Broadway History - The Neil Simon Theatre

Originally called The Alvin Theatre, it was built by Alexander H. Pincus in 1927 to showcase the musical comedies of successful Broadway producers Alex Aarons and Vinton Freedley, beginning with Funny Face starring Fred Astaire. The name of the theater was an acronym of their two first names. Designed by Herbert J. Krapp, it is one of his more elegant theaters, particularly the interior, which boasts an eighteenth-century Adameque style with plaster ornamentation reminiscent of Wedgewood pottery and a mural of a pastoral scene over the proscenium. The exterior’s divided facade is also distinctive; due to additional height requirements needed to move scenery, the right side, which houses the theater, is taller than the left side. In 1977, the building was purchased by the Nederlander Organization. On June 29, 1983, the opening night of American playwright Neil Simon‘s Brighton Beach Memoirs, the theater was renamed in his honor. In 1985, Simon’s sequel, Biloxi Blues, also played at the theater.