Adelphi Theatre (New York City)

The Adelphi Theatre (1934–1940 and 1944–1958), originally named the Craig Theatre, opened on December 24, 1928. The Adelphi was located at 152 West 54th Street in Manhattan, with 1,434 seats. The theater was taken over by the Federal Theater Project in 1934 and renamed the Adelphi. The theater was renamed the Radiant Center by The Royal Fraternity of Master Metaphysicians in 1940. It was then the Yiddish Arts Theater (1943), and renamed the Adelphi Theater on April 20, 1944, when it was acquired by The Shubert Organization.

It became a DuMont Television Network studio, known as the Adelphi Tele-Theatre in the 1950s. The "Classic 39" episodes of The Honeymooners were filmed in this facility by DuMont using their Electronicam system for broadcast on CBS later during the 1955–56 television season. The theater returned to legitimate use in 1957, was renamed the 54th Street Theater in 1958, and finally the George Abbott Theater in 1965. The building was demolished in 1970 for the New York Hilton Midtown hotel after hosting several expensive flops.

Some interiors were decorated with murals painted by Joseph Mortimer Lichtenauer. The artistic cycle was dismembered after its demolition.

Notable productions

• Revolt of the Beavers (May 20, 1937 – June 19, 1937)
• On the Town (December 28, 1944 – February 6, 1945)
• Around the World (May 31, 1946 – March 8, 1946)
• Street Scene (January 1, 1947 – May 17, 1947)
• Life Is Worth Living
• The Honeymooners (October 1, 1955 – September 22, 1956)
• Damn Yankees (May 6, 1957 – December 10, 1957)
• Bye Bye Birdie (October 24, 1960 – January 14, 1961)
• 13 Daughters (March 1, 1961 – March 25, 1961)
• No Strings (March 15, 1962 – September 29, 1962)
• What Makes Sammy Run? (February 27, 1964 – December 6, 1965)
• Any Wednesday (February 15, 1966 – June 26, 1966)
• Wait Until Dark (October 3, 1966 – November 26, 1966)
• Darling of the Day (January 27, 1968 – February 24, 1968)
• Gantry (February 14, 1970)

Musical theater star William Gaxton referred to it as "the dump of dumps".

References