across two levels and is operated by the Nederlander Organization. Both the facade and the auditorium interior are New York City landmarks.
The facade is divided into two sections: the six-story stage house to the west and the five-story auditorium to the east. The ground floor is clad with terracotta blocks and contains an entrance with a marquee. The upper stories of both sections are made of brick and terracotta; the auditorium facade has arched windows, niches, and a central pediment, while the stage house has a more plain design. The interior is designed in the Adam style and includes two lobbies and a mezzanine-level lounge. The auditorium consists of a ground-level orchestra and one balcony with boxes. The theater interiors are decorated with paneling and plasterwork, and the auditorium has a domed ceiling. Above the auditorium were three stories of offices.
Alexander Pincus and M. L. Goldstone developed the Alvin Theatre, which opened on November 22, 1927, with Funny Face. Aarons and Freedley initially operated the theater and owned it from 1930 to 1932. In the theater's early years, it hosted musicals such as Anything Goes, Lady in the Dark, and Something for the Boys, as well as plays. CBS took over in 1946 and continued to operate the theater until 1959, when Max and Stanley Stahl bought it. The Alvin was further sold in 1967 to Rock-Time Inc. and in 1975 to the Nederlanders. Through the 1960s and 1970s, the Alvin hosted long runs of shows such as A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, High Spirits, The Great White Hope, Company, Shenandoah, and Annie. After the theater was renamed for Neil Simon, it hosted several of his plays during the 1980s and 1990s, as well as the musical Hairspray during much of the 2000s.
Site
The Neil Simon Theatre is on 250 West 52nd Street, on the south sidewalk between Eighth Avenue and Broadway, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York, U.S. The rectangular land lot covers , with a frontage of on 52nd Street and a depth of . The Neil Simon shares the block with the Mark Hellinger Theatre and Gallagher's Steakhouse to the east. Other nearby buildings include the August Wilson Theatre to the north; the Broadway Theatre and 810 Seventh Avenue to the northeast; Axa Equitable Center to the east; the Winter Garden Theatre to the southeast; and Paramount Plaza (including Circle in the Square Theatre and the Gershwin Theatre) to the south. while the interior is designed in the Adam style typical of most of Krapp's designs.
Facade
thumb|left|Main entrance doors
The facade consists of two sections, which are connected to each other. The five-story-tall eastern section is wider and is symmetrical, containing the auditorium entrance. The western section, which contains the stage house, is six stories high. On the upper stories, the facade is made of red brick in English bond, with terracotta trim. The Neil Simon is one of a few Broadway theaters with a neo-Georgian facade, along with the Belasco Theatre, Hayes Theater, and Stephen Sondheim Theatre. This was done to create the impression that theater-goers were "entering the producer's home".
Base
In both sections, the base is made of rusticated blocks of terracotta, designed to resemble marble. On the eastern side of the ground-floor facade is a pair of recessed metal doors. The center of the auditorium facade contains two sets of metal-and-glass doors. Six doors to the east connect with the inner lobby, while eight doors to the west connect with the box office lobby; there is a modern marquee above these doors. In the stage-house section of the facade, there are several recessed doorways, including a stage door. A horizontal frieze with panels and vertical grooves runs above the base.
The outer sections of the auditorium facade are designed as pavilions, which are almost identical to each other except at the top. Both pavilions are flanked by fluted terracotta pilasters, which rest on the frieze that runs above the base. Between these pilasters are double-height niches at the second story, each surrounded by terracotta imposts and keystones. The niches contain terracotta urns, placed above seashell motifs. Above each niche, the fourth story contains two windows with rectangular terracotta frames. Each pair of pilasters supports a terracotta entablature and pediment on the fifth floor, as well as a cornice above that story. Whereas the eastern (left) pavilion is capped by a parapet, the western (right) pavilion rises for another story, the same height as the stage house.
The stage house is to the right of the auditorium. Vertical terracotta bands and quoins split the stage house into sections with one, three, and one bays from left to right. The windows of the stage house are rectangular, with terracotta lintels above each window. The center bays of the stage house also have terracotta panels above the third and fourth floors. There is a cornice and paneling above the fifth floor, as well as a parapet with a balustrade above the sixth floor. The leftmost bay of the stage house, nearest the auditorium, rises to a seventh story. The stage house's rightmost bay has a vertical sign with the theater's name. The western (right) wall has ticket windows, while the eastern (left) wall has a recessed niche to the inner lobby, containing a glass-and-bronze double door flanked by small sconces. The eight glass-and-bronze doors on the north wall lead from the street, with panels above them, while the south wall contains paneled wooden doors to the auditorium's orchestra level. A cornice surrounds the ceiling. which is decorated with plasterwork in the Adam style. The middle of the ceiling has a pair of crystal lamps.
