LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Ethel Barrymore: Ethel Barrymore Theatre
built 634 days ago
The Ethel Barrymore Theatre is the only surviving theatre of the many Lee and J.J. Shubert built for performers who were affiliated with them. Ethel Barrymore was part of the renowned Barrymore acting dynasty, and her tremendous popularity in New York and London society established her as a household name in the US and England. She had achieved stardom under the management of producer Charles Frohman beginning in 1901. In 1928, the Shuberts offered to build her a theatre and commission a play for her to premiere in her namesake house.Photo of the Interior of the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, courtesy of the Shubert Archive.
Source:
Ethel Barrymore’s premiere at her theatre was The Kingdom of God in December 1928. In April, she opened in another vehicle, The Love Duel (1929), and then toured the country in both, not returning to her theatre until Scarlett Sister Mary (1930). She followed this with a revival of The School for Scandal (1931), her last show under her Shubert contract. Her final appearance at her theatre was in 1940, in An International Incident.
Source:
The Ethel Barrymore Theatre has a history of presenting groundbreaking plays, such as Clare Boothe Luce's The Women, Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire, Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, and David Mamet's American Buffalo. Other notables include Death Takes a Holiday, Design for Living, Night Must Fall, Tea and Sympathy, Wait Until Dark, Hurlyburly, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, The Sisters Rosensweig, Indiscretions, and The Tale of the Allergist's Wife. Musicals of note include Cole Porter's Gay Divorce, Maxwell Anderson and Kurt Weill's Knickerbocker Holiday, Rodgers & Hart's Pal Joey, the Gian-Carlo Menotti opera The Consul, Maltby & Shire's Baby, and Cy Coleman's The Life.
Source:
One of the few remaining Broadway theatres with its original name, Ethel Barrymore opened her namesake theatre with a production of The Kingdom of God. This new theatre was designed to be a showcase for the actress. It has ... been the home of a number of famous original productions, including Pal Joey, A Streetcar Named Desire, and A Raisin in the Sun. The theatre has been continually used as a legitimate theatre house, unlike many of the older theatres that have been used for a variety of purposes over time.
Source:
Ethel Barrymore belonged to a distinguished theatre family. Her uncle was the actor John Drew, and her two brothers were John and Lionel. She debuted in 1894 as Julia in The Rivals and in 1897 she was chosen by Sir Henry Irving to play in his great success The Bells. She did not play in Shakespeare until 1922 when she took the role of Juliet. In 1925 she played Ophelia in Walter Hampden's Hamlet and later that same year she played Portia in The Merchant of Venice.
Source:
Ethel Barrymore died of cardiovascular disease in 1959, at her home in Hollywood, California, following a long battle with a heart condition. She was two months shy of her 80th birthday. She is interred in the Calvary Cemetery, East Los Angeles. The Ethel Barrymore Theatre in New York City is named after her.
Source:
MORE ABOUT
Ethel Barrymore Theatre