Bronx Opera House

The Bronx Opera House
The Opera House Hotel, still under construction at the end of May 2013
General information
Type	Boutique Hotel (opened August 11, 2013)[1]
Location	436 E 149th St Bronx, NY 10455 United States
Coordinates	40°48′54″N 73°54′58″W / 40.8151°N 73.9161°W / 40.8151; -73.9161Coordinates: 40°48′54″N 73°54′58″W / 40.8151°N 73.9161°W / 40.8151; -73.9161
Construction started	September 1912
Completed	August 1913
Opening	August 30, 1913
Cost	$300,000[2]
Design and construction
Architect	George M. Keister
Main contractor	Cramp & Co.

The Bronx Opera House is a former theater, part of the Subway Circuit now converted into a boutique hotel in the Bronx, New York^[3] It was designed by George M. Keister and built in 1913 at 436 East 149th Street on the site of Frederick Schnaufer's stable. It was one of several theaters to come into the area that became known as the Hub.^[4] It was formally dedicated on opening night Saturday August 30, 1913.^[2]

It had a capacity of 1,892 seats divided as follows: 799 orchestra (floor) seats, 537 balcony seats, 478 gallery seats and 78 box seats. The stage had a proscenium opening of 34x28 ft. and a 4 ft. apron. The theatre was equipped with 110 A.C. electricity and the backstage area featured 12 dressing rooms.^[5]

The building, its façade still standing today, has a 97 feet wide fronting on 149th street, between Bergen and Brooke Avenue and it runs back 205 feet to 148th street. A three storey commercial building was on 149th street. That space, apart from the 25 foot lobby leading to the theater, was originally leased to William Gibson and Gustave Beiswenger as a restaurant, café and banquet hall on the first and second floor named the Bronx Opera House Restaurant,^[6] the third floor being used as lodge rooms.

Emphasis was put on fire safety. An area-way demanded by the Department of Public Safety ran from street to street on either side of the theatre, affording ample space for substantial steel stairways leading down from the emergency exits.^[7]

An automatic asbestos safety curtain fronted the entr'acte drop, which was decorated with a damask valance separated into three sections, fringed with galloons. The centre of each section was embroidered with an embossed wreath, giving them a rich effect, materially enhanced by a highlight gold border running the full width of the curtain.^[7]

At the time of its opening, the color scheme interior of the house was ivory, green and old gold. The decorations were in the Italian Renaissance style. The ornamental work on the ceiling and box fronts and columns was old gold. The ornamental plaster work had been treated with an ivory tint, stenciled to harmonized with the wall coverings which were of silk damask. The body of the silk damask wall decorations was of a light green pattern harmonizing in color. Draperies of the same character in heavy velvet, treated with gold, with ornate center wreath medallions, constituted the box decorations.

Three mural paintings were adorning the auditorium ceiling. These represented the Temple of Love, Love Accused Before Jove, and Repose and Laughter.^[8]

In the foyer and aisles were carpets of green, two shades darker than the wall coverings and draperies. A feature of the Bronx Opera House was the diffused lighting arrangements. The sunburst, or center ceiling light fixture, was five feet in diameter. The small lights of the auditorium were so arranged as to be concealed from the eye.^[9] The second balcony and main auditorium were equipped with the same indirect alba glass globes.

Ventilation was achieved by a system of tubing built in the walls and foundations leading to and connecting on the roof with a high-power electric fan that drove the cold air down under the concrete floor of the auditorium, into which it was filtered by way of innumerable colanders installed under seats, making it possible to keep the temperature of the interior "healthful", no matter what conditions prevailed outside.^[7]

Performers included the Marx Brothers, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Julia Marlowe, Ethel Barrymore and Lionel Barrymore, David Warfield.^[4][10] Other performers at the theatre included George M. Cohan, Eddie Cantor, John Bunny, Harry Houdini, Peggy Wood^[11] and Fats Waller.^[12] Post-Broadway shows were often performed and the theater hosted the Aborn Opera Company.^[3]

The Bronx Opera House is often confused with the Percy G. Williams’ New Bronx Opera House built in 1909 and located at 567 Melrose Avenue (corner of 150th Street), later renamed the B.F. Keith’s Bronx Theatre, which was a different venue featuring vaudeville shows.

