Fulton Theatre

Former theatre in Manhattan, New York

40°45′31″N 73°59′08″W / 40.7587°N 73.9856°W / 40.7587; -73.9856TypeBroadwayConstructionOpenedApril 27, 1911ReopenedOctober 20, 1911Demolished1982ArchitectHerts & Tallant

The Fulton Theatre was a Broadway theatre located at 210 West 46th Street in Manhattan, New York City, that was opened in 1911. It was renamed the Helen Hayes Theatre in 1955. The theatre was demolished in 1982. After the former Little Theatre on 44th Street became the current Helen Hayes Theatre, the Fulton Theatre was sometimes referred to as the First Helen Hayes Theatre.

History

Built by the architects Herts & Tallant for Henry B. Harris and Jesse Lasky, it was originally opened on April 27, 1911, under the name Folies-Bergere as a dinner theatre with vaudeville.^[1] The building featured three murals and a color scheme by leading American muralist William de Leftwich Dodge. Eighteen-year-old Mae West was discovered here by The New York Times at her Broadway debut on September 22, 1911.^[2]^[3] Closing after that,^[4] the theatre reopened on October 20, 1911, as the Fulton Theatre, a conventional playhouse.^[5] The theatre was managed by Abraham L. Erlanger from 1921, until his death in 1930.

In 1955, the theatre was renamed the Helen Hayes Theatre in honor of the renowned actress Helen Hayes and re-opened under that name on November 21.

In 1982, the theatre was demolished, along with the Morosco,^[6] Bijou, Gaiety and Astor Theatres, to make way for the Marriott Marquis Hotel, which now houses the Marquis Theatre. Parts of the Helen Hayes Theatre were salvaged before the theatre's demolition and were used to build the Shakespeare Center, home of the Riverside Shakespeare Company on the Upper West Side, which was dedicated by Hayes and Joseph Papp in September 1982.^[7]

Since Helen Hayes was still living at the time of her namesake theater's demolition, the nearby Little Theatre at 240 West 44th Street was renamed in her honor in 1983.^[8]

Performers

Besides Mae West, the Fulton has also had English actor Robert Morley in the title role of the play Oscar Wilde by Leslie and Sewell Stokes in 1938. The play ran for 247 performances and its success launched Morley's career as a stage actor on both sides of the Atlantic.

Audrey Hepburn starred in the Gilbert Miller production of Gigi, which opened at the Fulton on November 24, 1951, and ran for 219 performances.

Selected runs

Notable runs in excess of 100 performances include:

The Misleading Lady (1913–14)
Twin Beds (1914–15)
Abie's Irish Rose (1922) (moved to Theatre Republic through 1927)
Orange Blossoms (1922)
He Who Gets Slapped (1922)
Secrets (1922–23)
Puzzles of 1925 (1925)
The Jazz Singer (1925–26) (which led to the 1927 film)
The Donovan Affair (1926)
Dracula (Oct 1927-May 1928)
Gambling (Aug 1929 - Jan 1930) (152 perf.)
New Faces of 1934 (Mar 1934 - June 1934)
Oscar Wilde (Oct 1938 - May 1939) (247 perf.)
Arsenic and Old Lace (Jan 1941 - Sept 1943) (then moved to Hudson Theatre)
The Searching Wind (Apr 1944 - Jan 1945) (318 perf.)
Another Part of the Forest (Nov 1946 - Apr 1947) (182 perf.)
Command Decision (Oct 1947 - Sept 1948) (409 perf.)
Goodbye, Mr. Fancy (Feb 1949 - Sept 1949) (started at Morosco Theatre, moved to Martin Beck Theatre)
Gigi (Nov 1951 - May 1952) (219 perf.)
The Seven Year Itch (Nov 1952 - Aug 1955) (1141 perf.)

As Helen Hayes Theatre:

Long Day's Journey into Night (Nov 1956 - Mar 1958) (390 perf.)
A Touch of the Poet (Oct 1958 - Jun 1959) (284 perf.)
Period of Adjustment (Nov 1960 - Mar 1961) (132 perf.)
Mary, Mary (Mar 1961 - Nov 1964) (then briefly to Morosco Theatre)
Philadelphia, Here I Come! (Feb 1966 - Oct 1966) (326 perf.)
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (Jan 1968 - Dec 1968) (379 perf.)
Hadrian VII (Jan 1969 - Nov 1969) (359 perf.)
The Crucifer of Blood (Sept 1978 - Apr 1979) (236 perf.)
Strider (Nov 1979 - May 1980) (214 perf.)

