August Wilson Theater (originally Guild Theater)
after opening as the Guild Theater in 1925, this site was renamed the ANTA Playhouse in 1950, the Virginia Theater in 1981, and the August Wilson Theater in 2005
overview
Opened in 1925 as the Guild Theater and renamed the ANTA Playhouse in 1950 and the Virginia Theater in 1981, this venue staged multiple productions involving major LGBT performers and creators, including Alfred Lunt, Lynn Fontanne, Emlyn Williams, Mary Martin, Tyrone Power, Thornton Wilder, Lorenz Hart, Eva Le Gallienne, and Gore Vidal, among others.
The venue was renamed the August Wilson Theater in 2005.
On the Map
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Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne in Arms and the Man, 1925. Courtesy of the Museum of the City of New York.
Garrick Gaieties c. 1925-30. Courtesy of the Museum of the City of New York.
Scene in Catfish Row from the original Broadway production of Porgy (1927), featuring (left to right) Jack Carter as Crown, Wesley Hill as Jake, A. B. Comethiere as Simon Frazier, Rose MacClendon as Serena, Richard Huey as Mingo, Frank Wilson as Porgy, unidentified actor in the background, Georgette Harvey as Maria, and Evelyn Ellis as Bess. Photo by Vandamm Studio. Courtesy of Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library.
Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne in Elizabeth the Queen, 1930. Courtesy of the Museum of the City of New York.
Franchot Tone, Clare Woodbury, and June Walker in Green Grow the Lilacs (1931) by Lynn Riggs. Courtesy of the Museum of the City of New York.
Alla Nazimova in Mourning Becomes Electra, 1931. Courtesy of the Museum of the City of New York.
Eva Le Gallienne and Wilfrid Lawson in Prelude to Exile, 1936. Courtesy of the Museum of the City of New York.
Playbill cover for The Blues for Mr. Charlie, 1964.
Playbill cover for On Your Toes, 1983.
Playbill cover for The Best Man, 2000.
History
Guild Theater
This venue opened as the Guild Theater in 1925. Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, a Broadway couple who had one of the most famous “lavender marriages” (a marriage in which one or both partners are gay) of their time, were heavily associated with the Guild Theater in its first decade.
Lunt and Fontanne acted in ten plays together, and also separately in four other plays:
- Arms and the Man (revival, 1925), The Goat Song (1926), At Mrs. Bream’s (1926), The Brothers Karamazov (1927), The Second Man (1927), Volpone (1928) by Stefan Zweig, Caprice (1928-29), Meteor (1929-30), Elizabeth the Queen (1930-31), and The Taming of the Shrew (revival, 1935-36)
- Fontanne appeared in Pygmalion (revival, 1926-27)
- Lunt, together with Sanford Meisner, acted in Juarez and Maximillian (1926), The Doctor’s Dilemma (revival, 1927-28), and Marco Millions (1928)
Other productions at the Guild with LGBT creators:
- Garrick Gaieties (1926), with lyrics by Lorenz Hart
- Garrick Gaieties (revival, 1930) by and composed by Marc Blitzstein and others
- Green Grow the Lilacs (1931) by Lynn Riggs
- The Merchant of Yonkers (1938-39) by Thornton Wilder
- Jeremiah (1939) by Stefan Zweig
- Yesterday’s Magic (1942) by Emlyn Williams
LGBT performers at the Guild:
- Georgette Harvey in Porgy (1927-28)
- Alla Nazimova in Mourning Becomes Electra (1931-32), The Good Earth (1932), and The Simpleton of the Unexpected Isles (1935)
- Beatrice Lillie in Too Good to Be True (1932)
- Judith Anderson in The Mask and the Face (revival, 1933)
- Clifton Webb in And Stars Remain (1936)
- Eva Le Gallienne in Prelude to Exile (1936-37)
ANTA Playhouse
After a time as a radio station, in 1950 this venue became the ANTA (American National Theatre and Academy) Playhouse.
