Front of House: Observations from a Decade on the Aisle by Denise Reich

Author:Denise Reich [Reich, Denise]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: BearManor Media
Published: 2015-09-29T07:00:00+00:00

Belvedere Castle in Central Park, which overlooks the Delacorte Theater. Author’s private collection

Belasco Theatre

I’ve been blessed to experience many things that the average Broadway fan never gets close to. I’ve been to opening, closing and anniversary parties; I’ve been backstage, under the stage and above it, too. I’ve hung out in Broadway dressing rooms and watched actor friends apply and remove their makeup. I’ve walked across stages; I’ve seen rehearsals. I’ve been to potluck lunches in theater alleys and have received numerous production gifts. I’ve even performed on a Broadway stage myself. I really cannot complain at all.

The one item on my theatrical bucket list that was never fulfilled was visiting David Belasco’s private apartment at the Belasco Theatre.

I subbed at the Belasco for two productions, revivals of A Doll’s House and Follies; and worked there as a regular for two more, Enchanted April and Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks. During that time I had the chance to see pretty much everything in the theater except the apartment, so again, I really can’t complain. However, even today, if someone offered me a chance to see that apartment, I’d probably do whatever I could to hop on a plane and get there for my tour.

When I worked at the Belasco in the early 2000s, they had two phone booths. One was in the men’s room; the other in the ladies’; they were full-on Clark Kent cubicles with doors and all. Even if you had no reason to use the pay phones, sitting in the booths was fun. You could close the door and shut out the noise of the world as you chatted on your cell.

The Belasco, which dated to 1907, was the most exquisitely decorated theater I’d ever seen. The murals that flanked the proscenium depicted some sort of pastoral orgy scene, with fit, nude men and women frolicking in a forest clearing. The ceiling was covered with stained glass medallions; more stained glass blossomed in delicate chandeliers and large lighting features on either side of the stage. It was all authentic Tiffany work. Cherubim were carved into the rich, dark wood in the lobby. Even the door to the men’s room was elaborate.

If you’ve ever read one of David Belasco’s plays, this all makes perfect sense. If you haven’t — and you really should at least pick up The Return of Peter Grimm — I can explain it briefly by telling you that Belasco was incredibly detailed and thorough in his set designs. There was no such thing as an insignificant set piece, prop or costume in a Belasco show. In Mary Pickford’s autobiography, Sunshine and Shadow, she described an incident where Mr. Belasco railed on a crew member for filling a prop sugar bowl with syrup instead of molasses, even though nobody in the audience was ever going to see it. I’m sure the same exacting attention to detail was put into his theater, and that every single wall sconce and staircase newel had some specific meaning.

I’m

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