Music Box Theatre

Best Seats In The House

• Seats: 1025

Parking for Music Box Theatre

The closest parking garages for Music Box Theatre are located at:

Champion Parking On West 45

251 West 45th Street
New York, NY 10036

212-819-1866

Quik Park Garage

303 West 46th Street
New York, NY 10036

212-586-8634

The closest parking is not always the best as it often takes longer to park and retrieve your vehicle as fellow theatre goers have the same idea. A better choice of parking may be the second choice or further away by a couple of Avenues.

Additional Notes

Landlord: Shubert Organization

Official Ticketer: Telecharge

Elevator: No

Escalator: No

Music Box Theatre History

The Music Box Theatre opened in 1921 with the Music Box Revue, featuring songs by then popular (and now legendary) composer/lyricist Irving Berlin.

Theatre Built By Irving Berlin

The theatre was built by Irving Berlin and producer Sam H. Harris specifically to house their revues, and the theater hosted a new one every year until 1925 when it presented its first play, Cradle Snatchers, starring Humphrey Bogart.

At 1,010 seats, the space was perfect for these sorts of lavish revues, as well as the large cast plays that were also popular during the Great Depression Era.

Kaufman and Hart Productions

The celebrated playwriting team of George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart had a string of hits here, from their first collaboration Once in a Lifetime to their smash The Man Who Came to Dinner. Berlin wasn't the only great composer of the time to have his music play in the Music Box -- Cole Porter and the Gershwins also had shows here.

William Inge Plays

In the 1950s, playwright William Inge found a theatrical home at the Music Box Theatre, where he had success with Picnic, Bus Stop, and The Dark at the Top of the Stairs.

Since then, offerings have been as varied as the musical revue Side By Side By Sondheim, the long-running murder mystery Deathtrap, and the 1996 stage version of the Rodgers & Hammerstein movie musical State Fair. But no matter what plays at the Music Box, it remains one of the most prized jewels of the Great White Way.

Notable Past Productions

Though it exclusively hosted musical revues for its first few years, the Music Box Theatre has since had numerous notable plays

These included as Dinner at Eight, I Remember Mama, Rashomon, The Homecoming, There's a Girl in My Soup, Sleuth, Absurd Person Singular, Agnes of God, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, A Few Good Men, Park Your Car in Harvard Yard, Closer, Aaron Sorkin's The Farnsworth Invention, August: Osage County, Superior Donuts, and Jerusalem starring Mark Rylance.

There were two plays here that went on to become successful musicals: Maurine Watkins' Chicago and Sidney Howard's They Knew What They Wanted (later musicalized by Frank Loesser as The Most Happy Fella). Musicals have been sporadic at this theatre, but among them are the classics Of Thee I Sing, As Thousands Cheer, and Lost in the Stars.

Music Box Theatre Design

The most aptly named theater on Broadway, the lovely and intimate Music Box was designed by architect C. Howard Crane. The interior is charming and tastefully decorated, and the theater's box seats are notable for being unusually large and round (recent Music Box Theatre resident Dame Edna referred to them lovingly as "ashtrays").

There is a handsome downstairs lounge with some nice wall paintings, and the bathrooms are roomy. In the lobby is a plaque and wall exhibit commemorating the rich history of Irving Berlin and the Music Box Theatre.