Biltmore Theatre Joins National Register of Historic Places

The Tony Award-winning Manhattan Theatre Club (Lynne Meadow, Artistic Director; Barry Grove, Executive Producer) announced that its Broadway home, the landmarked Biltmore Theatre, has been included in the National Register of Historic Places. The Biltmore, located at 261 West 47th Street between Broadway and 8th Avenue, joins a distinguished group of New York City performing arts venues, including the New Amsterdam Theatre, Radio City Music Hall, the Apollo Theatre and Carnegie Hall, with this prestigious designation.

MTC re-opened the Biltmore Theatre on October 15, 2003 after a two-year, $35 million restoration. Since its re-opening, the Biltmore has received numerous accolades, including the Lucy G. Moses Preservation Award, the New York Landmark Conservancy's highest honor for excellence in historic preservation. It is currently home to the acclaimed production of Craig Lucas's comedy "Reckless" starring Mary-Louise Parker.

The Biltmore opened in 1925 and, in its early years, played host to such plays as Brother Rat with Jose Ferrer and See My Lawyer starring Milton Berle. In the 60's, it was the original home of the landmark musical Hair and Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park. It suffered extensive damage in the intervening years due to weather, vandalism and neglect and was closed in 1987 following a devastating fire. Originally a 950-seat space with a difficult configuration and lack of audience amenities, the theatre was reconfigured into an historically sensitive restoration with a 650-seat theatre and improved public facilities. It complements Manhattan Theatre Club's two other stages at City Center, which have 299 and 150 seats. The creation of this "campus for theater" enhances Manhattan Theatre Club's ability to create theater for its expanding and increasingly diverse audiences.

The Biltmore rehabilitation was designed by Polshek Partnership Architects -- well known for their creative and respectful renovations of historic spaces. Some of their other work includes Zankel Hall, The Rose Center for Earth and Science, Carnegie Hall, and the Brooklyn Museum.

ABOUT MANHATTAN THEATRE CLUB:

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, Manhattan Theatre Club has been in the forefront of American theatre for the past 33 years. Since its founding in 1970, MTC productions have earned eleven Tony Awards, three Pulitzer Prizes and 44 Obies, 17 Drama Desk Awards and numerous Drama Critics Circle, Outer Critics Circle and Theatre World Awards. Plays produced by MTC include Proof, The Tale of the Allergist's Wife, Love! Valour! Compassion!, Valley Song, Three Days of Rain, Putting It Together, Sylvia, Lips Together, Teeth Apart, Collected Stories, Ain't Misbehavin', Crimes of the Heart, and Fuddy Meers. Playwrights such as Richard Greenberg, Donald Margulies, Neil Simon, August Wilson, Terrence McNally, Charles Busch, David Auburn and John Patrick Shanley are among the many artists who have committed to MTC's excellent reputation.