Wilbur Theatre Presents Joy Behar 7/24 & Yo La Tengo 9/16

Wilbur Theatre presents Joy Behar from The View on Friday, July 24 and Yo La Tengo on September 16. The Wilbur Theatre is located in Boston's historic theatre district.

Joy Behar is an American comedian, writer, actress, and a co-host of the talk show The View. Behar will host her own talk show in the fall of 2009, titled The Joy Behar Show on HLN.

Yo La Tengo is an American indie rock band based in Hoboken, New Jersey. With more than 15 albums released since their formation in 1984, they have demonstrated unusual longevity for the indie-rock scene. Although Yo La Tengo has achieved limited mainstream success, the band has garnered critical praise and attracted a devoted fan base.

The Wilbur Theatre was built in 1914 by the Shubert brothers who named it for their friend and theatre manager A.L. Wilbur. It was built on the site of the former Winthrop School for Girls. The Wilbur was the first Boston theatre to draw its inspiration from American Colonial architecture rather than from European sources. It was designed by architect Clarence H. Blackall. To ensure authenticity, the porticos on the front of the theatre were copied directly from the 1837 Thomas Bailey Midrich House at 59 Mt. Vernon Street on Beacon Hill. This Federal Revival style is characterized by a quiet simplicity and intimate, almost home-like atmosphere. Architectural historian Douglas Tucci said of the Wilbur, "The auditorium is in its chaste way the handsomest of any Boston playhouse."

The Wilbur Theatre opened in 1914 with a production of Romance starring Dorothy Keane. Over the years The Wilbur has been the scene of many landmark theatrical productions, including Thornton Wilder's Our Town (1938), A Streetcar Named Desire (1947), in which Marlon Brando became an overnight superstar, My Sister Eileen with Betty Furness (1941), A Bell for Adano with Frederick March, A Long Day's Journey Into Night (1956) with Frederick March and Jason Robards, Jr., and Dear Liar (1960), in which Katharine Cornell gave the last performance of her distinguished career.

In 2007 the theatre was put on the market. In 2008 it was leased by Bill Blumenreich, owner of the Comedy Connection and will serve as the home of the Comedy Connection in Boston (formerly located in Quincy Market), hosting both comedy and musical talent. The Comedy Connection, which has been around for more than a quarter century, has featured big names such as Chris Rock, Dane Cook, Rosie O'Donnell, Dennis Miller, Robin Williams and so many more. This transition makes the Wilbur Theatre the first comedy theater in the country.

http://www.thewilburtheatre.com/?content=events

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.

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