Gershwin Theatre Information
There are many Gershwin Theaters across the United States, Canada and elsewhere, some with Broadway tours like Wicked and Motown, and others hosting top concerts and comedy each week. The one that you are looking at right now is the Gershwin Theatre in New York, New York. This particular theater is also home of the American Theatre Hall of Fame, where inductees are given their own plaque during an official ceremony.
The Gershwin Theatre’s address of 222 West 51st Street, New York, 10019. Its exact location is right next door to its sister theater, Circle in the Square, in midtown-Manhattan in the Paramount Plaza building. The theatre is named after legendary brothers George Gershwin, a composer, and Ira Gershwin, a lyricist. It has the largest seating capacity of any Broadway theatre with 1,933 seats, host to large musical productions. The Gershwin has been home to the blockbuster musical Wicked since 2003.
Renown designer, Ralph Alswang, is the one responsible for the modernist Art Noveau style that Gershwin Theatre has today. The theatre is situated on the lower levels of a towering office complex built at an estimated cost of $12.5 million on the site of the historic Capitol Theatre. There are escalators leading from the street level through-block passageway entrance to the expansive lobby, home to The American Theatre Hall of Fame. With a 65-foot wide adjustable proscenium arch and 80-foot wide stage, it is one of the largest Broadway stages, ideal for very large musical productions.
Patrons will find a large orchestra with stadium seating and a mezzanine that fills the expansive auditorium. It opened as the Uris Theatre on November 28, 1972. The name was derived from the building developer Uris Buildings Corporation. The first musical ever shown there was Via Galactica starring Raul Julia. However, it proved to be an inauspicious start for the venue. The first show itself lost a million dollars and had to close after only seven performances.
From 1974-76, Gershwin Theatre served as a concert hall for limited engagements by a number of legendary pop music and jazz performers. These were all prior to it hosting large musical productions with Porgy and Bess in 1976.
The theatre also hosted the Tony Awards in 1984, 92, 93, and 1999. During the 37th Tony Awards ceremony held on June 5, 1983, the theatre was rechristened to honor the Gershwin brothers.
The Gershwin went through major renovations for the Broadway production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Starlight Express in 1987, which was a massive production costing over $8 million. Lucky for the theatre, Starlight would go on to run nearly 800 performances at the Gershwin.
Wicked set a box office record for the Gershwin Theatre after its first show in 2003. The production grossed $3,201,333 over nine performances for the week ending December 29, 2013. It was also the highest one-week box office gross income made by any show in Broadway history, until that time.
For more information on the Gershwin Theatre, please see the specific pages below.
Parking Information:
Arriving by car? Read about parking options on the Gershwin Theatre parking information page.
Ticket Policy:
For information on ticket guarantee and other ticket related questions, view the Gershwin Theatre tickets page.
Seating Information:
For information on accessible seating and to view the Gershwin Theatre seating chart page.