Productions by LGBT creators and with LGBT performers included:
- The Tower Beyond Tragedy (1950), with Judith Anderson
- The School for Wives (1951), with scenic and costume design by Christian Berard
- The Skin of Our Teeth (revival, 1955) by Thornton Wilder, with actor Mary Martin
- The Dark is Light Enough (1955), with scenic and costume design by Oliver Messel, with actors Katharine Cornell and Tyrone Power
- The Great Sebastians (1956), with Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne
- Say, Darling (1958) designed by Oliver Smith
- The Fighting Cock (1959-60), with Roddy McDowall (Best Featured Actor in a Play Tony Award)
- Jerome Robbins’ Ballet: U.S.A. (1961), choreographed by Jerome Robbins, with costume design by Irene Sharaff, and with dancer Tommy Abbott
- Big Fish, Little Fish (1961) by Hugh Wheeler, directed by John Gielgud (Best Direction of a Play Tony Award), and with actor George Grizzard
- Blues for Mr. Charlie (1964) by James Baldwin
- Traveller Without Luggage (1964), with scenic and costume design by Oliver Messel
- The Owl and the Pussycat (1964-65), with costume design by Florence Klotz
- The Royal Hunt of the Sun (1965-66) by Peter Shaffer, with actor George Rose
- Maggie Flynn (1968-69), with costume design by W. Robert LaVine, and with actor Jack Cassidy
- Our Town (revival, 1969) by Thornton Wilder
- The Last of Mrs. Lincoln (1972-73), with scenic design by William Ritman
- Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (revival, 1974-75) by Tennessee Williams
- First Monday in October (1978), with scenic design by Oliver Smith (opened at the Majestic Theater)
- A History of the American Film (1978), with scenic design by Tony Straiges
- Whoopee! (1979), with scenic design by John Lee Beatty
- Night and Day (1979-80), with Joseph Maher
- The Suicide (1980), with Derek Jacobi
Virginia Theater
In 1981, it was renamed the Virginia Theater.
The biggest LGBT-associated hits were:
- On Your Toes (revival, 1983-84) by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, with lyrics by Hart (Best Reproduction Tony Award) and production design by Zack Brown
- City of Angels (1989-92), with costume design by Florence Klotz
- Jelly’s Last Jam (1992-93) by and directed by George C. Wolfe
- Smokey Joe’s Cafe (1995-2000), with costume design by William Ivey Long, and with Lesley Gore as a guest star
Other LGBT-associated shows at the Virginia:
- Alice in Wonderland (revival, 1982-83) by Eva Le Gallienne and Florida Friebus, with scenic design by John Lee Beatty, with actors Le Gallienne and Edward Hibbert
- Wild Honey (1986-87), with Ian McKellen
- My Fair Lady (revival, 1993-94), with Richard Chamberlain
- The Wild Party (2000) by George C. Wolfe and Michael John LaChiusa, and with music and lyrics by LaChiusa
- The Best Man (revival, 2000) by Gore Vidal, with actor Jonathan Hadary
Entry by Jay Shockley, project director (June 2019, with multiple additions).
NOTE: Names above in bold indicate LGBT people.
Building Information
- Architect or Builder: C. Howard Crane & Kenneth Franzheim
- Year Built: 1924-25
Sources
Adam Hetrick, “The Work of Broadway’s Gay and Lesbian Artistic Community Goes on Display Nov. 14 When the Leslie/Lohman Gay Art Foundation Gallery Presents ‘StageStruck: The Magic of Theatre Design’,” Playbill, Nov. 14, 2007.
ANTA Theater Designation Report (New York: Landmarks Preservation Commission, 1985).
Internet Broadway Database.
The 1st List of: Gay/Lesbian/Bi Industry People, Both in Front and Behind the Camera,” www.imdb.com, May 31, 2013.
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