The Al Hirschfield Theatre

The Al Hirschfield Theater is located in 302 West 45th Street, New York. It was designed by architect Albert Lansburg, and was completed in 1924. Nearby theaters include the Royale, Booth and Plymouth.
Since the 1920s the theater has been providing New Yorkers with entertainment, and up until the present, it is still considered a legitimate venue for Broadway productions.

The Al Hirschfield Theater has been the stage for several shows. The first was "The Shanghai Gesture" in 1926 where Florence Reed starred. Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" entertained audiences in 1934. The characters were played by Katharine Cornell, Basil Rathborne, George Macready, Brian Aherne and Orson Welles.

In 1951, the Tony Award winning production "The Rose Tattoo" was shown. The play featured world class performances by Eli Wallach and Maureen Stapleton. Another Tony winner hit the stage in 1953 when Arthur Miller's "The Crucible" was produced. Actors Arthur Kennedy, Walter Hampden, Madeleine Sherwood, EG Marshall, Fred Stewart and Beatrice Straight made up the cast.

During 1960, Chita Rivera and Dick van Dyke appeared in Lee Adams-Charles Strouse-Michael

Stewart musical "Bye Bye Birdie". Other actors were Paul Lynde, Lee Gautier, Charles Nelson Reilly

and Kaye Medford. "Bye Bye Birdie" won the best musical Tony Award. Van Dyke won as best

musical actor, while Cower Champion won as best director and choreographer.

New York Pictures 2009