Gay movie theaters in nyc

History

This venue was originally known as Henry Miller’s Theater. One fairly victorious gay-themed play appeared at the Henry Miller prior to the Wales Padlock Law (1927), which forbade the depiction of “sex perversion” on stage. Noel Coward had become a sensation in England in his play The Vortex, which he transferred here for his American debut in 1925-26. Coward’s character was a closeted gay man. The biggest LGBT-associated hit at the Henry Miller was Born Yesterday (1948-49), with Judy Holliday (opened at the Lyceum Theater). Another big punch was Dear Ruth (1944-46), with John Dall.

Productions by LGBT creators and with LGBT performers at the Henry Miller included:

• Lusmore (1919), with actor Eva Le Gallienne
• The Intimate Strangers (1921-22), with actor Alfred Lunt
• The National Anthem (1922), with actor Laurette Taylor
• Baby Cyclone (1927-28), with performer Spencer Tracy
• Our Betters (1928) by W. Somerset Maugham, with actor Constance Collier
• The Revered Flame (1928) by W. Somerset Maugham
• overview

  Opened in 1920, the Times Square Theater staged a number of productions involving major LGBT performers and creators, including Katharine Cornell, Tallulah Bankhead, Laurence Olivier, and Noel Coward, among others.

  Operating relatively briefly as a legitimate theater, the venue became a movie theater in 1933 and the interior was demolished in 1996.

  Header Photo

  Credit: Christopher D. Brazee/NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project, 2022.

  Katharine Cornell in A Bill of Divorcement, 1921. Photo by Colorless Studio. Courtesy of the Museum of the City of New York.

  The Exciters poster, 1922. Source: tallulahbankhead.weebly.com.

  Beatrice Lillie in Andre Charlot's Revue of 1924. Photo by White Studio. Courtesy of the Museum of the City of Unused York.

  Laurence Olivier and Noel Coward in Private Lives, 1930. Source: www.thestage.co.uk.

  Tallulah Bankhead and Ilka Pursue in Forsaking All Others, 1933. Photo by Vandamm. Courtesy of the Museum of the Urban area of New York.

  Apollo and Times Square Theaters. Photo by Wurts Bros, 1921. Courtesy of The New York Common Library.

  The Times Square Theater

  'Rise & Fall of the Adonis: NYC’s Most Notorious Gay Elder Cinema' Webinar

  Tickets: $12 (includes access to the full replay for one week)

  Click the link below to officially register for this experience:

  https://www.nyadventureclub.com/event/rise-fall-of-the-adonis-nycs-most-notorious-gay-adult-cinema-webinar-registration-1349769008439/

  Between 1975 and 1990, the Adonis Theater on Eighth Road between 50th and 51st Streets was New York City's largest and most popular gay grown-up movie theater. It anchored what was then known as the "Minnesota Strip" — an infamous stretch of Eighth Avenue foremost known for its porno theaters, peep shows, and prostitutes. How did this iconic theater arrive to be and what roles did politics, real estate, health, and technology have in its rise and fall? It's second to explore the stories behind one of New York's most notorious movie theaters.

  Join New York Adventure Club as we expose the history of the Adonis Theater, from when the building first opened in 1920 as the Tivoli Theater to its demise in the 1990s after serving as New York City's most notorious adult all-male movie theatre for a decade.

  Led by licensed NYC tour guide Robert B

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