Nederlander Theatre

Best Seats In The House

• Seats: 1232

Parking for Nederlander Theatre

The closest parking garages for Nederlander Theatre are located at:

One Parking 1411

136 W 40th Street
New York, NY 10019

212-221-9827

ICON Global Parking

143-145 W 40th Street
New York, NY 10019

212-221-9485

The closest parking is not always the best as it often takes longer to park and retrieve your vehicle as fellow theatre goers have the same idea. A better choice of parking may be the second choice or further away by a couple of Avenues.

Additional Notes

Landlord: The Nederlander Organization

Official Ticketer: Ticketmaster

Elevator: No

Escalator: No

Nederlander Theatre History

Situated on 41st Street, the Nederlander Theatre marks the southern-most point of the Times Square theater district. As a sign at the front of the building attests, its full name is the David Nederlander Theatre, named in 1980 for the founder of the Nederlander Organization by his sons who currently run it. Originally called the National when it first opened on September 1, 1921, the theater has had many good years under that name. Works by distinguished playwrights like Lillian Hellman, Sean O'Casey, Clifford Odets, and Tennessee Williams appeared here. The celebrated songwriting team Lerner & Loewe (who would go on to create the classics My Fair Lady and Camelot) made their Broadway debut at the National Theatre with What's Up? Orson Welles and John Houseman's Mercury Theatre company brought productions of Julius Caesar and The Shoemaker's Holiday, which featured stars like Joseph Cotten, Vincent Price, and Welles himself, to this theater. After spending a couple decades as the Billy Rose Theatre -- during which time early works by groundbreaking playwrights Edward Albee, Harold Pinter, and Tom Stoppard were performed here -- it closed for a year in 1978. The theater was then purchased by the Nederlanders and Cooney-Marsh and refurbished. It was dubbed the Trafalgar at first, but only briefly, before receiving its current name, the Nederlander Theatre.

Nederlander Theatre Design

On street block South of the flashy 42nd Street, the Nederlander is the lone theater on 41st street and can often be easy to overlook. For years, the theater was run down and not very exciting - with poor seating, bad audio, a bland brick exterior and a prominent fire escape at the front of the building. The Nederlander Theatre was ideal for scrappy upstart musicals and the theatre famously found its perfect match in Rent way back in 1995. The bohemian musical remained its tenant from 1995 to 2008 and the following Rent's departure, the Nederlander finally got a much-needed renovation, but still struggles to this day find another long-term tenant that will pay for its next renovation.