MTC Sets Date for Renaming Biltmore Theatre for Samuel J. Friedman

Manhattan Theatre Club will officially dedicate the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on September 4, lighting the newly renamed theater's marquee for the first time during a ceremony at 261 West 47th Street. The theater will be inaugurated with the world premiere of MTC's To Be or Not to Be, which begins previews September 11 and will open on October 2.

Formerly the Biltmore Theatre, the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre has been named in recognition of the pioneering Broadway publicist, whose life in theater began at the Shubert Organization on the 1937 Cole Porter musical You Never Know. During his long career, Friedman opened National Press Agents with partner Bill Doll and served as VP of Publicity for United Artists Motion Pictures and Billy Rose Enterprises, working press for films such as West Side Story and The Ten Commandments. Friedman, whose press stunts and personality became legendary, worked with stars such as Gypsy Rose Lee, Montgomery Clift, Josephine Baker, Mae West and Marcel Marceau. He passed away in 1974.

The new Samuel J. Friedman theater re-opened in 2003 after an extensive $35 million renovation. The lobby will also be re-named in honor of two of Friedman's associates, publicists Shirley Herz and Bob Ullman, who will be in attendance at the dedication ceremony.