American Airlines Theatre
| American Airlines Theatre 227 West 42nd Street New York, NY 10019 Click Here For More Info On The Theatre |
Location
The American Airlines Theatre is located on the north side of 42nd Street, between Seventh and Eighth Avenue.
It is number 37 on The Broadway Map.
Parking
See our discount parking guide for parking near this theater
Background
Prior to receiving its very controversial name, the American Airlines Theatre was known as the Selwyn Theatre, named for the producer brothers Arch and Edgar Selwyn who built it in 1918. Designed by George Keister, the Selwyn was especially popular for revues, but like many Broadway theaters, it struggled during the Great Depression and, by 1934, the theater had become a movie house. There was a period in the '50s when each film was preceded by a short play, but this flirtation with live drama was brief and the Selwyn continued as a "grind house" for several decades, showing double features of second run and B movies. In the 1990s, The New 42nd Street headed a tremendous project that brought several historic Broadway theaters back to legitimacy, including the Selwyn. The non-profit Roundabout Theatre Company, which was being turned out of its space at the Criterion Center on 45th Street, leased the space and named it the American Airlines Theatre in honor of the company that was to help it fund the renovation of its new home.
Design
The shiny new modern-looking edifice of the American Airlines Theatre, which is pretty but somewhat sterile, conceals a gorgeous theater that has all the beauty of the original with a brand new sheen. This is because in 1998 the old Selwyn Theatre was brought back to glorious life by a team of skilled craftsmen and artisans who restored the original theater's murals and ornamental plaster work while also improving its sightlines and acoustics. The decidedly un-Broadway-like name of the theater, plus other concessions, like the "F.M. Kirby Box Office," hint at the fact that the restoration was done at a hefty price. But one look at the result, and you'll probably agree that it's worth these nods to crass commercialism -- the American Airlines is one stunning theater.
Directions
By subway, take the A/C/E, the 1/2/3/9, or the N/R/W to 42nd Street.
Best Seats
A small theater at under 800 seats, the American Airlines offers great views all around. But you can't beat the center orchestra and front mezzanine.
Previous Shows
Some notable productions at the old Selwyn Theatre include Somerset Maugham's The Circle, Castles in the Air, George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber's The Royal Family, Noel Coward's This Year of Grace, and Three's A Crowd. Its inaugural production as the American Airlines Theatre was The Man Who Came to Dinner, and since then noteworthy productions (almost all revivals) have included Betrayal, The Women, An Almost Holy Picture, The Man Who Had All the Luck, A Day in the Death of Joe Egg, Russian comedian Yakov Smirnoff's As Long As We Both Shall Laugh, Deaf West Theatre's unique Big River, The Caretaker, and an acclaimed production of Twelve Angry Men.
Seating Chart:
