New York City’s theater district, also known as Broadway, is rich in history and culture with roots dating back to the 19th century. Many of the 41 Broadway theaters still in operation today opened in the early 1900s and have shown now-iconic plays and musicals starring Broadway legends.
The Richard Rodgers Theatre, formerly known as 46th Street Theatre, is one of the oldest and most prestigious theaters on Broadway. The Greenwich Village Follies, in 1925, was the first production shown at the theater. Below is a closer look at the 1,400-seat venue and what makes it stand out from others.
Named in Honor of An Iconic American Composer
First known as Chanin’s 46th Street Theatre, the 226 W. 46th St. venue was just 46th Street Theatre from 1932 to 1990, at which point it was renamed the Richard Rodgers Theatre in honor of the late American composer. Born in New York City, New York, in 1902, Rodgers created or co-created more than 900 songs and wrote or co-wrote music for 43 Broadway musicals, including A Connecticut Yankee, The Sound of Music, and The King and I, in his distinguished career. He’s known for his successful partnerships with lyricists Oscar Hammerstein II and Lorenz Hart.
South Pacific, for which Rodgers composed the music, won Best Musical at the 1950 Tony Awards. Rodgers later won the Tony for Best Original Score for No Strings in 1962. He is the first person to achieve the coveted EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony) distinction and is one of just two EGOT winners, along with Marvin Hamlisch, to win the Pulitzer Prize. He died in 1979.
The theater has gone through several renovations over the years and was refurbished in 2006 to include the Richard Rodgers Gallery. This space includes a variety of historic artifacts and memorabilia from the legendary composer’s career.
Operated by the Nederlander Organization
The Nederlander Organization has owned and operated the Richard Rodgers Theatre since 1981. Irwin Meyer and Stephen R. Friedman previously owned the venue for three years, prior to which producer Lester Osterman owned it for an 18-year period. Robert W. Dowling of the City Investing Company and the Shubert brothers, who at one point were involved with half of New York City’s 40 theaters, also once owned the iconic venue.
Created in 1912, the Nederlander Organization also operates the following New York live entertainment venues: Gershwin Theatre (the largest Broadway theater in terms of capacity), Nederlander Theatre, Neil Simon Theatre, Lena Horne Theatre, Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, Palace Theatre, Marquis Theatre, and Minskoff Theatre. It also owns American theaters and concert halls in California, Illinois, North Carolina, Arizona, Oklahoma, Texas, and Washington, D.C. The Adelphi Theatre, Dominion Theatre, and Aldwych Theatre in London, England, are also Nederlander properties.
Home to Hamilton
Hamilton, one of the most popular musicals in the 21st century, debuted at the Richard Rodgers with a preview on July 13, 2015, and officially opened on August 6. As of April 30, 2023, it has been shown 2,582 times at the Richard Rodgers, making it the 25th longest-running Broadway production of all time. Hamilton holds the record for most Tony Award nominations at 16 and has won 11 awards, including Best Musical, Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Daveed Diggs), Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Renee Elise Goldsberry), and Best Original Score (Lin-Manuel Miranda).
Hosted 11 Tony Award-winning Productions
In addition to Hamilton, the Richard Rodgers Theatre has housed 10 Tony Award-winning productions, the most of any Broadway theater. The other Tony Award-winning productions are: Redhead, Guys and Dolls, 1776, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Nine, Fences, Raisin, In the Heights, and Lost in Yonkers.
Since it was renamed in 1990, the Richard Rodgers Theatre has hosted 29 productions, including A Christmas Carol, Chicago, Footloose, 45 Seconds from Broadway, and Tarzan.
Developed by Irwin and Henry Chanin
Brothers Irwin and Henry Chanin, founders of the Chanin Construction Company, developed six Broadway theaters. The Richard Rodgers, then known as Chanin’s 46th Street Theatre, was the first venue they built. They later developed the Biltmore (Samuel J. Friedman), Majestic, Mansfield (Lena Horne), Masque (Golden), and Royale (Bernard B. Jacobs). The brothers built each of these venues with the goal of democratizing the experience of attending live theater for all patrons with just a single entry point rather than different entrances for those in expensive and cheaper seats.
Irwin Chanin commissioned Herbert J. Krapp, an iconic Broadway architect who also designed several theaters for the Shubert brothers, to design 46th Street Theater. In addition to designing a single-entry venue, Krapp pioneered stadium seating to provide better sight lines and acoustics for the audience and positioned the orchestra on a large balcony above the entrance lobby. He also included architectural features such as a domed ceiling and an elaborate façade that included a colonnade of five Corinthian pilasters encompassing a triple-arched loggia set.