Orpheum Theatre
126 2nd Avenue,
New York,
NY
10003
126 2nd Avenue,
New York,
NY
10003
4 people
favorited this theater
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Hello-
in reference to the point made in the intro that the locale of the Orpheum has hosted some sort of entertainment complex since the late 1880s. the same can be said of the recently closed 86th St. East. its locale hosted an entertainment complex of one sort or another since the late 1880s as well.
1974 photo added credit Chris Protopapas. Courtesy 70s/80s New York City Facebook page.
The 1962 Off Broadway revival of Cole Porter’s Anything Goes opened here on May 15th. This production incorporated some of the changes made to the original version which appeared in the movie. It won the prize for best Off Broadway Revival. The CD features Hal Linden and Eileen Rogers.
Two photos added
No, “Stomp” is definitely playing. No stopping “Stomp.”
Is Stomp not playing? Are they remodeling the theater?
I can recall, “The World of Ray Bradbury,” (1965) and, “The Ginger Man,” (1963). Later on came the pre-Broadway run of “Little Shop of Horrors.” “Oleanna,” “Key Exchange,” “Sex, Drugs, Rock and Roll,” Check out it’s rich past here:
http://www.lortel.org/lla_archive/index.cfm?search_by=theater&id=103
Then Stomp happened and creativity died. But that’s what happened to New York in a nutshell.
The Orpheum has had a number of successful live productions over the years. I saw Your Own Thing there which opened on June 13, 1968 and ran for 933 performances.
From the photos I have seen, the interior of this Orpheum has been stripped to the brick walls – a long and narrow auditorium.
Ha. Saps… I only WISH I had a piece of interest in Stomp! Unfortunately, my only financial connection to the show was when I made my own small contribution towards its fortunes, when I took the kiddies to see it about a decade or so ago!
It’s hard to get a photo of this theatre without STOMP on the marquee. It has been playing for 18 years.
Chuck, you also posted a picture of the Stomp marquee. Are you a producer? (And my comment was tongue-in-cheek, as I’m sure Ed and Ken and others must know.)
It looks like the producers of Stomp are posting here, since every picture in the photos section, and most of the links, are shots of their marquee.
I was impressed by the length and narrowness of the theatre the first time I saw a live production there, I believe it was Anything Goes. I was in the last row. Made up for that with Stomp by being in the second row. Stomp was actually a very clever show that became a bit repetitious with time. I’m not disappointed that I saw it.
Thats too bad.Profjoe.
Bway,
Yes, “Stomp” is still, annoyingly, gratingly, pitifully, STILL running at this theater.
Is Stomp still at this theater?
Evening shot.
View link
Yeah… here’s the link.
I remember seeing “Star Wars” up there (I posted my memories on the page) on its intial release in ‘77 with my Dad. The theater operated as an up-and-down twin from 1968 (each theater using a different name and entrance) until its demise in the 1980’s.
Haha, yup, I am mixed up then. I am thinking of the one near 86th STreet. Is that one listed on this site?
Bway… I think you have this mixed up with the uptown Orpheum. The Orpheum at 126 2nd Avenue is down in the East Village between East 7th and St. Marks Place and has been featuring live theater for a great many years. “Stomp!” has been playing here for 12 years.
Is this theater still single screen or was it split?
This theater is showing movies. This is the theater next door to Papaya King at 86th and 2nd. It appears to be cut into a multiplex.
In 1978, I helped to reopen the Orpheum. The balcony had been floored over and was being used as a carpentry shop. We took out the asbestos slate projection booth that showed quite a bit of fire damage. The early film stock was quite flammable and made life for the projectionists hard. We also took out the crank that ran a cable up from the booth to the ceiling and out to the roof. This opened three five foot by ten foot hatches in the ceiling for ventalation. There was no room for ice in the plenum as there was only a basement.
Catwalks had been hung running from upstage to the balcony. I’m not sure what show this was for. A rudimentary steel grid had been installed for rigging, well after original constuction, probably from the 50’s. We had to dig out the rubble from under the stage in order to create additional space needed for production.
It is extremely hard to believe that this space ever contained enough seating for 600 people. Some of the marble rubble and the stories from the neighborhood indicated that this space had been a converted public bathhouse before conversion to a theatre.
Since the 50’s some of the players who have acted at the Orpheum include Eli Wallach, Anne Jackson, Martin Sheen, Morgan Freeman, Meatloaf, William H Macy, Sylvia Miles, Katherine Ross, Brooke Adams, Priscilla Lopez, Mark Blum and many others.
View link
Saw “Stomp” here a couple of years back. This is a small, narrow little theater of mostly exposed brick, far as I can recall the interior. Both the orchestra and the tiny balcony have center aisles and the proscenium runs wall to wall. The rows of seat don’t hold many seats on either side of the aisle, maybe 10 to each side. The balcony is maybe 5 or 6 rows deep and is reached by an ordinary case of stairs on the right side of the theater as you walk in to the tiny “lobby area.” Any ornamentation or architectural detail appears to have been stripped. It’s hard to imagine this space held nearly 600 seats at any time. Perhaps the interior was gutted and the auditorium space reduced at some point? It has the feel of a theater that was cut right in half.
If you do make your way down to the Orpheum’s neihgborhood, there is a wonderful old church on the next block of 2nd Avenue to the south and a fantastic corner shop across the street called “Love Saves the Day” (or something) that buys and sells all sorts of old toys, magazines, models, games, lunch boxes, vintage used clothes and other artcles of ephemera. One can spend hours just browsing the shelves.