Jujamcyn Amusement Corporation
Encyclopedia
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. For many years Jujamcyn was owned by James H. Binger
James H. Binger
James Henry Binger was a lawyer who became Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Honeywell. He was also a well known philanthropist, horse enthusiast and New York and Minneapolis theatre owner and entrepreneur.-Career:...
, former Chairman of Honeywell
Honeywell
Honeywell International, Inc. is a major conglomerate company that produces a variety of consumer products, engineering services, and aerospace systems for a wide variety of customers, from private consumers to major corporations and governments....
, and his wife Virginia McKnight Binger. The organization is now owned by its President, Jordan Roth
Jordan Roth
Jordan Roth is the President and 50% owner of Jujamcyn Theaters, which owns and operates five Broadway theatres, including the St. James, Al Hirschfeld, August Wilson, Eugene O'Neill and Walter Kerr...
, and President Emeritus, Rocco Landesman
Rocco Landesman
Rocco Landesman has been a long-time Broadway theatre producer. In August 2009 he became chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts...
.
The third-largest theatre owner on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
, behind the Shubert Organization and the Nederlander Organization
Nederlander Organization
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 venuesin the United States. Its first acquisition was a lease on the Detroit Opera House in 1912. The building was demolished in...
, Jujamcyn owns five of the 40 Broadway district playhouses, but has created a much-envied business model that has, at times, accounted for as much as one-third of the gross revenues on Broadway. This business model has involved the combination of real estate – Broadway theatre ownership – and producing –active development of new shows and scripts. Jujamcyn has had some notable successes with this model, which has prompted other theatre operators to emulate this approach, to varying degrees.
History
William L. McKnight
William L. McKnight was an American businessman and philanthropist who served his entire career in the 3M corporation, rising to chairman of the board from 1949 to 1966. He founded The McKnight Foundation in 1953....
, former chairman of 3M
3M
3M Company , formerly known as the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation based in Maplewood, Minnesota, United States....
owned several theatres, two in New York and one in Boston. McKnight's daughter, Virginia McKnight Binger and her husband, James H. Binger
James H. Binger
James Henry Binger was a lawyer who became Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Honeywell. He was also a well known philanthropist, horse enthusiast and New York and Minneapolis theatre owner and entrepreneur.-Career:...
, a top executive at Honeywell
Honeywell
Honeywell International, Inc. is a major conglomerate company that produces a variety of consumer products, engineering services, and aerospace systems for a wide variety of customers, from private consumers to major corporations and governments....
, shared a love of theatre. In 1970 when William McKnight wanted to sell his theatres, Binger stepped in to assist. He found the business fascinating, and after paying the gift tax and selling the Colonial Theatre in Boston, he and Virginia agreed to own and later expand the operation on Broadway.
Jujamcyn derives its name from the names of McKnight's grandchildren, the Bingers' children: Ju[dith], Jam[es], and Cyn[thia]. Over time Binger expanded Jujamcyn to five theatres to create the third-largest theatre-owning company on Broadway. The five Jujamcyn theatres are:
- St. James TheatreSt. James TheatreThe St. James Theatre is located at 246 W. 44th St. Broadway, New York City, New York. It was built by Abraham L. Erlanger, theatrical producer and a founding member of the Theatrical Syndicate, on the site of the original Sardi's restaurant. It opened in 1927 as The Erlanger...
, (acquired in 1957 by McKnight) - Al Hirschfeld TheatreAl Hirschfeld TheatreThe Al Hirschfeld Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 302 West 45th Street in midtown-Manhattan.Designed by architect G. Albert Lansburgh for vaudeville promoter Martin Beck, the theatre opened as the Martin Beck Theatre with a production of Madame Pompadour on November 11, 1924. It...
, (formerly the Martin Beck Theatre, acquired in 1966 by McKnight), - Eugene O'Neill TheatreEugene O'Neill TheatreThe Eugene O'Neill Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 230 West 49th Street in midtown-Manhattan.Designed by architect Herbert J. Krapp, it was built for the Shuberts as part of a theatre-hotel complex named for 19th century tragedian Edwin Forrest...
, (acquired in 1982) - Walter Kerr TheatreWalter Kerr TheatreThe Walter Kerr Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre. Located at 219 West 48th Street, it is owned and operated by Jujamcyn Theaters. One of the smaller auditoriums in the theatre district, it seats 975....
(formerly the Ritz Theatre, acquired in 1981), - August Wilson TheatreAugust Wilson TheatreThe August Wilson Theatre, located at 245 West 52nd Street in New York City, is a Broadway theatre.Designed by architects C. Howard Crane and Kenneth Franzheim and constructed by the Theatre Guild, it opened as the Guild Theatre in 1925 with a revival of George Bernard Shaw's Caesar and...
( (acquired in 1981, formerly the Virginia Theatre)
In 1987 Binger brought in Rocco Landesman
Rocco Landesman
Rocco Landesman has been a long-time Broadway theatre producer. In August 2009 he became chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts...
to run Jujamcyn. Landesman was a successful theatrical producer and was friendly with Binger from prior theatrical productions and from a shared interest in race horses. Over the next 17 years Landesman, Binger and the Jujamcyn organization would produce and/or house a successful string of Broadway hits.
Jujamcyn owns just five of the 40 Broadway district playhouses, but created a much-envied business model that has accounted for as much as one-third of the gross revenues. One box office juggernaut was The Producers
The Producers (musical)
The Producers is a musical adapted by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan from Brooks' 1968 film of the same name, with lyrics written by Brooks and music composed by Brooks and arranged by Glen Kelly and Doug Besterman. As in the film, the story concerns two theatrical producers who scheme to get rich...
