1st Place, Addition
One of the oldest Broadway theaters in Manhattan, the landmarked James Earl Jones Theatre (formerly Cort Theatre), designed by Thomas Lamb in 1912, was struggling to meet the needs of a 21st century audience and theatrical productions. By acquiring a 25-foot-wide adjacent property, rezoning a series of nearby lots with the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure application and securing a Theatre Rehabilitation Bonus, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity became possible for The Shubert Organization, which owns the theater.
Kostow Greenwood Architects’ design goal was to improve the theater-going experience for the patrons and performance experience for the cast and crew by enhancing theater functionality. The challenge was to design and build a new structure with only 35 feet of street frontage, including the adjacent property and an alley, and extending back 100 feet, wedged between a landmarked building to the south and new hotel construction to the west of the property.
Ultimately, The Shubert Organization completed a $47 million major restoration and expansion project for the James Earl Jones Theatre. In addition to historic refurbishments to the interior and rehabilitation of the NYC historic landmark’s façade, the venue now includes an annex, which greatly adds to the modernized experience.
ANNEX DETAILS
Alongside the historic main theater, the new annex was intentionally designed to complement and showcase the historic façade of the existing building.
The intention was to refresh the historic theater finishes, relocate program elements (audience amenity functions and back-of-house support spaces) into the new annex and upgrade the stage technology. One of the largest design challenges was the need to structurally stabilize the historic theater, minimizing the available space on the annex lot. However, by working hand-in-hand with The Shubert Organization, optimal program sizing was determined to maximize usage and efficiency. Overall, there was a 400 percent increase in audience amenities, 50 percent increase in front-of-house support and 135 percent increase in back-of-house support square footage.
The views from the annex to the street scene are dynamic, even with the limited footprint. Five strategically placed corner windows, measuring 8 feet in height and width, and a through-block pedestrian courtyard across the street allow for views in between neighboring buildings. The windows are strategically located so the elements of the historic façade can be seen closeup when traversing the internal monumental Grand Staircase that connects all levels of the annex.
MARRYING THEMES
Marie Antoinette was the theme and inspiration for the existing building, so it was fitting to create a custom-designed, 5-story mural around the annex’s Grand Staircase with a fleur-de-lis-inspired guardrail and a custom-designed, tensioned linear tube chandelier. The mural features a Marie Antoinette cameo at the base along with her favorite flowers spiraling upward. There is a continuous link between the two buildings from a Marie Antoinette bust in the ticket lobby, to the blue backlit proscenium glass, to a mural in the garden above the proscenium, to the 5-story mural in the annex. The light blue-sky background recalls the theater frescoes that depict the gardens of Versailles, alluding to the fact that the Petit Trianon at the Palace of Versailles inspired the classic exterior of the historic theater, and architecture from the period of Louis XVI inspired its interior.
Complementary materials were introduced in the annex to echo the interiors of the historic theater, including bronze/brass, marble, brick, carpet, acoustic wood paneling and upholstery. Energy-efficient light fixtures were placed throughout and dim for different scenes and intermission warnings. Signage was specially designed to add historic character to the more modern lounge area.
The reopening of the James Earl Jones Theatre, in recognition of Jones’ lifetime of immense contributions to Broadway and the entire artistic community, represents The Shubert Organization’s first major theater expansion project in decades.
Jones’ Broadway career began in 1957. In 1958, he played his first role at the Cort Theatre in “Sunrise at Campobello”. During the next six-and-a-half decades, Jones rose to star in countless stage and screen productions, including 21 Broadway shows, becoming one of a small number of lifetime Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony winners. His Broadway career has culminated in the renaming of the Cort Theatre as the James Earl Jones Theatre.
BACK OF HOUSE
The back-of-house spaces were designed for flexibility. The star dressing rooms are linked by common doors, allowing rooms to be combined into a single suite. The wardrobe and chorus rooms are larger open areas that can be adapted and reconfigured for future show needs. The rehearsal space is sized to match the stage but also can be used as an event or meeting space.
Two new, dedicated HVAC systems were included to service the stagehouse and back-of-house spaces. These upgrades, along with a new accessible elevator and modern AV equipment, allow for the presentation of more modern, technically demanding productions with larger casts.
The project’s approach to sustainability was to offset the energy inefficiencies of the existing theater and improve on the human comfort and wellbeing of the occupants. By maintaining and upgrading the existing 100-plus-year-old theater, the overall potential carbon footprint of the project was reduced greatly and allows the building to survive for another 100 years as a state- of-the-art venue. However, because of its age and landmark status, energy improvements proved difficult. New dedicated mechanical systems were installed, but adding insulation to its uninsulated walls was not feasible. As such, the new annex is designed to be a high-performance shell with efficient building systems and materials.
The transformed James Earl Jones Theatre is now home to a multi- functional facility capable of accommodating new performance types. The landmark also is a great addition to the neighborhood and Broadway theater community as a whole.
PHOTOS: Whitney Cox, Adrian Wilson unless otherwise noted
Retrofit Team
METAMORPHOSIS AWARD WINNER, ARCHITECT, INTERIOR ARCHITECT AND MURAL DESIGNER: Kostow Greenwood Architects
RESTORATION ARCHITECT: Francesca Russo Architect, www.francescarusso.com
M/P/FPENGINEER: Pavane&Kwalbrun Consulting Engineer, (212) 727-3408
FA/E ENGINEERS: Omnitech Engineering, (347) 233-2767, and M. Chetrit Consulting Engineers, (212) 764-5637
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER: McLaren Engineering Group
GENERAL CONTRACTOR: JRM Construction Management
ACOUSTICAL ENGINEER: Acoustic Distinctions
LIGHTING CONSULTANT: Schuler Shook
THEATER LIGHTING, CONTROLS: Barbizon Lighting Company
Materials
CARPET: Bloomsburg Carpet
BAR PENNY TILES: Nemo Tile
LIGHTING: Santa & Cole and Lee Broom
ACOUSTIC CEILING TILE: Decoustics from Certainteed
GLASS-TILED COLUMNS: Walker Zanger
BAR WAINSCOTING, BAR MIRROR SURROUND, DOOR FRAMING: Paonazzo Marble
WOOD ACOUSTICAL WALL PANELS: Perfecto Micro Panel from RPG
BRICK-WALL VENEER: Mora Ceramicas
PANELED FABRIC WALL: Xorel Artform, Meteor, from Carnegie