Nederlander Organization

Nederlander Organization

Type	Private
Industry	Theatre
Founded	1912
Founder	David Nederlander
Headquarters	New York City, New York, United States
Key people	James L. Nederlander James M. Nederlander
Website	www.nederlander.com

The Nederlander Organization, founded in 1912 by David T. Nederlander and based in Detroit, Michigan, is one of the largest operators of legitimate theatres and music venues in the United States. Its first acquisition was a lease on the Detroit Opera House in 1912. The building was demolished in 1928. It later operated the Shubert Lafayette Theatre ^[1] until its demolition in 1964 and the Riviera Theatre, both in Detroit. Since then, the organization has grown to include nine Broadway theatres – making it the second-largest owner of Broadway theatres after the Shubert Organization – and a number of theaters across the United States, including its current Detroit base in the Fisher Building, plus three West End theatres in London, England; and concerts in California.^[2]

Theatres

Broadway theatres

• Brooks Atkinson Theatre
• Gershwin Theatre
• Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
• Marquis Theatre
• Minskoff Theatre
• Nederlander Theatre
• Palace Theatre
• Richard Rodgers Theatre
• Neil Simon Theatre

Former Broadway theatres

• Biltmore Theatre (sold)^[3]
• Henry Miller's Theatre (sold)^[4]
• Mark Hellinger Theatre (sold)
• New Amsterdam Theatre (sold)

West End theatres

• Adelphi Theatre
• Aldwych Theatre
• Dominion Theatre

Other US venues

• Centennial Hall – under contract with the University of Arizona, Tucson
• The Grove of Anaheim – Anaheim, California
• Pantages Theatre – Los Angeles
• Balboa Theatre – San Diego
• Civic Theatre – San Diego
• San Jose Center for the Performing Arts – San Jose, California
• San Jose Civic Auditorium – San Jose, California
• Santa Barbara Bowl – Santa Barbara, California
• Auditorium Theatre – Chicago
• Bank of America Theatre – Chicago
• Broadway Playhouse – Chicago
• Cadillac Palace Theatre – Chicago
• Oriental Theatre – Chicago
• Fisher Theatre – Detroit
• Detroit Opera House – Detroit; operated jointly with Michigan Opera Theatre
• Durham Performing Arts Center – Durham, North Carolina
• North Charleston Performing Arts Center – North Charleston, South Carolina^[5]

Former venues

• Alpine Valley Music Theatre – East Troy, Wisconsin (sold)
• Arie Crown Theater – Chicago (1977-1986; contracted ended)^[6][7]
• Arrowhead Pond – Anaheim, California 1994-2004^[8](management contracted ended)^[9]
• Birmingham Theatre – Birmingham, Michigan (sold and reverted to cinema)
• Bogart's – Cincinnati (sold)
• Concord Pavilion – Concord, California (management contact ended)
• Curran Theatre – San Francisco, California (now operated by Shorenstein Hays Nederlander)
• Fox Tucson Theatre – Tucson, Arizona (chaned venues)
• Fox Theatre – San Diego (management contact ended)
• Golden Gate Theatre – San Francisco (now operated by SHN)
• Greek Theatre – Los Angeles (contract ended in 2015)
• Masonic Theatre – Detroit (management contract ended)
• McVickers Theatre – Chicago^[10]
• Merriweather Post Pavilion – Columbia, Maryland (sold)
• Morris A. Mechanic Theatre – Baltimore (closed)
• National Theatre – Washington, D.C. (1970-1982)^[11]
• New World Music Theater – Tinley Park, Illinois (sold)
• Orpheum Theatre – San Francisco (now operated by SHN)
• Pacific Amphitheatre – Costa Mesa, California (management contact sold)
• Palace West – Phoenix ^[10]
• Pine Knob Music Theatre – Clarkston, Michigan (sold)
• Poplar Creek Music Theater – Hoffman Estates, Illinois (sold and demolished)
• Riverbend Music Center – Cincinnati (booking only, 1984-1999; sold)^[12]
• Fox Performing Arts Center – Riverside, California (contract ended)^[13]
• Grand Riviera Theater – Detroit (closed and later demolished)
• Shubert Lafayette Theatre – Detroit (demolished)
• Studebaker Theatre – Chicago^[10][14]
• Target Center – Minneapolis (co-managed 2004-2007)
• Taft Theatre – Cincinnati (sold)
• Tucson Music Hall – Tucson (management contact ended)
• Wang Theatre – Boston (1982-1984; contracted ended)^[15]
• Wilshire Theatre – Beverly Hills, California (1981-1989; contract ended).^[16]

