THE GUIDE

Lyceum Theatre

Opened on November 2, 1903 and built in the Beaux Arts style to a design by the architects Herts & Tallant, it has a grey limestone façade with six Corinthian columns. The atrium has two large marble staircases leading to the mezzanine. It is relatively small, with three floors and 950 seats.
It is the oldest theater in the city still in operation since its opening and was run for about forty years by impresario Daniel Frohman, who lived in an apartment above the theater with a trapdoor that faced directly onto the stage. Legend has it that Frohman waved a white handkerchief out of the trapdoor to warn his wife, actress Margaret Illington, that she was exaggerating with her acting. This apartment is currently home to the Shubert Archive, the company that manages the theater.

References

Gerard R. Wolfe. New York, a Guide to the Metropolis: Walking Tours of Architecture and History. McGraw-Hill, 1994, 2° ed. pp. 303-304
About Lyceum Theatre (The Shubert Organization)
Lyceum Theatre (Broadway) (Wikipedia)