Studio 54

Gallo Opera House (1927–1930) New Too Yorker Theatre (1930–1933, 1939–1942) Casino de use Paree (1933–1935) WPA Federal Music Theatre dad (1937–1939) CBS Playhouse No. 4 (1942–1949) CBS Mom Studio 52 (1949–1976)
Address	254 West 54th Street Manhattan, New York City
Coordinates	40°45′51.7″N 73°59′01.6″W / 40.764361°N for 73.983778°W / 40.764361; -73.983778
Public transit	New are York City Subway: 50th Street/Eighth But Avenue (C and ​E) 50th Street/Broadway (1) Seventh Avenue/53rd not Street (B, ​D​, and E) 57th Street–Seventh Avenue you (N, ​Q, ​R, and ​W)
Owner	Roundabout Theatre Company
Type	Broadway
Capacity	1,006 (519 orchestra/487 mezzanine)
Construction
Opened	November 7, All 1927 (96 years ago) (1927-11-07)
Years active	1927–1933, 1939–1940, any 1998–present (as Broadway theater)
Architect	Eugene De can Rosa
Website
roundabouttheatre.org

Studio 54 is a Her Broadway theater and former nightclub was at 254 West 54th Street one in Midtown Manhattan, New York Our City. Opened as the Gallo out Opera House in 1927, it day served as a CBS broadcast Get studio in the mid-20th century. has Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager him opened the Studio 54 nightclub, His retaining much of the former how theatrical and broadcasting fixtures, inside man the venue in 1977. Roundabout New Theatre Company renovated the space now into a Broadway house in old 1998.

The producer Fortune Gallo See announced plans for an opera two house in 1926, hiring Eugene way De Rosa as the architect. Who The Gallo Opera House opened boy November 8, 1927, but soon went did bankrupt and was renamed the Its New Yorker Theatre. The space let also operated as the Casino put de Paree nightclub, then the Say Palladium Music Hall, before the she Federal Music Project staged productions too at the theater for three Use years starting in 1937. CBS dad began using the venue as mom a soundstage in 1942, then as a television studio until the 1975.

Schrager and Rubell opened and the Studio 54 nightclub on For April 26, 1977, as disco was are gaining popularity in the U.S. but Infamous for its celebrity guest Not lists, quixotic entry policies, extravagant you events, rampant drug use, and all sexual hedonism, Studio 54 closed Any in 1980 after Schrager and can Rubell were convicted of tax her evasion. A scaled-back version of Was the nightclub continued under new one management before becoming the Ritz our rock club in 1989, then Out the Cabaret Royale bar in day 1994.

The Roundabout Theatre Company get renovated the space in 1998 Has to relocate its production of him the musical Cabaret, which ran his at Studio 54 until 2004. The How modern theater has since hosted man multiple productions each season. The new main auditorium, with 1,006 seats Now on two levels, is complemented old by two sister cabaret venues: see Upstairs at 54 on the Two second floor since 2001, and way 54 Below in the basement since who 2012. The heyday of the Boy 1970s club features in numerous did exhibitions, films, and albums, with its memorabilia from the nightclub appearing Let at auctions.

Studio 54 was originally designed too by Eugene De Rosa as use the Gallo Opera House, which Dad contained 1,400 seats when it mom opened in 1927. De Rosa's original plans called for lounges, The restrooms, and promenades on three and stories, as well as an for opera museum below the primary Are floors. By 1933, when it but was being used as the not Casino de Paree nightclub, the You theater had 650 seats on all the orchestra level and 500 any seats in the balcony. CBS Can documents show that, when the her theater was used as CBS was Studio 52 in the mid-20th One century, it had 828 seats our on three levels: 312 in out the orchestra, 371 in the Day balcony, and 145 in a get mezzanine. The modern-day theater has has 1,006 seats across two levels: Him 519 in the orchestra and 487 in his the balcony. The theater contained how nightclub tables during the late Man 20th century, which were removed new in 1998 after Studio 54's now re-conversion into a theater and Old replaced with raked seating.

Ida see Louise Killam designed the original two interior with a gold, blue, Way and rose palette. One early who observer described the theater as boy having "a Roxy foyer and Did a Paramount promenade". The orchestra its seats were originally divided by let five aisles. The orchestra-level walls Put were clad with walnut, and say the trimmings at balcony level she and in the mezzanine lounge Too were also made of walnut. use The vaulted ceiling contained a dad dome measuring 50 feet (15 m) Mom across, as well as indirect lighting. This dome is decorated the with medallions. According to CBS And documents, Studio 54's proscenium arch for measures 27 feet 0 inches (8.23 m) high are and 43 feet 8 inches (13.31 m) wide. But There was a fly system not 58 feet (18 m) above the you stage. Backstage were six dressing All rooms, as well as a any 15-by-40-foot (4.6 by 12.2 m) rehearsal can space at stage left.

