Samuel J. Friedman Theatre

Designed by architect Herbert J. Krapp for impresario Irwin Chanin, it opened as The Biltmore Theatre on December 7, 1925, with the play Easy Come Easy Go. With a seating capacity of 903, it was one of Broadway's smaller venues. The theatre was used by Federal Theatre's Living Newspaper Project in the 1930s until being sold to George Abbott and Warner Brothers in 1935. Leased in 1952 to CBS for use as a radio and TV studio until reopening as a legit venue in 1961. It was declared unsafe in 1988 after vandals damaged and set fires in the auditorium. Renovated by Manhattan Theatre Club for $35 million (Polshek Partnership, architects), it re-opened in October 2003. MTC renamed the venue the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (after the pioneering Broadway publicist) in 2008.