The Belasco's inaugural production was
A Grand Army Man (1907), with a cast that included Antoinette Perry, the namesake of the Tony Awards®. Over the next two decades, David Belasco produced and directed nearly 50 shows, many of which he also wrote. Notable productions include
The Warrens of Virginia (1907) featuring Cecil B. DeMille and Mary Pickford,
Polly with a Past (1917),
Lulu Belle (1926),
It’s a Wise Child (1929) starring Humphrey Bogart, and Belasco’s last production,
Tonight or Never (1930).
In the late 1930s, the innovative Group Theatre called the Belasco home with shows such as Clifford Odets’s
Awake and Sing! (1935) and
Waiting for Lefty (1935),
Golden Boy (1937),
Rocket to the Moon (1938) and
The Gentle People (1939). Among Group Theatre actors and directors were such luminaries as Luther Adler, Stella Adler, Morris Carnovsky, Lee J. Cobb, Howard da Silva, Frances Farmer, John Garfield, Elia Kazan, Karl Malden, Sanford Meisner, and Sylvia Sidney.
The 1940s and 1950s at the Belasco included John Barrymore’s final Broadway appearance in
My Dear Children (1940),
Johnny Belinda (1940),
Kiss Them for Me (1945) with Judy Holliday, and
The Madwoman of Chaillot (1948). After four years as a radio playhouse for NBC, the Belasco returned to theatrical legitimacy with
The Solid Gold Cadillac (1953) starring Josephine Hull,
The Flowering Peach (1954) and
Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1955).
All the Way Home (1960) featuring Arthur Hill, Lillian Gish and Colleen Dewhurst, John Osborne’s
Inadmissible Evidence (1965) and
The Killing of Sister George (1966) led up to some of the more alternative productions of the 1970s.
Oh Calcutta! (1971), the nude revue, was followed by
The Rocky Horror Show (1975). For
Rocky Horror, the Belasco was transformed into a nightclub. In the 1990s, Tony Randall’s National Actors Theatre called the playhouse home, presenting
The Crucible,
A Little Hotel on the Side, and
The Master Builder all during the 1991-92 season. Two highly acclaimed British imports took up residence in the 1990s:
Hamlet (1995) starring Ralph Fiennes and
A Doll’s House (1997) starring Janet McTeer.
2001 brought the first Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim’s
Follies, followed by Terrance McNally’s
Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune (2002) starring Edie Falco and Stanley Tucci. Recent productions include
Julius Caesar (2005) with Denzel Washington and the Tony winning revivals of
Awake and Sing! (2006) and
Journey’s End (2007). The revival of
Joe Turner's Come and Gone (2009) followed, prompting a visit by President Barack Obama.
In 2010, Lincoln Center Theater's musical production of
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown was presented at the Belasco, followed by
Kathy Griffin Wants a Tony (2011), and the Tony nominated productions of
End of the Rainbow (2012), Clifford Odet's
Golden Boy (2012),
Twelfth Night / Richard III (2013) with Mark Rylance and the Tony Award winning revival of
Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2014) with Neil Patrick Harris.
Visit the Internet Broadway Database for a complete list.
