Originally named the Stuyvesant, the Belasco Theatre was opened in 1907 by playwright/actor/producer/director and set designer David Belasco, known as “the bishop of Broadway” because he always dressed in priestly garments.
Portrait of David Belasco
Portrait of David Belasco
The theatre was actually David Belasco’s second theatre. Belasco first leased the Oscar Hammerstein’s Republic Theatre, now known as the New Victory Theatre on 42nd street. In 1910, when the Republic Theatre reclaimed its name, David Belasco retitled his 44th street with his namesake.
Belasco Theatre box office
Lavishly designed by George Keister, the theatre cost $750,000 to build, featuring a permanent dimmer board with sixty-five dimmers, an elevator stage that could be lowered for set changes, and space for set and lighting studios.
Marc J. Franklin
The theatre’s opening bill was a new play by Belasco and two collaborators, Pauline Phelps and Marion Short, titled A Grand Army Man, which starred Antoinette Perry, the actress for whom the Tony Awards are named.
In its early years, the theatre featured many hit productions as David Belasco developed stars including Blanche Bates, Frances Starr, Lenore Ulric, Ina Claire, Katharine Cornell, Jeanne Eagles, and more.
David Belasco died in 1931 at the age of 71. For years following his death, actors who appeared at this theatre as well as backstage personnel claimed that they saw the ghost of David Belasco in his priestly garb, usually sitting in an unoccupied box on opening nights.
After Belasco’s death, the theatre was leased by Katharine Cornell Productions, Inc. Their first show was S. N. Behrman’s witty comedy Brief Moment, which was produced and directed by Cornell’s husband, Guthrie McClintic.
Throughout its history, the theatre featured performances from iconic performers such as Al Pacino, Denzel Washington, Sally Fields, and more.
The theatre has also been the home to the Broadway debut productions of Rocky Horror Picture Show, Awake and Sing!, Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, and more.
In 2009, the Belasco was closed by the Shubert Organization for an extensive 102nd anniversary renovation. Aside from amenities like new seats and enlarged restrooms, the Shuberts had the building’s extensive interior stained glass cleaned and restored, and elegant light fixtures dating to the Tiffany era were taken from storage in the Shubert Archive and returned to service.
The Belasco reopened in fall 2010 with Lincoln Center Theater’s musical Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Patti LuPone, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Sherie Rene Scott, Laura Benanti, and Danny Burstein.
Belasco Theatre auditorium
Tiffany glass light fixtures lined with glass grapes
Belasco Theatre auditorium
Belasco Theatre auditorium
22 octogonal panels made of Tiffany glass decorate the theatre's ceiling.
Belasco Theatre lounge
