John Golden Theatre

The John Golden Theatre opened in 1927 as the Theatre Masque — the third in a trio of houses Herbert Krapp designed for the Chanin brothers, alongside the Majestic and the Royale (now the Bernard B. Jacobs). All three sit on the same West 45th Street block. The Theatre Masque was the smallest of the three, built for the more intimate plays the Chanins intended to differentiate from the larger musical houses they were also operating. It was renamed for producer John Golden in 1937.

At 805 seats, the Golden is among Broadway’s smallest active venues — only the Booth, Circle in the Square, and the Hayes seat fewer. The room reads as warm and theatrical rather than grand: an orchestra and a shallow mezzanine, with sight lines that hold up across nearly every seat. The Golden’s size is its defining feature for ticket-buyers — the difference between a $200 ticket and a $79 ticket at this house is real but rarely dramatic, because there’s no seat in the room that’s genuinely far from the stage.

It’s operated by the Shubert Organization and sits on the same West 45th Street block as the Booth, the Music Box, and the Imperial.