Vivian Beaumont Theater in the context of "Broadway theatre"

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⭐ Core Definition: Vivian Beaumont Theater

The Vivian Beaumont Theater is a Broadway theater in the Lincoln Center complex at 150 West 65th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Operated by the nonprofit Lincoln Center Theater (LCT), the Beaumont is the only Broadway theater outside the Theater District that surrounds Times Square. Named after heiress and actress Vivian Beaumont Allen, the theater was one of the last structures designed by modernist architect Eero Saarinen. Broadway scenic designer Jo Mielziner oversaw the design of the interior. The theater shares a building with the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts and contains two off-Broadway venues, the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater and the Claire Tow Theater.

The Beaumont occupies the southern and western sides of its building's first and second floors, while the library wraps above and on top of it. The main facade faces Lincoln Center's plaza and is made of glass and steel, with a travertine attic above. The main auditorium has approximately 1,080 seats across two levels, arranged in a steeply sloped semicircular layout. The Beaumont differs from traditional Broadway theaters because of its use of a flexible stage, which could be extended with a thrust stage of varying length. The layout led to complaints about inferior sightlines and acoustics in the theater's early years. The 299-seat Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater is in the basement and the 112-seat Claire Tow Theater is on the roof.

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👉 Vivian Beaumont Theater in the context of Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, or Broadway, is a theatre genre that consists of the theatrical performances presented in 41 professional theaters, each with 500 or more seats, in the Theater District and Lincoln Center along Broadway, in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Broadway and London's West End together represent the highest commercial level of live theater in the English-speaking world.

While the Broadway thoroughfare is eponymous with the district, it is closely identified with Times Square. Only three theaters are located on Broadway itself: the Broadway Theatre, Palace Theatre, and Winter Garden Theatre. The rest are located on the numbered cross streets, extending from the Nederlander Theatre one block south of Times Square on West 41st Street, north along either side of Broadway to 53rd Street, and Vivian Beaumont Theater, at Lincoln Center on West 65th Street. While exceptions exist, the term "Broadway theatre" is used predominantly to describe venues with seating capacities of at least 500 people. Smaller theaters in New York City are referred to as off-Broadway, regardless of location, while very small venues with fewer than 100 seats are called off-off-Broadway, a term that can also apply to non-commercial, avant-garde, or productions held outside of traditional theater venues.

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Vivian Beaumont Theater in the context of Eero Saarinen

Eero Saarinen (/ˈeɪroʊ ˈsɑːrɪnən, ˈɛəroʊ -/, Finnish: [ˈeːro ˈsɑːrinen]; August 20, 1910 – September 1, 1961) was a Finnish-American architect and industrial designer. Saarinen's work includes the General Motors Technical Center; the Dulles International Airport Main Terminal; the TWA Flight Center at John F. Kennedy International Airport; the Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center; the Gateway Arch; and the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center. During his career, Saarinen was elected a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects and served on the National Institute of Arts and Letters.

Born in Hvitträsk, Finland, he was the son of Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen, and immigrated to the United States as a teenager. Saarinen grew up in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, studying at the Cranbrook Academy of Art, where his father taught. Saarinen became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1940, a year after marrying the sculptor Lilian Swann, with whom he had two children. After divorcing Swann in 1954, Saarinen married Aline Bernstein Louchheim. In 1961, Saarinen died while undergoing an operation for a brain tumor.

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LINKED FROM (PARENTS)
← Broadway theatre ← Broadway theater ← Eero Saarinen
LINKS TO (CHILDREN)
Broadway theatre → Lincoln Center → Upper West Side → Manhattan → New York City → Theater District, Manhattan → Times Square → Vivian Beaumont Allen → Eero Saarinen → Jo Mielziner → New York Public Library for the Performing Arts → Façade → Travertine → Thrust stage →