Hamilton (Richard Rodgers Theatre) (New York, USA)
Hamilton (Richard Rodgers Theatre)
The Richard Rodgers Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 226 West 46th Street, between Broadway and 8th Avenue, in New York City. The theatre was built by Irwin Chanin in 1925 and was originally called Chanin's 46th Street Theatre. The theatre has housed 11 Tony Award-winning Best Plays and Best Musicals, more than any other theatre on Broadway. The musical Hamilton is currently running at the Richard Rodgers Theatre. From its opening, Hamilton received near-universal acclaim and currently holds the record for most Tony Award nominations with 16 nominations.
Chanin almost immediately leased it to the Shuberts, who bought the building outright in 1931 and renamed it the 46th Street Theatre. In 1945, the theatre was taken over by Robert W. Dowling. In 1960, it was purchased by the producer Lester Osterman, who sold it to producers Stephen R. Friedman and Irwin Meyer in 1978. In 1981, the Nederlander Organization purchased an renovated the venue and in 1990 renamed the house to honor the composer Richard Rodgers.
The Richard Rodgers Theatre was the first to feature Chanin's 'democratic' seating plan. In most earlier Broadway theatres, patrons seated in the cheaper balcony and mezzanine sections used separate entrances from patrons who had purchased the more expensive orchestra-section seats. Instead, all patrons entered the new theatre through the same doors, and a series of steps inside the house led to the upper seating areas.