The Shubert Theatre is a theatre in Boston, Massachusetts, at 263–265 Tremont Street in the Boston Theater District.[2] The building has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1980.
 Shubert Theatre at the Boch Center, 2018 | |
 | |
| Full name | Shubert Theatre at the Boch Center |
|---|---|
| Former names | Shubert Theatre at the Wang Center |
| Address | 265 Tremont Street |
| Location | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Coordinates | 42°21′01″N 71°03′55″W / 42.3504°N 71.0654°W |
| Public transit | Boylston, Tufts Medical Center |
| Owner | The Shubert Organization |
| Operator | Boch Center |
| Type | Theatre |
| Capacity | 1,600 |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1908 |
| Opened | January 10, 1910 |
| Renovated | 1996 |
| Architect | Thomas M. James |
| Website | |
| www | |
Sam S. Shubert Theatre | |
  | |
| Architect | Hill, James, & Whitaker; Et al. |
| MPS | Boston Theatre MRA |
| NRHP reference No. | 80000444[1] |
| Added to NRHP | December 9, 1980 |
History
editArchitect Thomas M. James (Hill, James, & Whitaker) designed the building,[3] which seats approximately 1,600 people. Originally conceived as The Lyric Theatre by developer Charles H. Bond, it was taken over by The Shubert Organization in 1908 after Bond's death.[4] The theater was named in honor of Sam S. Shubert,[5] middle brother of the Shubert family, who had died in 1905.
The theater opened on January 24, 1910, with a production of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew,[6] starring E. H. Sothern and Julia Marlowe.
The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places—as the Sam S. Shubert Theatre[a]—in 1980. In February 1996, the Wang Center for the Performing Arts signed a 40-year lease agreement to operate the theatre with the Shubert Organization, which continues to own the building and property.[7]
The theatre reopened after renovation in November 1996, as the first stop on the first national tour of the musical Rent.[7][8] The Boch family became the namesake of the center in 2016, making the full name of the theatre the Shubert Theatre at the Boch Center.[9]
Pre-Broadway engagements
editThis section needs additional citations for verification. (June 2016) |
- 1928: Here’s Howe[10]
- 1949: South Pacific
- 1950: Arms and the Girl, Call Me Madam, Out of This World
- 1951: The King and I, Paint Your Wagon, A Month of Sundays
- 1952: Three Wishes for Jamie
- 1953: Me and Juliet, John Murray Anderson's Almanac
- 1954: By the Beautiful Sea, The Pajama Game, Fanny, Hit the Trail
- 1955: Ankles Aweigh, Damn Yankees, Reuben, Reuben, Pipe Dream
- 1956: The Amazing Adele, The Most Happy Fella, Ziegfeld Follies of 1956, Shangri-La, Bells Are Ringing, Happy Hunting
- 1957: New Girl in Town, Jamaica
- 1958: Flower Drum Song
- 1959: Juno, Destry Rides Again, Take Me Along, The Sound of Music, Fiorello!, The Pink Jungle
- 1960: Lock Up Your Daughters!, Tenderloin, Camelot
- 1961: Kean
- 1963: 110 in the Shade
- 1964: Funny Girl, Golden Boy, Ben Franklin in Paris, Bajour, Baker Street
- 1965: Kelly, Do I Hear a Waltz?, The Roar of the Greasepaint - The Smell of the Crowd, Hot September
- 1966: Mame, The Apple Tree, Cabaret, Breakfast at Tiffany's
- 1967: Darling of the Day
- 1968: Her First Roman, Zorba
- 1970: Company, Two By Two, No, No, Nanette
- 1971: Prettybelle, Lolita, My Love, On the Town
- 1972: Sugar
- 1973: Molly
- 1974: Gypsy
- 1975: Pacific Overtures
- 1976: Rex, The Baker's Wife
- 1978: The Prince of Grand Street
- 1981: Dreamgirls
- 1983: Private Lives
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ Not to be confused with the liked-name Broadway theatre, which is a designated New York City Landmark.
References
edit- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
- ^ "Boston register and business directory. 1921". HathiTrust. April 13, 2020. hdl:2027/hvd.hb0l8l. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
- ^ Susan Wilson. Boston sites & insights: an essential guide to historic landmarks in and around Boston. Boston: Beacon Press, 2004
- ^ "Beautiful New Theatre to be Named the Shubert". The Boston Daily Globe. December 12, 1909.
- ^ "Shubert Theatre". The Boston Globe. January 28, 1988. p. 18 (Calendar supplement). Retrieved October 29, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Theatre History". bochcenter.org. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
- ^ a b Center, Boch. "Theatre History | Boch Center". www.bochcenter.org. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
- ^ Gans, Andrew (September 7, 2008). ""Seasons of Love": A Rent Timeline". Playbill.
- ^ Leung, Shirley (2016-09-15). "The Boch name spreads to the Theater District". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2016-09-16.
- ^ "Musical Comedy: "Here's Howe" for Boston". Billboard. Vol. 40, no. 15. April 14, 1928. p. 8.
External links
edit
- Boston Public Library, Special Collections. William B. Jackson Theater Collection Archived 2013-07-05 at the Wayback Machine. Includes materials related to the Shubert Theatre, 1910-1989
- Library of Congress. Drawing of New Shubert Theatre, Tremont St. opposite Hollis St., Boston, Massachusetts, 1929.
- New York Public Library:
- Flyer promoting the pre-Broadway booking (2 weeks beginning Monday November 7, 1938) of The Boys From Syracuse at the Shubert Theatre (Boston, Mass.)
- Flyer advertising Too Many Girls opening at the Shubert Theatre (Boston, Mass.) (1939)
- Program (May 11-23, 1942) for All's Fair, the pre-Broadway title for By Jupiter, at the Shubert Theatre (Boston, Mass.)
- Bostonian Society:
- Photo of 263-265 Tremont Street, c. 1943
- Photo of interior of Shubert Theater, c. 1935-50
- Photo of interior of Shubert Theater, 20th century
- Photo of 263-265 Tremont Street, c. 1957
- Photo of 255-275 Tremont Street, c. 1959
- Boston Athenæum Theater History Archived 2021-04-14 at the Wayback Machine. Shubert Theatre (1910- ), 265 Tremont Street
