Video: Stewart F. Lane Unpacks the History of the Iconic Palace Theatre

Welcome to Backstage with Richard Ridge

He's been called Mr. Broadway. Six-time Tony Award-winning producer, director, and writer, Stuart F. Lane, has just penned the glorious new book called It Happen at the Palace, a history of New York's iconic Broadway theater

And I caught up with him here at The Legendary Sardes. Your new book, It Happened at the Palace, is absolutely stunning

It is a book for anybody who has ever fallen in love with the theater. How proud are you of this book

Oh, my gosh. I'm immensely proud of it because I've been involved with the theater now 45 years

We've been partners with the Needlander Organization, hard times and good times, getting the right shows in there

It's been a real labor of love. I love New York. I love Broadway. And this was an opportunity to have a piece of it, to have a piece of American history, New York

history and have some real hard memories of it. So I'm very proud of the book

It gives me a chance to give the history not only of the palace, but sort of the history

of theater in general in the 20th century. So we start with the days of vaudeville, where Fannie Bryce and W.C. Fields and Danny

Kay and Jack Benny would play the palace because playing the palace was the best place in the

world to play. When you played the palace, you know you'd made it. And so that was exciting

Then with the advent of talking pictures in the 30s, it converted into a movie house, RKO, the RKO Palace

and the first movie to play there was Top Hat, which was, of course, an RKO movie

Citizen Kane premiered there in the 40s, and then in the 50s it was converted back into a showcase

for live entertainment as well as a movie house. Then, of course, the Needlander organization came in in the mid-60s, converted it from a

voidfell house to a full-fledged Broadway theater, and the rest is history

And then a developer came just about five, six years ago and wanted to take the, and renovate the theater

He said, I want to take it, I'll refurbish the whole thing for you, make it a 1913 brand new theater

and we'll redo the guts, so it's a 21st century that will have facilities for the backstage dressing rooms

that are modern, bathroom facilities for the patrons, everything to make it a more 21st century theater

but retaining the integrity of the interior of a 19th century. 13 Broadway Theater

Well, let's start there. So this was built as a vaudeville house back in 1913. Yes, yes

So you look at all these incredible stars that played there. And the nice thing was that years later, in the 70s, when the Niedelanders had it

they brought live entertainment back in the 1970s because I spent a lot of time there

seeing the likes of Bet Midler, Diana Ross, Shirley MacLean. Yeah, those were the days

They were tough days because these were short-run shows. They did very well

Mitt Middler was terrific. And Shirley Maclean was terrific. terrific. I still have record albums of the recordings of those, as you remember what a record

album is, of them playing the Palace. But those were times where it was interesting because

as audiences were changing in the 60s and 70s, Broadway was trying to catch up to it. So a lot

of shows that I worked on in the Palace, the early ones, had trouble finding their audience

When we did the Grand Tour, the Grand Tour ran like three months. And it gave me an opportunity

to work with Jerry Herman, though. And Jerry and I had a nice relationship. So later on, when he had the liquej

he welcomed me to help me one of the producers of the show. Later on, we did Woman of the Year

which was another first that actually really ran for two years and generated some income

And, of course, before that was Frankenstein, which has the dubious honor of being at the time

the most expensive non-musical to close it one night. We then had to put down that mantle

when on the waterfront opened up. I was there opening night of Frankenstein just so you know I was there First Row of the Mazzanine Great cast Diane Weiss John Glover you know John Caradine David Dukes John Caradine yeah

And the guy, Brand Ferrin, who had just come off the hit movie, Altered States

was doing the special effects. We had the original Frankenstein material from the movie

the Jacobsville Adder, you know, the zzz thing. And it came out of the Actors' Theater of Louisville

So there's a pedigree there. couldn't have been worse. The critics hated it across the boards

The audiences just didn't want to see it. Yeah. Well, I want to go back to the beginning

There's so much beautiful. The photographs and memorabilia that you put in this book is amazing

Was there an archivist for the palace? Did you have some of this stuff? How did you find all the beautiful things

the photos and the program covers and the pictures from shows and everything else

This is mostly through the Museum of New York, the Lincoln Center Library

the David Rose Library. that they have. So it was mostly doing a lot of research for the pictures. And of course

same way with the history. The idea was not only to do the history of the vaudeville days and the

early days of movies, but to take it from the mid-60s to today. And that's something that

when you've lived it, it's easier to write about. Yeah. So James Niedelander took over ownership

of the palace in 1965? Yes, yes. So, and I think the first big show to play there was, of course

Sweet Charity. Big hit for the Niedelander. Yes. When did you get involved with the Needalanders

I mean, for those who may not know, you are the co-owner of the iconic palace theater

