Shuberts
Who owned St. James Theatre from 1941 to 1957?
St . James Theatre The St . James Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 246 West 44th Street in midtown Manhattan . With 1,710 seats over three levels , it is one of the largest Broadway theatres . The St . James Theatre , named after the famed St Jamess Theatre in London , is owned and operated by Jordan Roth , President , and owner of Jujamcyn Theaters . Disney Theatrical Productionss musical Frozen was the theatres most recent tenant , running from March 2018 to March 2020 . History . Abraham L . Erlanger , theatrical producer and a founding member of the Theatrical Syndicate , constructed the St . James on the site of the original Sardis restaurant . Designed by architects Warren and Wetmore ( one of two firms that designed Grand Central Terminal ) , the theatres simple brick facade is dominated by a large cast iron loggia , masking the fire escapes from the auditorium over the expansive street front . The gilded , landmarked auditorium is ornate , with two balconies . It opened in 1927 as The Erlanger Theatre . Upon Erlangers death in 1930 , the Astor family , who owned the land on which the theatre stood assumed control of the venue and renamed it the St . James Theatre . The theatre was taken over by the Shuberts in 1941 . They were forced to sell it to William L . McKnight in 1957 following the loss of an antitrust case . McKnight renovated the St . James and reopened it in 1958 . In 1970 , McKnight then transferred the theatre to his daughter Virginia and her husband James H . Binger , who had formed Jujamcyn Theaters . After Bingers death in 2004 , producer and president of Jujamcyn , Rocco Landesman , announced his plans to buy the company . Landesman purchased the group in 2005 , and in 2009 he sold half his stake to up-and-coming theatrical producer , Jordan Roth . Shortly after , Landesman was asked to head the NEA and Roth and assumed control of the group . The theatre has been home to a number of long-running and Tony Award-winning musicals in its ninety-one-year history , including original productions of Oklahoma! , The King and I , Hello , Dolly! , The Whos Tommy and The Producers . Located on 44th Street in the Theater District , the St . James neighbors a handful of large musical houses including the Majestic , Broadhurst , Shubert , and the Hayes Theater . In 2017 , the St . James completed a renovation which extended its stage by ten feet into the alley between the Hayes Theater and the St . James . The stage expansion was to accommodate the Broadway run of the Disney musical Frozen . Box office record . Frozen achieved the box office record for the St . James Theatre . The production grossed $2,624,495 over eight performances for the week ending December 30 , 2018 . Filming location . In April and May 2013 , film director Alejandro González Iñárritu spent 30 days shooting his film Birdman almost entirely within the St . James Theatre and its environs . The film depicts the production of a Broadway show during its preview nights and premiere and utilizes the theatres stage , lobby , and backstage areas . The theatre features in the opening montage of Woody Allens Manhattan , his love letter to New York City . St . James Theatre is also shown in the season 4 finale of Curb Your Enthusiasm when Larry David and David Schwimmer star in the Broadway version of The Producers . There is also a scene on the street in front of the theatre in which Larry David gets into a confrontation with a tourist played by Stephen Colbert . The theatre has also appeared in several episodes of NBCs Smash and was featured in season 5 of the FOX Television series Glee as Lea Micheles Rachel Berry stars in the revival of Funny Girl staged at the theatre . Notable productions with opening dates . - Merry Malones ( September 26 , 1927 ) – Inaugural Production - Fine and Dandy ( September 23 , 1930 ) - 1931–33 , 1942 and 1951 seasons of Gilbert and Sullivan - Thumbs Up ! ( December 27 , 1934 ) - Native Son ( March 24 , 1941 ) - Oklahoma ! ( March 31 , 1943 ) - Wheres Charley ? ( October 11 , 1948 ) - The King and I ( March 29 , 1951 ) - The Pajama Game ( May 13 , 1954 ) - Lil Abner ( November 15 , 1956 ) - Flower Drum Song ( December 1 , 1958 ) - Becket ( October 5 , 1960 ) - Do Re Mi ( December 26 , 1960 ) - Hello , Dolly ! ( January 16 , 1964 ) - Two Gentlemen of Verona ( December 1 , 1971 ) - Vieux Carré ( May 11 , 1977 ) - On the Twentieth Century ( February 19 , 1978 ) - Carmelina ( April 8 , 1979 ) - Barnum ( April 30 , 1980 ) - Rock N Roll ! The First 5,000 Years ( October 24 , 1982 ) - My One and Only ( May 1 , 1983 ) - The Secret Garden ( April 25 , 1991 ) - The Whos Tommy ( April 22 , 1993 ) - A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum ( April 18 , 1996 ) - High Society ( April 27 , 1998 ) - Swing ! ( December 9 , 1999 ) - The Producers ( April 19 , 2001 ) - Dr . Seuss How the Grinch Stole Christmas ! ( November 23 , 2007 ) - ( March 27 , 2008 ) - Desire Under the Elms ( April 27 , 2009 ) - Finians Rainbow ( October 29 , 2009 ) - American Idiot ( April 20 , 2010 ) - Hair ( July 5 , 2011 ) - On a Clear Day You Can See Forever ( December 11 , 2011 ) - Leap of Faith ( April 26 , 2012 ) - Bring It On : The Musical ( August 1 , 2012 ) - Barry Manilow – Manilow on Broadway : Live at the St . James ( January 29 , 2013 ) - Let It Be ( July 24 , 2013 ) - Bullets Over Broadway ( April 10 , 2014 ) - Side Show ( November 17 , 2014 ) - Something Rotten ! ( April 22 , 2015 ) - Present Laughter ( April 5 , 2017 ) - Frozen ( March 22 , 2018 )