Henry Miller's Theater, the first newly built Broadway house in more than 20 years - and the first so-called green theater on the Great White Way - has completed major construction and is set to open in September with Roundabout Theater Company's revival of the musical Bye Bye Birdie.
The 1,055-seat theater, on 43rd Street between Avenue of the Americas and Broadway, was built on the site of a theater planned by the actor Henry Miller, which opened in 1918. Over the decades, the original theater fell into disrepair and was used as a movie house and a disco before Roundabout produced the musical Cabaret there in 1998, followed by a run of Urinetown.
That being said, why the hell is the inside so hideous and completely devoid of any character. Pleeeease tell me they are going to do something to those walls... paint them at least! Yuck.
"I seem to have wandered into the BRAIN load-out thread... "
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"Sorry I am a Theatre major not a English Major"
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Modern theater's suck! What happened to treating theater like this big fancy ordeal. Instead we get some red chairs and some black walls. Yuck. Why not spring for some modeling and some design, and a nice big chandelier?
One can only hope. I guess I just assumed that they would have painted and carpeted before installing all the seats.
Still, that wood is horrendous. They couldn't have even tried to make the inside of the theater resemble the style of the outside? Look at what Disney did with the New Amsterdam!
"I seem to have wandered into the BRAIN load-out thread... "
-best12bars
"Sorry I am a Theatre major not a English Major"
-skibumb5290
It looks like it has a very shallow balcony. I wonder what the pricing structure will be for it.Putting full scale musicals into a reduced seat house should force them to spike up ticket prices . Time will tell.
With a modern theater, I expect every seat to have a good view. There's no sense that they shouldn't. Also, I wonder why most get rid of the box seats? I know they don't offer a great view, but they help the theater feel cozy, at least to me.
Goodgawd, you picky lil queens! It's a new theatre in the 21st Century! For crying out loud, be HAPPY there's yet another space in Midtown for some cultural arts, instead of a sprawling apartment skyscraper!
Yes, we live in a world of modern architecture. Imagine that. RippedMan (above) has it correctly: Expect every seat to be a good view.
And if you click through the slideshow, you'll see they've preserved as best they could some of the original infrastructure and design, like the fire-exit doors (now eerily suspended on the walls) and some of the concrete columns in the lobby.
When the lights go down, who's looking at the ceiling anyway?
The first play i had ever seen as a young teenager was @ The Henry Miller Theatre. In 1966, Play: The Subject was Roses. Which I believe had moved to 4 to 5 theatres at that point. Less expensive to move a show in those years. It starred Maureen O'Sullivan, Chester Morris and Walter McGlyn. The understudy for the young soldier and the stage manager was Dustin Hoffman.
As a young kid I was AWESTRUCK by the entire experience and has kept me going to the theatre for years to come.
I personally loved the decadence which was the Henry Miller at the end. There was no better venue for the play The Bitter Tears of Petra Van Kant which closed in Feb. '01
Hopefully, this will replace that God-awful Studio 54, a real fire trap if there ever was one. Whatever quibbles are being raised about the new Henry Miller's, it sure beats the agony of going to Studio 54.
It's hard to tell from the picture but it looks like nice, clean wood to me. I, personally, find that look to be fresh and timeless.
"All our dreams can come true -- if we have the courage to pursue them." -- Walt Disney
We must have different Gods. My God said "do to others what you would have them do to you". Your God seems to have said "My Way or the Highway".
"Still, that wood is horrendous. They couldn't have even tried to make the inside of the theater resemble the style of the outside? Look at what Disney did with the New Amsterdam!"
I agree. I wish ever Broadway theatre could have the same delicacy, beauty, and intricacy as the New Amsterdam
"I mean, sitting side by side with another man watching Patti LuPone play Rose in GYPSY on Broadway is essentially the equivalent of having hardcore sex." -Wanna Be A Foster.
"Say 'Goody.' Say 'Bubbi.'" ... "That's it. Exactly as if it were 'Goody.' Now I know you're gonna sing 'Goody' this time, but nevertheless..."