Music Box Theatre Information
The Music Box Theatre, located at 239 West 45th Street in New York City, is a live theater venue. Originally constructed for Irving Berlin and Sam H. Harris in 1921, it has been owned by The Shubert Organization since 2007. Both the facade and the auditorium interior of the theater have been officially recognized as New York City landmarks.
The theater was designed by C. Howard Crane. It features a Palladian-inspired style, with a country manor-style appearance and design that makes it unique from other traditional Broadway houses. Its seating capacity of 1,025 is spread across two levels.
The Music Box Theatre is among the smallest of Broadway houses, with a seating capacity of just 860. It’s unique design features unusually round and large box seats, described humorously as “ashtrays,” by Dame Edna during her series of successful performances at the theatre.
The Music Box Theatre initially showed the Music Box Revue. The first play hosted there was Cradle Snatchers in 1925 — and the theater quickly gained a reputation for hosting popular shows.
Currently, the Music Box Theatre is the home of Suffs, a musical by Shaina Taub. It’s set in the women’s suffrage movement in America during 1913, focusing on the suffragists’ pursuit of voting rights. The production has received rave reviews and is a must-see for any musical fan.
The design of the Music Box is so much-loved that it directly inspired that of the Brown Theatre in Louisville, Kentucky!
The Music Box Theatre NYC history
In the early 1900s, Times Square became one of the world’s great musical performance centers. To satisfy the growing demand, The Music Box Theatre was built from 1920 to 1921 for Irving Berlin and Sam H. Harris. The interior was decorated in detail by Crane and William Baumgarten, and it was constructed by Longacre Engineering and Construction Company.
In 1920, the original owners bought properties at 239 to 245 West 45th Street. Theater plans were completed by 1920, and the Music Box Theatre opened in September 1921, with the “Music Box Revue.” It hosted this for its first three years.
Harris’s stake in the Music Box Theatre went to his widow, Kathleen Marin, after his death in 1941. It pivoted to hosting smaller dramas. Since then, it has become one of the most popular Broadway theaters, with its longest-running production being “Sleuth” in 1970, with over 1,000 performances.
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the theater as a landmark in 1987. It continued to host world-class shows over the following decades, before closing in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It then reopened in December 2021. Its highest box office grossing was made by “Dear Evan Hansen,” in 2017, taking over $2 million in one week.
Past major Music Box Theatre productions have included:
» 1921–1924: Music Box Revue
» 1926: Chicago
» 1929: The Little Show
» 1930: Once in a Lifetime
» 1931: Of Thee I Sing
» 1932: Dinner at Eight
» 1933: As Thousands Cheer
» 1934: Merrily We Roll Along
» 1936: Stage Door
» 1939: The Man Who Came to Dinner
» 1944: I Remember Mama
» 1949: Lost in the Stars
» 1953: Picnic
» 1955: Bus Stop
» 1957: The Dark at the Top of the Stairs
» 1959: Rashomon
» 1959: Five Finger Exercise
» 1967: The Homecoming
» 1970: Sleuth
» 1974: Absurd Person Singular
» 1977: Side by Side by Sondheim
» 1978: Deathtrap
» 1982: Agnes of God
» 1987: Les Liaisons Dangereuses
» 1989: A Few Good Men
» 1993: Blood Brothers
» 1996: State Fair
» 1997: Barrymore
» 1999: Closer
» 1999: Amadeus
» 2002: Amour
» 2003: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
» 2006: The Vertical Hour
» 2007: Deuce
» 2007: The Farnsworth Invention
» 2008: August: Osage County
» 2009: Superior Donuts
» 2010: Lend Me a Tenor
» 2011: Jerusalem
» 2012: One Man, Two Guvnors
» 2013: Pippin
» 2015: The Heidi Chronicles
» 2015: King Charles III
» 2016: Shuffle Along
» 2016: Dear Evan Hansen
» 2023: Dancin’