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.