The inner lobby is rectangular in plan. It is accessed by the niche on its western wall, which leads from the ticket lobby, as well as from the six glass-and-bronze doors on the north wall, which lead from the street. The south wall contains paneled wooden doors to the auditorium, while the east wall contains a staircase to the mezzanine lounge. The inner lobby's ceiling is decorated with plasterwork in the Adam style and contains a pair of crystal chandeliers. The space also originally contained a fireplace. Four "retiring rooms" led off the lounge, which included men's and women's smoking rooms.
Auditorium
thumb|View of the proscenium from the balcony
The auditorium has an orchestra level, one balcony, boxes, and a stage behind the proscenium arch. meanwhile, The Broadway League cites a capacity of 1,467 seats and Playbill cites 1,380 seats. The theater originally had a capacity of 1,400 seats, with 702 in the orchestra, 674 in the balcony, and 24 in the boxes. The auditorium initially had a color scheme of ivory, blue, gray, and gold, The rear of the orchestra contains a promenade with a paneled wall to the east, with sconces. The rear of the orchestra has a standing rail made of marble, separating the promenade from the rear rows of seats. The promenade and the orchestra seating are separated by two columns, designed to resemble marble pillars; they are topped by Doric-style capitals. The Alvin Theatre was one of the later theaters to be built before the Depression. The theater's name was an amalgamation of the first names of its original operators: Alex A. Aarons (1891–1943) and Vinton Freedley (1891–1969). Both men hailed from Philadelphia. Aarons was a producer of musical comedies, while Freedley was "the only Broadway producer whose name was listed in the social register". but they only worked together until 1933. it has been named for Neil Simon (1927–2018), one of Broadway's most prolific playwrights.
Development and early years
thumb|left|View from the west
In January 1927, Alexander Pincus and M. L. Goldstone bought the sites at 244–254 West 52nd Street from the Lebanon Estates Corporation, with plans to develop a legitimate theater on the site. Pincus had previously developed the Longacre and Imperial theaters; he and Goldstone planned to fund the theater's $1.4 million cost. The same month, Pincus submitted plans to the New York City Department of Buildings for a theater at the site, designed by Herbert J. Krapp. Pincus and Goldstone awarded a general contract for the theater's construction to the O'Day Construction Company that March. The Alvin opened on November 22, 1927, with Funny Face; that show ran for 250 performances. In 1928, the theater hosted the Gershwin musical Treasure Girl with Gertrude Lawrence. Though the musical charged a top admission of $6, then an unprecedented price, it managed 69 performances before it closed. The Rodgers and Hart musical Spring Is Here opened at the Alvin that March and had 104 performances. Another Rodgers and Hart musical, Heads Up!, opened at the Alvin that November for a 144-performance run. In 1930, Ethel Merman made her Broadway debut in the Gershwins' Girl Crazy, which had 272 performances.
Pincus and Goldstone operation
thumb|[[A Flag is Born at the Alvin in 1946]]
Pincus and Goldstone took over the Alvin's operations in May 1932 for unknown reasons. That year, the theater hosted a transfer of Eugene O'Neill's play Mourning Becomes Electra, as well as Jerome Kern's musical Music in the Air. The same year saw the opening of the Maxwell Anderson play Mary of Scotland with Helen Hayes. Freedley next produced Cole Porter's musical Anything Goes at the Alvin in 1934, featuring Merman, William Gaxton, Victor Moore, and Vivian Vance; it ran for 420 performances. The original production of the Gershwins' American folk opera Porgy and Bess opened at the Alvin in October 1935. While Porgy and Bess closed at the Alvin after 124 performances, its revivals proved more successful. which lasted 181 performances. running for 289 performances, and The Boys from Syracuse opened in 1938, lasting 235 performances. That April, Lunt and Fontanne appeared in Robert E. Sherwood's play There Shall Be No Night, which ran for several months with a tour in mid-1940. The next year, the Alvin hosted Ira Gershwin, Moss Hart, and Kurt Weill's psychiatry-themed musical Lady in the Dark; featuring Gertrude Lawrence, it had 467 performances. The Alvin hosted Porter's musical Something for the Boys with Ethel Merman in January 1943, appearing for 422 performances. which ran 67 performances. The Alvin's productions in 1944 and 1945 were mostly quick failures, including Helen Goes to Troy, The Firebrand of Florence, and Hollywood Pinafore. More successful was Betty Comden, Adolph Green, and Morton Gould's musical Billion Dollar Baby, which opened at the end of 1945 and lasted for 200 performances.
