The Al Hirschfeld Theatre is one of the only Broadway theaters to have an outdoor box office window. On the building's exterior is an old-fashioned ticket booth that says 'Martin Beck Theatre', a feature kept after the renaming of the theatre to honor its original namesake. Another special element of the theatre, is that when the theatre was built in 1924, it was designed to be the most opulent of its time- the building features dressing rooms for 200 actors.
The theatre opened in 1924, and was built by Vaudeville theatre owner, manager, and promoter Martin Beck, founder of the famous Orpheum Circuit. The theatre was called the Martin Beck until 2003, when it was renamed for Al Hirschfeld, the caricaturist famous for his drawings of Broadway stars, musicians and more. Those immortalized by Hirschfeld's caricatures include Cole Porter, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, The Beatles, Elvis Presley and more. Hirschfeld was also responsible for the original movie posters for films such as The Wizard of Oz.
What is now Private Eyes Gentlemen's Club next-door used to be Ted Hook's Backstage! Ted Hook was a performer who appeared in over 400 films before he opened his own restaurant and bar in 1973. At Ted Hook's each table had a lamp with a star's name on it, and when that star came to the restaurant the lampshade with their name on it would be brought to their table. Those who could be seen at Ted Hook's included Liza Minnelli, Richard Burton, Robin Williams, Meryl Streep and more.
Famous performances in the theatre include Richard Gere in Bent; Frank Langella in Dracula; Elizabeth Taylor in The Little Foxes; Christina Applegate in Sweet Charity; David Hyde Pierce as Lt. Coffi in the musical Curtains; Daniel Radcliffe in the most recent revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, and more. Famous productions that have run in the Al Hirschfeld theatre include On the Town, Bye Bye Birdie, Oliver!, The Rink, and more.
The longest-running show at the theatre is Kinky Boots! Kinky Boots ran at the Al Hirschfeld from April 4, 2013 to April 7, 2019, a total of 2507 performances. The musical featured music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper and book by Harvey Fierstein, and starred Stark Sands, Billy Porter, Annaleigh Ashford, Lena Hall and more. Kinky Boots won six Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and is currently 26th longest running show of all time.
