Basil on Broadway

Click on the map to see it full resolution.

Map of Winter Broadway
drawn by Frank A. Eaton, c. 1933
from Stage magazine

Rathbone appeared at the ANTA Theatre in 1959 in the play J.B.

The theater opened in 1925 as the Guild Theatre. It was renamed the ANTA Theatre in 1950, after being purchased by the American National Theater and Academy (ANTA). The theater went through two more name changes: in 1981, when it was renamed the Virginia Theatre, and in 2005, when it was renamed the August Wilson Theatre.

In 1950 Rathbone appeared in Julius Caesar at The Arena Theatre in the Edison Hotel.

This art deco hotel opened in 1931. Thomas Edison himself turned on the lights at the grand opening.

In 1947 and 1948, Basil Rathbone starred in The Heiress, which played at the Biltmore.

The Biltmore Theatre opened in 1925. From 1952 to 1961 the theatre was used by CBS for radio and television shows. In 1961, play productions returned to the Biltmore. The interior of the theater received landmark status in 1987, and shortly afterwards it  was destroyed by fire. Over the next several years the theater sat vacant and suffered more damage from water and vandals. Eventually, it was renovated and reopened in 2003. In 2008, the theater was renamed the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre.

This theater opened as the Forrest Theatre in 1925. It was renamed the Coronet Theatre in 1945, and the Eugene O'Neill Theatre in 1959.

The Cort Theatre opened in 1912 and operated as a legitimate theater until 1969.

From 1969 to 1972 the theater was used as a television studio. The studio reverted to a legitimate theater in 1972. The Cort Theatre closed on March 12, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During the shutdown, the theatre was renovated and expanded to the tune of $47 million. It reopened in the fall of 2022 with a new name: The James Earl Jones Theatre.

The Theatre opened in 1914 as the 63rd Street Music Hall. It became a legitimate theater in 1921 under the name Cort's 63rd Street Theatre. In 1922, it was renovated and renamed Daly's 63rd Street Theatre. The theater went through several name changes between 1928 and 1938: Coburn (1928); Recital (1932); Park Lane (1932); Gilmore's (1934); Experimental (1936); and Daly's (1938).

The theatre was closed in 1941 and the building was demolished in 1957.

The Empire Theatre opened in 1893 and operated as a legitimate Broadway venue for 60 years. It was demolished in 1953 to make room for an office tower.

Named for actress Ethel Barrymore, this theater opened in 1928. It has been used continuously for legitimate stage productions.

The Fulton was renamed the Helen Hayes Theater in 1955. This theater and several others in the area were demolished in 1982 to make room for the Marriott Marquis Hotel.

The Longacre Theatre opened in 1913. It has operated as a legitimate theater except for a period from the mid-1940s to early 1950s, when it was used as a radio and television studio.

The Lyceum Theatre opened in 1903 and is in fact the oldest continuously operating legitimate theatre in New York City. It was granted landmark status in 1974.

Basil Rathbone and Katherine Cornell starred in Romeo and Juliet at this theater in 1934.

From its opening in 1924 the Martin Beck Theatre has operated continuously as a legitimate stage venue. It was renamed the Al Hirschfeld Theater in 2003. The theater was designated a New York City landmark in 1987.

In 1928 Rathbone appeared in the American Shakespeare Celebration at the Old Metropolitan Opera House.

The Old Met opened in 1883 and underwent a major renovation in 1903. It closed in 1966, and the building was demolished in 1967. The new Metropolitan Opera House was built at 30 Lincoln Center Plaza.

In 1927 Rathbone appeared here in  Julius Caesar.

The New Amsterdam Theatre opened in 1903. For the next 33 years the theater hosted serious productions as well as musicals and the famous Ziegfeld Follies. Business suffered during the Great Depression and the theater closed in 1936. It was converted to a movie theater. The property was purchased in 1992 by the 42nd Street Redemption Project, and then leased to the Disney company, who began extensive, multimillion-dollar renovations. In 1997 the newly restored theater reopened with a production of The Lion King.

The play Sherlock Holmes opened here at the New Century Theater in 1953.

The theater that hosted the ill-fated production of Sherlock Holmes in 1953 opened in 1921 as Jolson's 59th Street Theatre. Ten years later it was renamed the Central Park Theatre and operated as a movie house. In 1932, the theatre returned to being used as a venue for stage plays and was renamed the Shakespeare Theatre. It went through several additional name changes, including Venice (1934), Jolson (again, May 1942), and Molly Picon (October 1942). In 1943, it was again used for showing films, and reverted to the name Jolson Theatre. During this time it was refurbished and reopened as the New Century Theatre in April 1944. For the next ten years the theater was used for plays, musicals, and ballets. NBC also used the venue for live television programs performed before a studio audience. The theater was closed in 1954, and demolished in 1962.

Rathbone starred in the play Obsession at the Plymouth Theatre in 1946.

The Plymouth Theatre opened in 1918 and was granted landmark status in 1987. In 2005 it was renamed the Schoenfeld Theatre.

The Ritz Theatre opened in 1921. From 1943 to 1965 the venue was used by ABC first as a radio studio, then as a television studio. The building was vacant from 1965 until 1971, when it reopened as a venue for stage plays and musicals. In 1989 the Ritz Theatre was renovated; in 1990 it reopened as the Walter Kerr Theatre.

Rathbone starred in The Devil Passes at the Selwyn Theatre in 1932.

The Selwyn Theatre was built by Edgar and Archie Selwyn in 1918. It was a venue for plays and musicals until 1934, when it was converted to a movie house. In the 1980s the theater became part of the 42nd Street Development Project, a project to restore the historic theaters of 42nd Street. The historic facade and the lobby of the Selwyn Theatre were destroyed when the office building next to the theater unexpectedly collapsed on December 30, 1997. After repairs and rebuilding, the theater reopened as the American Airlines Theatre in 2000.