Nederlander Theatre, West 41st Street NYC

The David Nederlander Theatre (previously the National Theatre, the Billy Rose Theatre, and the Trafalgar Theatre) opened in 1921 at 208 West 41st Street, between Seventh Avenue and Eighth Avenue near Times Square, in New York City. It has about 1,235 seats on two levels and is operated by the Nederlander Organization.

The National Theatre was designed by William Neil Smith for theatrical operator Walter C. Jordan. The facade is relatively plain and made of brick, with a fire escape at the center of the second and third floors. The auditorium was originally designed in the early Renaissance style, which has since been modified several times.

The theater opened on September 2, 1921, with Swords. Since then, some of the best plays have been presented in the theater, including Cyrano de Bergerac, Private Lives, Julius Caesar, King Lear, and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.

Thee Shubert brothers bought the National in 1927 and operated it for three decades. In 1956, as part of a settlement in an antitrust lawsuit, the Shuberts sold the venue to Harry Fromkes. The National was acquired in 1958 by theatrical producer Billy Rose, who renovated the venue and renamed it after himself in 1959.

The Nederlander Organization and the Cooney-Marsh Organization acquired the theater in 1978, and renamed it the Trafalgar Theatre. In 1980, the theater was named for American theater impresario David Tobias Nederlander, father of theatrical producer James M. Nederlander.