Lunt-Fontanne Theatre

The Lunt-Fontanne Theatre opened in 1910 as the Globe, named after Shakespeare’s theatre, and had a retractable roof so it could stay open in summer (the Nederlander Organization’s page). It became a movie house in 1932; in 1958 it was gutted, rebuilt as a legitimate theatre, and renamed for the acting couple Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, who starred in its first production under that name, The Visit. Its facade is a New York City landmark, designated in 1987; Wikipedia says the interior, rebuilt in 1958, was denied landmark status.

The operator’s page gives it 1,505 seats and says only orchestra seats need no steps: mezzanine and box seats need stairs, and the theatre has no elevators or escalators. In our view, centre orchestra is the seat to want, and the front of the mezzanine is worth pricing against it.

Operated by the Nederlander Organization. Address: 205 W 46th St, on the same street as the Richard Rodgers (226 W 46th St).