Times Square became the epicenter for large-scale theater productions between 1900 and the Great Depression.^[54] Manhattan's theater district had begun to shift from Union Square and Madison Square during the first decade of the 20th century.^[55]^[56] These venues were developed following the construction of the Empire Theatre on 41st Street in 1893 and Hammerstein's Olympia in 1895.^[57] The Lyceum, Hudson, and New Amsterdam, which all opened in 1903, were among the first theaters to make this shift;^[58] the Lyceum is one of the oldest surviving Broadway theaters.^[59] From 1901 to 1920, forty-three theaters were built around Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, including the current Lyceum.^[60]

Development

Daniel Frohman had operated an earlier Lyceum Theatre on Fourth Avenue, near Madison Square, which had been built in 1885 by Steele MacKaye.^[61]^[62] Metropolitan Life acquired the old Lyceum in 1902 to make way for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower,^[63]^[64] and Frohman sought to develop a new venue further north.^[65] In February 1902, shortly after the old Lyceum was acquired, Frohman announced he had purchased six lots on 45th and 46th Streets near Times Square. He planned to build a 900-seat theater on the site after the leases on the lots expired.^[6]^[7] Frohman chose the site specifically because it was on a less crowded side street while also being close to the then-under-construction New York City Subway.^[66] The auditorium would be on 45th Street, while a narrow wing with mechanical equipment and dressing rooms would be placed on 46th Street.^[5]^[7] The site cost Frohman $110,000, and he expected to spend another $230,000 on the new Lyceum Theatre.^[5]

Frohman hired Herts & Tallant to design the new theater, while the Fuller Construction Company was hired as the general contractor.^[67] The old Lyceum ultimately closed on March 22, 1902.^[68] Work on the new theater began on April 1, a week after the old Lyceum was closed.^[69] The cornerstone was laid on October 16, 1902.^[57]^[70]^[71] Frohman, who considered 13 to be a lucky number,^[72] placed thirteen of the old Lyceum's bricks into the new theater.^[69]^[71] By then, the basement and cellar were largely complete and the theater was to be completed early the following year.^[70]

The theater was supposed to open in September 1903^[14] but encountered so many delays that the inaugural play, The Proud Prince, could only be scheduled at the Lyceum for two weeks.^[73] Daniel Frohman, his brother Charles Frohman, and William Harris formed the New Lyceum Theatre Company and divided ownership of the Lyceum equally. Instead of distributing stock, the company issued six promissory notes of $118,328 each, which could not be collected for as long as each partner lived.^[74]

Frohman operation

Early years

The new Lyceum Theatre (also formally capitalized as the New Lyceum Theatre^[26]^[36]) opened on November 2, 1903, with The Proud Prince.^[75]^[76]^[77] E. H. Sothern, who starred in The Proud Prince, had also appeared in the first production that Frohman had shown at the old Lyceum.^[78] At the theater's opening, an architectural publication praised the theater's design as "being intended for a high-class dramatic performance before a refined and cultured audience".^[47]^[17] Conversely, because of its relatively remote location, the New-York Tribune said that there were "many who refused to believe that a theater so far up town would be successful".^[79] Charles Frohman was the theater's first manager.^[11] From its inception, the new Lyceum was intended as a venue for "drawing-room comedies".^[69]^[14]

Three weeks after the theater's opening,^[80]^[81] The Admirable Crichton premiered at the new Lyceum.^[77] The play The Other Girl and Granny appeared at the Lyceum in 1904, as did Mrs. Leffingwell's Boots and A Doll's House in 1905.^[78] The most successful production in the Lyceum's initial years was the drama The Lion and the Mouse,^[11] which opened in 1905 and ran for 686 performances.^[82]^[83] Daniel Frohman's wife Margaret Illington appeared at some productions in the Lyceum.^[77] beginning with Mrs. Leffingwell's Boots^[78] and The Thief (1907).^[13]^[84] Frohman would gesture through the window from his office to signify when Illington was overacting.^[85] Actresses such as Ethel Barrymore, Billie Burke, Ina Claire, and Lenore Ulric also performed at the Lyceum in its early years.^[86] Burke starred or co-starred in some plays during the Lyceum's first decade, including Love Watches in 1908,^[87]^[88] Mrs. Dot^[89]^[90] and Suzanne in 1910,^[89]^[91] and The Runaway in 1911.^[92]^[93] The Lyceum also hosted the U.S. premiere of the French silent film The Loves of Queen Elizabeth, featuring Sarah Bernhardt, in 1912.^[78]^[94] Barrymore, meanwhile, was featured in Our Mrs. McChesney (1915).^[95]^[96]

