Stephen Sondheim Theatre
The Stephen Sondheim Theatre, formerly Henry Miller's Theatre, is located at 124 West 43rd Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan. Owned by the Durst Organization and managed by the Roundabout Theatre Company, the modern 1,055-seat theater opened in 2009 at the base of the Bank of America Tower. The current theater is mostly underground and was designed by Cookfox, architects. It retains the landmarked façade of the original Henry Miller's Theatre, built in 1918 by the actor and producer Henry Miller.
Constructed in 1917-1918, the original theater was designed to the specifications of Henry Miller (1859-1926), by architects Allen, Ingalls and Hoffman. Its façade is an example of the neo-Georgian style popular for intimate theaters designed early in the century. The Georgian elements of the façade include "Persian red" brick walls, laid in Flemish bond, and doors, windows, cornice and pediments trimmed with white terra cotta.
The theater remained home to Miller's production for the rest
of his life. After Miller's death in 1926, his son Gilbert Miller continued
managing the theater and producing plays, although actual ownership of the
theater had been turned over to Abraham L. Erlanger shortly before Henry
Miller's death.
In 1966, the Millers sold the theater to the Nederlander Organization, that sold the theater in 1968 to Seymour Durst, who leased the theater back to the Nederlander. In the 1970s, the venue was used to shows films and as a discotheque. From 1985 to the late 1990s, it was used as a nightclub. In 1998, Roundabout renovated, reopened and operated the venue as a Broadway home for their Tony award–winning production of Cabaret, but nine months later, a construction accident at an adjacent building forced the theatre to close.
By late 2003, Durst notified the theater's operators that the Henry Miller's would have to be closed and demolished to make way for the construction of the 55-story Bank of America Tower. The original theater closed in January 2004. The theater's interior was demolished, but its façade was preserved. Roundabout announced in 2007 that it would operate the theater. The theater reopened with a preview performance of Bye Bye Birdie on September 10, 2009.
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Above, the present Stephen Sondheim auditorium (Tanveer Huq 2019).
The original façade of the Henry Miller's Theatre (photo by White Studio, NYPL).
The original auditorium of the Henry Miller's Theatre (White Studio, NYPL).
Stephen Sondheim Theatre at 124 West 43rd Street (Aneta Sikora, 2019).
Stephen Sondheim Theatre