The Shubert Theatre is a 1,600-seat theatre located at 247 College Street in New Haven, Connecticut. It is currently operated as a non-profit organization by the Columbus Association for the Performing Arts (CAPA).
History Originally opened in 1914 by The Shubert Organization, it was designed by Albert Swazey, a New York architect and built by the H.E. Murdock Construction Company.
The theater struggled financially in the 1970's and closed in 1976. The theater building was subsequently acquired by the City of New Haven, and the interior was restored. The Adams Hotel, which was located between the historic theater building and College Street, was demolished to build a modern lobby addition. The theatre reopened under city ownership in 1983, operated by the Columbus Association for the Performing Arts (CAPA).
Notable productions For decades, the Shubert was used as a tryout venue for plays and musicals that, if successful, would then move on to Broadway — sometimes with an intermediate stop in Boston or Philadelphia. It has hosted more than 600 out-of-town tryouts, including more than 300 world premieres and more than 50 American premieres. In recent decades, however, the Shubert has been more likely to host shows after their Broadway run rather than before.
Plays that fail to make it to Broadway are the origin of the phrase "bombed in New Haven," which inspired the Joseph Heller play We Bombed in New Haven.
Notable actors and other performers who played the Shubert include Marlon Brando, Gregory Peck, Henry Fonda, Julie Andrews, the Marx Brothers, Sidney Poitier, Humphrey Bogart, Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Jimmy Stewart, Clark Gable, Gene Kelly, Robert Redford, Warren Beatty, Shirley MacLaine, Andy Griffith, Jane Fonda, James Earl Jones, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Buddy Rich, Liza Minnelli, Robert Guillaume, John Travolta, Anna Pavlova, Martha Graham, Beverly Sills, Efrem Zimbalist, Mandy Patinkin, Harry Belafonte, Ruby Dee, Ethel Merman, Carol Burnett, Yul Brynner, Zero Mostel, James Garner, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Jessica Tandy, Lee Remick, Nancy Reagan, Mary Martin, Rex Harrison, Julie Harris, Nanette Fabray, Vaslav Nijinsky, Ray Walston, Alfred Drake, Barbara Cook, Celeste Holm, Ezio Pinza, Gertrude Lawrence, John Raitt, Judy Holliday, Lisa Kirk, Sophie Tucker, and William Gaxton.
Pre-Broadway engagements at the Shubert: 1916: Robinson Crusoe, Jr. 1919: Oh, What A Girl! (performed at the Shubert under the title The Wrong Number) 1921: Dulcy 1922: Seventh Heaven 1923: Stepping Stones 1925: The Vagabond King 1926: The Desert Song 1927: A Connecticut Yankee 1928: Street Scene 1930: Strike Up the Band 1931: The Barretts of Wimpole Street, The Wonder Bar, The Third Little Show, Of Thee I Sing 1932: Gay Divorce 1934: All the King's Horses, The Children's Hour 1935: Dead End 1936: Stage Door, Red, Hot and Blue 1937: Room Service 1938: I Married an Angel, Leave It to Me!, The Boys From Syracuse 1939: Stars in Your Eyes, Too Many Girls, Du Barry Was a Lady 1940: Louisiana Purchase, Panama Hattie 1941: Blithe Spirit, Best Foot Forward, Sunny River 1943: Oklahoma! (then titled Away We Go) 1944: The Cherry Orchard, Follow the Girls 1945: Carousel, Marinka, The Secret Room, The Girl From Nantucket, The Day Before Spring, Billion Dollar Baby, Lute Song 1946: St. Louis Woman, Annie Get Your Gun, Shootin' Star, Windy City, Around the World, Sweet Bye and Bye, Come On Up 1947: Barefoot Boy With Cheek, Allegro, A Streetcar Named Desire 1948: Mister Roberts, My Romance, Sleepy Hollow, Love Life, As the Girls Go, Along Fifth Avenue 1949: South Pacific, Regina 1950: Texas, Li'l Darlin''', Great to Be Alive, Call Me Madam, Bless You All 1951: The King and I, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Flahooley, Remains to Be Seen, Pal Joey; Billy Budd 1952: Three Wishes for Jamie, Of Thee I Sing, Shuffle Along 1953: Wonderful Town, Maggie, Tea and Sympathy, The Teahouse of the August Moon, Sabrina Fair, The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial 1954: By the Beautiful Sea, The Pajama Game, Hit the Trail, Plain and Fancy 1955: The Desperate Hours, Ankles Aweigh, Damn Yankees, No Time for Sergeants, The Vamp (then titled Delilah), Pipe Dream 1956: My Fair Lady, Strip For Action, Shangri-La, Long Day's Journey into Night, Bells Are Ringing, Candide 1957: New Girl in Town, Copper and Brass 1958: A Touch of the Poet, Redhead 1959: The Sound of Music, Fiorello! 1960: From A to Z, Lock Up Your Daughters, Tenderloin, Advise and Consent, Period of Adjustment, The Conquering Hero, Show Girl 1961: The Happiest Girl in the World, Milk and Honey 1962: We Take the Town, No Strings, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum 1963: She Loves Me, Barefoot in the Park, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest 1964: High Spirits, Dylan, Fade Out - Fade In, Awf'lly Nice, Royal Flush 1965: Do I Hear a Waltz?, The Roar of the Greasepaint - The Smell of the Crowd, Flora the Red Menace, The Yearling, Wait Until Dark 1966: The Star-Spangled Girl 1967: How Now, Dow Jones 1968: Plaza Suite, I'm Solomon, A Mother's Kisses, Zorba 1969: 1776, Last of the Red Hot Lovers 1970: Georgy, Cry for Us All, Two By Two, The Gingerbread Lady 1971: The Prisoner of Second Avenue 1972: The Sunshine Boys 1974: God's Favorite 1976: Annie Get Your Gun, Something Old, Something New (the Shubert's last production for more than seven years) 1995: Jekyll & Hyde 1997: Proposals (the first original play to tryout at the Shubert since the reopening) 1999: The Civil War 2001: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer''
Notes and references
External links Shubert Theatre - Operated by CAPA (Connecticut Association for the Performing Arts) CAPA:History of the Shubert Theatre