Belasco partnership

Charles Frohman died in May 1915 during the sinking of the RMS Lusitania,^[97] and his company, which had an ownership stake in the Lyceum, was subsequently acquired by Paramount Pictures.^[98] David Belasco announced in March 1916 that he would become one of the managers of the Lyceum Theatre. Contemporary media said the move was borne out of sentimental considerations, as Belasco had frequently collaborated with Charles Frohman.^[99]^[100] Among the major productions at the Lyceum in the late 1910s were Tiger Rose (1917), featuring Lenore Ulric;^[95]^[101] Daddies (1918), featuring Jeanne Eagels and George Abbott;^[78]^[102] and The Gold Diggers (1919), featuring Ina Claire.^[95]^[103] These shows all had several hundred performances, including The Gold Diggers, which had 720 performances.^[78] In addition, the theater held events such as a charity dinner for the Actors' National Memorial Fund in 1919.^[104] Frohman administered the Actors' Fund from his office.^[48]

The Lyceum hosted many romantic comedies and other successful productions in the 1920s.^[105] Frohman leased the theater to Famous Players–Lasky, which was to present Belasco's works there for ten years starting in October 1921.^[106]^[107]^[108] The same year, the theater hosted The Easiest Way with Frances Starr,^[109]^[110] as well as The Grand Duke with Lionel Atwill and Lina Abarbanell.^[109]^[111] The Lyceum's stage and decorations were restored in 1922,^[112] prior to the opening of Shore Leave, which featured Starr and James Rennie.^[113]^[114] The Lyceum also hosted revivals of classical plays, including The Merchant of Venice (1922), The School for Scandal (1923), and Antony and Cleopatra (1924).^[115] During 1925, the theater hosted The Grand Duchess and the Waiter, with Elsie Ferguson and Basil Rathbone,^[116]^[117] and the romantic comedy Naughty Cinderella, with Irène Bordoni.^[116]^[118]

In the late 1920s, the Lyceum hosted productions such as the comedy Fanny (1926) with Fanny Brice^[119]^[120] and Elmer the Great (1928) with Walter Huston.^[121] The decade ended with the 1929 romance Berkeley Square, which had over 200 performances.^[122]^[123] Frohman and Belasco's partnership ended when Belasco died in May 1931 after a long illness.^[124] The lease on the theater was set to expire later that year, and Frohman planned to rent the Lyceum as an independent playhouse. By then, Frohman was no longer an active producer.^[125]

Great Depression and ownership changes

The Lyceum Theatre suffered in general because of the Great Depression,^[126] and most shows generally closed after a small number of performances.^[115] Among the longer productions was Payment Deferred (1931), which had 70 performances,^[127]^[128] as well as Sailor, Beware! (1933), which had 500 performances.^[129]^[130] In 1934, the theater hosted Ode to Liberty, featuring Ina Claire.^[129]^[131] The Bowery Savings Bank moved to foreclose on a mortgage loan on the theater in mid-1935.^[98]^[132] Later that year, the Lyceum was leased for one year to Julius Stone for a presentation of Squaring the Circle.^[133] The next year, Frohman leased most of the theater, except for his own offices, to Spencer D. Bettelheim of the Lyco Company for five years.^[134]^[135] Contemporary newspapers said the lease to Bettelheim was "a sentimental gesture", since Bettelheim's father was Frohman's old friend.^[134]^[136] Bettelheim then announced a renovation of the interior, including new seats.^[137]

Long-running productions during the late 1930s included Pre-Honeymoon (1936) with Jessie Royce Landis;^[138]^[139] St. Helena (1936) with Maurice Evans;^[140]^[141] and Having Wonderful Time (1937) with John Garfield and Katherine Locke.^[138]^[142] The theater was less financially stable after the Lyco Company dissolved in 1938.^[49] By March 1939, the Bowery Savings Bank was foreclosing on the Lyceum,^[49]^[143] which was in danger of demolition.^[144] After Stanley Howe, a friend of Frohman's and an aide to mayor Fiorello La Guardia, intervened,^[49] the bank promised that Frohman could stay in his apartment for the rest of his life.^[49]^[145] The Lyceum was leased to Victor Payne-Jennings that April, on the condition that Frohman be allowed to keep his residence.^[146]^[147] The Bowery Savings Bank acquired the theater at a foreclosure auction in December 1939 for $100,000.^[148] Shortly afterward, Samuel Briskman leased the theater^[149] and used it to show When We Are Married.^[138]^[150]

