History Hiding Around Broadway – Teale Dvornik

The powers that be wanted Mary Poppins to open at the New Amsterdam, but it was still occupied by a pride of extremely lucrative lions. The Lion King had been consistently raking in ticket-sale dollars since the megahit musical had first opened at the New Amsterdam in 1997. How are you supposed to move Pride Rock and a menagerie of African animals? If you’re Disney, the answer is obviously in the most efficient and cost-effective way possible.

Instead of evicting the musical by posting their closing notice, the wise decision was made to relocate the Pride Lands to a slightly smaller Broadway house. But instead of temporarily shutting down the production so the crew could relocate it, the stagehands at the Minskoff Theatre were given several months to properly alter the space, prepare for the show to officially move in, and construct and install the brand-new set that had been built for the new location.

The bunker level underneath the stage was even blown out to create more space for the giant hydraulically lifted Pride Rock. When it was finally time to move, the relocation had been planned so meticulously that the production never had to shut for a single performance. The cast cleaned out their dressing rooms on a Sunday, had their day off, and showed up for work on Tuesday at an entirely new theater!

The old original set that had been left behind at the New Amsterdam Theatre was deconstructed, packed up, and sent to the Netherlands to be used for the European touring company. One could say it’s the circle of life! ◆ Pearl Bailey made Broadway history by playing the lead role in the first all-Black cast of Hello, Dolly! (1975) and received a Special Tony Award.

◆ The Temptations played a one-week limited engagement at the Minskoff Theatre (1986) decades before the musical about their lives, Ain’t Too Proud (2019), would debut on Broadway at the Imperial Theatre. ◆ The successful first Broadway revival of Sweet Charity (1986) starred Debbie Allen (younger sister of Phylicia Rashad) and was directed and choreographed by Bob Fosse. Fosse’s wife, muse, and woman who originated the title role, Gwen Verdon, assisted in remounting the choreography.

The musical received five Tony nominations and won four awards, including Best Revival, and Bebe Neuwirth took home her first trophy for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical. ◆ Heather Headley, Christopher Jackson, Renée Elise Goldsberry, and Jelani Remi all made their Broadway debuts in The Lion King. OceanofPDF.com The Location: West Forty-Fifth Street between Broadway and Eighth Avenue First Opened: 1913 | Capacity: 766 Notable Productions: Next to Normal, Sunday in the Park with George, That Championship Season, The Time of Your Life, You Can’t Take It with You Unfortunate Family Ties The Booth Theatre opened in 1913 as the smaller “little-sister playhouse” to the Shubert Theatre.

(There’s even a secret underground passageway connecting the two!)

Text copyright © 2025 by Teale Dvornik Interior and cover illustrations copyright © 2025 by Sarah McMenemy Cover copyright © 2025 by Hachette Book Group, Inc. Hachette Book Group supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact [email protected].

Thank you for your support of the author’s rights. Running Press Hachette Book Group 1290 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10104 www.runningpress.com @Running_Press First Edition: November 2025 Published by Running Press, an imprint of Hachette Book Group, Inc. The Running Press name and logo are trademarks of Hachette Book Group, Inc. The Hachette Speakers Bureau provides a wide range of authors for speaking events. To find out more, go to www.hachettespeakersbureau.com or email [email protected]. Running Press books may be purchased in bulk for business, educational, or promotional use.

For more information, please contact your local bookseller or the Hachette Book Group Special Markets Department at [email protected]. The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for. ISBNs: 978-0-7624-8910-7 (hardcover), 978-0-7624-8911-4 (ebook) E3-20250924-JV-NF-ORI OceanofPDF.com CONTENTS Cover Title Page Copyright Dedication Foreword by James Monroe Iglehart Overture Welcome to the Great White Way The Theater District Theater Highlights Throughout Time A Very Short History of (Almost) Everything Broadway Act One: 41st–44th Streets The Nederlander Theatre New Amsterdam Theatre The Todd Haimes Theatre The Lyric Theatre The Stephen Sondheim Theatre The Belasco Theatre The Hudson Theatre The Hayes Theater The St. James Theatre The Majestic Theatre The Broadhurst Theatre The Shubert Theatre Act Two: 45th–46th Streets The Minskoff Theatre The Booth Theatre The Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre The Bernard B.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

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