Development and construction (1911-1913)

George M. Cohan and Sam H. Harris had the idea of building a combination theater above the Harlem River probably as early as 1911 as they were actively looking for a site at the very beginning of 1912. The trade newspaper Variety was reporting at the time that the two sites considered were at 150th street and Westchester Avenue and the other at 163rd Street and Prospect Avenue.^[13]

Speculations were Cohan and Harris had secured a contract from Morgenthau-Hudson realty to build a 1,600 seats theatre for them at the 150th street location.^[13] Trouble occurred when it was announced on the front page of Variety on January 20, 1912 that the Shuberts were planning to build a legitimate house in the Bronx as well. New York theater managers generally felt that while the Bronx was a fertile field for one such theatre to show the Broadway attractions at reasonable prices (all of the other theaters in the neighborhood were vaudeville), two theaters of similar policy in that section would only mean that either would be fortunate to break even.^[14]

There were good reasons to worry. A bitter competition already existed between Cohan & Harris' Grand Opera House at 8th Avenue and 23rd Street and the Shuberts’ Manhattan Opera House at 34th Street.^[14] Sam H. Harris attempt at negotiating a deal with Lee Shubert failed and Cohan & Harris promptly announced the following week they were walking out on the entire project.^[15]

Three months later however, in early May, Sam H. Harris confirmed to Variety they had secured a site on 149th Street just east of 3rd avenue to build a sister theater to their Manhattan Grand Opera House and that it would be in operation by November.^[16] Then on June 8, 1912 details of the project are officially announced. The name of the theater is The Bronx Opera House at 438 to 444 east 149th street, the lease secured from Frederick Schnaufer that same day. George M. Keister who designed the George M. Cohan Theater at Broadway and 43rd Street is the architect and he has the plans ready. Cohan & Harris via their Bronx 149th Street Realty Company have already leased the commercial space to Gibson and Beiswenger, who own the Criterion Restaurant at the corner of 3rd Avenue,^[17] for a cafe, restaurant and banquet hall on 149th street before construction has even begun.^[18]

Despite their clever maneuvering with the Shuberts, Cohan and Harris still end up facing competition in the Bronx. On August 29, John Cort announces the construction of the "Royal Theatre" in association with Frank Gersten. A combination house with a seating capacity of 2,500 located at Westchester, 3rd Avenue and 150th Street, a mere four block away from the Bronx Opera House that is to be completed by December 15.^[19]

This latest announcement revives the anxieties of theater managers in New York. When asked if he was interested in any new theaters in the city beyond the Harlem River, Harry Frazee was quoted by the New York Sun as saying he thanked the creator that he had no project underway in the Bronx.^[20]

September 9, 1912, the Daily Standard Union: Brooklyn announces Cramp & Co. has been awarded the construction contract^[21] for the Bronx Opera House, a fireproof building with exterior of brick, limestone and terra cotta requiring an expenditure of $250,000.^[22]

As construction gets quickly underway, a partnership is formed with A.H. Woods who came on board with an interest of one-third and an interest in management as well. There is little or no excavation to be done and the then estimated 2,500 seats house is expected to be ready by December. This partnership with A.H. Woods is perceived by many in the industry as a game changer. It is seen either as an attempt by the two firms to break free from the Syndicates or an attempt to become their own Syndicate altogether.^[23] Rumors are promptly denied by both parties.^[24]

It seems unlikely that the Bronx Opera House could have open in November or even December 1912 as announced, construction having started in September. Besides, it would have been odd to open a new theater in the middle of the theatrical season.

In the meantime, the development of its direct competitor, Cort and Gersten's Royal Theatre, seems to be plagued with an unnatural number of problems. The first major blow comes in late February 1913 when the Building Department, fed up with the construction being pushed forward despite the numerous violations issued against the building, obtains a court order restraining the contractors from doing any further work until all said violations are cleared up. The most serious is said to be on the walls, which are not of the required thickness.^[25] Then two months later, the Shuberts and Klaw & Erlanger announce that they will play all their shows at the Bronx Opera House, shutting out the Royal Theatre.^[26] This must have been devastating news to Cort and Gersten. They had started building their theater with the expectation they would play the Shuberts and other shows, now they have to rely primarily on John Cort's attractions. Despite all these hurdles, the Royal Theatre will finally open ten days after the Bronx Opera House on September 8, 1913.

The Bronx Opera House is officially dedicated on August 30, 1913 and opens with Eugene Walter's play Fine Feathers^[2]

Theatrical Seasons

1913-1914

Manager: Richard Madden
Treasurer: Harry Cullen

Show times: Evening, 8:15 pm, matinees (Wed., Sat. & holidays), 2.15 pm
Ticket prices: twenty-five cents to a dollar with bargain matinees at twenty-five and fifty cents.^[27]

August 30, 1913: Opening night. Cohan, Harris and Woods' plan to offer Broadway plays at popular prices north of 125th street seem to pay-off. The Bronx Opera House opens its doors to "an immense audience"^[8] with the H.H. Farzee's production of Fine Feathers.^[2] It's a scene long to be remembered as the crowd gathers around the entrance. Old Bronxites stand amazed as car after car whirls up to the curb and discharges its burden of fashion, wealth and beauty. It's Broadway transferred uptown. Longacre Square at its busiest hour could not show a more fashionable or a more cultured assemblage. Long before opening time, the street is jammed with a good humored crowd.^[28]

