Which theater has the largest seating capacity of any Broadway theater?
The Gershwin Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 222 West 51st Street in midtown-Manhattan in the Paramount Plaza building. The theatre is named after brothers George Gershwin, a composer, and Ira Gershwin, a lyricist. It has the largest seating capacity of any Broadway theatre with 1,933 seats, host to large musical productions. The Gershwin has been home to the blockbuster musical Wicked since 2003.
Designed in an modernist Art Nouveau style by set designer Ralph Alswang, it is situated on the lower levels of a towering office complex built at an estimated cost of $12.5 million on the site of the historical Capitol Theatre. Escalators lead from the street level through-block passageway entrance to the expansive lobby, home to The American Theatre Hall of Fame. With a 65-foot wide adjustable proscenium arch and 80-foot wide stage, it is one of the largest Broadway stages, ideal for very large musical productions.
A large orchestra with stadium seating, and mezzanine fill the expansive auditorium. It opened as the Uris Theatre on November 28, 1972 (named for the building developer Uris Buildings Corporation) with the musical Via Galactica starring Raul Julia. It proved to be an inauspicious start for the venue, with the first show to lose a million dollars closing after only seven performances.
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