Manhattan Theatre Club

Manhattan Theatre Club operates the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, named in 2008 for the Broadway publicist and 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 MTC for $35 million, it re-opened in October 2003. MTC also operates two Off-Broadway performance spaces in New York City Center: MTC Stage I, which seats 300, and MTC Stage II, which seats 150.