References

^ "Folies Bergere Full of Novelties", The New York Times. p.13 April 28, 1911 via Newspapers.com
^ "New Skit Shown at Folies Bergere", The New York Times. September 23, 1911 via Newspapers.com . Quote: "A girl named Mae West, hitherto unknown, pleased by her grotesquerie and snappy way of singing and dancing."
^ Leonard, Maurice (1992). Mae West Empress of Sex. Carol Publishing. pp. 33–34. ISBN 978-1559721516.
^ "Folies Bergere to End Brief Career", The New York Times, p.9 September 28, 1911 via Newspapers.com
^ "Mr. Edeson in Play by Gelett Burgess", The New York Times. p.9 October 31, 1911 Newspapers.com
^ Lawson, Carol (9 June 1982). Fallen Facade Revives Theater Razing Dispute, The New York Times
^ O'Haire, Patricia (September 13, 1982). "Dickens lends the Bard a Hand." New York Daily News.
^ Lawson, Carol (July 22, 1983). "Helen Hayes Honored as Theater Is Renamed". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on March 30, 2022. Retrieved January 13, 2022.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fulton Theatre.

Fulton Theatre (later Helen Hayes Theatre) At Internet Broadway Database

Broadway theatres

List

Active, by owner

The Shubert Organization (17)	Ambassador Theatre Belasco Theatre Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre Booth Theatre Broadhurst Theatre Broadway Theatre Ethel Barrymore Theatre Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre Imperial Theatre James Earl Jones Theatre John Golden Theatre Longacre Theatre Lyceum Theatre Majestic Theatre Music Box Theatre Shubert Theatre Winter Garden Theatre
Nederlander Organization (9)	Gershwin Theatre Lena Horne Theatre Lunt-Fontanne Theatre Marquis Theatre Minskoff Theatre Nederlander Theatre Neil Simon Theatre Palace Theatre Richard Rodgers Theatre
Jujamcyn Theaters (5)	Al Hirschfeld Theatre August Wilson Theatre Eugene O'Neill Theatre St. James Theatre Walter Kerr Theatre
Roundabout Theatre Company (3)	Stephen Sondheim Theatre Studio 54 Todd Haimes Theatre
Ambassador Theatre Group (2)	Hudson Theatre Lyric Theatre
Other (5)	Circle in the Square Theatre (independent) Hayes Theater (Second Stage) New Amsterdam Theatre (Disney) Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (MTC) Vivian Beaumont Theater (Lincoln Center)
Extant former Broadway theatres	Ed Sullivan Theater (CBS) Edison Theatre (Hotel Edison) Empire Theatre (AMC Theatres) Liberty Theatre Mark Hellinger Theatre (Times Square Church) New Victory Theater (New 42nd Street) Sony Hall (Blue Note Entertainment Group) Times Square Theater (New 42nd Street)

Defunct and/or demolished

Post-1949	48th Street Theatre Adelphi Theatre Apollo Theatre Bijou Theatre Center Theatre Colonial Theatre Empire Theatre Fulton Theatre International Theatre Latin Quarter Metropolitan Opera House Morosco Theatre New Century Theatre Playhouse Theatre President Theatre Rialto Theatre Vanderbilt Theatre Ziegfeld Theatre
Post-1919	39th Street Theatre 44th Street Theatre 49th Street Theatre American Music Hall Anco Cinema Astor Theatre Belmont Theatre Bowery Theatre Broadway Theatre Casino de Paris Casino Theatre Century Theatre Charles Hopkins Theatre Civic Repertory Theatre Comedy Theatre Concert Theatre Criterion Theatre Daly's 63rd Street Theatre Earl Carroll Theatre Fifth Avenue Theatre Gaiety Theatre Garrick Theatre George M. Cohan's Theatre Hippodrome Theatre Knickerbocker Theatre Klaw Theatre Lewisohn Stadium of City College of New York Lyric Theatre (1903) Maxine Elliott's Theatre Nora Bayes Theatre Princess Theatre Sam H. Harris Theatre Waldorf Theatre
Post-1866	Abbey's Park Theatre Academy of Music Bandbox Theatre Barnum's New American Museum Bijou Theatre Broadway Theatre Central Theatre Circle Theatre Daly's Theatre Garden Theatre Grand Opera House Herald Square Theatre Hoyt's Theatre Koster and Bial's Music Hall Lyceum Theatre Madison Square Roof Garden Manhattan Theatre Murray Hill Theatre New Bowery Theatre New Theatre Comique New York Theatre Niblo's Garden Olympic Theatre Paradise Roof Garden Princess Theatre Savoy Theatre Star Theatre Theatre Comique Victoria Theatre Wallack's Theatre Weber's Music Hall Winter Garden Theatre
Pre-musical	American Theatre Anthony Street Theatre Barnum's American Museum Booth's Theatre Broadway Theatre Burton's Chambers Street Theatre John Street Theatre Nassau Street Theatre National Theatre Olympic Theatre Park Theatre Richmond Hill Theatre