The Playgoer: Tonys at the Beacon

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Friday, November 12, 2010

Tonys at the Beacon

So it looks like the Tony Awards have had second thoughts about relocating to Harlem?

Although it's nowhere mentioned in this NY Times story, the first announcement after the awards show got bumped from Radio City Music Hall (for Cirque du Soleil, no less) was the old United Palace Theatre at Broadway and 175th St. But now:

On Wednesday, the American Theater Wing, which presents the Tony Awards with the Broadway League, announced that the ceremony will be housed at the Beacon Theater on the Upper West Side. Though it’s far from the theater district, it is actually on Broadway. (Radio City is on Sixth Avenue.) However, the art deco Beacon has roughly 2,900 seats, less than half as many as the bigger hall.That is bound to create some keen competition for seats to the June 12, 2011 ceremony among the increasing number of investors and producers it takes to finance a Broadway show. 
Note that the United Palace has a 3,293 seat capacity. But did I mention, it's in Harlem?

3 comments:

Leigh Hile said...

That's too bad. As a Harlem resident, maybe I'm a LITTLE biased in saying that Harlem is an important and vibrant part of NYC and deserves to have a piece of the Broadway pie.

Scott said...

Excuse me, but Washington Heights is not part of Harlem. The United Palace is "in the heights."

RLewis said...

Just saw the Lennon tribute concert there this past weekend. Beautiful theater, but it seems way to small for the Tonys. Beyond just the # of seats, there does not seem to be much to the entrance, lobby, restrooms, etc.