Nederlander Organization

The Nederlander Organization, founded in 1912 by David T. Nederlander in Detroit, and currently based in New York City, is one of the largest operators of live theaters and music venues in the United States. Its first acquisition was a lease on the Detroit Opera House in 1912. The building was demolished in 1928. It later operated the Shubert Lafayette Theatre^[1] until its demolition in 1964 and the Riviera Theatre, both in Detroit. Since then, the organization has grown to include nine Broadway theaters, making it the second-largest owner of Broadway theaters after the Shubert Organization, and a number of theaters across the United States, including five large theaters in Chicago, plus three West End theatres in London.

Nederlander Organization

Company type	Private
Industry	Theatre
Founded	1912; 113 years ago (1912) in Detroit, Michigan, United States
Founder	David Nederlander
Headquarters	New York City, New York , United States
Key people	James L. Nederlander James M. Nederlander Joseph Z. Nederlander
Website	www.nederlander.com

Current venues

Broadway theatres

• Gershwin Theatre
• Lena Horne Theatre
• Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
• Marquis Theatre
• Minskoff Theatre
• Nederlander Theatre
• Palace Theatre
• Richard Rodgers Theatre
• Neil Simon Theatre

West End theatres

• Adelphi Theatre (co-owned with Andrew Lloyd Webber's LW Theatres)
• Aldwych Theatre
• Dominion Theatre

Chicago theatres

• Auditorium Theatre (booking rights; owned by Roosevelt University)
• Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place
• Cadillac Palace Theatre
• CIBC Theatre
• Nederlander Theatre

Other US venues

• Centennial Hall – under contract with the University of Arizona, Tucson
• The Grove of Anaheim – Anaheim, California
• Pantages Theatre – Los Angeles
• Balboa Theatre – San Diego
• Civic Theatre – San Diego
• San Jose Center for the Performing Arts – San Jose, California
• San Jose Civic Auditorium – San Jose, California
• Santa Barbara Bowl – Santa Barbara, California
• Durham Performing Arts Center – Durham, North Carolina
• Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts – Greensboro, North Carolina
• North Charleston Performing Arts Center – North Charleston, South Carolina^[2]
• Heritage Bank Center – Cincinnati, Ohio and its tenant, the Cincinnati Cyclones Professional Hockey Team
• National Theatre – Washington, DC under contract with The National Theatre
• West Harbor Amphitheater Los Angeles—under development as of 2023.^[3]

Former venues

Former Broadway theatres

• Biltmore Theatre (sold)^[4]
• Henry Miller's Theatre (sold)^[5]
• Mark Hellinger Theatre (sold)^[6]
• New Amsterdam Theatre (sold)^[7]

Other former venues

• Alpine Valley Music Theatre – East Troy, Wisconsin (sold)
• Arie Crown Theater – Chicago (1977–1986; contract ended)^[8][9]
• Arrowhead Pond – Anaheim, California 1994–2004^[10](management contract ended)^[11]
• Birmingham Theatre – Birmingham, Michigan (sold and reverted to cinema)
• Bogart's – Cincinnati (sold)
• Concord Pavilion – Concord, California (management contract ended)
• Curran Theatre – San Francisco (now operated by Carole Shorenstein Hays)
• Detroit Opera House – Detroit; owned and operated by Michigan Opera Theatre (interest sold in April 2021)^[12]
• Fisher Theatre – Detroit (sold in April 2021)^[12]
• Fox Tucson Theatre – Tucson, Arizona (changed venues)
• Fox Theatre – San Diego (management contract ended)
• Golden Gate Theatre – San Francisco (sold in April 2021)
• Greek Theatre – Los Angeles (contract ended in 2015)
• Masonic Theatre – Detroit (management contract ended)
• McVickers Theatre – Chicago^[13]
• Merriweather Post Pavilion – Columbia, Maryland (sold)
• Morris A. Mechanic Theatre – Baltimore (closed)
• National Theatre – Washington, D.C. (1970–1982)^[14]
• New World Music Theater – Tinley Park, Illinois (sold)
• Orpheum Theatre – San Francisco (sold in April 2021)
• Pacific Amphitheatre – Costa Mesa, California (management contract sold)^[15]
• Palace West – Phoenix^[13]
• Pine Knob Music Theatre – Clarkston, Michigan (sold in 1990)^[16]
• Poplar Creek Music Theater – Hoffman Estates, Illinois (sold and demolished 1994-1995)^[17]
• Riverbend Music Center – Cincinnati (booking only, 1984–1999; sold)^[18]
• Fox Performing Arts Center – Riverside, California (contract ended)^[19]
• Grand Riviera Theater – Detroit (closed 1974; demolished 1999)^[20]
• Shubert Lafayette Theatre – Detroit (demolished 1964)^[21]
• Studebaker Theatre – Chicago^[13][22]
• Target Center – Minneapolis (co-managed 2004–2007)
• Taft Theatre – Cincinnati (sold)
• Tucson Music Hall – Tucson (management contract ended)
• Wang Theatre – Boston (1982–1984; contract ended)^[23]
• Wilshire Theatre – Beverly Hills, California (1981–1989; contract ended).^[24]

