John Golden Theatre (Broadway)

The John Golden Theatre at 252 West Forty-fifth Street was originally named the Theatre Masque. It was the fifth theatre built by the Chanin Brothers, and once again they chose Herbert J. Krapp as their architect. This house was their smallest, with 800 seats, and the Chanins announced that it aimed to be "the home of fine plays of the 'artistic' or 'intimate' type." They also reiterated their philosophy that their theatres were built to afford ease and comfort to actors as well as playgoers.

The New York Times reviewed the first production at the Theatre Masque, an Italian play called "Puppets of Passion," which opened on February 24, 1927, and the paper liked the new playhouse more than the new play. "Like all the Chanin houses," wrote critic Brooks Atkinson, "the Theatre Masque is pleasing and comfortable. The architecture is modern Spanish in character, and the interior of the house is decorated in pastel shades, trimmed in grayish blues and reds."

Of the play, which had Frank Morgan in the cast, Atkinson wrote that it moved along at a funereal pace. It expired after twelve performances. The theatre's next attraction fared better. It ran for fifteen performances. This was a play called "The Comic," with J.C. Nugent, Patricia Collinge, and Rex O'Malley, and the program stated that it was written by one Lajos Luria, a pseudonym for a famous serious European dramatist who wouldn't use his real name on a comedy. During the remainder of 1927 this theatre housed a revival of the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta "Patience"; a play about the corruption of the Harding administration in Washington, "Revelry"; Lionel Atwill in a sorry swashbuckler, "The King Can Do NoWrong"; and finally, a misguided comedy called "Venus," by the usually skillful Rachel Crothers, who, this time out, wrote a futuristic play about man's first flight to the planet Venus. Her play was visible for only eight performances.

Things did not improve much in 1928. There were eight productions produced here and only one ran more than a hundred performances. This was an ethnic comedy called "Relations," written by and starring Edward Clark. "The Scarlet Fox," written by and starring Willard Mack, ran for seventy-nine performances: and "Young Love," by Samson Raphaelson, starring Dorothy Gish and James Rennie, lasted for eighty-seven performances.

Theatre Masque's biggest hit in 1929 was a macabre drama called "Rope's End," by British playwright Patrick Hamilton. The play detailed the grisly murder of an Oxford undergraduate by two upperclassmen, just for kicks. Although the playwright denied it, he was obviously influenced by the similar murder of a young boy in Chicago by Leopold and Loeb, two intellectuals who also committed a thrill kill. In "Rope's End," the murderers put their victim's body in a chest, then invite his father and aunt to dinner. The meal is served on the chest. Alfred Hitchcock made a rarely shown film of this play and called it "Rope."

In early 1930, the hit play "Broken Dishes," with Bette Davis and Donald Meek, moved here from the Ritz and played for three months. A comedy about life in Greenwich Village, "Up Pops the Devil," with Roger Pryor, Sally Bates, Brian Donlevy, and Albert Hackett (who co-authored the play with Frances Goodrich) ran for 146 performances that year. An interesting but unsuccessful drama, "Brass Ankle," by DuBose Heyward (who later wrote "Porgy and Bess" with the Gershwins) starred Alice Brady in 1931. A Norman Krasna farce about Hollywood, "Louder, Please!" was a moderate success in 1931. It starred Lee Tracy as a loudmouth publicity man and it was directed at top speed by George Abbott. A much bigger hit was "Goodbye Again," a comedy in which Osgood Perkins felicitously played a novelist who tries to renew an old affair while on a publicity tour for his latest book. This romantic trifle kept the Theatre Masque full for 212 performances in 1932-33.

The 1934 hit was a play about kidnapping called "Post Road," with delirious performances by Lucile Watson and Percy Kilbride. The following year brought J. B. Priestley's "Laburnum Grove," starring Edmund Gwenn, Elizabeth Risdon, and Melville Cooper, which moved here from the Booth. In 1936 "Russet Mantle," a pleasant play about Santa Fe characters by Lynn Riggs, moved in and stayed for 116 performances. There was much praise for the actors -- Evelyn Varden, John Beal, Martha Sleeper, Margaret Douglass, Jay Fassett, and others.

The last show to play the Masque before it changed its name was "The Holmses of Baker Street," in which Sherlock's daughter (Helen Chandler) proved that she was as good a sleuth as her old man. Cyril Scott played Sherlock, Conway Wingfield was Dr. Watson, and the wonderful mimic Cecilia Loftus was Mrs. Watson.

