This memorable theatre, now owned by the Shubert Organization, was built by
impresario Daniel Frohman in 1903 and has been declared a landmark theatre
building. Mr. Frohman's stately apartment above the theatre now houses the
Shubert Archive. Still visible is the famous peephole from which Frohman could
see actors onstage and wave a handkerchief to his actress/wife Margaret
Illington if she was overacting.
This historic theatre is now the home of Tony Randall's National Actors
Theatre. Last season it presented "The Seagull," "Saint Joan" and "Three Men on
a Horse."
The 1980's brought a radiant new production of Paul Osborn's "Morning's at
Seven," which won three Tony Awards; Jules Feiffer's "Grown Ups;" Athol Fugard's
"'Master Harold"...and the boys with "Zakes Mokae" winning a Tony for his
performance; Edward Albee's "The Man Who Had Three Arms;" Whoopi Goldberg in a
one-woman show; two plays about AIDS: "As Is" and "Safe Sex"; and "Michael
Feinstein in Concert."
Highlights of the 1970's included the Gospel musical "Your Arms Too Short to
Box with God;" "Borstal Boy," Frank McMahon's adaptation of Brendan Behan's book
about his early years in prison, with the play winning a Tony Award and the New
York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Foreign Play of the Season; "Cold
Storage," a play with Len Cariou and Martin Balsam as patients in a terminal
ward; and Constance Cummings giving a Tony Award performance in Arthur Kopit's
"Wings," a harrowing study of a woman who suffered a stroke.
From 1965 to 1969 the Lyceum was the home of the Phoenix Theatre and the APA
Repertory Company with Ellis Rabb as Artistic Director. During this time the
combined companies staged a rich variety of theatre, including stimulating
revivals of "You Can't Take It with You," "War and Peace," Helen Hayes in "The
Show-Off," "The Cherry Orchard," "The Cocktail Party" and "The Misanthrope."
Two British hits played this theatre in the 1960's: "A Taste of Honey" by Shelagh Delaney starred Angela Lansbury and Joan Plowright (who won a Tony for
her performance); and Harold Pinter's eerie "The Caretaker," starring Alan
Bates, Robert Shaw and Donald Pleasence. "Nobody Loves an Albatross" with Robert
Preston and Constance Ford was about an overpowering TV star, said to be based
on Lucille Ball.
The 1950's brought Clifford Odets back to Broadway with "The Country Girl,"
starring Paul Kelly and Uta Hagen, who won a Tony for her acting; Melvyn Douglas
in two fluffy comedies--"Glad Tidings" and "Time Out for Ginger"; Jean Kerr and
Eleanor Brooke's comedy, "King of Hearts", with Jackie Cooper, Donald Cook and Cloris Leachman;
"Anastasia" with thrilling performances by Viveca Lindfors and
Eugenie Leontovich; "A Hatful of Rain," a powerful drama about a drug addict;
Walter Pidgeon in "The Happiest Millionaire;" and John Osborne's explosive
"kitchen sink" drama, "Look Back in Anger" about an angry young man.
The Lyceum's biggest hit to this day was Garson Kanin's brilliant "Born
Yesterday" with unforgettable performances by Judy Holliday and Paul Douglas. It
ran for 1,642 performances.
