Winter Garden Theatre
1634 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10019
1634 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10019
13 people
favorited this theater
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While they’re changing the title, they should also change the description to relfcet that the renovation is not only complete but it is, and will be for many more years, home to Mama Mia! Contrary to some of the above posts, this is a far better musical than the one that previously occupied this spot; CATS! I truly pity the ushers who had to endure that for 18 years! I found Mama Mia very enjoyable as I am a big fan of ABBA and the audience was truly dancing in the aisles for the encores. It was great fun and it is a great theater!
Amen to that, Ed.
I would gladly sit through five years of an ABBA-inspired musical rather than face even one minute of the horrible alternative that you mentioned.
Hmm, let’s see…several hours confined to an opera house â€"OR- interrogation under a bright light with bamboo shoots shoved under my nails and electrodes attached to my nipples while seated in a tank of water full of sharks…tough choice.
I’ll bet that even the most hardened criminals would rather face the latter.
ABBA indeed!
Come, come, Warren. Some folks find great enjoyment in the music of ABBA. I don’t happen to be among them, but I am a fan of rock and rock-era pop. Just as I enjoy jazz and classical. Different strokes for different folks (and so on and so on and scooby dooby do). No need to put the music down just because it doesn’t tickle your fancy. There are plenty of level headed folks who probably feel the same way for the ushers at the Met.
The photos I posted above are now located in this Winter Garden album, now that I’ve reorganized my photobucket account. The old links no longer work.
The last time I had been in the Winter Garden was for “Beatlemania” back around 1977 or ‘78. “Not the Beatles, but an incredible simulation.” Wow, nearly 30 years ago… time flies when you’re having fun!
Was here over the weekend with camera in hand. A beautifully ornate theater with a vast high ceiling and a shallow balcony. Unfortunately, the ushers and security staff (this one dour jack-booted stiff stationed in the foyer particularly) were quite adamant about not allowing photographs of any kind within the theater. I did take a few shots surreptitiously from my seat at the back of the orchestra (and their clandestine nature shows through, unfortunately) before the show began (“Mamma Mia” which seems to be entrenched for a very long run). Later on during intermission, I worked up some courage to sneak a few quick shots of the space while everyone was up on their feet for a stretch. Here’s what I got:
Broadway facade & marquee
Under the balcony
Fixture under balcony
Fixture detail
Balcony shot
Side boxes
Center dome
Foyer ceiling
The shots of the light fixture were literally snapped from my lap! And the quick shot of the foyer snapped on the way out the door before the Nazi patrolling the area (who had stood over my shoulder when I first came in and made me erase from the camera my well-framed original shot of the foyer) could see what I was doing. I’m still not sure I have my architectural styles down… would this be an example of the Adams style or some derivative? Anyway, forgive some of the darkness in the shots… and I also did not have a wide enough lens to capture the vastness of the proscenium and cavernous ceiling.
If you look at lostmemory’s last photo (with Cats on the marquee) towards the right side looking down Broadway, you’ll see the hi-rise monstrosity that replaced the great Rivoli Theater in mid-construction.
20 years of Cats, now 20 years of Mamma Mia. I think it should be turned back into a horse barn.
I was told that around the turn of the century, the building, later known as the Winter Garden, was a horse barn with horses for hire. They used the different levels (floors), above the current stage, to house the horses in stalls reached by ramps leading from each floor and that the current seating area was the dirt paddock area where they exercised the horses and prepared them for hire. I don’t know if they rented carriages also, but it makes sense that they would.
(My dad worked at the theater for many years)
Having not been in the Winter Garden since 42 St before Cats does it still look the same as the bottom picture in Warrens post?
One afternoon I went to ‘Hawaii Kai’ and sat at the bar with a concoction intended for two (but I made it for one, if memory serves it was called ‘The Volcano’.) At approximately 2:15pm I remembered I had a matinee ticket for ‘Miss Margarida’s Way’ with Estelle Parsons.
It was not easy missing the feet of those I had to scramble through to get to my seat.
Here is some more info about the Winter Garden’s history: The first show, “Vera Violetta,” starred Al Jolson. It also featured Mae West, who, as everyone knows, went on to be one of Paramount’s biggest stars. Rudolph Valentino was another future star who tread the Winter Garden’s boards as part of a dance team, Glass and Di Valentina. The Shubert’s “Passing Shows,” six editions, played at the Winter Garden as did the Dolly Sisters and Marilyn Miller. Another future film star, Joan Crawford, was a chorus girl in “Innocent Eyes,” another Shubert review that played in 1924. Warner Brothers leased the Winter Garden for Al Jolson’s second talking picture, “The Singing Fool,” charging three dollars a ticket, a new high for a movie at the time. The Winter Garden reverted to vaudeville and legit until it became a movie house once again in 1940s. Movies stopped being shown in 1948 and the Winter Garden became one of Broadway’s premiere musical houses: Phil Silvers in “Top Banana,” Rosalind Russell in “Wonderful Town,” Mary Martin as “Peter Pan,” Beatrice Lillie in the last “Ziegfeld Follies” as well as the musicals “Follies” and “West Side Story.” Barbra Streisand became a star in “Funny Girl” and Tammy Grimes triumphed as “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” as did Angela Lansbury when she played “Mame” as well as mama Rose in the first revival of “Gypsy.” And then there was “Cats” and “Mama Mia”….
