything Old is New Again: Broadway’s Nederlander Theatre gets a beautiful renovation as well as a technical boost"