The proud co-owner of the palace theater. Well, you know, I started working in the theater back in the late 70s

And so I was involved with certain productions like the Trucadoro Dance Company that came in

the Toller Cranston Ice Show. We were trying to get shows to fit in there. Finally, we had a revival of Oklahoma that ran nine months with Christina Andreas

And that was actually the first time we saw some money coming out of the palace. Because it's tough being a theater owner

Everyone talks about how wonderful it is when times are good. But when times are bad, they're bad

Finally, we got two years with Women of the Year. And then, of course, one of my proudest moments was La Cajot-Fo Foll in 1983

when we opened at the Palace Theater here in New York. Well, let's talk about, you know, you talked about the grand tour was there, of course

with Jerry Herman the first time you got to work with him. And then, you know, La Cajafol came at a time when the AIDS epidemic was at the height of everything

No one had any idea what this show was going. going to do? So, I mean, what was that whole time period like for you with bringing this show

into New York? And what made you say, yes, I want to do this? Well, you know, it was a, it was a, it was a

it was, where to begin with that. Certainly, people I was trying to raise money for told me this is

a career breaker. No one's going to go see a gay musical. You're out of your mind. You just

killed yourself in the business. I'm going, you're missing the whole point of it. It's a great

score. It's socially important. It says something important to society today about how loving

each other and caring for each other goes beyond just being of the same sex or not

It's being careful and caring about people. And the score was terrific

So you had a great score. And it's funny. So it's funny. It's a great score. It says something important socially

And I think it's what producers like to do. You want something that's culturally acceptable, exciting, one that means something and is financially successful

Because I think if you knew what made a hit, everybody, if they had that formula, everybody

would have a hit show. But it has to do with passion, doesn't it? Oh, yes, you've got to do that

And with the Lacage, everyone was really passionate about it. It was more than just a show

It was a way of life. And certainly, even working with Arthur Lawrence was a pleasure

So if I can say that. But, yes, there was a great team of people that we had

People believed in what the point of the show was. And at a time, yes, you're right

AIDS was starting to blossom. And it was becoming more and more difficult. Well, let's talk about when you got involved

How did you get involved when you said, yes, I'm going to become co-owner of the Palace Theater

Oh well as I said I was working several shows there I been a script reader for Jimmy for a while during my acting days And then I came back and started to work for him as an assistant house manager at the Brooks Atkinson Theater during the same time next year

When that closed, Jack Lemon came in for six months doing tribute

which I also worked, and then I moved over to the Neil Simon, which had Annie

But at that time, I said, you know, I've experienced this, and this is interesting, and I respect it, but I wanted to do something more

I said, I'd like to become a producer. How do you produce? Because I love the theater. I love New York. How do I get involved with it

And Jimmy said, well, you know, I've got, here's a stack of scripts. You're a script reader

Pick one of these that you like and invest in it. And you can follow me around and shadow me and you can learn the business from the Roundup

So I went through all the scripts he had. I found one that I really enjoyed. It's called Whose Life Is It Anyway

It was a teleplay from the BBC that had been converted into a stage play in the West End, starring Tom Conti

I said, this is the kind of show I'd like to start with. So Mannie Azenberg was producing it

And so I became the associate to the producer of Whose Life Is It Anyway

And it was kind of interesting because for my first outing, we actually made back about 75% of our investment

and we could have paid back everything, but Mani had the idea of maybe bringing in Mary Tyler Moore to play the role

which makes perfect sense because it's about an artist who is restricted in creating his art because he's a quadriplegic

So we brought in Mary Richards, we brought in Mary Tyler Moore

and although she was brilliant in the role, the audiences didn't really take to seeing their favorite star in that condition

So we did close, but we did pay back 75%. It's interesting at the time

So I remember seeing Tom Conti and Jean Marsh in the original production that you brought over

and then when Mary Tyler Moore took over, she shared it with James Norton. Yes

But like you said, it's very interesting sometimes when you bring TV. People who are known for their work on TV

they think they're going to see, like, you know, a Lucille Ball and Wildcat or Mary

Richard's doing this, you know. And it was so outside of her, you know, wheelhouse

No, no, no, exactly. But she did a great job with it, but the audiences just weren't prepared for it

But that was like the first show that I started producing with. Then I started getting involved with the Grand Tour and with Frankenstein

And, you know, you got to learn. In fact, I tell the story of Joe Allen's, you know, I say, oh, you know, Joe Allen's

the famous theater restaurant, and they have the famous wall of flops up there

And I go, some big names are on that wall. Hal Prince is on that wall

David Merrick is on that wall. And yes, Stuart Lane is on that wall with Frankenstein up there