Inside, George Cohan, Sam Harris, A.H. Woods and H.H. Frazee all attend the performance. There is also a delegation from the New York Friars' Club in the audience, George Cohan being the Abbot of the organization at the time. Sam Harris is indefatigable and everywhere, acting as manager, usher and doorman.^[28] Max Figman, who plays in Fine Feathers, delivers an address presenting the theatre on behalf of the management and the address of acceptance on behalf of the people of the Bronx is made by Assemblyman Louis D. Gibbs during which he pays a tribute to the genius and enterprise who gave to the Borough one of the most beautiful theatres in the world.^[28]

Outside, the crowd gathering is such that the Police is called to clear the sidewalk and the street.^[29]

The play is a huge hit and at the end of the last act, the cast has to answer to no less than six curtain calls.^[28]

Fine Feathers concludes a successful nine days engagement and is replaced the following week by the de Koven Opera Company production of Robin Hood.^[30] Attendance for the second week shows no sign of slowing down, it is described as a "large audience".^[31]

The above-mentioned shows had two things in common, they were long running commercial success and they both featured their original Broadway cast. In fact, in the case of Fine Feathers it was the same cast that not only staged the play for over a hundred shows at the Astor but also at the Cort in Chicago where it premiered the year before with the notable exception of the role of the maid. In other words, Cohan & Harris were playing it safe for their grand opening.

There is little doubt that the highlight of this first season was "Broadway Jones", a comedy written, produced, directed and played by George M. Cohan in his own brand new theater in the Bronx. It was a vehicle for his farewell tour as an actor and both his parents were on stage with him. The play was due to open on Monday September 22 was postponed until the next day because Cohan wanted one more day for rehearsal.

The singer-actor, Fiske O'Hara, goes on the stage of the Bronx Opera House for the first time October 13, 1913 in "In Old Dublin". He will invariably appear every season for the next ten years making him a staple of the theater.

Another memorable night would have been December 8, 1913 for the premiere of George Middleton's The Prodigal Judge. The Bronx crowds were used to post-Broadway shows making their way to their borough, a new play making its debut in the Bronx was something else. That Monday night, every seat was occupied, even the boxes being filled with first-nighters.^[32]

This was the offering of the Bronx Opera House for the 1913-1914 season (not including Sunday afternoon's vaudeville)

Date	Show	Author	Production
08/30/1913	Fine Feathers	Eugene Walter	H.H. Frazee
09/08/1913	Robin Hood	Reginald De Koven	de Koven Opera Company
09/15/1913	Stop Thief	Carlyle Moore	Cohan & Harris
09/23/1913	Broadway Jones	George M. Cohan	Cohan & Harris
09/29/1913	The Ghost Breaker	Paul Dickey and Charles W. Goddard	Maurice Campbell
10/06/1913	Years of Discretion	Frederick Hatton and Fanny Locke Hatton	David Belasco
10/13/1913	In Old Dublin	Augustus Pitou, Sr.	Augustus Pitou, Jr.
10/20/1913	The Argyle Case	Harriet Ford and Harvey J. O'Higgins	Klaw & Erlanger
10/27/1913	The Master Mind	Daniel D. Carter	Louis F. Werba and Mark A. Luescher
11/03/1913	Widow by Proxy	Catherine Chisholm Cushing	Liebler & Co.
11/10/1913	Who's Who?	Richard Harding Davis	Charles Frohman
11/17/1913	Spring Maid	Harry B. Smith and Robert B. Smith	Louis F. Werba and Mark A. Luescher
11/24/1913	The Inner Shrine	Channing Pollock	Arthur G. Delamater
12/01/1913	The Conspiracy	John Roberts	Charles Frohman
12/08/1913	The Prodigal Judge	George Middleton	Arthur G. Delamater
12/15/1913	The Old Homestead	Denman Thompson and George W. Ryer	Cohan & Harris
12/22/1913	Mutt and Jeff in Panama	Owen Davis and Will H. Cobb
12/29/1913	Maggie Pepper	Charles Klein	Henry B. Harris
01/05/1914	Primrose and Dockstader's Twentieth Century Minstrels
01/12/1914	The Typhoon	Emil Nyitray and Byron Ongley	Walker Whiteside
01/19/1914	The Man Inside	Roland Burnham Molineux	David Belasco
01/26/1914	The Rainbow	A. E. Thomas	Henry Miller
02/02/1914	The Trail of the Lonesome Pine	Eugene Walter	Klaw & Erlanger
02/09/1914	The Fight	Bayard Veiller	Joseph M. Gaites
02/16/1914	The Grain of Dust	Louis Evan Shipman	James K. Hackett
02/23/1914	Damaged Goods	Eugene Brieux and James Warbasse	Richard Bennett and Wilton Lackaye, Jr.
03/02/1914	Shameen Dhu	Rida Johnson Young	Henry Miller
03/09/1914	Adele	Adolf Philipp and Edward A. Paulton	New Era Producing Co.
03/16/1914	The Madcap Duchess	David Stevens and Justin Huntly McCarthy	H. H. Frazee
03/23/1914	Nearly Married	Edgar Selwyn	Cohan & Harris
03/30/1914	The Strange Woman	William J. Hurlbut	Klaw & Erlanger
04/06/1914	The Midnight Girl	Paul Hervé	Adolf Philipp company
04/13/1914	Along Came Ruth	Holman Day	Henry W. Savage
04/20/1914	Madame X	Alexandre Bisson
04/27/1914	Everywoman (two weeks)	Walter Browne	Henry W. Savage