In May 1940, the Bowery Savings Bank announced it would sell the Lyceum to a syndicate that included playwright George S. Kaufman, producer Max Gordon, and playwright Moss Hart for $250,000.^[151]^[152] Frohman was to be allowed to live in the apartment above the theater for $1 per year,^[151]^[153] though Frohman died in December 1940, less than a year afterward.^[154] Among the syndicate's first works at the Lyceum was George Washington Slept Here in 1940,^[129]^[155] as well as The Beautiful People^[156]^[157] and Junior Miss in 1941.^[129]^[158] This was followed by The Doughgirls, which had 671 performances,^[159]^[160] and The Late George Apley, which had 384 performances.^[159]^[161] The Lyceum then hosted Born Yesterday, which opened in 1946 and was the theater's longest-running production with 1,642 performances.^[138]^[162] Born Yesterday was transferred out of the Lyceum mid-run in 1948^[163] and was followed by "a half-dozen flops".^[164]

The Gordon syndicate agreed to sell the Lyceum to Harry Gould in April 1949 for $400,000, after having previously failed to sell the theater to Gould at twice that price.^[165]^{[lower-alpha 4]} The sale was not finalized until that December, when the price had increased to $450,000.^[164]^[166] The first major production in the 1950s was the original The Country Girl, which opened in 1950.^[167]^[168] Melvyn Douglas then appeared in two successful comedies: Glad Tidings in 1951 and Time Out for Ginger in 1952.^[169]

Shubert operation

1950s to 1970s

The New York Times reported in 1952 that the Shubert Organization had taken over the Lyceum.^[170] During 1954, the theater hosted the comedy King of Hearts^[171]^[172] and the romance drama Anastasia,^[171]^[173] both of which ran for over 200 performances.^[174] This was followed by A Hatful of Rain (1955),^[175]^[176] The Happiest Millionaire (1956),^[177]^[178] and Look Back in Anger (1957).^[177]^[179] Notable productions of the late 1950s also included The Gazebo in 1958 and The Billy Barnes Revue in 1959.^[180] Subsequently, the Lyceum showed the British dramas A Taste of Honey in 1960 and The Caretaker in 1961.^[181] The Lyceum then had several short-lived works^[182] before showing Nobody Loves an Albatross in 1963.^[183]^[184]

The Association of Producing Artists (APA) and Phoenix Theatre showed their productions at the Lyceum from 1965 to 1969.^[181] In March 1965,^[185] the Shuberts leased the theater to the partnership of APA and Phoenix for $100,000 a year, which the lessees considered a nominal fee.^[186] The APA and Phoenix originally did not have enough money to transfer their works to the Lyceum for the 1965–1966 season,^[187]^[188] but ultimately it opened a revival of the play You Can't Take It with You at the Lyceum in November 1965.^[189] During the APA-Phoenix era, the Lyceum hosted classical revivals such as War and Peace, The Show-Off, The Cherry Orchard, The Cocktail Party, The Misanthrope, and Hamlet.^[190] The Lyceum also operated as a repertory theatre for films in mid-1968.^[191] The APA and Phoenix dissolved their partnership in early 1969 due to a lack of funding.^[32]^[186] Afterward, the theater hosted plays such as Three Men on a Horse.^[32]^[192]

There were few successful productions at the Lyceum during the 1970s, amid a decline in the Broadway theatrical industry.^[193] Among the longer runs in this era were the 1970 play Borstal Boy and the 1976 play Your Arms Too Short to Box with God.^[194] Phoenix also hosted some of its works at the Lyceum.^[195] During the early 1970s, Daniel Frohman's niece-in-law petitioned the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) to protect the Lyceum as a city landmark.^[196] The LPC designated the theater's facade, but not its interior,^[197] as an official city landmark in 1974, requiring the LPC to review and approve all proposed modifications to the facade.^[198] Gerald Schoenfeld of the Shubert Organization had opposed the landmark status, believing the small theater to be a liability.^[199] A landmark plaque was installed on the facade in 1978.^[200]^[201] Major productions during the late 1970s included Cold Storage in 1977 and Wings in 1979.^[202]

1980s and 1990s

The Lyceum hosted a revival of Morning's at Seven in 1980.^[203]^[204] The theater then hosted productions such as "Master Harold"...and the Boys (1982),^[205]^[206] The Man Who Had Three Arms (1983),^[202]^[207] a set of monologues by comedian Whoopi Goldberg in 1984,^[202]^[208] and As Is (1985)^[209]^[210] The LPC gave the Shuberts permission to replace the facade marquee in 1986 after the original marquee began to fall apart.^[20] According to Schoenfeld, the Shuberts had to pay $350,000 to replace the marquee due to the commission's demands, though the highest bid was only about $150,000 and the theater was often unoccupied.^[211] The Shubert Archive also opened in 1986.^[52] In the dozen years after 1987, the Lyceum was idle for about 70 percent of the time.^[212] To increase the occupancy of the Lyceum and other little-used Broadway theaters, the League of American Theaters and Producers negotiated with Broadway unions and guilds during the late 1980s.^[213] Among the shows of the late 1980s were the 1986 puppet show A Little Like Magic,^[182]^[214] as well as Safe Sex (1987)^[193]^[215] and Our Town (1988).^[209]^[210] During the 1980s, the Shuberts renovated the Lyceum as part of a restoration program for their Broadway theaters.^[216]

