Another Look At The Sullivan Theater Balcony
Another Look At The Sullivan Theater Balcony
Thanks to Dennis Degan, we got some new information on the balcony at Studio 50. In the comment section, I am posting an enormous photo of the balcony as it looked in 1927 and in that, you can see how big it was. I said yesterday that I thought the Letterman remodeling had removed the first tier, but as it turns out, that is backward. As you can see in the color photo, the upper balcony is now closed in and that space is used as a set. The photo on the left is from the late 80s and shows another view of the balcony and an awful lighting grid over part of the stage. There was a period of years after CBS sold the theater that it was used as a general production house. CBS had taken their equipment out including the lighting grids when they sold it. Hopefully we’ll have some photos of the mystery space soon.
Letterman told Paul & Ringo that is was the upper balcony that was removed. That clip is in the Beatles special that will re-air tonight on CBS.
If the photo on the left was from the late 80’s, then when I worked in the theater in 1983-85, it looked like that. The theater’s ceiling is a dome, not good acoustics for shooting a TV show. It’s a very ‘live’ echo-y room. The interior of the theater is landmark protected, just as the outside is. The lighting grid was hung from wires that went through small holes in the domed ceiling so that the dome would not be altered. As I recall, there were sound baffles hung above the lighting grid to dampen the echo in the room. I don’t see those baffles in the 1980’s shot.
When CBS remodeled the theater for ‘The Late Show’ in 1993, They built a new lighting grid on a framework that is supported on the sides and not hung from the ceiling. This framework even includes a catwalk over the grid, allowing lighting technicians easier access to the fixtures. Also note that there are acoustic baffles all around the room, helping to absorb the echoes. At least they don’t have to deal with the subway power station behind the stage anymore . . . . 😉 (That’s no longer an issue with CCD cameras and flat-panel monitors).
In this 1927 photo, you can see the first tier and part of the second which is larger than the lower portion of the balcony. Notice the many stain glass windows…this place was a real palace!