1914-1915

In its November 7, 1914 edition, Variety estimates that "The Story of the Rosary" brought in $6,900 to the Bronx Opera House but that the theatre has had an average of 9 to $10,000 per week since the beginning of the season. Pretty good considering the 1914-1915 season showed an almost unbroken line of failures at the box office in the industry in general.^[33] Although poor performance is generally attributed to war uncertainties, the Bronx Opera House good numbers are most likely due to the elimination of the Royal Theatre.^[34] By mid January 1915 it is estimated to be the most profitable combination theater in New York with an average business of $8,000 a week. Potash and Perlmutter alone did an estimated $9,900 in one week and The Crinoline Girl $9,700.^[35]

A motion picture will be shown for the first time at the Bronx Opera House on December 14. A silent documentary titled Belgian War Scenes, it featured an actual battle in progress, shells bursting, men falling in the trenches and the care of the wounded.^[36]

John Barrymore is on stage April 19 for a week in Willard Mack's Kick-In.

Offering for the 1914-1915 season:

Date	Show	Author	Production
09/05/1914	To-Day	George Broadhurst	(Company A. cast)
09/14/1914	Peg O' My Heart	J. Hartley Manners	Oliver Morosco
09/28/1914	Seven Keys to Baldpate	George M. Cohan	Cohan & Harris
10/12/1914	The Crinoline Girl	Otto Hauerbach	A. H. Woods
10/19/1914	Madam President	Jose G. Levy	Charles Frohman
10/26/1914	The Story of the Rosary	Walter Howard	Comstock & Gest
11/02/1914	The Dummy	Harvey J. O'Higgins and Harriet Ford	Play-Producing Co.
11/09/1914	The Things That Count	Laurence Eyre	William A. Brady
11/16/1914	Within the Law	Bayard Veiller	Selwyn and Company
11/23/1914	Too Many Cooks	Frank Craven	William A. Brady
11/30/1914	The Midnight Girl	Paul Hervé
12/07/1914	The Third Party	Mark Swan	F. Ray Comstock
12/14/1914	Belgian war scenes, motion pictures	Edwin F. Weigle (Director)	The Popular Motion Picture Co.
12/25/1914	The Miracle Man	George M. Cohan	Cohan & Harris
12/28/1914	Sari	Emmerich Kálmán	Henry W. Savage
01/04/1915	Potash and Perlmutter	Montague Glass and Charles Klein	A. H. Woods
01/11/1915	Heart of Paddy Whack	Rachel Crothers	Henry Miller
01/18/1915	The High Cost of Loving	Frank Mandel	A. H. Woods
01/25/1915	Innocent	George Broadhurst	A. H. Woods
02/01/1915	So Much for So Much	Willard Mack	H. H. Frazee
02/08/1915	The Belle of Bond Street	Harold Atteridge and Owen Hall	Lee & J.J. Shubert
02/15/1915	The Misleading Lady	Charles W. Goddard and Paul Dickey	William H. Harris, Jr.
02/22/1915	Sis Hopkins
03/01/1915	Seven Keys to Baldpate	George M. Cohan	Cohan & Harris
03/08/1915	A Pair of Sixes	Edward Peple	H. H. Frazee
03/15/1915	Bunny in Funnyland	John Bunny
03/22/1915	The Beauty Shop	Channing Pollock	Cohan & Harris
03/29/1915	The Bird of Paradise	Richard Walton Tully	Oliver Morosco
04/05/1915	Jack's Romance	Augustus Pitou, Sr.	Augustus Pitou, Jr.
04/12/1915	The Prince of Pilsen	Gustav Luders
04/19/1915	Kick-In	Willard Mack	A. H. Woods
04/26/1915	A Mix Up	Parker A. Hord	Lee & J.J. Shubert

1915-1916

Manager: J. J. Rosenthal
Show times: Evening, 8:15 pm, matinees (Wed., Sat. & holidays), 2.15 pm
Ticket prices: twenty-five cents to a dollar with bargain matinees at twenty-five and fifty cents.

A young Richard Dix was on the stage of the Bronx Opera House on December 7 for a one-week engagement of The Hawk.

