The James Earl Jones Theatre was built by and originally named for John Cort, general manager of the Northwestern Theatrical Association, a theatre circuit centered in Seattle with playhouses scattered throughout the western US and British Columbia. A fugitive from a vaudeville comedy team called Cort and Murphy, Cort moved from performing to management in the 1890s. The Shuberts acquired the theatre in 1927, two years before Cort’s death. The theatre was rechristened the James Earl Jones in 2022 in honor of the celebrated actor who made his Broadway debut at the playhouse in Sunrise at Campobello in 1958
ARCHITECTURE
The Jones is the only surviving, still active, legitimate theatre on Broadway designed by architect Thomas Lamb. Its classic exterior was inspired by the 18th century French Petit Trianon at Versailles. Architecture from the period of Louis XVI also inspired the interior. The lobby was constructed of Pavanozza marble with panels of Marie Antoinette plasterwork. The proscenium arch is composed of perforated plaster treated with art glass that could be lit during performances.
Details on the Cort Theatre's Accessibility
Access Information Theatre is wheelchair accessible. There are no steps into the theatre.
Shubert Audience Services The James Earl Jones Theatre provides accommodations for patrons who are blind, deaf, partially sighted, and/or have hearing loss. The theatre provides infrared assistive listening devices for every performance at the theatre. In addition, beginning four weeks after a show’s official opening night performance, hand-held audio description devices, hand-held captioning devices, and unlimited access to downloadable audio description and/or captioning for personal mobile devices are all available free of charge. Prior thereto, we offer live-caption via CART using a hand-held device, upon request with two-weeks’ advance notice. For assistance, or if you have questions, contact Shubert Audience Services at 212-944-3700 or audienceservices@shubertorg.com. There is also a representative at the Shubert Audience Services kiosk at every performance to assist any patron with any of our devices, software, or technology. Hand-held devices are limited, although additional devices can be obtained with at least twenty-four hours’ notice.
Accessibility by Seating Section Orchestra Location: Seating is accessible to all parts of the Orchestra without steps.
Mezzanine Location: Accessible via elevator or up 25 steps. Please note: On the Mezzanine level there are approximately 2 steps down per row. Entrance to Mezzanine is behind Row H.
Balcony Location: Accessible via elevator or up 55 steps. Please note: On the Balcony level there are approximately 2 steps down per row. Entrance to Balcony is behind Row F.
Handrails: Available at the end of every stepped seat row in the Mezzanine and Balcony
Elevators/Escalator An elevator is available to access lower level restrooms, as well as the Mezzanine, and Balcony levels of the theatre.
Restroom Lower Lounge: Wheelchair accessible restrooms are available via elevator or down 19 steps. Mezzanine Level: Wheelchair accessible restrooms are available via elevator or up 25 steps. Balcony Level: Wheelchair accessible restrooms are available via elevator or up 55 steps.
Water Fountain Accessible fountains located in the lower lounge, mezzanine level, and balcony level.
Theatre Policies The use of cameras, recording devices, cell phones, beepers, and other electronic devices during the performance is prohibited, except as permitted for accessibility services. Everyone attending a performance must have a ticket. Latecomers will be seated at the discretion of management. Wheelchair and mobility-impaired seating is intended for patrons with mobility disabilities. Children under the age of four years will not be admitted. No outside food or beverage permitted, unless medically necessary. No weapons permitted on the premises.
NOW PLAYING
LEFT ON TENTH
Based on Delia Ephron’s bestselling memoir, Left on Tenth is a new play about second chances directed by Susan Stroman, starring Julianna Margulies, Peter Gallagher, Peter Francis James and Kate MacCluggage.
When Delia, beloved novelist and screenwriter of You’ve Got Mail, reconnects with a man from her past, she falls into her own romantic comedy. What starts with an unlikely spark blossoms into a love story that defies all odds in the face of life’s challenges. Left on Tenth tells the messy, beautiful, true story of a woman discovering how to embrace the unpredictable and open her heart again.
The venue's initial production was Peg o’ My Heart (1912), starring Laurette Taylor and directed by Oliver Morosco. John Cort’s first production at the theatre was The Princess Pat (1915), an operetta, and the first of only 12 musicals to play here (4 were produced by Cort himself). The longest running musical at this theatre was The Magic Show (1974), which ran 1,920 performances. Three more recent musical productions include Sarafina (1988), Kat and the Kings (1999), and A Year with Frog and Toad (2002).
