Broadway Theatre (53rd Street)

Broadway Theatre

Universal's Colony Theatre B.S. Moss's Broadway Theatre Earl Carroll's Broadway Theatre Ciné Roma
The Broadway Theatre in 2019, playing King Kong
Address	1681 Broadway New York City United States
Coordinates	40°45′48″N 73°58′59″W / 40.7633°N 73.9831°W / 40.7633; -73.9831
Owner	The Shubert Organization
Type	Broadway
Capacity	1,763
Production	The Great Gatsby
Construction
Opened	December 25, 1924
Rebuilt	1930 1986
Years active	1924–1930, 1947, 1952–1953 (movie theater) 1930–present (Broadway theater)
Architect	Eugene De Rosa
Website
Official website

The Broadway Theatre (formerly Universal's Colony Theatre, B.S. Moss's Broadway Theatre, Earl Carroll's Broadway Theatre, and Ciné Roma) is a Broadway theater at 1681 Broadway (near 53rd Street) in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1924, the theater was designed by Eugene De Rosa for Benjamin S. Moss, who originally operated the venue as a movie theater. It has approximately 1,763 seats across two levels and is operated by The Shubert Organization. The Broadway Theatre is one of the few Broadway theaters that is physically on Broadway.

The Broadway's facade was originally designed in the Italian Renaissance style and was made of brick and terracotta. The modern facade of the theater is made of polished granite and is part of the office building at 1675 Broadway, completed in 1990. The auditorium contains an orchestra level, one balcony, and box seats. The modern design of the auditorium dates to a 1986 renovation, when Oliver Smith redecorated the theater in a reddish color scheme. The office building is cantilevered above the auditorium.

B.S. Moss's Colony Theatre opened on Christmas Day 1924 and was originally leased to Universal Pictures Corporation. Moss renovated the venue for legitimate shows and reopened it as the Broadway Theatre on December 8, 1930. The theater had several operators over the next decade, and it switched between hosting legitimate shows, movies, and vaudeville. Lee Shubert and Clifford Fischer took over the Broadway Theatre in December 1939, and the Shubert family bought the theater in 1940. Since then, the Broadway has largely been used as a legitimate theater, though it was briefly used for movies in 1947 and in 1952–1953. The Broadway was extensively rebuilt in the late 1980s. Over the years, it has hosted many long-running musicals that have transferred from other theaters, as well as other long-lasting shows such as Evita, Les Misérables, and Miss Saigon.