 | Studio 54 was a New York City discothèque located at 254 West 54th Street in Manhattan. It opened on April 26, 1977 and closed in March 1986. It briefly reopened in 1994 after a multi-million dollar renovation. It currently serves as a venue for the Roundabout Theatre Company, with a 900 seat theatre equipped with two full service bars. The original doors with the Studio 54 logo still remain. From 1989 and the early 1993, the venue was known as The Ritz and hosted rock concerts. In 1993 John Neilson, who owned the Stringfellows Strip Club, bought the building and resurrected the Studio 54 trademark which had been abandoned. |
| In 1994 Allied Partners bought the building for $5.5 million. They restored much of the architectural detail that had been painted black or covered with plywood by Schrager and Rubell. The club reopened with a live concert by disco stars Gloria Gaynor, Vicki Sue Robinson, and Sister Sledge. The building again went into bankruptcy in 1996 and Allied announced plans to tear it down and replace it with Cyberdrome, a virtual reality gaming venue. However the project was not to materialize. In 1998, the collapse of a construction hoist blocked access to the Henry Miller Theatre on 43rd Street, where the hit revival of the Broadway musical Cabaret was playing. To keep the show open, the Roundabout Theater Company entered into an agreement to move the performance to Studio 54. Brooke Shields who had been to Studio 54 many times, including the opening in 1977, would eventually star as Sally in the Studio 54 production. Making her one of the few cast members who had experienced the legendary nightclub. Roundabout later bought the building in 2003 from Allied for $22.5 million, and Cabaret played until 2004. The second floor of the theater is still used as a nightclub on weeks when plays are not being staged; when it does so it operates under the name Upstairs at Studio 54. There have been huge, and very popular, "disco parties" held there. The most notable of these well attended nights were held in 2004 and 2005. The club is operated by Josh Hadar who was one of the Allied partners. Notable productions 1998: Cabaret | |
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