Minskoff Theatre

Minskoff Theatre

Minskoff Theatre, showing The Lion King, May 2007
Address	1515 Broadway Manhattan, New York City United States
Coordinates	40°45′29″N 73°59′10″W / 40.75806°N 73.98611°W / 40.75806; -73.98611
Operator	Nederlander Organization
Type	Broadway
Capacity	1,710[a]
Production	The Lion King
Construction
Opened	1973
Architect	Kahn and Jacobs
Website
broadwaydirect.com/venue/minskoff-theatre/

The Minskoff Theatre is a Broadway theater on the third floor of the One Astor Plaza office building in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1973, it is operated by the Nederlander Organization and is named after Sam Minskoff and Sons, the building's developers. There are approximately 1,710 seats^[a] in the auditorium, spread across an orchestra level and a balcony. Over the years it has hosted musicals, dance companies, and concerts.

The Minskoff was designed by Kahn and Jacobs, who designed One Astor Plaza. It was one of the first theaters constructed under the Special Theater District amendment of 1967. The theater's main entrances are from a passageway connecting 44th and 45th Streets, in the middle of a city block between Broadway to the east and Eighth Avenue to the west. There are escalators leading from the ground floor to the lobby, where further escalators lead to the auditorium. One Astor Plaza's eastern section is directly above the theater and has to be supported entirely by the theater's roof.

One Astor Plaza was initially proposed in 1967 without any theaters. The Minskoff Theatre was added during the planning process; in exchange, One Astor Plaza's developers were allowed to erect a taller building with additional floor area. The first major production at the Minskoff, Irene, was followed by a series of short-lived productions in the 1970s. The theater subsequently hosted long runs such as West Side Story, The Pirates of Penzance, Black and Blue, and Sunset Boulevard in the 1980s and 1990s. Though many of the Minskoff's early productions were unprofitable, since 2006 it has housed the musical The Lion King, which became the highest-grossing Broadway musical ever in 2014.
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