The renaming of Broadway theatres, already an accelerating trend, now picks up steam with the announcement that Clear Channel Communications, owner and operator of the Ford Center for the Performing Arts, has inked a decade-long sponsorship agreement with the Hilton hotel chain and will consequently rename the venue the Hilton Theatre.
Two historically important Broadway houses -- the Lyric, which opened in 1903, and the Apollo (originally the Bryant), which opened in 1910 -- were partly demolished, reclaimed, and reconstructed to create the 1,839-seat house, which sits, in fact, across the street from the new Hilton Times Square Hotel. Standing cheek-by-jowl on West 42nd Street, the structures lay dormant for years until Livent, the now-defunct producing organization, built the singular building that has housed such shows as "Ragtime" and "42nd Street" since 1998.
The name change takes effect following the closing of the revival of "42nd Street" on Jan. 2, 2005. "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" will be the next production in the venue, with previews beginning on March 27.
Clear Channel and Hilton Hotels released a written statement on the agreement. David Anderson, Clear Channel's president for theatre management, said the pact would "bring invaluable opportunities to develop new audiences." Jeff Diskin, senior vice president for brand management and marketing at the Hilton Hotels Corporation, remarked that the chain will be "extending its legacy in the art of hospitality" as a result of the sponsorship. Specific fiscal details on the nature of the sponsorship, however, were not made public.
While only a few Broadway theatres currently bear the name of a corporate sponsor, it is nevertheless becoming a much more commonplace occurrence. When Roundabout Theatre Company took over the erstwhile Selwyn Theatre on West 42nd Street in the 1990s, for example, it became the American Airlines Theatre after Roundabout completed a similar pact with that company. In May 2002, the Shubert Organization, Broadway's largest theatre owner, announced a long-term financial arrangement with General Motors, resulting in the creation of the Cadillac Winter Garden.
Corporate sponsorships aside, the renaming of even more Broadway theatres is soon to be coming down the road. As reported in October, two landmark houses, the Plymouth and the Royale, are to be renamed for the late Bernard B. Jacobs and current Shubert Organization chairman Gerald Schoenfeld to honor their long service to that organization. A dedication ceremony will take place in Shubert Alley in the spring of 2005.
And further west on 45th Street, Jujamcyn Theatres, which owns five Broadway houses, renamed the Martin Beck Theatre in honor of legendary caricaturist Al Hirschfeld in June 2003.