But, you know, it's paying your dudes. They can't all, as you said earlier, they can't all be hits

Well, Hal Prince told me that. He said when you have longevity in this business, I mean, when you look at the kind of work you do

you're going to have hits, you're going to have flops, you're going to have hits. You're going to have, you know. So it's the big picture you look at

And I think it's a badge of honor. to have a poster of yours at Joe Allen, right

It is. It is a badge of honor. And writing the book about the palace, I'll just say also that it was an important book

because I think the history of what the palace represents is resilience of Broadway

from the fabulous invalid days to shows that run decades now. And it's an amazing transformation

Now, let's talk about the renovation of the palace because when you and Jimmy Needle-Lander sat down

you wanted to do more than just a renovation. what you've done to the palace is stunning

So how long did it take? Well, he closed the deal in 2015

started building in 2018, and took about six years to get the show, you know, to get it open

And all during the pandemic, we used to go by there still to make sure things were going done

And picking the, you know, we picked out everything involved with it, the sconces on the wall, the wallpaper

even the type of decoration you get on the escalator going up

You know, just to make the whole experience of going from a mom, modern box office modern lobby to a traditional 1913 Broadway theater Because you walk in there new amenities there with dressing rooms and new bathrooms and everything else but when you walk into the theater itself

so the first time you walked in to the new version of the palace, the new beautifully done palace

what went through your mind? Because we were there that day, Broadway World, we were there when you cut the ribbon with Jimmy Niedelander

Talk about how you felt that day when you looked at the new theater. Oh, God. It was an amazing time

because, you know, a theater is more than just a building. It's not, this is a place

where people come to commune. It's a communication center. It's a place where people come to

experience a group effort. So there's a certain spirit and enchantment about having the palace

and to see it as it was with this beautiful chandelier that we put up there, the sconces

and the craftsmanship, let it be known that the craftsmanship and pride in their work

is well and alive in New York because the place was just really well done by these artisans

So I was extremely proud that we not only accomplished the theater, but again, brought it into the 21st century

Plenty of leg room, plenty of facilities for the patrons, and new dressing rooms for the actors and the musicians and all the other people that work that make the theater happen

In the theater right now on the second floor, you have some memorabilia. Yes

Talk about the second floor of the memorabilia that you have at the palace. Well, this is actually given some credit here

We actually have some playbills and artifacts from that period. So we actually have a top hat from the top hat movie

And we have Judy Garland's program there. We have Danny Kaye in there as well

And W.C. Fields is mentioned in that as one of the vaudeville performers. All in that class case on the second floor

So anyone who comes to visit the palace and see our next show, make sure you visit us on the second floor

You know, you and your wonderful wife, Bonnie Conley, who's also a wonderful producer, you created Broadway HD

Loving the theater and loving New York. And we've been both producing for you

years. Bonnie's got three Tony Awards. I've got six. We've been doing it. I'm older than she is

so I've been doing it a little longer than her. But we want to share Broadway with the rest of the

world. And the question was, how do you monetize it so that people get to see it to make it

affordable and make it accessible? All those people out there who can't afford to come to New York

and if they do, they can't afford a ticket to see a Broadway show. So the idea was to come up with a way

of showing them how to do it. And as technology started to evolve from a VCR to

a CD, to a DVD, to a Blu-ray. Bonnie and I saw that the future was going to be in streaming

That was where it was going to go. Let's get there first. So we started to work on that

And then 2015, we launched Broadway HD. So you cracked the code

I mean, I remember when I first started in this business, people were talking about this and saying

it's never going to happen, it's never going to happen, it's never going to work. Broadway HD is so popular all around the world

People can watch hundreds and hundreds of theater programs from Broadway, the West End, concerts and everything else

in the company of their own home, anywhere, and you two did it. That's right. You get to watch it when you want to, what you want to

And that's the idea. That's what we saw audiences wanted to do today, especially young audiences

Since the pandemic, there's been a doubling of that. The older people who don't want to come to New York

or again, can't physically come to New York, get to watch Broadway shows on Broadway HD

and young people can afford to watch it on our website. We're $20 a month to subscribe

So it works out really well. So what's next for the palace now that it's beautifully all glammed up and everything else

Oh, well, I think we've just announced that we're going to be getting Glenn Gary, Glenn Ross

with an all-star cast coming in. And, you know, it's one of David Mamet's best plays ever written

And it's a huge cast, just, you know, wonderfully exciting group of people that they have to be part of it

And it's kind of a show that can fill the palace. You know, those are names, the big names for a big theater

Well, Stuart, I thank you very, very much. that this is a wonderful book for everybody to get their hands on

It's always a pleasure to sit with you, my friend. You too. Long overdue