D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation was shown for two weeks accompanied by a thirty pieces orchestra.^[37] It was scheduled for an encore presentation on May 1, 1916 but was cancelled to make room for The House of Glass.^[38]

On June 7, during the six weeks engagement of the Aborn Opera Company, Beppo, a donkey who was appearing on stage in Pagliacci was tied by its keeper to a car parked in front of the theater. The Aborn Company was putting on Cavalleria Rusticana after Pagliacci and the keeper whose sympathies were divided between mules and music thought to slip back in the theater and hear an aria or two. When the keeper came out, the red car was gone and so was Beppo the donkey, a ten years veteran of the stage.^[39]

Date	Show	Author	Production
08/28/1915	The Yellow Ticket	Michael Morton	A. H. Woods
09/06/1915	Twin Beds	Salisbury Field and Margaret Mayo	William H. Harris, Jr.
09/13/1915	On Trial	Elmer L. Rice	Cohan & Harris
09/20/1915	It Pays to Advertise	Roi Cooper Megrue and Walter Hackett	Cohan & Harris
09/27/1915	Under Cover	Roi Cooper Megrue	Selwyn & Co.
10/04/1915	A Full House	Fred Jackson	H. H. Frazee
10/11/1915	Kick In	Willard Mack	A. H. Woods
10/18/1915	Song of Songs	Edward Sheldon	A. H. Woods
10/25/1915	High Jinks	Otto Hauerbach	Arthur Hammerstein
11/15/1915	The Bubble	Edward Locke	Lee & J.J. Shubert
11/22/1915	Cousin Lucy (Two Weeks)	Charles Klein	A. H. Woods
12/07/1915	The Hawk	Francis De Croisset
12/18/1915	The Birth of a Nation	D. W. Griffith	D. W. Griffith
12/27/1915	Young America	Fred Ballard	Cohan & Harris
01/03/1916	The Road to Happiness	Lawrence Whitman	Lee Shubert
01/17/1916	Marie Odile	Edward Knoblauch	David Belasco
01/24/1916	Beverly's Balance	Paul Kester
02/07/1916	Experience	George V. Hobart	William Elliott
02/14/1916	The Girl Who Smiles	Paul Hervé & Jean Briquet
02/21/1916	The New Henrietta	Bronson Howard	Klaw & Erlanger
02/28/1916	Some Baby	Zellah Covington and Jules Simonson
03/13/1916	Daddy Long Legs	Jean Webster	Henry Miller
03/20/1916	Kilkenny	Augustus Pitou, Sr.	Augustus Pitou, Jr.
04/17/1916	Potash and Perlmutter in Society	Montague Glass	A. H. Woods
04/24/1916	The Lie	Margaret Illington
05/01/1916	The House of Glass	Max Marcin	Cohan & Harris
05/08/1916	Madama Butterfly (in English)	Giacomo Puccini	The Aborn Opera Company
05/11/1916	Martha (in English)	Friedrich von Flotow	The Aborn Opera Company
05/12/1916	Hansel and Gretel (in English, just one matinee)	Engelbert Humperdinck	The Aborn Opera Company
05/15/1916	Aida (in English)	Giuseppe Verdi	The Aborn Opera Company
05/18/1916	Il Trovatore (in English)	Giuseppe Verdi	The Aborn Opera Company
05/22/1916	Carmen (in English)	Georges Bizet	The Aborn Opera Company
05/25/1916	The Tales of Hoffman (in English)	Jacques Offenbach	The Aborn Opera Company
05/26/1916	Hansel and Gretel (in English, one matinee)	Engelbert Humperdinck	The Aborn Opera Company
05/29/1916	Lucia di Lammermoor (in English)	Gaetano Donizetti	The Aborn Opera Company
06/01/1916	Rigoletto	Giuseppe Verdi	The Aborn Opera Company
06/05/1916	Pagliacci & Cavalleria Rusticana	Leoncavallo & Mascagni	The Aborn Opera Company
06/08/1916	Faust	Charles Gounod	The Aborn Opera Company
06/12/1916	The Bohemian Girl	Alfred Bunn & Michael William Balfe	The Aborn Opera Company

1916-1917

Common Clay breaks the house record on September 4 (Labor Day) drawing $9,697.^[40]

John Barrymore is back on the stage of the Bronx Opera House September 26 in John Galsworthy's Justice

Julian Eltinge returns to the Bronx Opera House on Christmas Day with Cousin Lucy, a show so successful the previous season, it had been extended a second week. The cast remains the same but this 1916 production of the show features new songs, new music and new costumes, "those who saw it before will have to rub their eyes to make sure they are not really looking at a new production".^[41]

Offering for the 1916-1917 season:

