Ethel Barrymore Theatre
| Ethel Barrymore Theatre 243 West 47th Street New York, NY 10019 Click Here For More Info On The Theatre |
Location
The Ethel Barrymore Theatre is located on the north side of 47th Street between Broadway and Eighth Avenue. It is number 11 on The Broadway Map.
Parking
See our discount parking guide for parking near this theater
Background
Not many actors are approached to star in the debut production of their very own theater, but that is the enticing offer the Shuberts made to acclaimed stage performer Ethel Barrymore many years ago. In 1928, the Ethel Barrymore Theatre opened with the new play The Kingdom of God, and the actress went on to feature in several subsequent productions at her self-named theater, such as The Love Duel, Scarlet Sister Mary, and
The School for Scandal. The Barrymores were once a sort of royal family of acting, and not surprisingly Ethel's children -- Ethel Barrymore Colt and John Drew Colt -- also made their Broadway debuts at this theater. Since then, a wide variety of other great performers have graced this stage, from Lunt and Fontanne to Marlon Brando, Sidney Poitier to Mikhail Baryshnikov. The 1,096-seat theater, designed by Herbert J. Krapp, is a flexible space, ideal for large plays but also good for intimate dramas and small-scale musicals.
Design
The Ethel Barrymore Theatre has a very stately look, with a warm golden interior, detailed trim, and red seats and curtains. On the outside, it is handsome and elegant in white, with round arches above the gilded doorways. The beautiful men's and women's restrooms are in the large basement lounge, which also has a bar and several benches for resting on before the show or during intermission.
Directions
By Subway, take the A/C/E to 50th Street, walk south on Eight Avenue and then turn left onto 47th Street. Or take the 1/2/3/9 to 50th Street, walk south on Broadway and then make a right onto 47th Street.
Best Seats
The best seats are in the middle orchestra and front mezzanine, but the Ethel Barrymore Theatre is small enough that most of the seats supply a good view of the stage.
Previous Shows
The Ethel Barrymore Theatre has a history of presenting groundbreaking plays, such as Clare Boothe Luce's The Women, Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire, Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, and David Mamet's American Buffalo. Other notables include Death Takes a Holiday, Design for Living, Night Must Fall, Tea and Sympathy, Wait Until Dark, Hurlyburly, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, The Sisters Rosensweig, Indiscretions, and The Tale of the Allergist's Wife. Musicals of note include Cole Porter's Gay Divorce, Maxwell Anderson and Kurt Weill's Knickerbocker Holiday, Rodgers & Hart's Pal Joey, the Gian-Carlo Menotti opera The Consul, Maltby & Shire's Baby, and Cy Coleman's The Life.
Seating Chart:
