Shubert Theatre

The Sam S. Shubert Theatre was opened on January 24, 1910, Named after the deceased brother, it was designed by Boston based architect Thomas M. Jones. Seating is provided for 1,550 with 650 in the orchestra, 500 in the first balcony and 400 in the 2nd balcony. There are two orchestra boxes and two balcony boxes on each side of the 40ft wide proscenium The stage is 50ft deep.

By the mid-1930’s it was operating as a movie theatre. By 1963 it had returned to legitimate theatre use. It is operated by the same operators as the Wang Theatre.

Recent comments (view all 4 comments)

rsalters (Ron Salters) on July 16, 2020 at 11:05 am

We need proof that the Boston Shubert was showing movies as of the mid-1930s. I have never seen any, such as newspaper ads. It was operating as a live theatre all through the 1940s and 1950s. I know this because I went there then to see stage shows as a child and a teen.

Ken Roe on July 16, 2020 at 1:21 pm

In the “Theatres of Boston-A Stage and Screen History” by Donald C. King. McFarland & Co. 2005 Page 204 referencing the year 1937…“The Shuberts took over the Copley Theatre and refurbished it. The best and biggest motion pictures once more began to premiere at the Shubert, Colonial or Majestic theatres at a higher-priced reserved seat run before being released to regular lower admission houses”.

rsalters (Ron Salters) on July 17, 2020 at 10:45 am

The Colonial Theatre showed movies occasionally during the 1910s and 1920s. There were many movies at the Majestic Theatre, especially in the 1940s when some of them ran for months at a time.(I saw “The Red Shoes” there, circa-1948 or so. ) But the Shubert ?? – I would have to see movie ads from the Boston newspapers.

Gerald A. DeLuca on September 14, 2021 at 3:26 am

Ad posted for the movie “Lost Horizon,” which played here in 1937 on a reserved-seat policy.