Samuel J. Friedman Theatre - Manhattan Theatre Club

The theatre, designed by Herbert J. Krapp for impresario Irwin Chanin, originally opened on 7th December 1925 as the Biltmore Theatre. Its inaugural production was the play Easy Come Easy Go. From 1952 to 1962, the theatre was used by CBS for television and radio broadcasting purposes, but in 1963 it reopened as a traditional theatre with Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park. In 1987 the theatre closed followng an arson attack and sat vacant for 14 years. Finally from 2001 it was operated by the Manhattan Theatre Club and reopened in 2003 after renovation. MTC renamed it the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on 4th September 2008 to honor the Broadway publicist and took ownership of the theatre in October 2008.