Plymouth Theater

History and architecture

The Plymouth Theater survives today as one of the historic theaters that symbolize American theater for both New York and the nation. Built in 1917-18, the Plymouth was one of a pair with the Broadhurst and among the numerous theaters constructed by the Shubert Organization to the designs of Herbert J. Krapp, that typified the development of the Times Square/Broadway theater district.

From its opening, the theater was leased and successfully managed by producer Arthur Hopkins. By all accounts, Arthur M. Hopkins was among the most unusual producers on the Broadway stage. A pioneer in the production on Broadway of Ibsen plays, Hopkins was also the producer of Anna Christie, Eugene O'Neill's first financial success, and the friend and producer of the Barrymores (he was responsible for John Barrymore's most celebrated appearance in Hamlet). Known as "the Sphinx of Forty-fifth Street"), Hopkins was identified with the Plymouth, and vice-versa, from the theater's opening in 1917 until his death in 1950.

Founded by the three brothers Sam S., Lee and J.J. Shubert, the Shubert organization was the dominant shaper of New York's theater district. Beginning as producers, the brothers expanded into the building of theaters as well, and eventually helped cover the blocks east and west of Broadway in Midtown with playhouses.

Herbert J. Krapp, who designed almost all the Shuberts' post-World War I theaters, was the most prolific architect of the Broadway theater district. Having worked in the offices of Herts & Tallant, premier theater designers of the pre-war period, Krapp went on to design theaters for the two major builders of the post-war era, the Shubert and Chanin organizations. The Plymouth and the Broadhurst were his first two independent theater designs.

The Plymouth Theater represents a typical and important aspect of the nation's theatrical history. Beyond its historical importance, the Plymouth has a handsome neo-classical facade, employing patterned brick and terracotta detail, which set the tone for many of Herbert Krapp's later theater facade designs.

For half a century, beginning with the productions of Arthur Hopkins, the Plymouth Theater has served as home to countless numbers of the plays through which the Broadway theater has come to personify American theater. As one of the theaters in the Shubert Alley grouping (West 44th and West 45th Streets, between Shubert Alley and Eighth Avenue), it contributes to the visual identity of the Broadway theater district's symbolic core. As such, it continues to help define the Broadway theater district, the largest and most famous concentration of legitimate stage theaters in the world.