Also ‘Gilda Radner’ and ‘Pacific Overtures’.
I saw ‘Sondheim’s 'Follies’ and ‘Ulysses in Nighttown’ here.
I was watching a Jimmy Cagney movie from 1933 called TAXI. In one scene Cagney takes Loretta Young to a movie at the Winter Garden and there is a great shot of the theater. There is also a shot of the screen , but I’m betting this was done somewhere else.
As the Winter Garden approaches it’s 100th year it would be great if a tribute show could be produced to commemorate this. Of course this would require a theatre producer with a sense of history and imagination, which seems to be in short supply. Al Jolson was the King of Broadway from 1911 to 1927 and began his Broadway career at the Winter Garden, yet he has become just a footnote in that theatre’s history. When I lived in New York the only evidence of his contribution to the Winter Garden was a photo that the International Al Jolson Society provided to the theatre. Instead of Mama Mia there should be a show highlighting the songs of Jolson which out number ABBA and will be remembered much longer, they already are.
hardbop & RobertR-
In addition to having an interest in these old theaters, I am also a huge Tikiphile and only learned of the Hawaii Kai’s exsistence within the last year or two. The most aggravating thing about that is that it seems I was living here in NYC during it’s last years in business if in fact it did close in the late 80s early 90s. DAMN! I don’t ever remember seeing it or hearing anything about it. I wish I could turn the clock back on that one. From what I understand the classic Joe Pesci “I’m funny like a clown I amuse you?” scene in ‘Goodfellas’ was filmed there. I’ll have to take a look a that film again to see.
Meanwhile I was able to find an amazing color postcard from the Hawaii Kai on Ebay a year or so ago. If I had a scanner I would post it here. It’s a great postcard with four different views of the interior. I haven’t seen it posted on Ebay since, so I think I got lucky with that one. As far as what’s located where Hawaii Kai used to be…..a brand spankin' new Applebee’s Restaurant. Big surprise eh? With all the cool restaurants in New York, who the hell would want to go to Applebee’s. Gee whiz..that’s a real ‘unique’ New York City experience…
“Hey everybody, let’s make a special trip to New York and have dinner at Applebee’s because ya know..there just ain’t enough of them to go to here in the suburbs.'
hardbop
I’m glad I’m not the only one that hated Cats. I left at intermission which is something I NEVER do. I remember Hawai-Kai very well we went there prom night.
I remembering suffering through CATS. How did that last so long?
What I remember about this block was the Hawai-themed restaurant next door, Hawai-Kai. It was there for years before closing sometime in the late 1980s or early 1990s. I never went there, but I understand they had Hawains in native dress doing an act complete with fire. I remember the sign was still attached to the building long after the restaurant closed.
One other thing about the restaurant was that there was a midgit doorman named Pee Wee Marquette who was famous in an earlier age when he worked on “Swing Street” — 52nd Street between Fifth & Sixth Avenues. He also worked at the legendary jazz club “Birdland,” which was on Broadway in Times Square. He would double as an emcee and if musicians didn’t tip him, he would deliberately misprounance their names.
Warner Brothers must have spent a fortune on this neon display. I would love to see a color photo of it at night.
Ron Newman:
New Yorkers call it The Wintergarden. I would imagine all HELL would break loose if they dared to permanently change this theater’s name to just The Cadillac Theater. No one I know calls it that or even The Cadillac Wintergarden. Ugh.
The Abba musical “Mama Mia” has been playing to packed houses at The Wintergarden since around October 2002.
We all call it the Winter Garden. This is one of the great historic Broadway Houses, best known as the theatre Al Jolson became a legend in. I thought this page used to have alot more information on it about the Winter Gardens history?
Do New Yorkers actually call this the ‘Cadillac Winter Garden’ in ordinary conversation, or do they just call it the ‘Winter Garden’ ?
Is it still closed for renovations, or has another show opened since Cats closed?
The Winter Garden has one of the most valuable air rights in the theatre district. The Winter Garden is one of the most desirable theatres on Broadway for musicals.I was most happy when “Cats” left so the theatre could be restored.The theatre is one of the few that is actually on Broadway. The Winter Garden is a good example in the use on naming rights. The Cadillac Winter Garden is better than the Ford Center or American Airlines in naming rights on historic structures. I give the Shubert’s credit for taking care of the historic name of this theatre.brucec
When I saw Cats in 1995, The lobby was in wonderful shape but the walls and balcony of the auditorium were covered with larger than life garbage incuding an oversized dirty pink slipper, newspapers, records, boxes and other debris. From the stately lobby one was transported into the junkyard where the “jelecal cat ball” was held. I also believe that the ledge of the balcony was widened because the cats would perform on it. It was a magical production.
I suppose that this theater is/was truly atmospheric.
Did management remove the garbage?