Date	Show	Author	Production
09/02/1916	Common Clay	Cleves Kinkead	A. H. Woods
09/18/1916	Broadway and Buttermilk	Willard Mack & Charles Grant	Frederic McKay
09/26/1916	Justice	John Galsworthy	Corey-Williams-Riter, Inc.
10/02/1916	Hobson's Choice	Harold Brlghthouse	F. Ray Comstock
10/09/1916	The Fear Market	Amélie Rives	Harrison Grey Fiske and George Mooser
10/23/1916	Very Good Eddie	Philip Martholomae	Marbury-Comstock Co.
11/06/1916	Just a Woman	Eugene Walter	Lee & J.J. Shubert
11/27/1916	His Bridal Night (two weeks)	Lawrence Rising	A. H. Woods
12/11/1916	Erstwhile Susan	Marian De Forest	Corey-Williams-Riter, Inc.
12/25/1916	Cousin Lucy	Charles Klein	A. H. Woods
01/01/1917	Fair and Warmer	Avery Hopwood	Selwyn & Co.
01/08/1917	The Flame	Richard Walton Tully	Richard Walton Tully
01/22/1917	His Heart's Desire	Anna Nichols & Adelaide Matthews	Augustus Pitou Jr.
01/29/1917	His Majesty Bunker Bean	Lee Wilson Dodd	Joseph Brooks
02/05/1917	Good Gracious Annabelle	Clare Kummer	Arthur Hopkins
02/12/1917	Watch your Step	Irving Berlin	Charles Dillingham
02/19/1917	Pollyanna	Catherine Chisholm Cushing	Klaw & Erlanger
02/26/1917	The Heart of Paddy Whack	Ernest R. Ball	Henry Miller
03/05/1917	Alone at Last	Franz Lehár	Lee & J.J. Shubert
03/12/1917	Captain Kidd, Jr.	Rida Johnson Young	Cohan & Harris
03/19/1917	So Long Letty	Earl Carroll	Oliver Morosco
03/26/1917	Pom Pom	Hugo Felix	Henry W. Savage
04/09/1917	The Great Lover	Leo Ditrichstein, Frederic Hatton and Fanny Hatton	Cohan & Harris
04/16/1917	The Great Divide	William Vaughn Moody	Henry Miller
04/23/1917	Little Lady in Blue	Horace Hodges & T. Wigney Percyval	David Belasco
04/30/1917	The Princess Pat	Victor Herbert	John Cort
05/07/1917	Madama Butterfly	Giacomo Puccini	The Aborn Opera Company
05/10/1917	La Boheme	Giacomo Puccini	The Aborn Opera Company
05/28/1917	The Blue Paradise	Edmund Eysler & Sigmund Romberg	The Aborn Opera Company
06/04/1917	The Chocolate Soldier	Oscar Straus	The Aborn Opera Company

1917-1918

Manager J.J. Rosenthal fires the first gun of the theatrical season by giving a monster patriotic benefit August 19, 1917. The theatre has been redecorated and with the Golden Lobby of fame looking more attractive than ever, is ready to receive Emma Dunn in Old Lady 31, Saturday, August 25 as the opening attraction of the regular season.^[42]

John and Lionel Barrymore are on stage November 19 in John Raphael's play Peter Ibbetson.

The third mini-season of the Aborn Opera Company does not fare as well as the previous two. The contract's terms were the same: booked for three weeks with more time optional. However returns were not found satisfactory and their engagement ended after only two weeks.^[43]

Offering for the 1917-1918 season:

Date	Show	Author	Production
08/11/1917	My Irish Cinderella	Cecil Spooner
08/20/1917	Jerry	Catherine Chisholm
08/25/1917	Old Lady 31	Rachel Crothers	Lee Kugel
09/03/1917	Cheating Cheaters	Max Marcin	A. H. Woods
09/10/1917	The Knife	Eugene Walter	Lee & J.J. Shubert
09/17/1917	The Brat	Maude Fulton	Oliver Morosco
09/24/1917	Lilac Time	Jane Cowl	Selwyn & Co.
10/01/1917	Molly Dear	Cecil B. DeMille	Andrew Mack
10/15/1917	Her Soldier Boy	Sigmund Romberg & Emmerich Kalman	Lee & J.J. Shubert
10/22/1917	The Inner Man	Abraham Schomer	Lee & J.J. Shubert
10/29/1917	Upstairs and Down	Frederic Hatton and Fanny Hatton	Oliver Morosco
11/05/1917	Chin Chin	Anne Caldwell & R.H. Burnside	Charles Dillingham
11/12/1917	Mary's Ankle	May Tully	A. H. Woods
11/19/1917	Peter Ibbetson	John N. Raphael	Lee & J.J. Shubert
11/26/1917	The Man Who Came Back (two weeks)	Jules Eckert Goodman	William A. Brady
12/10/1917	The Thirteenth Chair	Bayard Veiller	William Harris, Sr. & William H. Harris, Jr.
12/17/1917	The Very Idea	William Le Baron	G. M. Anderson & L. Lawrence Weber
12/24/1917	Leave it to Jane	Book by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse; Music by Jerome Kern	Elliott, Comstock, Gest
12/31/1917	Daybreak	Jane Cowl	Selwyn & Co.
01/07/1918	Once Upon a Time	Rachel Crothers	Cohan & Harris
01/14/1918	Pollyanna	Catherine Chisholm Cushing	Klaw & Erlanger
01/21/1918	The Man from Wicklow	Anne Nichols	Augustus Pitou, Jr.
01/28/1918	De Luxe Annie	Edward Clark	Arthur Hammerstein
02/25/1918	The Country Cousin	Booth Tarkington & Julian Street	Klaw & Erlanger
03/04/1918	What's Your Husband Doing?	George V. Hobart	Hobart-Jordan Co.
03/11/1918	The Boomerang	Winchell Smith & Victor Mapes	David Belasco
03/18/1918	Nothing but the Truth	James Montgomery	H. H. Frazee
04/01/1918	The Madonna of the Future	Alan Dale	Oliver Morosco
05/20/1918	Aida	Giuseppe Verdi	The Aborn Opera Company
05/21/1918	Pagliacci & Cavalleria Rusticana	Leoncavallo & Mascagni	The Aborn Opera Company
05/22/1918	Aida (Matine)	Giuseppe Verdi	The Aborn Opera Company
05/22/1918	Lucia di Lammermoor (Evening)	Gaetano Donizetti	The Aborn Opera Company
05/23/1918	La Gioconda	Amilcare Ponchielli	The Aborn Opera Company
05/24/1918	Rigoletto (evening)	Giuseppe Verdi	The Aborn Opera Company
05/25/1918	Lucia di Lammermoor (Matine)	Gaetano Donizetti	The Aborn Opera Company
05/25/1918	Il Trovatore (Evening)	Giuseppe Verdi	The Aborn Opera Company
05/27/1918	Pagliacci & Cavalleria Rusticana	Leoncavallo & Mascagni	The Aborn Opera Company
05/28/1918	La Gioconda	Amilcare Ponchielli	The Aborn Opera Company
05/29/1918	Il Trovatore (Matine)	Giuseppe Verdi	The Aborn Opera Company
05/29/1918	Rigoletto (evening)	Giuseppe Verdi	The Aborn Opera Company
05/30/1918	The Barber of Seville	Gioachino Rossini	The Aborn Opera Company
05/31/1918	La Traviata	Giuseppe Verdi	The Aborn Opera Company
06/01/1918	Faust (Matine)	Charles Gounod	The Aborn Opera Company
06/01/1918	Aida (Evening)	Giuseppe Verdi	The Aborn Opera Company

1918-1919

Manager: J.J. Rosenthal (Until December), Mike Selwyn (January through June)
Treasurer: Maurice Louis Silverstein
Doorman: August L. Heckler

The Bronx Opera House starts to experiment with ticket price increases. "Going Up" opens March 17 to a new scale of matinees: 25 cents to 75 cents; evenings: 25 cents to $1.50.^[44]

Offering for the 1918-1919 season:

Date	Show	Author	Production
9/2/1918	The Little Teacher	Harry James Smith	Cohan & Harris
9/9/1918	Eyes of Youth	Max Marcin & Charles Guernon	A.H. Woods & Lee and J.J. Shubert
9/16/1918	Oh Boy!	Book by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse; Music by Jerome Kern	William Elliott and F. Ray Comstock
9/23/1918	The Man Who Stayed at Home	Lechmere Worrall and J. E. Harold Terry	William Moore Patach
9/30/1918	Turn to the Right	Winchell Smith and John E. Hazzard	Winchell Smith
10/7/1918	Seventeen	Hugh Stanislaus Stange and Stannard Mears	Stuart Walker
10/14/1918	Nancy Lee	Eugene Walter and H. Crownin Wilson	The Estate of Henry B. Harris
10/21/1918	Parlor, Bedroom and Bath	C. W. Bell and Mark Swan	A.H. Woods
10/28/1918	Tiger Rose	Willard Mack	David Belasco
11/11/1918	Eyes of Youth	Max Marcin & Charles Guernon	A.H. Woods & Lee and J.J. Shubert
11/18/1918	Getting Together	Ian Hay, J. Hartley Manners and Percival Knight	British-Canadian Recruiting Mission and U.S. Military and Naval Forces
11/25/1918	The Copperhead	Augustus Thomas	John D. Williams
12/2/1918	The Wanderer	Maurice V. Samuels	William Elliott, F. Ray Comstock and Morris Gest
12/23/1918	The Man Who Came Back	Jules Eckert Goodman	William A. Brady
12/30/1918	The Auctioneer	Charles Klein and Lee Arthur	David Belasco David Warfield
1/13/1919	Marry in Haste	Anna Nichols	Augustus Pitou
1/20/1919	Maytime	Book by Rida Johnson Young; Music by Sigmund Romberg	Lee & JJ Shubert
1/27/1919	Seven Days' Leave	Walter Howard
2/3/1919	Polly With a Past	George Middleton and Guy Bolton	David Belasco
2/10/1919	Business Before Pleasure (Two Weeks)	Montague Glass and Jules Eckert Goodman	A. H. Woods
3/10/1919	Flo-Flo	Book by Fred De Gresac; Music by Silvio Hein; Lyrics by Edward Paulton and Fred De Gresac	John Cort
3/17/1919	Going Up	Book by Otto Hauerbach; Music by Louis A. Hirsch	Cohan & Harris
3/24/1919	A Tailor-Made Man	Harry James Smith	Cohan & Harris
3/31/1919	Lombardi, Ltd.	Frederic Hatton and Fanny Hatton	Oliver Morosco
4/7/1919	The Little Brother	Milton Goldsmith and Benedict James	Walter Hast
4/14/1919	Tiger Rose	Willard Mack	David Belasco
4/21/1919	Maytime	Book by Rida Johnson Young; Music by Sigmund Romberg	Lee & JJ Shubert
4/28/1919	Richelieu	Bulewer Lytton
4/29/1919	Hamlet	William Shakespeare
4/30/1919	The Merchant of Venice	William Shakespeare
5/1/1919	King Lear	William Shakespeare
5/2/1919	Macbeth	William Shakespeare
5/3/1919	Richard III	William Shakespeare
5/5/1919	The Crowded Hour	Edgar Selwyn and Channing Pollock	Selwyn & Co.
5/12/1919	The Voice of McConnell	George M. Cohan	Cohan & Harris
5/19/1919	Tiger! Tiger!	Edward Knoblauch	David Belasco
5/26/1919	Remnant	Dario Niccodemi and Michael Morton	Charles Emerson Cook
6/2/1919	So Long Letty	Book by Oliver Morosco and Elmer Harris; Music & Lyrics by Earl Carroll	Oliver Morosco