On February 2, 1937, the Masque became the John Golden Theatre, making it the third house named after the illustrious theatrical producer. Its first play was "And Now Good-bye," a drama based on a James Hilton novel, starring Philip Merivale as a reverend who falls in love with a parishioner. lt was not successful. A radiant play, "Shadow and Substance," by Paul Vincent Carroll arrived in January 1938 and was acclaimed by the drama critics. It had shining performances by the ethereal Julie Haydon as the servant to an intellectual snob and by Sir Cedric Hardwicke, who played her employer. The spiritual play found favor and stayed for 206 performances.

The following year, another memorable play by Paul Vincent Carroll, "The White Steed," moved here from the Cort. It starred Jessica Tandy and Barry Fitzgerald.On December 5, 1941, a Victorian thriller called "Angel Street" opened here, with Judith Evelyn, Vincent Price, and Leo G. Carroll. Produced by Shepard Traube, in association with Alexander H. Cohen, it was not expected to succeed, and consequently, only a three-day supply of PLAYBILL magazines was ordered. The producers underestimated their show. It played for 1,293 times, making it the longest-running play in this theatre's history up to that time.

Rose Franken's comedy "Soldier's Wife" found an audience in 1944 and ran for 255 performances. The play, which had a star-studded cast -- Martha Scott, Frieda Inescort, Lili Darvas, Glenn Anders, and Myron McCormick -- was not a war play. It was about a woman who wrote a best-seller and the problems it incurred on her family. The remainder of the 1940s brought a number of shows to this theatre, but none was outstanding. Among them were: "The Rich Full Life" (1945), with Judith Evelyn and Virginia Weidler; S.N. Behrman's "Dunnigan's Daughter" (1945), with June Havoc, Dennis King, Richard Widmark, Jan Sterling, and Luther Adler; January Thaw (1946), with Robert Keith and Lulu Mae Hubbard; and "I Like It Here" (1946), with Oscar Karlweis and Bert Lytel.

From mid-1946 until February 1948 the John Golden was leased as a motion picture theatre. It returned to legitimacy on February 29, 1948, with Maurice Chevalier in a one-man show of songs and impressions.

Highlights of the 1950s at the John Golden included Grace George and Walter Hampden in "The Velvet Glove" (1950), which moved here from the Booth; Emlyn Williams in a solo performance of six scenes from the works of Charles Dickens (1952); Cornelia Otis Skinner in "Paris '90" (1952), a monodrama that moved here from the Booth; the long-running comedy "The Fourposter" (1952--53), which moved here from the Ethel Barrymore.On October 2, 1953, the witty Victor Borge opened at this theatre in a one-man show called "Comedy in Music." Mr. Borge played the piano and indulged in dead-pan patter and lampoons that kept audiences in stitches for 849 performances.

In 1956, comic Bert Lahr gave one of his most unforgettable performances as Gogo in Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot." It was a radical departure for this famed revue and musical comedy star and the critics hailed him. Also in the cast were E.G. Marshall, Kurt Kasznar, and Alvin Epstein.

Menasha Skulnik appeared in a comedy, "Uncle Willie," in late 1956 and stayed for 141 performances. The play was a variant of "Abie's Irish Rose," focusing on an Irish and a Jewish family who are neighbors. John Osborn's vitriolic hit "Look Back in Anger" moved here from the Lyceum in 1958 and stayed for six months. "A Party with Betty Comden and Adolph Green," with the popular duo singing their witty lyrics from Broadway musicals and Hollywood films, was welcomed in 1958--59, as was the "Billy Barnes Revue" from the West Coast. The British duo of Michael Flanders and Donald Swann scored a hit in their two-man revue "At the Drop of a Hat" (1959-60).

One of the John Golden's most cherished entertainments was the brilliant Alexander H. Cohen production of "An Evening with Mike Nichols and Elaine May." Even their biographies in PLAYBILL, which they wrote themselves, were hilarious. The duo presented some of their classic comedy sketches that satirized everyday foibles and they kept the John Golden Theatre quaking with laughter for 306 performances in 1960-61.

"An Evening with Yves Montand" (1961) also proved a hit, with the French actor/singer charming audiences in a one-man show. Robert Redford appeared here in "Sunday in New York," a fair comedy by Norman Krasna that moved to the Golden from the Cort Theatre in 1962. On October 27, 1962, a tornado of mirth called "Beyond the Fringe" arrived from England and fractured audiences for 673 performances. This Alexander H. Cohen import was a delirious revue written and performed by Alan Bennett, Peter Cook, Jonathan Miller, and Dudley Moore; Mr. Cohen staged the uproar.

In 1964 Victor Borge returned to the Golden with another edition of his "Comedy in Music, Opus 2," which was good enough for 192 performances. Another hit revue, "Wait a Minim," opened here in 1966, bringing eight extremely personable and talented performers from South Africa. Their zany entertainment delighted theatregoers for 457 performances.