CBS ownership, Cullman operation
thumb|Attic
By December 1945, broadcast network CBS was negotiating to buy the Alvin for use as a studio, as CBS's lease at the nearby Hammerstein's Theatre was about to expire. Howard S. Cullman, who owned Hammerstein's, intended to return that theater to legitimate use. CBS bought the Alvin for $825,000 in February 1946. That June, CBS agreed to lease Hammerstein's from Cullman for five more years, while Cullman agreed to lease the Alvin from CBS and present productions there instead. The same year, the Alvin hosted Joan of Lorraine with Ingrid Bergman, Sam Wanamaker, and Romney Brent. This was followed in 1947 by the play Life with Father, which transferred from another theater to conclude its 3,224-performance run. George Bernard Shaw's play Man and Superman opened at the Alvin that October and relocated in February 1948. which ran for 1,157 performances. Three shows opened at the Alvin that year: the Sidney Kingsley play Darkness at Noon, but it only lasted about 90 performances.
The musical The Golden Apple transferred to the Alvin from off-Broadway in April 1954, running for 173 total performances. House of Flowers ultimately opened in December 1954 and ran for 165 performances. running for 796 performances over two years. and First Impressions in 1959. In addition, Jerome Robbins choreographed his dance special Ballet U.S.A. in 1958, and the musical Bells Are Ringing relocated from the Shubert to the Alvin that year. The Stahls quickly hired a new manager for the Alvin. In 1960, the theater hosted the musical Greenwillow, the dance troupe Les Ballets Africains, and a transfer of the musical West Side Story from the Winter Garden. who made her only Broadway appearance there. The musical Irma La Douce transferred from the Plymouth to the Alvin in 1961. The next year, Stephen Sondheim, Burt Shevelove, and Larry Gelbart's musical A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum opened, running for 967 performances.
Hugh Martin and Timothy Gray's musical comedy High Spirits, with Beatrice Lillie and Tammy Grimes, opened in 1964 and ran for 367 performances. This was followed the next month by Flora the Red Menace, These shows included the musicals The Yearling (1965), It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Superman (1966), Dinner At Eight (1966), and Sherry! (1967). Rockefeller Center's development subsidiary Rock-Time Inc. bought the Alvin from Osterman in July 1967 through its agent, Konrad Matthaei. In exchange, Rock-Time sold the Playhouse Theatre near Rockefeller Center, which was to be demolished. running for 421 total performances across two theaters. which had 557 performances. and ran just over 700 performances during the next two years. A couple of short runs followed, including Molly (1973) and The Freedom of the City (1974). and stayed two years before transferring.
Nederlander ownership
1970s and 1980s
thumb|Vertical sign
The Nederlander Organization acquired the Alvin in 1975, and the venue became the family's fourth Broadway theater after the Palace, Uris, and Brooks Atkinson. The sale involved $100,000 in cash and a $1.16 million mortgage loan. and ran for five years before transferring. The Little Prince and the Aviator closed during previews, while Merrily We Roll Along, Little Johnny Jones, Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?, and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers each closed after less than two weeks. The Alvin's next non-flop was Your Arms Too Short to Box with God with Al Green and Patti LaBelle, which opened in September 1982.
Brighton Beach Memoirs, the first play in Neil Simon's Eugene trilogy, opened at the Alvin in March 1983. The Nederlanders renamed the theater for Simon shortly afterward on June 29, 1983. The renaming was unrelated to Brighton Beach Memoirs; the Nederlanders had offered to rename the theater after Simon in 1982, but the playwright had declined at the time. Jerry Weintraub then purchased a stake in the operation of the Neil Simon Theatre in 1984. Concurrently, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) had started to consider protecting the Neil Simon as a landmark in 1982, with discussions continuing over the next several years. The LPC designated the facades of the Neil Simon, Ambassador, and Virginia (now August Wilson) theaters as landmarks in August 1985, along with the Ambassador's and Neil Simon's interiors, over the objections of the three theaters' owners. The New York City Board of Estimate ratified the landmark designations in December 1985.
Brighton Beach Memoirs was followed by another play in the Eugene trilogy, Biloxi Blues, in 1985. The next year, the musical Into the Light opened at the Neil Simon, closing after six performances. Noël Coward's play Blithe Spirit opened at the Neil Simon in March 1987; the theater also hosted a tribute to one of the play's stars, Geraldine Page, who died mid-run. Comedian Mort Sahl made a limited appearance that October, and the play Breaking the Code opened the next month. The Neil Simon hosted revivals of two O'Neill plays in June 1988, Long Day's Journey into Night and Ah, Wilderness! (both with Colleen Dewhurst and Jason Robards), as part of the First New York International Festival of the Arts. Later that year, Kenny Loggins played some concerts at the Neil Simon. Two musicals were announced for the Neil Simon in early 1989; Senator Joe closed during previews, and The Tower of Babel did not even have previews. Around that time, the LPC had held a hearing on whether a hotel developed by Silverstein Properties could be cantilevered over the Neil Simon.
