Circle in the Square Theatre

The Circle in the Square Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre in midtown Manhattan.

The original Circle in the Square was founded by Jose Quintero and was located at 5 Sheridan Square (a brownstone) in Greenwich Village. The original Circle in the square did not have a theater license, but Quintero was able to get a Caberet license; the production staff and off duty actors served as waiters if anyone insisted on ordering food or drinks. Many of the theater personnel, both acting and technical, lived on the premises.

Designed by architect Alan Sayles, it is one of two theatres in the Paramount Plaza office tower. Its much bigger sibling is the Gershwin Theatre. The theatre entrance lobbies are side by side but separated by a wall.

The Gershwin and Circle in the Square were built in 1970 when the Uris Brothers tore down the Capitol Movie Theatre to build the tower (with the Gershwin originally being called the Uris Theatre).

It originally served as the uptown home to the Circle-in-the-Square repertory company founded by Theodore Mann and Jose Quintero in 1961 in Greenwich Village. The first production, a revival of Mourning Becomes Electra, opened on November 15, 1972.

The theatre is below street level. The rather small auditorium has a seating capacity of 650. It is one of only two Broadway houses with a thrust stage (the other is Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theatre).

The building also houses the Circle in the Square Theatre School, the only accredited training conservatory associated with a Broadway theatre, which offers a two-year training program in acting.

Notable productions

• 1973: Uncle Vanya; The Iceman Cometh; The Waltz of the Toreadors
• 1974: The National Health
• 1975: Death of a Salesman; Ah, Wilderness!; The Glass Menagerie
• 1976: Pal Joey; The Night of the Iguana
• 1977: Tartuffe
• 1980: Major Barbara; The Man Who Came to Dinner
• 1984: Awake and Sing; Design for Living
• 1985: Arms and the Man
• 1987: Coastal Disturbances
• 1988: A Streetcar Named Desire
• 1989: Sweeney Todd
• 1992: Anna Karenina
• 1995: The Rose Tattoo
• 2000: The Rocky Horror Show; True West
• 2005: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
• 2008: Glory Days (musical)
• 2009: The Norman Conquests

External links

• Official website
• Circle in the Square Theatre at the Internet Broadway Database
• Profile of the Circle in the Square Theatre