Lamb's Theatre
| Address |
130 West 44th Street New York City United States |
|---|---|
| Type | Thrust |
| Capacity | 350 |
| Current use | Hotel |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1981 (1905 as a fraternal club of actors [1]) |
| Closed | 2007 |
| Years active | 1981-2007 |
| Architect | Stanford White |
| Website | |
| www.lambstheatre.org/ | |
Lamb's Theatre was an Off-Broadway theater located at 130 West 44th Street, New York City[2] inside the Manhattan Church of the Nazarene, near Times Square in New York City. It seated approximately 350 and specialized in musical productions.[3] The building was built in 1904-05 in Neo-Georgian style, originally designed by Stanford White.[4] The Lamb's Theater is not related in any way to the historic theater club, The Lambs.
In 2007, the venue was closed to make way for a hotel development.[5][6][7]
History
The six-story building originally housed a fraternal club of theater professionals called The Lambs, taking after a club in England started by Charles Lamb in 1868. The members included Fred Astaire, Mark Twain, and Douglas Fairbanks Jr..[1][8]
In the mid-1970s, the Manhattan Church of the Nazarene bought the Lamb's building for the sake of making it into a mission. The Lambs club moved to 3 West 51st Street in 1975. In 1978, Lamb's Theatre Company was created by Carolyn Rossi Copeland and it hosted the successful "Broadway for Kids" series. In 1981, the renovated 3rd floor theatre had its first show, Cotton Patch Gospel and was penned the "Gem of Times Square". With a list of over 50 productions stages, in 1984 they opened a Lamb's Little Theatre on the first floor.[9]
Performance history
- 1981: Cotton Patch Gospel
- 1982: Snoopy!!! The Musical
- 1982: Puff The Magic Dragon
- 1983: Breakfast with Les and Bess [12]
- 1983: Painting Churches
- 1984: The Gift of the Magi
- 1985: Dames At Sea
- 1986: The Alchemedians
- 1986: Olympus on My Mind
- 1987: Funny Feet
- 1988: Godspell
- 1990: Smoke On The Mountain
- 1992: Opal
- 1991: Final Departure
- 1993: Johnny Pye and the Fool-Killer
- 1996: I Do! I Do!
- 1999: Thoroughly Modern Millie (musical)
- 2000: The Countess
- 2002: The Prince and the Pauper
- 2003: That Day in September
- 2004: Silent Laughter
- 2004: Children's Letters to God
- 2004: Cam Jansen
- 2005: Picon Pie
- 2006: The Man in the Iron Mask
Other Notable Productions
- St. Mark’s Gospel (starring Alec McGowan)
- The Old Lady’s Guide to Survival (starring June Havoc)
- The Boys Next Door (play)
- Beau Jest
- Cantorial by Ira Levin
- Avner the Eccentric
- American Radio Show by Garrison Keillor
- Porches (starring Jill Eikenberry)
- The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit
- The Roads to Home - by Horton Foote (starring Jean Stapleton)
- John & Jen
- The God Committee by Mark St. Germain
- The Von Trapp Children
- Man 1, Bank 0
- My Fake IDs
- The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players
- Episode 26
References
- 1 2 Robertson, Campbell, "Lamb's Theater Company Receives Eviction Notice", The New York Times, June 2, 2006
- ↑ Address and Seating playbill.com, retrieved December 30, 2009
- ↑ Johnson, David."The Lamb's Stands Up Off Broadway" livedesignonline.com, October 1, 1999
- ↑ Description of Building Hudson Design, retrieved December 30, 2009
- ↑ "Press release: The Lamb’s Closes its Doors for New Hotel" cubecity.org, March 9, 2007
- ↑ Robertson, Campbell, "Lamb's Theater Company Receives Eviction Notice", The New York Times, June 2, 2006
- ↑ Sargent, Greg, "New Hotel Threatens Lovely Lambs Theater", The New York Observer, October 17, 1999
- ↑ "The Lambs: A Brief History : America's First Professional Theatrical Club - Est. 1874", The Lambs, Inc.
- ↑ "Lamb's Theatre History"
- ↑ List of productions at Lambs Theatre broadwayworld.com
- ↑ Lamb's Theatre listing lortel.org, retrieved December 30, 2009
- ↑ Kalcheim, Lee, "Breakfast with Les and Bess: a comedy in two acts", Samuel French Inc.