1919-1920

At the start of the season, the Riviera at 97th street (also part of the Subway Circuit) raise its top prices from $1 to $1.50, the Bronx Opera House quickly follows. This is the first permanent increase in ticket prices in 6 years but an expected one. Times Square theatres have titled their price scale to $2.50 and in some instances when the show is a hit, up to $3.50. Prices won't remain at $1.50 for long. October sees record Box Office numbers due higher prices.^[45] By the end of November 1919, Subway Circuit theaters are already considering raising their ticket prices to $2. The Riviera will again take the lead and make the price hike effective December 22.^[46]

Later Years

When it opened the opera house was considered the best theatre in Bronx borough. It had two separate balconies and a large crystal chandelier in the center of the ceiling. Performances included vaudeville and plays.

By the 1940s was converted to a late-run movie house, shuttering of the upper balcony reduced seating to 1,400, and it became known simply as Bronx Theatre. The theatre lost its license in 1943 after the rape of a 17-year-old worker. Chief Assistant District Attorney Sylvester Ryan said "the theatre as a rendezvous for degenerates and thugs." ^[47] Eight youths were sentenced to reformatory for the crime.^[48][49] The theatre flourished during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s as a Latin music dance club operating as Bronx Casino, Club Caravana and El Cerromar.^[3] In the 1980s it was purchased by a pentecostal church.^[3] Charlie Palmieri recorded Pachanga at the Caravana Club on site in 1961.^[11]

Visits to the theatre are noted in the book Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years.^[50]

Rebirth as the Opera House Hotel

Renovation plans to relaunch it as a performing art center developed in the 1980s but did not proceed. By 2004 the run down auditorium was part of a Spanish evangelical church. The church had moved out before the end of the decade. The auditorium has not survived.

New construction began to convert part of the building into a boutique hotel.^[3][49] Those plans continued to develop in 2012. According to developer Jay Domb, performers at the theater included Harry Houdini and The Marx Brothers "got their vaudeville start here". Domb plans to decorate the hotel with relics and prints of artifacts from the theatre.^[3]

The hotel opened in August 2013 and is one of eight hotel properties owned and operated by the Empire Hotel Group.^[51] The hotel is the first of several boutique hotels which have opened or are being constructed in the Bronx.^[52]

In the summer of 2015 the hotel's water cooling tower was suspected in several cases of Legionnaires’ disease that occurred across several buildings in the area. ^[53]

Myths

Was opened as Keith's Bronx Theatre

...and was later renamed. Dispelled by Bill Twomey in his book "The Bronx, in Bits and Pieces",^[11] this myth originated in the "Directory of Historic American Theatres"^[10] published in 1987 then quoted in "The Papers of Will Rogers: From Vaudeville to Broadway"^[4] published in 2001. The Keith and the Opera House were not only at different locations but theaters of different policies. The Keith was vaudeville, the Opera House, legitimate combination. It makes the claim that the Marx Brothers, George Burns and Gracie Allen played on the stage of the Bronx Opera House dubious.

Wasn't really an opera house

Found in Michael Seth Starr's book, Bobby Darin: A Life,^[54] it should be placed in the historical context of the late 1940s early 1950s when the Bronx Opera House was no longer an Opera House but a movie theater. The Bronx Opera House not only featured comic opera as early as September 1913 but a substantial opera lineup during its 3rd, 4th and 5th season with the Aborn Opera Company.

References