Subscription series

• Best of Broadway (North Charleston)
• Broadway In Chicago
• Broadway In Detroit
• Broadway Los Angeles (formerly Los Angeles Civic Light Opera)^[25]
• Broadway San Diego (formerly San Diego Playgoers)
• Broadway in Tucson
• Truist Broadway (Durham, North Carolina)

Legal actions

In 1993, the Orange County Fair Board purchased the remaining 30 years of Nederlander's 40-year lease on the Pacific Amphitheatre for $12.5 million. The board filed suit against Nederlander in 1995 maintaining that the organization placed restrictive sound covenants in the sale contract that made the venue unusable and therefore eliminated it from competing with the nearby Greek Theatre and Arrowhead Pond.^[26]

In January 2014, Nederlander settled a suit with the U.S. Attorney's Office in New York City over violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Under the consent decree, Nederlander agreed to make alterations within three-years to nine of its theatres in New York to make them more accessible and pay a $45,000 penalty. The case was one in a series filed by the U.S. Attorney against a number of public venues in the city.^[27]

Gallery

• 
  Old Detroit Opera House c. 1905
• 
  Shubert Lafayette in July 1942
• 
  Grand Riviera Theatre in Detroit c. 1970
• 
  Grand Riviera Auditorium c. 1970

See also

• SHN (theatres)

References

1. Belunda, George (September 2009). "The Shubert Theatre". Hour Detroit. Retrieved April 12, 2010.
2. Ashley, Dottie (July 18, 2004). "Broadway Nights to present five plays". The Post and Courier. Charleston, SC. Retrieved November 24, 2013.
3. Ellingson, Annlee (May 2, 2022). "New Nederlander-operated amphitheater on L.A. Waterfront launches environmental review". L.A. Business First. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
4. Foderaro, Lisa W. (April 18, 1997). "43-Story Hotel Planned Over Shuttered Biltmore Theater". The New York Times. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
5. Krefft, Bryan; Wilson, Brian. "Henry Miller's Theatre". Cinema Treasures. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
6. Collins, Glenn (December 7, 1991). "Hellinger Theater Sold To Church". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
7. Dunlap, David W. (September 10, 1992). "State Acquires Landmark Theater To Salvage While It Still Can". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
8. Gold, Aaron (August 19, 1977). "Tower Ticker". Chicago Tribune. pqarchiver.com. Archived from the original on August 1, 2013. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
9. Smith, Sid (August 31, 1986). "'Visionary' Programmer Bets He Can Fill Up Those Seats". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
10. Boehm, Mike (January 27, 1994). "Nederlander Makes Inside Move, to Anaheim Arena". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 31, 2014.
11. Yoshino, Kimi (November 10, 2003). "The Pond Has Its Ducks in a Row". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 31, 2014.
12. Chessler, Suzanne (April 15, 2021). "The Nederlander Company Sells the Fisher Theatre to U.K. Theater Group". The Detroit Jewish News. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
13. Calta, Louis (November 26, 1975). "Nederlander Family Adds Alvin to Its Holings". The New York Times. Retrieved August 30, 2013.
14. Kakutani, Michiko (September 21, 1980). "The Broadway Battle Flares in Washington". The New York Times. Retrieved August 30, 2013.
15. Johnson, Kevin (May 7, 1993). "Deal Could End Rock at Pacific Amphitheatre". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
16. Graff, Gary (January 14, 2022). "This Iconic Detroit Theater Is Returning to Its Original Name for 50th Anniversary". Billboard. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
17. Martinez, Michael; Hartstein, Larry (July 6, 1995). "Day The Music Died". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
18. "Gang behind the gigs". The Cincinnati Enquirer. September 20, 1998. Retrieved August 30, 2013.
19. Robinson, Alicia (July 20, 2014). "RIVERSIDE: New Fox theater team gets good reviews". The Press-Enterprise. Riverside. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
20. Hume, Mike. "Riviera Theatre". Atmospheric Theatres. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
21. Austin, Dan. "Shubert-Lafayette Theatre". Historic Detroit. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
22. Schwartz, Arnold (March 23, 1963). "Fine Arts Building". Chicago Tribune. ProQuest 182629902. Retrieved August 30, 2013.
23. Foster, Catherine (May 24, 1984). "Transforming the Wang Center from pauper to Prince Charming". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
24. Drake, Sylvie (September 28, 1989). "Why the Nederlanders Are Out at Wilshire". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 30, 2013.
25. Shirley, Don (June 16, 1996). "New Image for Civic Light Opera". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
26. Hua, Thao (June 9, 1998). "Verdict Yields to Settlement Over County Concert Site". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 31, 2014.
27. "Manhattan U.S. Attorney Files And Simultaneously Settles Lawsuit Against Nederlander Organization Covering Nine Of Broadway'S Most Historic Theaters" (Press release). US Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York. January 29, 2014. Retrieved January 14, 2014.

External links

• Official website
• Nederlander Worldwide Website