Adelphi Theatre

By decade55 productions across 5 decades

1. 1930s 18
2. 1940s 14
3. 1950s 9
4. 1960s 13
5. 1970s 1

Counted from the productions we hold, which are Broadway and a partial West End. A quiet decade here can mean a dark theatre and can mean a gap in the record.

Longest runs hereby performances

1962	No Strings March 15, 1962 · Joe Layton	580 perf.
1964	What Makes Sammy Run? February 27, 1964 · Abe Burrows	540 perf.
1944	On the Town December 28, 1944 · George Abbott	462 perf.
1946	Three to Make Ready March 7, 1946 · John Murray Anderson	327 perf.
1938	one third of a nation January 17, 1938 · Lem Ward	237 perf.
1948	Look, Ma, I’m Dancin’! January 29, 1948 · George Abbott & Jerome Robbins	188 perf.
1947	Street Scene January 9, 1947 · Charles Friedman	148 perf.
1947	Music in My Heart October 2, 1947 · Hassard Short	124 perf.

Ranked among the 45 runs here that carry a performance count. 10 do not, so a longer run may be sitting outside this table with an empty field.

Everything that played here55 productions

1934	The Lord Blesses the Bishop November 27, 1934 · Original	7 perf.
1935	Alma Mater March 1, 1935 · Original
1935	Dreams March 5, 1935 · Revival
1935	Reminiscence March 1, 1935 · Original
1935	Serenade March 1, 1935 · Original
1935	The Gondoliers August 5, 1935 · Revival	12 perf.
1935	The Mikado July 15, 1935 · Revival	16 perf.
1935	The Pirates Of Penzance July 22, 1935 · Revival	12 perf.
1935	The Yeomen of the Guard July 29, 1935 · Revival	12 perf.
1935	Transcendence March 5, 1935 · Original
1935	Trial by Jury & H.M.S. Pinafore August 12, 1935 · Revival	12 perf.
1936	It Can't Happen Here October 26, 1936 · Original	95 perf.
1936	The Dance of Death May 19, 1936 · Original
1937	A Hero Is Born October 1, 1937 · Original	50 perf.
1937	Swing It July 22, 1937 · Original	36 perf.
1937	The Revolt of the Beavers May 20, 1937 · Original
1937	The Sun and I February 26, 1937 · Original	74 perf.
1938	one third of a nation January 17, 1938 · Original	237 perf.
1944	Allah Be Praised! April 20, 1944 · Original	20 perf.
1944	On the Town December 28, 1944 · Original	462 perf.
1944	Robin Hood November 7, 1944 · Revival	15 perf.
1945	Carib Song September 27, 1945 · Original	36 perf.
1945	The Girl From Nantucket November 8, 1945 · Original	12 perf.
1946	Around the World May 31, 1946 · Revival	75 perf.
1946	Lovely Me December 25, 1946 · Original	37 perf.
1946	Nellie Bly January 21, 1946 · Original	16 perf.
1946	The Duchess Misbehaves February 13, 1946 · Original	5 perf.
1946	Three to Make Ready March 7, 1946 · Original	327 perf.
1947	Music in My Heart October 2, 1947 · Original	124 perf.
1947	Street Scene January 9, 1947 · Revival	148 perf.
1948	Hilarities September 9, 1948 · Original	14 perf.
1948	Look, Ma, I’m Dancin’! January 29, 1948 · Original	188 perf.
1957	Performances: 15 April 9, 1957 · Original	32 perf.
1957	The Country Wife November 27, 1957 · Revival	45 perf.
1958	Drink to Me Only October 8, 1958 · Original	77 perf.
1958	Portofino February 21, 1958 · Original	3 perf.
1958	Simply Heavenly May 20, 1958 · Transfer
1958	The Broken Date May 20, 1958 · Original	16 perf.
1959	God and Kate Murphy February 26, 1959 · Original	12 perf.
1959	Happy Town October 7, 1959 · Original	5 perf.
1959	The Legend of Lizzie February 9, 1959 · Original	2 perf.
1960	Caligula February 16, 1960 · Original	38 perf.
1960	Martha Graham and her Dance Company May 4, 1960 · Original	3 perf.
1960	Once Upon A Mattress September 20, 1960 · Transfer
1961	13 Daughters March 2, 1961 · Original	28 perf.
1961	Kwamina October 23, 1961 · Original	32 perf.
1962	No Strings March 15, 1962 · Original	580 perf.
1963	The Student Gypsy September 30, 1963 · Original	16 perf.
1963	Too True to Be Good March 12, 1963 · Revival	94 perf.
1964	What Makes Sammy Run? February 27, 1964 · Original	540 perf.
1965	La Grosse Valise December 14, 1965 · Original	7 perf.
1968	Darling of the Day January 27, 1968 · Original	31 perf.
1968	Martha Graham and Dance Company May 25, 1968 · Original
1969	Buck White December 2, 1969 · Original	7 perf.
1970	Gantry February 14, 1970 · Original	1 perf.

In the literature8 passages

• In 1994, I played Joe Gillis to Betty Buckley’s Norma Desmond in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Boulevard at the Adelphi Theatre in London. Sunset has one of the best opening scenes in musical theatre. When the curtain rises, the audience is looking at Norma’s swimming pool where my character, Joe, is floating dead on the shimmering surface…Anything Goes - John Barrowman & Carole E. Barrowman
• 35 . The London production that docked on July 29 at the Adelphi Theatre stayed afloat longer than any previous production, closing 910 performances later on September 29, 1973. Its legacy is preserved on a recording promoted somewhat inaccurately in the jacket notes as “the first and only complete recording containing all the lyrics and…Enchanted Evenings_The Broadway Musical from 'Show Boat' to Sondheim and Lloyd Webber - Geoffrey Block
• On March 27, 1957, the musical returned to City Center under the auspices of the NYCCLOC, and then briefly transferred to the Adelphi Theatre (see entry for the 1956–1957 season), for a total of forty-seven performances. The cast included David Atkinson (Tommy), Helen Gallagher (Meg), Robert Rounseville (Charlie), and, from the 1950 reviv…Complete Book of 1950s Broadway Musicals, The - Dan Dietz
• Theatre : 46th Street Theatre (during run, the musical transferred to the Adelphi Theatre)Complete Book of 1950s Broadway Musicals, The - Dan Dietz
• Brigadoon was the first legitimate production to play the Adelphi since My Romance premiered there in 1948. In the intervening years, the theatre had been a television studio, and among the shows filmed there was the complete 1955–1956 season of The Honeymooners (otherwise known as the “Classic 39” episodes). By the late 1950s, the venue’…Complete Book of 1950s Broadway Musicals, The - Dan Dietz

What this page does not know

• What played here before Broadway record-keeping starts, and what played here outside it: concerts, benefits, film runs, anything that was not a listed production.
• How long 10 of these runs lasted. We don't have a performance count.
• When 5 of these runs ended. They carry an opening date and no closing date, and they are old enough that they certainly closed. Nobody wrote down the date.
• Who built it.