Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Broadway: Rumored Big Change in Theater Ownership Today as Curtain May Come Down on Jujamcyn After Many Standing Ovations

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Five famous Broadway houses may be changing ownership today.

The rumor on the Rialto, as the late Earl Wilson would say, is that Jujamcyn Theaters is selling its heralded homes to the Ambassador Theater Group.

The New York Post’s Cindy Adams alluded to this in her column last week, very quietly. The theaters are the fabled St. James Theater, the August Wilson, Al Hirschfeld, Eugene O’Neill, and Walter Kerr.

Jujamcyn is not a real word. The theater company get its name from the first three letters of the former owner’s grandchildren’s names: Ju[dith], Jam[es], and Cyn[thia]. No one ever knew how to say it, and now they won’t have to.

The company has been owned since 2009 has been owned by Jordan Roth, the theater producer and son of real estate magnate Steven Roth of Vornado Properties. Jordan Roth, acting with now retired theater producer Rocco Landesman, turned the company into a powerhouse on Broadway. They’re the third largest owner after the Shuberts and Nederlanders.

Currently playing in their houses are some of the biggest hits including “Funny Girl,” “Hadestown,” “Moulin Rouge.” and “The Book of Mormon.” Coming soon to the St. James is “New York, New York” following a sold out run of “Into the Woods.”

ATG owns 58 theaters around the world but only one on Broadway, the Hudson Theater on West 44th St. They also own the Kings Theater in Brooklyn.

So stay tuned.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.
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