1990s and 2000s
thumb|View of niche (left) and stage house (right)
A dance troupe of Don Cossacks from Russia had a limited engagement at the Neil Simon in January 1990, That October, comedian Jackie Mason launched his solo series Brand New, which ran for eight months. Another Simon play opened at his namesake theater in March 1992, Jake's Women, which had 245 performances amid mixed reception. lasting 137 performances. only to close after one week. This was followed by concerts from musicians Basia in November 1994 and Laurie Anderson in May 1995, as well as a limited performance by Danny Gans in November 1995. The Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I was revived in 1996. The King and I closed in early 1998 to make way for the Arthur Miller play A View from the Bridge, which lasted through August 1998. The Neil Simon hosted the dance special Swan Lake in late 1998, as well as a concert by Natalie Merchant and a revised version of the musical The Scarlet Pimpernel in 1999.
A revival of the musical The Music Man opened at the Neil Simon in early 2000, lasting until the end of 2001. During The Music Man run, the comedian Mandy Patinkin launched a U.S. tour on September 10, 2001, with a concert at the Neil Simon. Elaine Stritch's one-woman show Elaine Stritch at Liberty then premiered at the Neil Simon in February 2002. After the closure of Elaine Stritch at Liberty, the Neil Simon was expanded from 1,328 seats to a potential 1,467 in preparation for its next engagement: the musical Hairspray, which opened in August 2002. Hairspray set the house record for the theater, closing at the beginning of 2009. Robin Williams was to perform his comedy tour Weapons Of Self-Destruction at the Neil Simon in April 2009, but he canceled his engagement after undergoing surgery. A revival of Ragtime was booked instead, opening in November 2009. Ragtime failed to repeat the success it had enjoyed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., closing in January 2010 after 57 performances.
2010s to present
thumb|Marquee for the revival of [[Jesus Christ Superstar (2012)]]
Musician Harry Connick Jr. had a limited performance at the Neil Simon in July 2010; his appearance was recorded for the 2011 album In Concert on Broadway. The concert Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles opened at the Neil Simon that October, relocating to the Brooks Atkinson at the beginning of 2011. The musical Catch Me if You Can opened in April 2011, running for 170 performances. followed at the end of that year by the short-lived musical Scandalous. The Andrew Lippa musical Big Fish was then booked for the Neil Simon in early 2013, but the theater stood dark for most of that year because Big Fish was performing elsewhere. Big Fish only ran from October to December 2013. This was followed by two similarly short runs: Robert Schenkkan's play All the Way from March to June 2014, and Sting's musical The Last Ship from October 2014 to January 2015.
A revival of Frederick Loewe and Alan Jay Lerner's musical Gigi opened at the Neil Simon in April 2015, only for the show to close after two months. In July 2015, the Nederlanders sold of the unused air rights above the Neil Simon for $8.9 million. The buyers were a development consortium erecting a hotel several blocks away. At the end of that year, The Illusionists performed a magic show at the Neil Simon for a limited run. A revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber's hit musical Cats opened at the Neil Simon in August 2016 and ran until the end of the next year. Tony Kushner's play Angels in America then opened in March 2018 for a three-month run. The musical The Cher Show opened that December and ran until August 2019, and The Illusionists returned in late 2019 for their magic show, Magic of the Holidays.
After The Cher Show closed, MJ the Musical had been booked at the Neil Simon for mid-2020. The theater did not host another show for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City. It reopened in December 2021 with previews of MJ the Musical, which officially opened in February 2022. MJ broke the theater's box-office record ten times in 2022 and set the current record during the week ending January 1, 2023, when the musical grossed $2,223,069.
Notable productions
Productions are listed by the year of their first performance.
|-
| 1929 || Spring Is Here ||
|-
| 1932 || Music in the Air ||
|-
| 1938 || The Boys from Syracuse ||
|-
| 1940 || The Taming of the Shrew ||
|-
| 1943 || Something for the Boys ||
|-
| 1945 || Hollywood Pinafore ||
|-
| 1951 || Point of No Return ||
|-
| 1952 || Two's Company ||
|-
| 1959 || First Impressions ||
|-
| 1960 || West Side Story ||
|-
| 1964 || High Spirits ||
|-
| 1973 || Molly ||
|-
| 1982 || Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up? ||
|-
| 1982 || Seven Brides for Seven Brothers ||
|-
| 1982 || Your Arms Too Short to Box with God ||
|}
Neil Simon Theatre
{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible"
|+
! width=20% scope="col" | Opening year !! width=60% scope="col" | Name !! width=20% scope="col" class="unsortable" |
|-
| 1985 || Biloxi Blues ||
|-
| 1988 || Ah, Wilderness! ||
|-
| 1988 || Kenny Loggins on Broadway ||
|-
| 1998 || Swan Lake ||
|-
| 2009 || Ragtime ||