ON STAGE
Now Playing
Be More Chill
HISTORY
The Lyceum is Broadway's oldest continually operating legitimate theatre. Built by producer-manager David Frohman in 1903, it was purchased in 1940 by a conglomerate of producers which included George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. In 1950, the Shuberts took ownership of the theatre, and have operated it ever since.
ARCHITECTURE
Designed in the Beaux Arts style by architects Herts and Tallant, the building boasts a handsome gray limestone façade with six ornate Corinthian columns. The foyer features two grand staircases leading to the mezzanine, and marble finished to approximate "the marble of Athens." When it opened, the theatre featured a state-of-the-art ventilation system: the auditorium was kept cool in the summer and warm in the winter as air was passed over either ice chambers or steam coils on its way into the theatre. Above the theatre, Frohman built an apartment for himself which included a small door that offers a bird's eye view of the stage below. Legend has it that Frohman waved a white handkerchief out the open door to tell his wife, the actress Margaret Illington, that she was overacting. This apartment is currently home to the Shubert Archive.
Spotlight on Broadway: Lyceum Theatre from Spotlight on Broadway on Vimeo.
Details on the Lyceum Theatre's Accessibility
Access Information
Theatre is not completely wheelchair accessible. There are no steps into the theatre from the sidewalk. Please be advised that where there are steps either into or within the theatre, we are unable to provide assistance.
Shubert Audience Services
The Lyceum Theatre provides at least 10 infrared assistive listening devices for every performance at the theatre. Beginning 4 weeks after a show’s official opening night performance, at least 10 audio description devices are available for every performance at the theatre. In addition, there is unlimited access to downloadable audio description software for personal mobile devices, available beginning 4 weeks after a show’s official opening night performance, which provides an automated detailed account of the visual of the production, free of charge, for blind or partially sighted patrons. The theatre also offers hand-held devices and software that provide captioning for deaf or hard of hearing patrons, available beginning 4 weeks after a show’s official opening night performance. Additional devices can be available with at least 24 hours’ notice by contacting Shubert Audience Services at 212-944-3700 or audienceservices@shubertorg.com. There is also a representative at the Shubert Audience Services kiosk at every performance to assist any patron with the audio description devices, software, or captioning devices.
Accessibility by Seating Section
Orchestra Location: Seating is accessible to all parts of the Orchestra without steps. There are no steps to the designated wheelchair seating location.
Mezzanine Location: Located on the 2nd Level, up 2 flights of stairs from Orchestra. Please Note: On the Mezzanine Level, there are approximately 2 steps per row. Entrance to Mezzanine is behind row J.
Balcony Location: Located on the 3rd Level, up 4 flights of stairs from Orchestra. Please Note: On the Balcony Level, there are approximately 2 steps per row. Entrance to Balcony is behind row J.
Handrails: Available at the end of every stepped seat row in the Mezzanine and Balcony.
Elevators/Escalator
None Available. No steps into theatre.
Payphone
Located in the ticket lobby. Accessible at 54" w/utility outlet.
Restroom
There is a wheelchair accessible restroom.
Water Fountain
Located in the ticket lobby. Accessible at 36".
Theatre Policies
The use of cameras, recording devices, cell phones, beepers, and other electronic devices during the performance is prohibited. Everyone attending a performance must have a ticket. Latecomers will be seated at the discretion of management. Wheelchair and mobility-impaired seating is intended for patrons with mobility disabilities. Children under the age of four years will not be admitted. No outside food or beverage permitted, unless medically necessary. No weapons permitted on the premises.
NOW PLAYING
BE MORE CHILL
Be More Chill is the coolest new musical about being a loser.
What if popularity came in a pill? Would you take it, no questions asked? In Be More Chill, achieving the “perfect life” is now possible thanks to some mysterious new technology—but it comes at a cost that’s not as easy to swallow. What could possibly go wrong? This thrillingly exciting, comically subversive, and deeply felt new musical takes on the competing voices in all of our heads. And ultimately proves, there’s never been a better time in history to be yourself—especially if you’re a loser…geek…or whatever.
