Neil Simon Theater (originally Alvin Theater)
overview
Opened as the Alvin Theater in 1927 and renamed the Neil Simon Theater in 1983, this venue has staged multiple productions involving major LGBT performers and creators, including Cole Porter, Jerome Robbins, Raoul Pene Du Bois, Stephen Sondheim, Michael Bennett, Truman Capote, Marjorie Main, Mary Martin, and Noel Coward, among others.
The play Lady in the Dark (1941), with costume design by Irene Sharaff, featured actor Danny Kaye as a stereotypical gay character.
On the Map
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Playbill cover for Anything Goes, 1934.
Lady in the Dark cast (Danny Kaye in center), 1941. Source: jimhillmedia.com.
Something for the Boys booklet, 1943.
Playbill cover for No Time for Sergeants program, 1955.
Playbill cover for Bells Are Ringing, 1959.
Playbill cover for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, 1962.
Company sign on the Alvin Theater marquee, 1970. Source unknown.
Playbill cover for Breaking the Code, 1987.
History
Alvin Theater
This venue opened as the Alvin Theater in 1927.
The biggest hits with LGBT associations at the Alvin were:
- Anything Goes (1934), with lyrics and music by Cole Porter
- Lady in the Dark (1941), with costume design by Irene Sharaff and with actor Danny Kaye as a stereotypical gay character
- Something for the Boys (1943-44), with lyrics and music by Cole Porter, and choreography by Jack Cole
- No Time for Sergeants (1955), with Roddy McDowall
- Bells Are Ringing (1958-59), with choreography by Jerome Robbins and Bob Fosse, and scenic and costume design by Raoul Pene Du Bois, with Judy Holliday (Best Actress Tony Award; opened at the Shubert Theater)
- A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962-64; Best Musical Tony Award), with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and with choreography by Jack Cole
- Company (1970) (Best Musical, Book of a Musical, Original Score, and Lyrics Tony Awards) by George Furth, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and musical staging by Michael Bennett with Bob Avian, associate choreographer
Other productions with LGBT creators at the Alvin were:
- Spring is Here (1929), with lyrics by Lorenz Hart
- Heads Up (1929), with lyrics by Lorenz Hart
- Red, Hot and Blue! (1936), with music and lyrics by Cole Porter
- I’d Rather Be Right (1937), with lyrics by Lorenz Hart, and costume design by Irene Sharaff
- The Boys from Syracuse (1938), with lyrics by Lorenz Hart, and costume design by Irene Sharaff
- Very Warm for May (1939-40), with scenic and costume design by Vincente Minnelli
- The Firebrand of Florence (1945), with costume design by Raoul Pene Du Bois
- Billion Dollar Baby (1945-46), with choreography by Jerome Robbins and scenic design by Oliver Smith, with actor James Mitchell
- A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1951), with costume design by Irene Sharaff
- Two’s Company (1952-53), with costume design by Miles White
- House of Flowers (1954) by Truman Capote, with scenic and costume design by Oliver Messel (Best Scenic Design Tony Award)
- Oh Captain! (1958), with costume design by Miles White
- Jerome Robbins’ Ballets: U.S.A. (1958), choreographed by Jerome Robbins, with costume design by Irene Sharaff, and with dancer Tommy Abbott
- West Side Story (return engagement, 1960) by Arthur Laurents, with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, choreography by Jerome Robbins and Peter Gennaro, scenic design by Oliver Smith, costume design by Irene Sharaff, and with actor Larry Kert (opened at the Winter Garden Theater)
- High Spirits (1964-65) directed by Noel Coward, with Beatrice Lillie
- Flora, the Red Menace (1965), with music and lyrics by John Kander and Fred Ebb
- It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s Superman! (1966), with costume design by Florence Klotz, and with actor Jack Cassidy
- Sherry! (1967), with costume design by Robert Mackintosh
- Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1967-68), with scenic and costume design by Desmond Heeley (Best Scenic Design and Costume Design Tony Awards)
- Molly (1973), choreographed by Grover Dale
- Merrily We Roll Along (1981), by George Furth, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
LGBT performers at the Alvin included:
- Marjorie Main in Music in the Air (1932-33)
- Georgette Harvey in Porgy and Bess (1935-36)
- Alfred Lunt and Montgomery Clift in There Shall Be No Night (1940)
- Marlon Brando in A Flag is Born (1946)
- Maurice Evans in Man and Superman (1947)
- Mary Martin in Kind Sir (1953)
- Farley Granger in First Impressions (1959)
- Anthony Perkins and Grover Dale in Greenwillow (1959)
- Walter Pidgeon in Dinner at Eight (revival, 1966)
Neil Simon Theater
In 1983, the venue was renamed the Neil Simon Theater.
Shows with LGBT creators and performers at the Neil Simon included:
- Blithe Spirit (revival, 1987) by Noel Coward, with actor Richard Chamberlain
- Breaking the Code (1987-88), about Alan Turing, with Derek Jacobi
- Orpheus Descending (revival, 1989) by Tennessee Williams
- A View from the Bridge (revival, 1998) with Stephen Spinella
- Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake (1998-99), directed and choreographed by Matthew Bourne, and with music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
- The Music Man (revival, 2000-2001), with costume design by William Ivey Long
Entry by Jay Shockley, project director (June 2019, with multiple additions).
NOTE: Names above in bold indicate LGBT people.
Building Information
- Architect or Builder: Herbert J. Krapp
- Year Built: 1927
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.
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.
Alvin Theater Designation Report (New York: Landmarks Preservation Commission, 1985).
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