44th Street Theatre

The 44th Street Theatre was a New York theater located at 216 West 44th Street in Manhattan’s Theater District. Built by The Shubert Organization and opened in November 1912, it was initially called Weber and Fields’ Music Hall and was intended to serve as a permanent Broadway home for the reunited comedy team of Joe Weber and Lew Fields. The venue was designed by William Albert Swasey in an eighteenth-century Georgian style and formed part of the rapid development of the West 44th Street theater district in the early twentieth century. The theater’s first identity was short-lived. Weber and Fields’ broad burlesque style proved difficult to sustain in the relatively large venue, and their arrangement with the Shuberts ended after approximately seven and a half weeks. The building was renamed the 44th Street Theatre on December 29, 1913. Its main auditorium subsequently hosted a varied program of musical theater, plays, operettas, revues, comedies, and experimental or serious dramatic works. Productions associated with the venue included The Girl on the Film, The Lilac Domino, Katinka, The Blue Paradise, The Greenwich Village Follies of 1919, Six Characters in Search of an Author, Animal Crackers, Lysistrata, Face the Music, Four Saints in Three Acts, Liliom, Winged Victory, Yellow Jack, and On the Town. The property also supported several secondary entertainment spaces. A rooftop theater opened in June 1913 as Lew Fields’ 44th Street Roof Garden with the musical All Aboard. It was renamed the Nora Bayes Theatre in 1918 after the singer Nora Bayes. During the mid-1930s, the rooftop venue presented productions connected with the Federal Theatre Project, the New Deal-era program that supported theatrical work during the Great Depression. In the basement, an original rathskeller was converted into a small nightclub called the Little Club during Prohibition. The building briefly operated as a movie theater as well as a live-performance venue. The Film Daily Yearbook listed it as a cinema in 1930, when it had 1,468 seats and one screen. It later returned to stage productions. Among its notable film engagements was the 1931 presentation of the German film Mädchen in Uniform, which was advertised as a twice-daily Broadway screening with additional holiday performances. The theater’s most lasting wartime association was the Stage Door Canteen. After The New York Times Company purchased the building in 1940 and leased it back to Lee Shubert, the American Theatre Wing sought space for a service-members’ entertainment facility. Shubert provided the basement club without charge, and in March 1942 the approximately 40-by-80-foot space became the original Stage Door Canteen. Volunteers and theatrical performers entertained military personnel there during World War II. The canteen later became the subject of a popular film and inspired similar facilities across the United States. The 44th Street Theatre ceased to exist as a venue after the Shubert lease expired in June 1945. The building was demolished, and The New York Times constructed a printing plant on the site as part of its postwar expansion around its headquarters at 229 West 43rd Street. That printing plant was later abandoned. A plaque remains to commemorate the Stage Door Canteen location, but the original theater is no longer standing.

The 44th Street Theatre was established by The Shubert Organization in 1912 at 216 West 44th Street, in the area that became Manhattan’s Theater District. Architect William Albert Swasey designed the building in an eighteenth-century Georgian style. The theater opened in November 1912 under the name Weber and Fields’ Music Hall, reflecting the Shuberts’ plan to provide a permanent venue for Joe Weber and Lew Fields after the comedians’ reconciliation. The arrangement did not last. Weber and Fields had previously achieved success at the former Weber and Fields’ Broadway Music Hall, but their style of burlesque comedy was judged poorly suited to the new theater’s larger scale. Their engagement ended after roughly seven and a half weeks. On December 29, 1913, the building was renamed the 44th Street Theatre and began operating as a more general Broadway venue. The property included a rooftop performance space. Lew Fields’ 44th Street Roof Garden opened on June 5, 1913, with All Aboard, a musical produced by and starring Lew Fields. In 1918 the rooftop theater became the Nora Bayes Theatre. It later hosted Federal Theatre Project productions during the mid-1930s. The basement also changed functions: an original rathskeller became the Little Club, a small nightclub operating during Prohibition. The main theater presented a broad range of stage work over its operating life. Its productions included musical comedies and operettas such as The Lilac Domino, The Peasant Girl, Katinka, The Blue Paradise, Maytime, Song of the Flame, and Rosalinda; revues including The Greenwich Village Follies of 1919 and Face the Music; and plays or more experimental works such as Six Characters in Search of an Author, Lysistrata, Four Saints in Three Acts, Liliom, Yellow Jack, and On the Town. Animal Crackers was among the comedy productions associated with the venue. The building also had a brief career as a cinema. The Film Daily Yearbook listed the 44th Street Theatre as a movie theater in 1930, recording a 1,468-seat auditorium and one screen. It later resumed stage programming. A notable film engagement was the 1931 screening of Mädchen in Uniform, a German film that received repeated daily showings and was marketed with low-price claims compared with other twice-daily Broadway movie presentations. In 1940, The New York Times Company acquired the building and leased it back to Lee Shubert. During World War II, the American Theatre Wing requested the basement club as a place to entertain service members. Shubert donated the space without charge, and in March 1942 it opened as the original Stage Door Canteen. The 40-by-80-foot club became associated with performances and hospitality provided by theater professionals and volunteers. Its success helped inspire similar canteens elsewhere in the United States and was later represented in a popular film. The theater’s final period was short. The Shubert lease expired in June 1945, after which the building was demolished. The New York Times replaced it with a printing plant connected to its postwar expansion around its headquarters on West 43rd Street. The plant was eventually abandoned, while a plaque continued to identify the former Stage Door Canteen site. The 44th Street Theatre itself is therefore a defunct historic venue rather than an operating theater brand.