It’s already “one of the most popular new musicals in America,” raves The New York Times. And The Wall Street Journal cheers, “It’s going to hit big—and deservedly so!” Now, direct from its sold-out New York premiere, Be More Chill is coming to Broadway. Discover this hilariously honest show for yourself, featuring an electric, ear-worm filled score by “one of Broadway’s next great songwriters” (Billboard).
Be More Chill Show Tickets | Be More Chill Show Schedule
Regarded by many as a crown jewel among New York's playhouses, the Lyceum has housed many new plays, revivals, and repertory companies since its inaugural production, The Proud Prince (1903). Other early shows include J. M. Barrie's The Admirable Crichton (1903) (its first original play), The Other Girl (1904) starring Lionel Barrymore, A Doll's House (1906) featuring Ethel Barrymore, and The Thief (1907) with Margaret Illington. Some stars who graced the stage of the Lyceum in its early years include Fanny Brice, Billie Burke, Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston, Judith Anderson, Leslie Howard, and Bette Davis.
In the 1940s and 1950s, the Lyceum's biggest hit Born Yesterday (1946) launched the stardom of Judy Holiday and ran 1,642 performances, the theatre's longest run. Other productions during this era include Kaufman and Hart's George Washington Slept Here, Clifford Odets's The Country Girl (1950) starring Uta Hagen, A Hatful of Rain (1955) with Shelley Winters, The Happiest Millionaire (1956) featuring Walter Pidgeon, Alan Bates in John Osborne's Look Back in Anger (1957), Shelagh Delaney's A Taste of Honey (1960) with Angela Lansbury and Joan Plowright, and Harold Pinter's The Caretaker (1961) starring Alan Bates, Robert Shaw and Donald Pleasance.
A number of repertory companies have called the Lyceum Theatre home, starting with Frohman's own company, the Association of Producing Artists (APA)-Phoenix Repertory Company from 1965-69 which produced You Can't Take It With You (1965), The School for Scandal (1966) and The Cherry Orchard (1968). Tony Randall's National Actors Theatre produced more than a dozen shows here. Lincoln Center Theatre has also staged productions of Our Town (1988), Rose (2000) starring Olympia Dukakis, Tom Stoppard's The Invention of Love (2001), and Mornings at Seven (2002) (the second revival of this play at this theatre).
Other recent productions at the Lyceum include one person shows likeWhoopi Goldberg (1984, 2004 revival), a tour de force which helped launch Goldberg's successful film career, Ian McKellan: A Knight Out at the Lyceum (1994), Julia Sweeney's God Said "Ha!" (1996), Mandy Patinkin in Concert (1997), and most recently, the Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning I Am My Own Wife (2003). There were also premieres of new plays like Athol Fugard's Master Harold...and the Boys (1982) starring Danny Glover, Harvey Feinstein's Safe Sex (1987), and Martin McDonagh's The Lonesome West (1999).
The Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning I Am My Own Wife (2003), Inherit the Wind (2007) with Brian Dennehy and Christopher Plummer, Mark Twain's Is He Dead? (2007) and Neil LaBute's Reasons to Be Pretty (2009) all called the Lyceum home. Most recently, the Lyceum showcased Kander and Ebb's The Scottsboro Boys (2010), Tony Award winning Venus in Fur (2012), Nathan Lane in the Nance (2013), the Pulitzer Prize winning Disgraced (2014), the Tony Award winning revival of A View from the Bridge (2015) and the long-running comedy The Play That Goes Wrong (2017).
THEATRE SPECS
Lyceum Theatre
149 West 45th Street
Between 6th and 7th Avenues
New York NY 10036
Year Built |
|
1903 |
|
Seating Capacity |
|
|
Orchestra |
|
409 |
Mezzanine |
|
287 |
Balcony |
|
210 |
Boxes |
|
16 |
Total |
|
922 |
|
|
|
Included in Numbers Above: |
|
|
Orchestra Pit |
|
11 |
Wheelchair |
|
4 |
Aisle Transfer Arm |
|
10 |
|
Theatre Dimensions |
|
Proscenium Opening: |
33' 0" |
Height of Proscenium: |
31' 8" |
Depth to proscenium: |
29' 6" |
Depth to front of stage: |
31' 0" |
Stage Type: |
Proscenium |
|
SEATING CHART
