Savoy Theatre (New York City)

The Savoy Theatre was a Broadway theatre at 112 West 34th Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It opened in 1900 (for its first few months as Schley Music Hall). It was converted to a cinema around 1910, until it was closed in early 1952 and then demolished.^{[nb 1]}

Savoy Theatre

The Man of the Hour by George Broadhurst playing at the Savoy c. 1907
Address	112 W. 34th St. New York City United States of America
Capacity	841
Current use	Demolished
Construction
Opened	1900
Demolished	1952

History

The Savoy Theatre on a map published in 1911

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.^[1]: 578 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.^[2]

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.^[3]

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.^{[4][5][6][7][8]}

Selected productions

E. M. Holland, Josephine Victor, Gerald Griffin, H. B. Warner, Wilton Lackaye and Grace Filkins in The Battle (1908)

• Soldiers of Fortune by Augustus Thomas (Mar.-May, Aug.-Oct. 1902)
• The Girl with the Green Eyes by Clyde Fitch (Dec. 1902-Mar. 1903, 108 perf.)
• Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch (Sept. 1903-Jan. 1905, 150 perf.)
• The Walls of Jericho by Alfred Sutro (Sep. 1905-Feb. 1906, 157 perf.)
• Mr. Hopkinson (Feb.-Apr. 1906, 113 perf.)
• The Man of the Hour by George Broadhurst (Dec. 1906-Jan. 1908, 479 perf.)
• The Battle by Cleveland Moffett (Dec. 1908-Apr. 1909, 144 perf.)
• The Awakening of Helena Richie (Sep. 1909-Jan. 1910, 120 perf.)

References

Notes

1. A different Broadway theatre, at 1195–1203 Broadway, on the southwest corner of 29th Street, was called Savoy Theatre from December 14, 1896 to October 1897.^[1]: 222

Citations

1. Brown, Thomas Alston. A history of the New York stage from the first performance in 1732 to 1901, Vol. 3 (1903)
2. (28 January 1917). To Sell Savoy Theatre. Well-Known Amusing House in 34th Street in Foreclosure Sale, The New York Times
3. Hancock, Ralph and Letitia Fairbanks. Douglas Fairbanks: The Fourth Musketeer, p. 80 (2019)
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

External links

• Savoy Theatre at the Internet Broadway Database
• NY Public Library photograph

40.74983°N 73.98872°W / 40.74983; -73.98872