For Decatur, Alabama's Princess Theatre, see Princess Theatre, Decatur Princess Theatre 1913 The Switchboard 1913 Fancy Free 1913 Phipps 1913 Fear 1913 A Pair of White Gloves 1913 The Neglected Lady 1914 Marrying Money 1914 The Forest of Happy Dreams 1914 The Goal 1914 The Denial 1914 Nettie 1914 Across The Bordersa 1915 Maternity 1915 Nobody Home 1915 The Mask Of The Beast 1915 Very Good Eddie 1915 Hobson's Choice 1916 Go To It 1916 Such Is Life 1916 Margery Daw 1916 Nevertheless 1916 The Golden Doom 1917 Oh, Boy! (musical) 1918 Oh, Lady! Lady! 1918 Jonathan Makes a Wish 1919 Toot Sweet 1920 Tick-Tack-Toe 1920 Mrs. Jimmie Thompson 1921 The Mask of Hamlet 1921 Suzette 1922 Desert Sands 1922 The First Fifty Years 1922 Six Characters in Search of an Author 1923 Mister Malatesta 1923 White Desert 1924 The Steam Roller 1925 The Little Poor Man 1925 Brother Elks 1926 The Unchastened Woman 1926 Buy, Buy, Baby 1927 The Virgin Man 1927 Bottomland 1928 Meek Mose Lucille La Verne Theatre 1928 Sun-Up 1929 Hot Water Assembly Theatre 1929 Lolly 1929 A Ledge 1929 The Novice and the Duke 1930 Everything's Jake Labor Stage Theatre 1930 Pins and Needles 1939 Once Upon A Time Princess Theatre 1947 The Wanhope Building 1947 O'Daniel 1947 As We Forgive Our Debtors 1947 The Great Campaign 1947 Virginia Reel The Princess Theatre (same name used by off-Broadway 50th Street Theatre in 1980s) was a joint venture between The Shubert Brothers, (Lee Shubert, Samuel S. Shubert, and Jacob J. Shubert) producer Ray Comstock and actor-director Holbrook Blinn. It was built on a narrow slice of land on 39th Street, just off 6th Avenue, and sat 299, one of the smallest Broadway theaters built when it opened in early 1913. The architect was William A. Swasey, who designed the Winter Garden two years earlier. Though fairly drab on the outside, looking like a six-story office building except for its marquees and gaudy electric sign over the main entrance, the Princess was quite elegant inside. A blend of Georgian and French Renaissance styles , the auditorium contained fourteen rows of seats, twelve boxes off the proscenium arch, and was hailed for its excellent acoustics and sight-lines. The decor included neoclassical inspired plasterwork and antique French tapestries hung from the side walls.

PRINCESS THEATRE TICKETS EVENT DATE AVAILABILITY Lord of the Dance Tickets 8/4 Aug 04, 2026 Tue, 7:45 PM Lord of the Dance Tickets 8/5 Aug 05, 2026 Wed, 7:45 PM Lord of the Dance Tickets 8/6 Aug 06, 2026 Thu, 7:45 PM Lord of the Dance Tickets 8/7 Aug 07, 2026 Fri, 7:45 PM Lord of the Dance Tickets 8/8 Aug 08, 2026 Sat, 7:45 PM

1910s

Originally planned as a venue for short dramatic plays, the Princess failed to attract an audience. ^[1] Theatre agent Elisabeth Marbury asked Jerome Kern and Guy Bolton to write a series of musicals specifically tailored to its smaller setting, with an intimate style and modest budgets, that would provide an alternative to the star-studded extravaganzas of Ziegfield and others.

Kern and Bolton's first "Princess Theatre musical" was Nobody's Home (1915), an adaptation of a London show called Mr. Popple of Ippleton . Their second, with Philip Bartholomae and lyrics by Schuyler Green, was an original musical called Very Good Eddie (1915). The little show ran for 341 performances on a modest budget. ^[2] British humorist and lyricist/playwright P. G. Wodehouse joined the team and collaborated with Kern and Bolton for Oh, Boy! (1917) and Oh, Lady! Lady! (1918). Wodehouse and Bolton wrote one more musical for the theater, Oh, My Dear! (1918), but with a score by Louis Hirsch. The shows featured modern American settings and simple scene changes (one set for each act) to more aptly suit the small theatre, eschewing operetta traditions of foreign locales and elaborate scenery. The absence of Kern's music from Oh, My Dear! proved fatal to the series as it was the last of the "Princess Theatre musicals".

1920s

In 1922, drama returned to the Princess for another seven years, but, unfortunately, success did not, and after a brief stint as the Lucille La Verne Theatre in 1928, the Shuberts sold the theater. In 1929, the New York Theatre Assembly took over the Princess, and renamed it The Assembly Theatre. However, within half a year, the theater was closed, and remained unused until 1933, when it reopened as the Reo Theatre, and was, like so many other former legitimate houses, now being used as a movie theater. A year later, the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) acquired the theater, and used it as a recreation center for neighborhood workers.

1930s

However, in 1937, legitimate theater returned to the theater, now called the Labor Stage, in a big way, with Pins and Needles, which was the longest running Broadway show of the day, running for 1108 performances. When the show moved to the Windsor Theatre, the ILGWU reclaimed the theater briefly as its recreation hall.

1940s and 1950s

On October 5, 1947 by Elia Kazan, Cheryl Crawford, Robert Lewis and Anna Sokolow met in a rehearsal space form what would become the Actors Studio. ^[3]

In 1947, movies returned to the theater, now renamed the Cinema Dante , screening foreign features. A year later, it got another name change, The Little Met , and in 1952, yet one final name, the Cine Verdi . By the mid-50s, the old Princess was on the outskirts of the theater district, and in 1955, the little theater was torn down.

Notes

1. Bloom and Vlastnik, pp. 230–31
2. Kenrick, John. "History of The Musical Stage 1910-1919: Part I", ''Musicals 101.com: The Cyber Encyclopedia of Musical Theatre, TV and Film'', accessed May 27, 2008
3. in Focus by S. Carnicke - Routledge; (November 1, 1998) ISBN 9057550709

References

1. Bloom and Vlastnik, pp. 230–31
2. Kenrick, John. "History of The Musical Stage 1910-1919: Part I", ''Musicals 101.com: The Cyber Encyclopedia of Musical Theatre, TV and Film'', accessed May 27, 2008
3. in Focus by S. Carnicke - Routledge; (November 1, 1998) ISBN 9057550709