Subscription series

• Best of Broadway (North Charleston)
• Broadway In Chicago
• Broadway In Detroit
• Broadway Los Angeles (formerly Los Angeles Civic Light Opera)^[17]
• Broadway San Diego (formerly San Diego Playgoers)
• Broadway in Tucson
• SunTrust Broadway (Durham, North Carolina)

Legal actions

In 1993, the Orange County Fair Board purchased the remaining 30 years of Nederlander's 40-year lease on the Pacific Amphitheatre for $12.5 million. The board filed suit against Nederlander in 1995 maintaining that the organization placed restrictive sound covenants in the sale contract that made the venue unusable and therefore eliminated it from competing with the nearby Greek Theatre and Arrowhead Pond.^[18]

In January 2014, Nederlander settled a suit with the U.S. Attorney's Office over violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Under the consent decree, Nederlander agreed to make alterations within three-years to nine of its theatres in New York to make them more accessible and pay a $45,000 penalty. The case was one in a series filed by the U.S. Attorney against a number of public venues in the city.^[19]

Gallery

• 

  Old Detroit Opera House c. 1905

• 

  Shubert Lafayette in July 1942

• 

  Grand Riviera Theatre in Detroit c. 1970

• 

  Grand Riviera Auditorium c. 1970

References

1. George Belunda (September 2009). "The Shubert Theatre". Hour Detroit. Retrieved 2010-04-12.
2. "About Us". The Nederlander Organization. 2008. Retrieved 2009-08-27.
3. Foderaro, Lisa W. (18 April 1997). "43-Story Hotel Planned Over Shuttered Biltmore Theater". The New York Times. Retrieved 2015-11-18.
4. Krefft, Bryan; Wilson, Brian. "Henry Miller's Theatre". CinemaTreasures.org. Retrieved 2013-08-01.
5. Ashley, Dottie (18 July 2004). "Broadway Nights to present five plays". The Post and Courier (Charleston, SC). Retrieved 2013-11-24.
6. Gold, Aaron (19 August 1977). "Tower Ticker". Chicago Tribune (pqarchiver.com). Retrieved 2013-08-01.
7. Smith, Sid (31 August 1986). "'Visionary' Programmer Bets He Can Fill Up Those Seats". Chicago Tribune (chicagotribune.com). Retrieved 2013-08-01.
8. Boehm, Mike (27 January 1994). "Nederlander Makes Inside Move, to Anaheim Arena". Los Angeles Times (LAtimes.com). Retrieved 2014-01-31.
9. Yoshino, Kimi (10 November 2003). "The Pond Has Its Ducks in a Row". Los Angeles Times (LAtimes.com). Retrieved 2014-01-31.
10. Calta, Louis (26 November 1975). "Nederlander Family Adds Alvin to Its Holings". The New York Times (NYTimes.com). Retrieved 2013-08-30.
11. Kakutani, Michiko (21 September 1980). "The Broadway Battle Flares in Washington". The New York Times (NYTimes.com). Retrieved 2013-08-30.
12. "Gang behind the gigs". The Cincinnati Enquirer (cincinnati.com). 20 September 1998. Retrieved 2013-08-30.
13. Robinson, Alicia (20 July 2014). "RIVERSIDE: New Fox theater team gets good reviews". The Press-Enterprise (Riverside). Retrieved 2015-11-24.
14. Schwartz, Arnold (23 March 1963). "Fine Arts Building". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2013-08-30. (subscription required (help)).
15. Foster, Catherine (24 May 1984). "Transforming the Wang Center from pauper to Prince Charming". The Christian Science Monitor (csmonitor.com). Retrieved 2013-08-01.
16. Drake, Sylvie (28 September 1989). "Why the Nederlanders Are Out at Wilshire". Los Angeles Times (LAtimes.com). Retrieved 2013-08-30.
17. Shirley, Don (16 June 1996). "New Image for Civic Light Opera". Los Angeles Times (LAtimes.com). Retrieved 2013-08-01.
18. Hua, Thao (9 June 1998). "Verdict Yields to Settlement Over County Concert Site". Los Angeles Times (LAtimes.com). Retrieved 2014-01-31.
19. "Manhattan U.S. Attorney Files And Simultaneously Settles Lawsuit Against Nederlander Organization Covering Nine Of Broadway’S Most Historic Theaters" (Press release). US Attorney's Office. 29 January 2014. Retrieved 2014-01-14.

External links

• Official website
• Nederlander Worldwide Website