Theater Stories: Landmark Status, LIZA WITH A Z, Secret Trapdoors and More About the Lyceum Theatre

It is impossible to walk into a Broadway theatre, or simply just think of a Broadway theatre, without immediately connecting a memory to it. Every Broadway theatre is filled with a rich and colorful history, brimming over with stories of the stars who graced its staged, legends that were made within its walls, and the feelings we all have of looking back and thinking "I saw a Tony winning performance in that theater" or "I wish I'd seen that performance in that theater."

Whether a theater has a history that's a hundred years old or closer to forty, every Broadway theater tells a story, each one filled with fun facts you never knew!

With our new series, Theater Stories, we're bringing you tidbits you may have never heard, tales you never thought to ask about and more, giving you a better look into the history of Broadway theatres, as well as a leg-up on your next theater-trivia night.

Today's Theater Stories features the Lyceum Theatre.

When was the Lyceum Theatre built?

The Lyceum Theatre was built by producer/manager David Frohman in 1903. The Lyceum Theatre has the distinction of being the oldest continually operating theater on Broadway! The Hudon Theatre and the New Amsterdam Theatre also opened in 1903, but the New Amsterdam did not house a Broadway show between the years of 1937 and 1997, and the Hudson was not always used as a Broadway theatre, often serving as a radio studio and television studio.

Are there any "hidden gems" inside the theatre?

The top floor of the Lyceum Theatre is home to the Shubert Archive. The Shubert Archive is home to more than six million documents related to The Shuberts' theatrical activities, and includes over a century's worth of scripts, music, pictures, publicity materials and more. The organization of the Archive began in 1976, and in 1986 it was made available to researchers.

What was on the top floor of the theatre before the Shubert Archive?

In the early days of the theatre, David Frohman, who built the theatre, built an apartment for himself up there. The apartment included a small door which allowed for a bird's eye view of the stage below. The legend goes that Frohman would wave a white handkerchief out the open door in order to signal to his wife, actor Margaret Illington, on the stage below, that she was overacting.

What else makes the Lyceum Theatre legendary?

The Lyceum Theatre was the first Broadway theatre ever to be granted landmark status in 1974, for both its interior and exterior.

What was the most recent show to be performed in the Lyceum?

The last show to be performed in the Lyceum was A Christmas Carol, which played its last performance on January 5, 2020. Sing Street was set to play its first preview on March 26, 2020, but never got the opportunity to begin performances due to the health crisis.

What other notable shows have been performed at the Lyceum?

Liza Minnelli's iconic concert film, Liza with a Z; I Am My Own Wife starring Jefferson Mays; [title of show] starring Jeff Bowen, Hunter Bell, Heidi Blickenstaff and Susan Blackwell; reasons to be pretty starring Thomas Sadoski, Piper Perabo, Marin Ireland and Steven Pasquale; In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play) starring Michael Cerveris, Laura Benanti and Maria Dizzia; Oh, Hello starring Nick Kroll and John Mulaney and more have graced the Lyceum stage.

What was the longest running show to be performed at the Lyceum Theatre?

The longest running show to be performed at the Lyceum was not a musical, but a play! Born Yesterday ran from February 4, 1946 to November 6, 1948, around 1000 performances. Born Yesterday, written by Garson Kanin, starred Paul Douglas,
Judy Holliday, Gary Merrill and more.

Are there any Tony Award records for shows that played the Lyceum?

The Scottsboro Boys, which inhabited the Lyceum for only a few months in 2010, holds the record for most Tony nominations for an already-closed show. Having closed around six months before the Tony Awards, The Scottsboro Boys received twelve nominations.