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Broadway Up Close Walking Tours by Deirdre Donovan
So you’ve always wanted to get up close to Broadway? Well, Broadway Up Close Walking Tours (BUC) gets you up close and personal with its theatrical history and lore. The brainchild of actor Tim Dolan (he played Abraham in the long-running hit musical Altar Boyz), this al fresco experience through Times Square not only increases your theatrical acumen but may well change the way you look at the Great White Way.
On a two hour trek, BUC’s personable tour guides (all working professionals in the theater industry) will shepherd you to the most prominent Broadway theaters, and give you the nitty-gritty on those legendary stars that have tread their boards, famous ghosts that hover in their shadows, and the juicy Broadway secrets that have raised eyebrows and made tabloid headlines over the years. This theater enthusiast decided to give the tour a go and met BUC’s tour guide Katie, and a handful of adventurous souls, one recent Sunday at 9:30 am sharp in front of the Nederlander Theatre on the south side of West 41th Street. Katie warmly welcomed all the tour-goers to BUC, and then gave us a brief overview of what to expect on our theatrical outing. While she intended to use the theaters as her lens on Broadway, she first imparted some essential history about the Great White Way and how it evolved into what it is today. For starters, she informed us that the locus of “Broadway” has shifted like a will-o-the-wisp over the decades. In the late 1800s and around the turn-of-the-century, it was physically situated in the Herald Square neighborhood before migrating north to the West 40s in the Times Square area. Katie also pointed out that it’s not the physical location or razzle-dazzle that makes a Broadway theater but something more cut-and-dry: a playhouse’s seat count. It must total 500 or above. Anything tallying less is considered an Off Broadway house. Kate tossed out other key facts about the main stem and then wrapped up her introduction by sharing how the Great White Way got its triple-decker moniker: it’s those brilliant neon marquees that twinkle along 42nd Street. Katie then invited the group to cross to the north side of 41st Street. From this vantage, the Nederlander Theatre looked much like a picture post card that you see in souvenir shops along 42nd Street. It’s imposing architecture aside, Katie immediately began to recount the Nederlander story, named after the late theater owner David Tobias Nederlander in 1980 and subsequently passed on to his scions. Katie then noted a few of its most popular shows that have been in residence there. The rock opera Rent has been its longest tenant, with a 12 year run from 1996 to 2008. And its current production Newsies has been pulling in crowds since it transferred from the Paper Mill Playhouse in 2012. The Nederlanders, along with the Shuberts and Jujamcyns, have dominated the Great White Way for a good stretch of years. And these three kings of Broadway, who own most of the main stem playhouses, don’t show any sign of flagging! Trying to absorb all the fascinating information on this, and other landmark theaters we lingered at, was next-to-impossible within a two-hour time span. Little wonder that neophytes on BUC Tours sometimes return to take its Act One Tour more than once. And, oh yes! Dolan, who founded BUC four years ago, has added an Act Two Tour that serves as sequel to his original. In fact, Dolan has even created a Gypsy Robe t-shirt (with a nod to the Broadway Gypsy Robe Ceremony) for Act Two tour-goers to sign, to celebrate their completion of Act One and Act Two Tours. After Katie wrapped up her spiel on the Nederlander, she led us into the heart of Times Square, which once was known as Longacre Square. Katie shared that the famous Ball Drop from the Times Square Building began in 1907, and with the exception 0f 1942-43 (due to the World War II “dimout” of electric lights in New York City), the tradition has taken place on every New Year’s Eve to date. Ghosts are reputed to haunt Broadway theaters! Katie shared stories on two of its more famous ones: There’s the ghost of actress Olive Thomas at the New Amsterdam (where Disney’s Aladdin is now conjuring theatrical magic!). The one-time mistress of Florenz Ziegfeld, Olive accidentally poisoned herself and died on September 10, 1920, in Paris at age 25. Katie added that industry insiders never forget to celebrate the anniversary of her birthday. But then who could forget a ghost who wore a costume with a green sash (a Ziegfeld girl signature) and once walked through a back wall of the New Amsterdam Theatre before the eyes of a stagehand late one evening. Another famous ghost that has been rattling on the Rialto is the flamboyant theater founder and impresario David Belasco, who once lived upstairs in his namesake theater on West 44th Street. During his lifetime, Belasco often dressed in the religious garments of a Catholic priest and was nicknamed the “Bishop of Broadway.” In spite of his clerical collar, however, Belasco was well-known as a lover of women. And, believe it or not, Belasco’s ghost purportedly has summoned up a second ghost at his playhouse: the “blue lady”. ’ To appease Belasco’s roaming spirit and hers, leading ladies who play at the Belasco often wear a blue dress. So go figure. The theater is a mysterious profession that breeds rare human beings ---and the occasional ghost. Ghost stories aside, Katie shared some incredible tales about the magician Harry Houdini at the Hippodrome Theatre during the first half of the 20th century. Houdini finessed many a vanishing act there that defied logic and science. In 1918, he made the elephant Jennie--the daughter of P T Barnum’s Jumbo--disappear from the stage. The Hippodrome and its colossal stage, once nestled between 43rd and 44th Streets on Sixth Avenue, has now vanished from Broadway too. Katie then informed us that the monster Godzilla might soon be stomping his way onto Broadway in his very own musical. She added that this silver screen creature would morph into a giant puppet that requires 50 persons to keep him in tow. Katie then led us by the Stephen Sondheim Theatre on West 43rd Street, where Beautiful is currently playing. Formerly known as the Henry Miller Theatre, it was renamed after Stephen Sondheim in the summer 2010. Katie shared that it is a rare instance of a theater being named after a living person. But then Stephen Sondheim is Stephen Sondheim is Stephen Sondheim. Time flew by as we toured—and Katie, who has an encyclopedic knowledge of the Great White Way, shared a myriad other facts and anecdotes about Broadway’s legends and lore. Katie ended the tour in sight of the TKTS ticket booth on that asphalt island in Midtown. We had walked by 10 theatres, paused at each, and were agog at what she had taught everyone about Broadway in a mere 2 hours. Before the group parted, Katie handed out to all her BUC guests a Rush Ticket Guide to getting affordable seats to Broadway Shows and restaurant information with discount coupons. What could be a better finale to this magical theatrical tour?
Broadway
Up Close Walking Tours 
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