New York Guide

Built back-to-back, the Plymouth and its companion the Broadhurst were meant to evoke the style of the neighboring Henry B Herts designed Shubert and Booth theaters using less expensive materials. These first theaters designed by Herbert J Krapp use patterned brick and terra cotta materials on the facades. ... more »

Built back-to-back, the Plymouth and its companion the Broadhurst were meant to evoke the style of the neighboring Henry B Herts designed Shubert and Booth theaters using less expensive materials. These first theaters designed by Herbert J Krapp use patterned brick and terra cotta materials on the facades. This is an especially nice execution of Krapp's lavish Adamesque interiors, for which he would become noted, and is individually landmarked

The Shuberts built the Plymouth for, and in partnership with, producer Arthur Hopkins. In this age of producer-cum-impresario-cum-entrepreneur Hopkins had the singular approach of wanting to only offer 'high-brow' productions by the likes of Ibsen and Tolstoy. His formula worked for the Plymouth. Operating the theater for years after Hopkins death, the Shuberts purchased the Plymouth outright in 1948; it remains a Shubert Organization property today. The Plymouth was designated a New York City landmark in December 1987

1917 William Gillette and Estelle Winwood star in Clare Kummer's comedy A Successful Calamity, the premiere production at the Plymouth

1918 A very 'high-brow' Tolstoy drama, Redemption, stars John Barrymore, Helen Westly and Thomas Mitchell for 204 performances

1919 John Barrymore and Lionel Barrymore are on stage together in Sam Benelli's drama The Jest. A bit too 'outre,' the show runs for only 77 performances

1920 John Barrymore is Richard III, in his first Shakespearean role

1924 Maxwell Anderson's and Laurence Stalling's classic anti-war drama What Price Glory stars Louis Wolheim, William Boyd, Leyla Georgia and a young Brian Donlevy

1927 Who is Ruby Stevens? Well, she sings in cabarets. Never heard of her. Trot on over to the Plymouth where she's starring in Burlesque, the drama penned by George M Watters and Arthur Hopkins. Oh, and she's now going by the name Barbara Stanwyck

1931 Paul Muni stars in the Elmer Rice drama Counselor-at-Large. This high-brow production runs for 397 performances

1937 Playwright Rachel Crothers last Broadway show, Susan and God, stars Gertrude Lawrence

1938 Author Robert Sherwood. Star Raymond Massey. Abe Lincoln in Illinois. Pulitzer Prize

1942 Tallulah Bankhead, E G Marshall, Frederic March, Florence Eldridge, Montgomery Clift and little Dickie Van Patten appear in the Thornton Wilder Pulitzer-Prize winner The Skin of Our Teeth. Elia Kazan directs

1945 Not all roads are smooth. Robert E Sherwood, who won a Pulitzer Prize just a few lines above, returns to the Plymouth with The Rugged Path. Even with Spencer Tracy as star, the show only runs for 81 performances

1948 Noel Coward's classic drama Private Lives stars Tallulah Bankhead and Donald Cook

1950 Claude Dauphin, Leora Dana and Johnny Stewart star in the Anita Loos hit The Happy Time. The comedy has a run of 614 performances

1952 John Williams wins the Tony as featured dramatic actor for his role in Frederick Knott's thriller Dial M for Murder

1954 Charles Laughton directs Henry Fonda, Lloyd Nolan and a young James Bumgarner in The Caine Mutiny Court Martial. James Bumgarner? Think 'Maverick' and 'The Rockford Files'

1955 Christopher Fry adapted the Jean Giraudoux comedy Tiger at the Gates for Broadway audiences. The show stars Michael Redgrave, Morris Carnovsky, Nehemiah Persoff and Diane Cilento

1958 Where does Julie Newmar fit between Claudette Colbert and Charles Boyer in The Marriage-Go-Round? With the Tony for featured dramatic actress, of course

1960 Elizabeth Seal stars in Irma La Douce and brings home a Tony as best musical actress for her trouble

1964 Alec Guiness and Kate Reid star in Sidney Michael's drama Dylan. Sir Alec receives the Tony for best dramatic actor

1965 It was Art Carney and Walter Matthau first. Neil Simon's comedy The Odd Couple, destined to become a staple of American television for decades, is directed by Mike Nichols and runs for 965 performances. Matthau, Simon and Nichols earn Tonys

1968 Neil Simon is back, this time with Plaza Suite, starring Maureen Stapleton and George C Scott. Mike Nichols again directs. Mike Nichols again receives a Tony

1970 Neil Simon again. Maureen Stapleton again, with Betsy von Furstenberg in The Gingerbread Lady. Stapleton wins a Tony as Best Dramatic Actress

1974 Peter Shaffer's Equus starts a run of 1,209 performances. The cast includes Anthony Hopkins, Peter Firth, Marian Seldes and Frances Sternhagen. The show is awarded a Tony, as is director John Dexter

1981 Jane Lapotaire receives the best dramatic actress Tony for her portrayal of Piaf in Pam Gem's lyric drama

1981 How long? Eight and a half hours. Huh? Yeah, you see it in two performances. How much? A hundred dollars. $100? Yep, a hundred smackers. That's fifty dollars a show!!! The Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby gives 49 complete performances of the show and receives a Tony for best drama. Star Roger Rees gets a Tony as best dramatic actor, and Trevor Nunn and John Caird receive Tonys for their direction

1983 A revival of the George S Kaufman-Moss Hart drama You Can't Take It With You stars Jason Robards Jr, Colleen Dewhurst, James Coco and Elizabeth Wilson. The show packs in appreciative audiences for 312 performances

1984 British star Jeremy Irons make his Broadway debut in the Tom Stoppard comedy The Real Thing. And he takes a Tony his first time out. Also bringing home Tonys for their performances are Glenn Close and Christine Baranski, as does ubiquitous director Mike Nichols

1985 Lily Tomlin's one-woman show, The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, earns the multi-talented comic-actor a best dramatic actress Tony

1987 John Malkovich and Joan Allen star in Lanford Wilson's gripping drama Burn This. Miss Allen is rewarded with a best dramatic actress Tony

1989 Wendy Wasserstein's Tony award winning drama The Heidi Chronicles stars Joan Allen and Boyd Gaines. Gaines takes home the Tony for best dramatic actor

1991 Irish playwright Brian Friel's Dancing at Lughnasa makes dramatic impressions on American audiences. The show, director Patrick Mason and lead Brid Brennan receive Tonys

1994 James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim win Tonys for the book and score of Passion. Starring Donna Murphy, this musical only runs for 280 performances, but also manages to win a Tony as best musical and a best musical actress award for Miss Murphy

1996 Rosemary Harris, George Grizzard, Elaine Stritch, Mary Beth Hurt and Marian Seldes appear in Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance. Grizzard and director Gerald Gutierrez receive Tonys

1997 The Frank Wildhorn-Leslie Bricusse treatment of the classic spit personality tale, Jekyll and Hyde, opened April 8th and went on to run until January 2001. « hide