One of Broadway’s crown jewels, the Palace Theatre, is reopening its doors to theatergoers.


What You Need To Know

  • It's curtain up for the newly refurbished historic Palace Theatre on Broadway

  • The landmark venue located in the heart of Times Square was shut down for operation in 2018

  • NY1 got the television broadcast exclusive at a look inside

The landmark venue located in the heart of Times Square was shut down for operation in 2018.

The Palace is co-owned by Jimmy Nederlander of the Nederlander Organization and Broadway producer Stewart Lane.

"This has been in the planning stages for 10 years now," Lane said.

"I grew up here, wandering around the different floors. I'm just so proud and so happy and I can't wait for the public to see the theatre," Nederlander said. 

The theatre was included in a renovation project that also involves a Hilton Hotel located above it. The total price tag was upwards of $2.5 billion.

In addition to being renovated, the theatre was lifted 30 feet in the air. 

"We not only maintained the integrity of the theatre and its charm from 1913. But the guts of the theatre have been modernized. We've brought this theatre into the 21st century - we have a washroom facility for the patrons, large comfortable seats, and backstage, the dressing rooms are quite comfortable there, too," Lane said.

The Palace opened in 1913, and was the preeminent Vaudeville theatre in the U.S.

In 1965, Broadway mogul James M. Nederlander turned the venue into a legit Broadway house with Bob Fosse’s "Sweet Charity," starring Gwen Verdon.

Other notable productions that played the Palace include “La Cage aux Folles,” “The Will Rogers Follies,” “Legally Blonde” and Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” and “Aida."

In addition, many notable stars like Judy Garland, Diana Ross, Bette Midler and Liza Minnelli have headlined the venue over the years.

"Imagine a dusty jewel, polished again, and seeing it glitter, that's the best way I can describe the Palace," Nederlander said.

The Palace will officially be ready for business on May 28 when Tony, Grammy and Emmy Award winner Ben Platt takes to this stage with his latest concert which will run for two weeks.

And in the fall Elton John’s latest work, "Tammy Faye" will be the first musical to play the Palace.