Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, Broadway theater in Theater District, Manhattan, US
The Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre stands at 242 West 45th Street with an exterior in Spanish style made of golden brick, terracotta details and arched windows. The building originally belonged to a three-venue complex by the Chanin Brothers and shows these stylistic marks of the late 1920s inside and out.
The theater opened in 1927 as The Royal Theatre, built by the Chanin Brothers as part of a complex with the Majestic and Theatre Masque. After several ownership changes it received its current name in 1982 and has remained a Broadway venue continuously since then.
Several known productions ran here, including Mae West's Diamond Lil, Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie and modern performances of The Outsiders. The house has carried the name of the theater producer and president of the Shubert Organization since 1982, who shaped this stage for decades.
The hall seats 1101 visitors across two levels, with wheelchair access in the orchestra section and hearing assistance devices available at the entrance. The seats in the upper tier usually offer a steep viewing angle, while the front rows in the orchestra sit closer to the stage.
Inside, murals titled Lovers of Spain by artist Willy Pogany decorate the space beneath a groin-vaulted ceiling. This ceiling form and the murals give the auditorium a decorative flair not found in other theaters on the street.
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