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217 West 42nd Street |
 
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Balcony: 1
Seats: 1,032
Proscenium Width: 40' 4"
Proscenium Height: 25'
Width/Right Wing: 5'
Width/Left Wing: 17'
Rigging: None
Orchestra Pit: Covered
Approximate Area Measurements:
Total Area: 23,500 s.f.
Area of Footprint: 8,900 s.f.
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THE TIMES SQUARE THEATER was constructed in 1920 by the Selwyn brothers with a common facade shared with the Apollo Theater. Designed in the Adamesque style by architects de Rosa and Pereira, the Times Square's interior was painted green, silver and black, and the walls were decorated with murals and ornamental plasterwork.
On September 30, 1920, the Times Square opened with Edgar Selwyn's The Mirage, followed by The Demi-Virgin. Despite appearances by stars like Tallulah Bankhead, Robert Cummings, Gertrude Lawrence and Beatrice Lillie, the theater's first real success was not until 1925 with Channing Pollock's The Enemy. Between 1926 and 1933, four big hits opened at the theater: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes which became the basis for the hit musical, Charles MacArthur's and Ben Hecht's The Front Page, George Gershwin's Strike Up the Band, and Noel Coward's Private Lives starring Coward, Laurence Olivier and Gertrude Lawrence. In 1934, the Times Square began showing movies, and by 1940 a retail store had been built on the stage, prohibiting the possibility of theatrical use without costly renovation.
The New 42nd Street signed a 99-year master lease, during May 1992, with the City and State of New York for six theaters known as the Apollo, Liberty, Lyric, Selwyn, Times Square and Victory. The Empire theater came under The New 42nd Street's master lease once it was fully restored in April 2000. Plans for the Times Square theater are currently under consideration.
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