After the Lyceum's facade was successfully designated as a landmark, the LPC started considering a similar protection for the interior in 1982,^[217] with discussions continuing over the next several years.^[218] The Lyceum was designated as an interior landmark on December 8, 1987.^[219]^[220] This was part of the LPC's wide-ranging effort in 1987 to grant landmark status to Broadway theaters.^[221] The New York City Board of Estimate ratified the designations in March 1988.^[222] The Shuberts, the Nederlanders, and Jujamcyn collectively sued the LPC in June 1988 to overturn the landmark designations of 22 theaters, including the Lyceum's interior,^{[lower-alpha 5]} on the merit that the designations severely limited the extent to which the theaters could be modified.^[223] The lawsuit was escalated to the New York Supreme Court and the Supreme Court of the United States, but these designations were ultimately upheld in 1992.^[224]

The National Actors Theatre, led by Tony Randall, announced in 1992 that it would relocate from the Belasco to the Lyceum, despite the smaller size of the latter.^[225] The Lyceum was used by the National Actors Theatre for most of the 1990s,^[226] but most of its productions were unsuccessful.^[227] The first season of the National Actors Theatre opened with performances of The Seagull, Saint Joan, and Three Men on a Horse. The National Actors Theatre went on to host Timon of Athens, The Government Inspector, and The Flowering Peach in 1994; Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and The School for Scandal in 1995; and The Gin Game and The Sunshine Boys in 1997.^[226] Additionally, the actor Mandy Patinkin performed a limited engagement at the Lyceum in March 1997.^[228]^[229] The National Actors Theatre closed out the 1990s with the plays Night Must Fall and The Lonesome West in 1999.^[226]

During the late 1980s, the Shubert Organization had leased 124,000 square feet (11,500 m²) of the site's unused air development rights.^[230] German firm Bertelsmann used the air rights to increase the height of the adjacent skyscraper at 1540 Broadway,^[231] paying $600,000 a year.^[232] The Shuberts had to maintain the Lyceum as a legitimate theater as part of the agreement concerning the theater's air rights. Bertelsmann had an option to buy the theater,^[199]^[233] raising concerns that the archives in the theater would have to be relocated.^[234] In 1999, there was a dispute over whether Spirit of Broadway, a theatrical museum with a 60-minute play targeted at tourists, should be produced at the Lyceum. Bertelsmann supported Spirit of Broadway, but Schoenfeld said it did not fall under the criteria for legitimate shows.^[199]^[233] Spirit of Broadway was ultimately determined to be legitimate.^[235]

2000s to present

Thumb — Sign outside the theater in 2022

After the National Actors Theatre stopped producing at the Lyceum, the theater hosted Rose in 2000, a solo play with Olympia Dukakis.^[226]^[236] Subsequently, the Lyceum hosted productions such as The Invention of Love in 2001, The Play What I Wrote and I Am My Own Wife in 2003, and The Lieutenant of Inishmore in 2006.^[227] As part of a settlement with the United States Department of Justice in 2003, the Shuberts agreed to improve disabled access at their 16 landmarked Broadway theaters, including the Lyceum.^[237]^[238] The roof and 45th Street facade were repaired in 2005 as part of a $1 million renovation.^[24] During the late 2000s, the Lyceum hosted plays and musicals such as Inherit the Wind, Is He Dead?, Macbeth, [title of show], Reasons to Be Pretty, and In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play).^[26]^[36]

The Lyceum Theatre hosted numerous shows in the 2010s as well. These included Looped, The Scottsboro Boys, Venus in Fur, The Nance, The Realistic Joneses, Disgraced, The Visit, A View from the Bridge, Fully Committed, Oh, Hello, The Play That Goes Wrong, Be More Chill, and A Christmas Carol.^[26]^[36] In addition, the NBC television series Smash used the theater in 2012 as the home of their fictional musical Bombshell.^[239] The theater closed on March 12, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[240] It reopened on October 11, 2021,^[241] with Is This A Room and Dana H. playing in repertory.^[242]^[243] Subsequently, A Strange Loop opened at the Lyceum in April 2022^[244]^[245] and ran until January 2023.^[246] This was followed in May 2023 by the play Grey House, which ran for two months.^[247]^[248]

The play My Son's a Queer (But What Can You Do?) was expected to open at the Lyceum in March 2024 for a three-month run,^[249]^[250] but it was postponed to the 2024–2025 season with new dates and a new theater.^[251] Subsequently, the off-Broadway play Oh, Mary! transferred to the Lyceum in July 2024.^[252]^[253]