, which won a record 12 Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
s in 2001. Binger was a life member of the board of the Guthrie Theater
Guthrie Theater
The Guthrie Theater is a center for theater performance, production, education, and professional training in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the result of the desire of Sir Tyrone Guthrie, Oliver Rea, and Peter Zeisler to create a resident acting company that would produce and perform the classics in...
in Minneapolis.
After Binger's death
Virginia Binger died in 2002, and James Binger died in 2004.Rocco Landesman
Rocco Landesman
Rocco Landesman has been a long-time Broadway theatre producer. In August 2009 he became chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts...
, producer and President of Jujamcyn since 1987, announced that he planned to buy Jujamcyn Theatres, telling the New York Times that he had a long-standing understanding with Binger that he would buy Jujamcyn's five playhouses. The theatres had an estimated net asset value of about $30 million
Landesman closed the deal in February 2005 for $30M, but then tried to sell a 50% stake in the group for $50M to enable an investment in the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
team - his group lost out to Robert Castellini
Robert Castellini
Robert Castellini is an American businessman from Cincinnati, Ohio. On January 19 2006, he became Chief Executive Officer of the Cincinnati Reds, leading a group that purchased a majority share of the MLB franchise from previous CEO Carl Lindner, Jr....
.
In 2009 Landesman took a position in Washington as Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
("NEA"), an agency of the United States government. Landesman had been associated with Jujamcyn for 22 years by the time he left for the NEA. Landesman sold a half interest in Jujamcyn to Jordan Roth
Jordan Roth
Jordan Roth is the President and 50% owner of Jujamcyn Theaters, which owns and operates five Broadway theatres, including the St. James, Al Hirschfeld, August Wilson, Eugene O'Neill and Walter Kerr...
, a successful 33 year old theatrical producer who had joined Jujamcyn in 2005. Roth assumed full control of Jujamcyn as Landesman departed for the NEA. While just in his early twenties Roth had produced The Donkey Show
The Donkey Show (musical)
The Donkey Show: A Midsummer Night's Disco is a theatrical adaptation of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. The production, created in a disco-era style, was written by Diane Paulus and her husband Randy Weiner and first appeared Off-Broadway, opening August 18, 1999. The show subsequently...
, which ran for six years off-Broadway. At Jujamcyn Roth had been associated with successful productions of Spring Awakening
Spring Awakening
Spring Awakening is a rock musical adaptation of the controversial 1892 German play of the same title by Frank Wedekind. It features music by Duncan Sheik and a book and lyrics by Steven Sater. Set in late-19th century Germany, it concerns teenagers who are discovering the inner and outer tumult of...
(winner of the Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
for best musical) and the 2009 revival of Hair
Hair (musical)
Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical is a rock musical with a book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt MacDermot. A product of the hippie counter-culture and sexual revolution of the 1960s, several of its songs became anthems of the anti-Vietnam War peace movement...
. Roth's mother, Daryl Roth, is also a theatrical producer.
List of theaters
- If no show is currently running, the play listed is the next show planned (marked with a *).
- If the next show planned is not announced, the play listed is the last one that closed (marked with a #).
| Theatre | Show | Address | Show Opened | Seats >- | Al Hirschfeld Theatre Al Hirschfeld Theatre The Al Hirschfeld Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 302 West 45th Street in midtown-Manhattan.Designed by architect G. Albert Lansburgh for vaudeville promoter Martin Beck, the theatre opened as the Martin Beck Theatre with a production of Madame Pompadour on November 11, 1924. It... |
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock, and Willie Gilbert, based on Shepherd Mead's 1952 book of the same name.... |
302 West 45th Street | Mar. 27, 2010 | >- | Lysistrata Jones | 218 West 48th Street | Dec. 14, 2011 | >- | Book of Mormon Book of Mormon (musical) The Book of Mormon is a religious satire musical with a book, lyrics, and music by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, and Matt Stone. Best known for creating the animated comedy South Park, Parker and Stone co-created the music with Lopez, who co-wrote and co-composed Avenue Q... |
230 West 49th Street | Mar. 24, 2011 | >- | On a Clear Day You Can See Forever On a Clear Day You Can See Forever On a Clear Day You Can See Forever is a musical with music by Burton Lane and a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner based loosely on Berkeley Square, written in 1929 by John L. Balderston. It concerns a woman who has ESP and has been reincarnated... |
246 West 44th Street | Dec. 11, 2011 | >- | August Wilson Theatre August Wilson Theatre The August Wilson Theatre, located at 245 West 52nd Street in New York City, is a Broadway theatre.Designed by architects C. Howard Crane and Kenneth Franzheim and constructed by the Theatre Guild, it opened as the Guild Theatre in 1925 with a revival of George Bernard Shaw's Caesar and... |
Jersey Boys Jersey Boys Jersey Boys is a jukebox musical with music by Bob Gaudio, lyrics by Bob Crewe and book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. It is a documentary-style musical, based on one of the most successful 1960s rock 'n roll groups, the Four Seasons... |
245 West 52nd Street | Nov. 6, 2005 | >- | Total | - | - | - | 6,296 |
See also
- Broadway theatreBroadway theatreBroadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
- Jujamcyn AwardJujamcyn AwardCreated in 1984, The Jujamcyn Theaters Award has been given over 20+ years to honor a resident theater organization that has made an outstanding contribution to the development of creative talent for the theatre. The award has been sponsored by Jujamcyn Amusement Corporation, one of the three...
- award given for 20+ years to outstanding theatre organizations