Savoy Theatre (New York)

The Savoy Theatre was a Broadway theatre that opened in 1900 (for its first few months as Schley Music Hall). It converted to a cinema around 1910, until it was closed in early 1952 and then demolished.

Savoy Theatre
The Man of the Hour by George Broadhurst playing at the Savoy c. 1907
Address112 W. 34th St.
New York City
United States of America
Capacity841
Current useDemolished
Construction
Opened1900
Demolished1952

History

George Krause, a manager of other theatres, with financial backing of Tammany Hall politician Timothy D. Sullivan, built Schley Music Hall at 112 West 34th Street, on the south side of the street, and west of Broadway. The site adjoined the Herald Square Hotel. It had a frontage of 18 feet on 34th Street, and 50 feet on 33rd Street. It seated about 840, but the floor chairs were folding chairs.[1]

It opened on February 26, 1900, aiming to show vaudeville and burlesque fare. Kraus immediately sold out his stake to New York Yankees owner Frank J. Farrell, and the venue closed on April 29. Under a new lease by Alfred Aarons, the house reopened on October 8, 1900, as the Savoy Theatre. Aarons only lasted until early February 1901, and Hyde and Behman then leased it, followed by Charles Frohman and Frank McKee, who started performances on September 21, 1901. Notable runs included Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch (Sept. 1903-Jan. 1905, 150 perf.), and The Man of the Hour by George Broadhurst (Dec. 1906-Jan. 1908, 479 perf.) starring Douglas Fairbanks.[2]

Around late 1910, play performances ceased. The venue was leased by Walter Reade Sr. (then Walter Rosenberg), who eventually ran a large chain of movie theatres, and became a movie house. It operated until 1952 (when Reade Sr. also died), and soon the building was demolished.[3][4][5][6][7][8]

Selected productions

References
  1. (28 January 1917). To Sell Savoy Theatre. Well-Known Amusing House in 34th Street in Foreclosure Sale, The New York Times
  2. Hancock, RAlph and Letitia Fairbanks. Douglas Fairbanks: The Fourth Musketeer, p. 80 (2019)
  3. Brown, Thomas Alston. A history of the New York stage from the first performance in 1732 to 1901, Vol. 3, p. 578 (1903)
  4. Savoy Theatre, Cinematreasures.org, Retrieved 4 December 2020
  5. (14 March 1926). F.J. Farrell's Will Filed, The New York Times (Frank Farrell died in 1926, and his widow Anna E. Farrell received the Savoy in his will)
  6. (6 April 1920). Sullivan Equity in Court. Receiver Seeks to Sell "Big Tim's" Interest in Savoy Theatre, The New York Times (some years after Sullivan died, it appears that Farrell bought his estate's 50% interest)
  7. Savoy Theatre, nycago.com, Retrieved 7 December 2020
  8. (5 February 1952). Walter Reade Dies in New York, Kingston Daily Freeman

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