The Venue: The Lunt-Fontanne Theatre Haunted By 'Ghost The Musical'

The Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on 46th Street between Broadway and 8th Avenues.

The same shot of the theatre but at night.
(above photos: TheHopefulTraveler)

The Lunt-Fontanne Theatre opened on Broadway in 1910 as the Globe Theatre. The theatre had a retractable roof to enable the theatre to stay cool and open during the summer. In 1932 the venue was turned into a movie theater until 1958 when it was gutted and rebuilt in its present configuration as a Broadway theatre.

The theatre was renamed in honor of America's foremost husband/wife acting couple, Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, who starred in tis first production, 'The Visit.' Patrons to the theatre can enjoy photographs from their collection throughout the various lobby spaces.

Seating for 1,505 patrons is on two levels. Two staircases, one accessed from the box office lobby and a second accessed from the orchestra level lobby lead to the beautiful mezzanine bar and seating. Because of the box office access, the mezzanine bar opens one hour before the performance.

Click HERE to view the Lunt-Fontanne seating chart. The theatre is one of eight Broadway theatres operated by the Nederlander Organization. All online ticketing is handled by Ticketmaster.

The Lunt-Fontanne is currently home to 'Ghost The Musical' based on the 1990 feature film starring Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg. Previous tenants include 'The Addams Family' (2010) and two Disney musicals 'The Little Mermaid' (2008) and 'Beauty and the Beast' which moved to the Lunt-Fontanne in 1999 (it originally opened at the Palace Theatre in 1994). 'Beauty' is the show to have played the theatre the longest staying in residence for eight years. 'Titanic' an original musical based around the sinking of the ocean liner opened at the venue in 1997 and won the Tony Award for best musical.

The original Broadway production of 'The Sound of Music' (1959) played the Lunt-Fontanne for three years before moving to the Mark Hellinger Theatre a few blocks north. The hit musical played over 1,443 performances between the two theatres.

The orchestra seats beneath the mezzanine.

The chandeliers of the beautiful mezzanine bar.

Murals greets guest on the mezzanine level.

Tonight's audience entering the theatre to see a performance of
'Ghost The Musical'.

The current tenant at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. 'Ghost The Musical' opened
on April 23, 2012.
(above photos: TheHopefulTraveler)