Shubert Theatre (Boston)

Shubert Theatre
Shubert Theatre at the Boch Center, 2018
Map
Full nameShubert Theatre at the Boch Center
Former namesShubert Theatre at the Wang Center
Address265 Tremont Street
LocationBoston, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°21′01″N 71°03′55″W / 42.3504°N 71.0654°W / 42.3504; -71.0654
Public transitBoylston, Tufts Medical Center
OwnerThe Shubert Organization
OperatorBoch Center
TypeTheatre
Capacity1,600
Construction
Built1908
OpenedJanuary 10, 1910; 114 years ago (1910-01-10)
Renovated1996
ArchitectThomas M. James
Website
www.bochcenter.org
Sam S. Shubert Theatre
Shubert Theatre (Boston) is located in Massachusetts
Shubert Theatre (Boston)
ArchitectHill, James, & Whitaker; Et al.
MPSBoston Theatre MRA
NRHP reference No.80000444[1]
Added to NRHPDecember 9, 1980

The Shubert Theatre is a theatre in Boston, Massachusetts, at 263–265 Tremont Street in the Boston Theater District.[2] The building has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1980.

History

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Architect Thomas M. James (Hill, James, & Whitaker) designed the building,[3] which seats approximately 1,600 people. Originally conceived as The Lyric Theatre by developer Charles H. Bond, it was taken over by The Shubert Organization in 1908 after Bond's death.[4] The theater was named in honor of Sam S. Shubert,[5] middle brother of the Shubert family, who had died in 1905.

The theater opened on January 24, 1910, with a production of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew,[6] starring E. H. Sothern and Julia Marlowe.

The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places—as the Sam S. Shubert Theatre[a]—in 1980. In February 1996, the Wang Center for the Performing Arts signed a 40-year lease agreement to operate the theatre with the Shubert Organization, which continues to own the building and property.[7]

The theatre reopened after renovation in November 1996, as the first stop on the first national tour of the musical Rent.[7][8] The Boch family became the namesake of the center in 2016, making the full name of the theatre the Shubert Theatre at the Boch Center.[9]

Pre-Broadway engagements

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Not to be confused with the liked-name Broadway theatre, which is a designated New York City Landmark.

References

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  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. ^ "Boston register and business directory. 1921". HathiTrust. April 13, 2020. hdl:2027/hvd.hb0l8l. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  3. ^ Susan Wilson. Boston sites & insights: an essential guide to historic landmarks in and around Boston. Boston: Beacon Press, 2004
  4. ^ "Beautiful New Theatre to be Named the Shubert". The Boston Daily Globe. December 12, 1909.
  5. ^ "Shubert Theatre". The Boston Globe. January 28, 1988. p. 18 (Calendar supplement). Retrieved October 29, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Theatre History". bochcenter.org. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  7. ^ a b Center, Boch. "Theatre History | Boch Center". www.bochcenter.org. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  8. ^ Gans, Andrew (September 7, 2008). ""Seasons of Love": A Rent Timeline". Playbill.
  9. ^ Leung, Shirley (2016-09-15). "The Boch name spreads to the Theater District". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2016-09-16.
  10. ^ "Musical Comedy: "Here's Howe" for Boston". Billboard. Vol. 40, no. 15. April 14, 1928. p. 8.
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