• 1945

  Demolition

  [1]44th Street Theatreen.wikipedia.org

  The theater was demolished after the Shubert lease expired in June.

• 1942

  Stage Door Canteen begins operation

  [1]44th Street Theatreen.wikipedia.org

  The basement club became the original Stage Door Canteen in March, serving military personnel during World War II.

• 1940

  Acquisition by The New York Times Company

  [1]44th Street Theatreen.wikipedia.org

  The New York Times Company purchased the building and leased it back to Lee Shubert.

• 1935

  Federal Theatre Project activity

  [1]44th Street Theatreen.wikipedia.org

  The Nora Bayes Theatre rooftop venue presented productions associated with the Federal Theatre Project during the mid-1930s.

• 1930

  Listed as a movie theater

  [1]44th Street Theatreen.wikipedia.org

  The Film Daily Yearbook recorded the venue as a cinema with 1,468 seats and one screen.

• 1918

  Rooftop venue renamed Nora Bayes Theatre

  [1]44th Street Theatreen.wikipedia.org

  The rooftop performance space took the name Nora Bayes Theatre.

• 1913

  Rooftop theater opens

  [1]44th Street Theatreen.wikipedia.org

  Lew Fields' 44th Street Roof Garden opened on June 5 with the musical All Aboard.

• 1913

  Adoption of the 44th Street Theatre name

  [1]44th Street Theatreen.wikipedia.org

  The venue was renamed on December 29 after the brief Weber and Fields engagement ended.

• 1912

  Opening as Weber and Fields' Music Hall

  [1]44th Street Theatreen.wikipedia.org

  The Shubert-built theater opened in November as a resident venue for the reunited comedy duo Joe Weber and Lew Fields.

A centrally located Manhattan theatrical venue that combined Broadway productions with rooftop performances, occasional cinema programming, and a wartime service-members’ club.

• Live theater · 1912

  Broadway stage productions

  The main auditorium presented a changing program of Broadway plays, musicals, operettas, revues, comedies, and experimental works. Its documented repertoire ranged from popular musical theater and comic productions to works such as Six Characters in Search of an Author, Four Saints in Three Acts, and On the Town.

• Rooftop theater · 1913

  Nora Bayes Theatre

  The rooftop performance venue opened in 1913 as Lew Fields’ 44th Street Roof Garden and was renamed the Nora Bayes Theatre in 1918. It later hosted Federal Theatre Project productions during the mid-1930s.

• Film exhibition · 1930

  Cinema screenings

  For a limited period, the theater operated as a movie venue with 1,468 seats and one screen. Its notable film engagements included the 1931 presentation of Mädchen in Uniform before the building returned to live stage programming.

• Wartime entertainment venue · 1942

  Stage Door Canteen

  The basement club became the original Stage Door Canteen in 1942. The American Theatre Wing operated it as a free entertainment and hospitality venue for service members during World War II, with participation from theater professionals and volunteers.

• 1945

  Closure and demolitionOther

  Background

  The New York Times Company owned the building, while Lee Shubert held the operating lease until June 1945.

  Action taken

  After the lease expired, the theater building was demolished and replaced by a New York Times printing plant.

  Aftermath

  The theater ceased to operate permanently; only a plaque marking the Stage Door Canteen location remains associated with the site.

  Source

• 1942

  Conversion of the basement club into the Stage Door CanteenStrategy

  Background

  During World War II, the American Theatre Wing sought a Manhattan location for an entertainment club serving military personnel.

  Action taken

  Lee Shubert provided the basement club without charge, allowing it to open as the original Stage Door Canteen in March 1942.

  Aftermath

  The canteen became a prominent wartime service venue, inspired similar facilities around the United States, and was later depicted in a popular film.

  Source

• 1930

  Temporary expansion into film exhibitionStrategy

  Background

  The theater was listed as a movie theater in the 1930 Film Daily Yearbook, indicating a temporary shift from its principal live-performance role.

  Action taken

  The auditorium was used for film screenings, including the 1931 engagement of Mädchen in Uniform.

  Aftermath

  The venue later returned to stage productions.

  Source

• 1913

  End of the Weber and Fields resident-venue modelStrategy

  Background

  The new theater had been built to house the reunited Weber and Fields comedy partnership, but the venue was considered too large for their burlesque style and the engagement ended after approximately seven and a half weeks.

  Action taken

  The theater abandoned its initial Weber and Fields identity and was renamed the 44th Street Theatre on December 29, 1913.

  Aftermath

  The building continued as a general Broadway venue rather than a dedicated home for the comedy duo.

  Source

1. 144th Street Theatreen.wikipedia.org