Broadway History - The Palace Theatre

The most legendary theater on Broadway, The Palace is also one of the oldest, built in 1913. Kirchhoff & Rose designed the theater expressly for the presentation of vaudeville -variety shows with comedy, magic, music, and dance-and every vaudevillian aspired to “play the Palace.” The deep lobby and enormous theater with its two balconies accommodated large audiences while private boxes, favorite features of vaudeville audiences, added to the theater’s allure. Once the most popular form of entertainment in the United States, vaudeville died out in the early 1930s and the revered Palace struggled to survive. In 1965, the Nederlander Organization bought it and hired Ralph Alswang, a Broadway scenic designer who had been begun designing theater interiors in the mid-1960s, to restore the Palace to its original grandeur. It reopened as a legitimate theater in 1966 with Neil Simons’s Sweet Charity. Many successful productions, including Applause, La Cage aux Follies, Woman of the Year, Beauty and the Beast, and Aida, have followed.

[@rlmack5]

Judy first played the Palace in the early '50s ... 1967 was the last of her many appearances in the theatre.

[@johnathandegarston-strang239]

Disney Beauty and the Beast First performance at The Palace Theatre on Broadway, April 18th 1994. 🥀🎭

[@freakfoxvevo7915]

Surprised that wasn't mentioned here along with what was the current production when this video was made (SpongeBob the Musical)

[@paytonturpenvlogs5086]

Good job Spongebob it only deserves the best theater

[@ecoRfan]

Went to Aida there in 2002. It’s also housed the rebirth of West Side Story. Definitely a big theater that gets big name shows.

[@scott09146]

Same with Legally Blonde

[@hungrysoles]

The exterior needs to be restored to its original look and the glitz taken off.

[@ecoRfan]

Agree... those billboard hide that there is a B’way theater there. Scaffolding makes things worse. Only a beige vertical sign that says “Palace” can be seen. People constantly complain about bad audience sightlines and extreme height on the balcony. But it’s still quite famous and located right in the middle of it all.

[@flannerymonaghan-morris7461]

They have! It’s being restored right now!