Bye Bye Birdie to Inaugurate Newly Renovated Henry Miller's Theatre

Roundabout Theatre Company’s revival of Bye Bye Birdie will be the first production in the newly renovated Henry Miller’s Theatre on West 43rd Street. A press release from the Durst Organization, which rebuilt the 1,055-seat theater as part of its new 55-story Bank of America Tower, said only that Roundabout “has been selected to program theatrical productions in Henry Miller’s Theatre.” According to The New York Times, Roundabout signed a 20-year lease for what will become its third Broadway venue, including the American Airlines Theatre and Studio 54.

As previously announced, Bye Bye Birdie will begin previews on September 10 and open on October 15 with a cast that includes John Stamos Albert Peterson, Gina Gershon Rose Alvarez, Bill Irwin Harry MacAfee and Jayne Houdyshell Mae Peterson. The limited engagement is scheduled to continue through January 10, 2010, directed and choreographed by Robert Longbottom.

Henry Miller’s Theatre is the first new Broadway theater built in more than a decade and sets new standards for environmentally sustainable design and construction of performing arts venues. The 50,000-square-foot theater is located behind the preserved and restored neo-Georgian facade of the original 1918 theater.

In 1998, Roundabout transformed, reopened and operated the venue as a Broadway theater with its Tony Award-winning production of Kander & Ebb’s Cabaret, which ran for nine months, closed because of a construction accident at an adjacent building, re-opened briefly and transferred to Studio 54 for a five-year run. The Broadway musical Urinetown subsequently played the theater before it was closed for renovations.

Among the “green” features in the new theater are 95% air filtration, carbon dioxide sensors to maximize fresh air supply, and use of healthy, low-emitting materials including Forest Stewardship Council-certified wood products, high-recycled content wall panels and baseboards, locally sourced marble flooring and countertops and waterless urinals to reduce consumption of potable water.

The mezzanine is at street level, and patrons go down one level to the orchestra, where two-thirds of the seating is located. Support for a sophisticated sound system is integrated into the new theater, as well as a larger orchestra pit and a fully functional fly-tower and set-loading facilities. Other amenities include improved public circulation and concessions areas, with a spacious lobby bar at orchestra level, a bar and café at ground level, and a restaurant on the upper mezzanine.

And the bathrooms? There are 22 fixtures in the women’s three times the code requirement and 10 fixtures in the men’s one and a half times the code requirement. The new theater will be fully handicapped accessible with 20 wheelchair positions.