Longacre Theatre

The Longacre Theatre opened May 1, 1913 — designed by Henry B. Herts and built for Harry Frazee, a baseball personality best known outside theatre circles as the Boston Red Sox owner who sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees. The theatre is named for Longacre Square, the pre-Times-Square name for the intersection of Broadway and 7th Avenue at 42nd–47th Streets.

The house has an unusual mid-20th-century wrinkle in its history: after operating as a theatre through the 1940s, it was used as a radio and television studio for nine and a half years before the Shubert Organization returned it to legitimate stage productions in 1953. A $12 million renovation in 2008 restored the original decorative elements — the rusticated terracotta ground level, ornamental plasterwork, and classical proscenium — and improved accessibility. Facade and auditorium interior are both New York City landmarks (designated December 1987).

Capacity is 1,077 seats across three levels: 508 orchestra, 304 first balcony, 249 second balcony, plus 16 box seats. That’s a full three-level configuration in a mid-size footprint — the second balcony gets real distance from the stage, but the first balcony sits close enough to compete with rear-orchestra seats on price-per-view. For dialogue-driven productions (like its current tenant, the two-hander Two Strangers), centre orchestra front-to-middle and front first balcony are the two premium tiers.

Address: 220 W 48th Street, between 8th Avenue and Broadway — one block north of the Hirschfeld and the Ambassador.