Early non-musical hits at the Jones gave it the reputation of being a “lucky” house. They include Roi Cooper Megrue’s first big hit, Under Cover (1914), John Drinkwater’s Abraham Lincoln (1919) starring Frank McGlynn, and George S. Kaufman and Marc Connelly’s Merton of the Movies (1922) with Glenn Hunter. The Jones also featured performers such as Ethel Barrymore and Henry Daniell in The Second Mrs. Tanquerray (1924), Judith Anderson in Behold the Bridegroom (1927), and Katharine Hepburn in These Days (1928) --The actress had only a few lines, and the play closed after 8 performances.
During the 1930s and 1940s, the Jones welcomed many classic works. Lillian Gish, Osgood Perkins and Walter Connelly starred in Uncle Vanya (1930), Ruth Gordon in The Three-Cornered Moon (1933), and Lawrence Olivier in The Green Bay Tree (1933). In 1946 The Theatre Guild presented The Winter’s Tale. That same year saw Wesley Addy, Sir Cedric Hardwicke and Marlon Brando featured in Antigone and Candida, produced in repertory. Eva Le Gallienne translated and starred in Ibsen’s Ghosts and Hedda Gabler (1948), and Grace Kelly made her Broadway debut in Strindberg’s The Father (1949).
Among the notable stars and productions of the 1950s and 1960s were Katharine Hepburn and William Prince in As You Like It (1950); Saint Joan (1951) with Uta Hagen; the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Shrike (1952) featuring José Ferrer; Darren McGavin and Geraldine Page in The Rainmaker (1954); The Diary of Anne Frank (1955); Purlie Victorious (1961) with Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee; and Sunday in New York (1961) with Robert Redford. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest had a short run of only 82 performances at the Jones in 1963, but it bolstered the careers of Kirk Douglas and Gene Wilder. Jane Fonda made her Broadway debut in There Was A Little Girl (1960), and Al Pacino starred in Richard III (1979).
Productions of the 1980s and 1990s include Tennesee Williams’s Clothes for a Summer Hotel (1980), Glenda Jackson and Jessica Tandy in Rose (1981), Zoe Caldwell in Medea (1982), The Grapes of Wrath (1990), Twilight, Los Angeles (1994), Cherry Jones in The Heiress (1995), Wendy Wasserstein’s An American Daughter (1997), John Leguizamo in Freak (1998), and Nicole Kidman in The Blue Room (1998).
In the new century, the Jones hosted the Julie Taymor-directed The Green Bird (2000) and the Carol Burnett-penned Hollywood Arms (2002). It has also been home to a revival of On Golden Pond (2005) with James Earl Jones, Douglas Carter Beane’s comedy The Little Dog Laughed (2006), August Wilson’s final play Radio Golf (2007), Will Ferrell's You're Welcome America (2009), and the revivals of A View from the Bridge (2010) with Liev Schreiber and Scarlett Johansson, and the Tony-Award-winning Fences (2010) with Denzel Washington and Viola Davis. Most recent residents include Time Stands Still (2010) with Laura Linney; Born Yesterday (2011) with Nina Arianda; the Tony-nominated revival of This is Our Youth (2014); Larry David's A Fish in the Dark (2015); the Tony-nominated musical by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell, Bright Star (2016); Paula Vogel’s Tony-winning play, Indecent (2017); a revival of David Henry Hwang’s M. Butterfly (2017) starring Clive Owen and Jin Ha; Mike Birbiglia’s The New One (2018); Shakespeare’s King Lear (2019) featuring Glenda Jackson; and Derren Brown: Secret (2019).
James Earl Jones Theatre 138 West 48 Street Between 6th and 7th Avenues New York NY 10036
Year Built
1912
Seating Capacity
Orchestra
502
Mezzanine
264
Balcony
283
Boxes
24
Standing
17
Standing
19
Total
1092
Included in Numbers Above:
Orchestra Pit
28
Wheelchair
7
Aisle Transfer Arms
11
Theatre Dimensions
Proscenium Opening:
37' 5"
Height of Proscenium:
29' 0"
Depth to proscenium:
28' 10"
Depth to front of stage:
33' 5"
Stage Type:
Proscenium
SEATING CHART
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