page_title: Jujamcyn Theaters
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Jujamcyn Theaters / History
caption_attribution_description: St. James Theatre, NYC 2006. Photo by Mademoiselle Sabina
context_page_description: The Jujamcyn Theaters, formerly the Jujamcyn Amusement Corporation, is a theatrical producing and theatre-ownership company in New York City. For many years Jujamcyn was owned by James H. Binger, former Chairman of Honeywell, and his wife, Virginia McKnight Binger. The organization is now held by its President, Jordan Roth, and President Emeritus, Rocco Landesman.
  The third-largest theatre owner on Broadway, behind the Shubert Organization and the Nederlander Organization, Jujamcyn owns five of the 41 Broadway district playhouses but has created a much-envied business model that has, at times, accounted for as much as one-third of the gross revenues on Broadway.
context_section_description: William L. McKnight, former chairman of 3M, owned several theatres, two in New York and one in Boston. McKnight's daughter, Virginia McKnight Binger and her husband, James H. Binger, a top executive at Honeywell, shared a love of theatre.  In 1970 when William McKnight wanted to sell his theatres, Binger stepped in to assist. He found the business fascinating, and after paying the gift tax and selling the Colonial Theatre in Boston, he and Virginia agreed to own and later expand the operation on Broadway.
  Jujamcyn derives its name from the names of McKnight's grandchildren, the Bingers' children: Ju[dith], Jam[es], and Cyn[thia]. Over time Binger expanded Jujamcyn to five theatres to create the third-largest theatre-owning company on Broadway. The five Jujamcyn theatres are:
  St. James Theatre, (acquired in 1957 by McKnight)
  Al Hirschfeld Theatre, (formerly the Martin Beck Theatre, acquired in 1966 by McKnight),
  August Wilson Theatre (acquired in 1981, formerly the Virginia Theatre)
  Eugene O'Neill Theatre, (acquired in 1982)
  Walter Kerr Theatre (formerly the Ritz Theatre, acquired in 1981),
  In 1987 Binger brought in Rocco Landesman to run Jujamcyn.  Landesman was a successful theatrical producer and was friendly with Binger from previous theatrical productions and a shared interest in racehorses.  Over the next 17 years, Landesman, Binger and the Jujamcyn organization would produce and house a successful string of Broadway hits. Including box office juggernaut The Producers, which won a record 12 Tony Awards in 2001.
caption: The St. James Theatre, 2006
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