The remainder of the 1960s brought seven shows, but only two of them were of much interest: John Bowen's British play "After the Rain" (1967) with Alec McCowen, and the British actor Roy Dotrice in his one-man show, "Brief Lives," about an English antiquarian named John Aubrey.

Highlights of the 1970s included "Bob and Ray -- The Two and Only" (1970), a two-man show featuring the popular radio comics Bob Elliott and Ray Goulding; David Rabe's Sticks and Bones (1972), which won a Tony Award for best play of the season; "Words and Music" (1974), a revue featuring the songs of Sammy Cahn, who appeared in the show with Kelly Garrett, Jon Peck, and Shirley Lemmon; Robert Patrick's "Kennedy's Children" (1975), with Shirley Knight, who won a Tony Award as best supporting actress of the season; Tom Stoppard's "Dirty Linen" and "New-Found-Land" (1977), two plays in one, performed without intermission; D.L. Coburn's "The Gin Game" (1977), a Pulitzer Prize play that starred Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy, who won a Tony Award for her performance.

The 1980s opened with a revival of Lillian Hellman's "Watch on the Rhine"; and continued with "A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine" (1980), a double bill combining a revue about Hollywood musicals of the 1930s with a parody of a Marx Brothers movie, with Priscilla Lopez winning a Tony Award for her performance and Tommy Tune and Thommie Walsh also winning a Tony for their choreography; "Tintypes" (1980), a diverting revue of turn-of-the-century songs, which moved to the John Golden from the Off-Broadway Theatre of St. Peter's Church; Beth Henley's Pulitzer Prize play "Crimes of the Heart" (1981), which transferred here from the Off-Broadway Manhattan Theatre Club; and Marsha Norman's Pulitzer Prize play "'night, Mother," with Kathy Bates as a daughter who announces to her mother (Anne Pitoniak) that she intends to commit suicide.

In 1984, another Pulitzer Prize play opened here -- David Mamet's "Glengarry Glen Ross" -- making it three Pulitzer Prize plays in a row, a record for any Broadway theatre. Gregory Mosher won a Tony Award for his direction of the Mamet play, which starred Ron Silver, Joe Mantegna (Tony Award), and Robert Prosky.

This was followed by a revival of Athol Fugard's play "Blood Knot," starring the playwright and Zakes Mokae; Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn in "The Petition," a British play having its world premiere on Broadway; another British production -- "Stepping Out" -- directed by Tommy Tune; a revival of Arthur Miller's "All My Sons"; The Gate Theatre of Dublin production of O'Casey's "Juno and the Paycock," presented in a limited engagement by the Circle in the Square Theatre as part of the first New York International Festival of the Arts; "Paul Robeson" starring Avery Brooks; "Eastern Standard" with Peter Frechette, Ann Meara and others; "Sid Caesar & Company: Does Anyone Know What I'm Talking About?"; "Michael Feinstein in Concert -- Piano and Voice"; and the hit musical "Falsettos," William Fill and James Lapine's two earlier musical combined to make one show, winner of Tony Awards for Best Musical Book and Score.

In 1994, "Jackie Mason: Politically Incorrect" convulsed audiences with its irreverent humor.

Recent productions include Vincent in Brixton, The Goat or Who is Sylvia? (Tony Award), Stones in His Pockets, Jackie Mason, Side Man, The Chairs and Master Class (Tony Award).

The John Golden is currently a Shubert Organization Theatre. It has been very successful as a house for intimate revues, one- and two-man shows, and dramatic plays with small casts.

Theatre Information:
252 West 45th Street
New York, NY 10036
US

Box Office: Telecharge (212) 239-6200/(800) 432-7250

Public Transportation:
SUBWAY: Take the N,Q,R,W or 1,2,3,9 to 42nd Street, walk North on Broadway to 45th Street and walk West on 45th Street to the theatre; Take the A,C,E to 42nd Street, walk North on Eighth Avenue to 45th Street and walk East on 45th Street to the theatre.

Handicap Access:
ACCESS INTO THEATRE: Theatre is not completely wheelchair accessible. There are no steps into the theatre (where there are steps we are unable to provide assistance). ORCHESTRA LOCATION: Seating is accessible to all parts of the orchestra without steps. Wheelchair seating is in the orchestra only. MEZZANINE LOCATION: Located on the second level, up three flights of stairs, 28 steps. Once on the Mezzanine level there are approximately 2 steps per row. Entrance to the Mezzanine is behind row D. RESTROOM: Not wheelchair accessible. Restrooms are located down 2 flights of steps, 19 steps, to lower level. Wheelchair accessible restrooms are located next door at the Milford Plaza Hotel.

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