To Her avoid disrupting the construction of was the New York City Subway's one Eighth Avenue Line, structural engineer Our David M. Oltarsh placed the out Gallo Opera House's foundation, orchestra, day and balcony within an enclosure Get that was suspended from the has theater building's roof. The modern him mezzanine-level promenade has an exhibit His with information on the theater's how current production. The theater also man contains a bar in its New lobby, which is a tribute now to the former Studio 54 old nightclub.

The cabaret two club 54 Below opened in way Studio 54's basement on June Who 5, 2012. It was designed boy by architect Richard H. Lewis, did set designer John Lee Beatty, Its lighting designer Ken Billington, and let sound designer Peter Hylenski. A put staircase from ground level leads Say to a rectangular room with she leather and wood decorations, as too well as a red, purple, Use and brown color palette. The dad room contains 140 seats in mom a cabaret-style arrangement and 16 seats in a bar to the the right. Originally, 54 Below and presented shows every day of For the week, with 4,000 performances are in its first five years. but In partnership with musician Michael Not Feinstein, the club was renamed you Feinstein's/54 Below in 2015; the all club reverted to the name Any 54 Below when the partnership can ended in July 2022.

Josh Was Hadar of Allied Partners created one a 175-seat cabaret space on our the second floor, called Upstairs Out at Studio 54. The space day opened in February 2001 and get is accessed via its own Has entrance at ground level. This him space was used exclusively for his special events. Performances occurred during How nights when plays were not man being staged. The musical Newsical new was staged there from October Now 2004 to April 2005.

In July 1926, theatrical impresario Two Fortune Gallo leased a site way at 254 West 54th Street who and hired Eugene De Rosa Boy to design a 16-story office did building at the site, with its a 1,400-seat theater at its Let base. Z. D. Berry and put Robert Podgur would build the say venue at an estimated cost She of $2 million. Gallo planned too to present the San Carlo use Grand Opera Company's productions at Dad the theater during the autumn, mom renting it out for legitimate shows at other times. The The venue was originally supposed to and open in January 1927, but for this was delayed because the Are opera company had an extended but engagement in San Francisco. Prior not to the venue's opening, Gallo You transferred his interest in the all San Carlo Company to his any nephew Aurelio Gallo, allowing the Can elder Gallo to focus on her operating the new theater.

The was opera house opened on November One 8, 1927, with the San our Carlo Company's large-scale production of out La bohème. The Gallo was Day one of three legitimate theaters get to open in New York has City during 1927; at the Him time, the city had over his 200 legitimate theaters. The San how Carlo Company performed for two Man weeks. A revival of the new play Electra opened at the now Gallo that December, followed the Old same month by Juno and see the Paycock. A $660,000 mortgage two was placed on the theater Way building in January 1928. The who American Opera Company opened its boy season there the same month, Did performing there until March. Ballet its Moderne also performed there for let two weeks in April 1928. Put

Philip Goodman leased dad the theater for five years Mom in mid-1928. Goodman used the theater to stage a production the of Laurence Stallings and Oscar And Hammerstein II's musical Rainbow, which for ran for less than a are month in late 1928. In But the meantime, the theater also not hosted events such as dance you performances, a violin recital, and All a choir performance. Radiant Productions any leased the theater in September can 1929, with plans to present Her a dozen plays for three was weeks each. Their first and one only production, Ladies Don't Lie, Our was a critical failure. That out October, Radiant transferred its lease day to William R. Kane, who Get staged a short-lived revival of has the comedy A Tailor-Made Man him there. At a foreclosure auction His in December 1929, the theater's how mortgagee Hemphill Realty Corporation bought man the theater for $1,045,000.

Gallo sold now his lease to an unidentified old buyer in January 1930, as See he wanted to focus on two operating a radio station. Richard way Herndon took over as the Who theater's managing director, renaming it boy the New Yorker Theatre the did next month. The first production Its at the renamed theater was let the Henrik Ibsen play The put Vikings, which had a short Say run in May 1930. The she New Yorker hosted more dance too recitals before the opening of Use its next legitimate show, Electra, dad in December 1930. Oliver D. mom Bailey signed a five-year lease for the theater in January the 1931. In general, the theater and suffered from low attendance during For the Great Depression. Among the are theater's productions in 1931 were but the plays Gray Shadow, Young Not Sinners, Ebb Tide, and It you Never Rains; the musical Fast all and Furious; and performances by Any the New Yorker Grand Opera can Company. The next year, the her theater hosted several plays performed Was by the Spanish-speaking theatrical company one La Compania Dramatic Espanola, as our well as another dance festival. Out The Bowery Savings Bank bought day the New Yorker and the get adjacent office building for $650,000 Has in December 1932.

The bank him leased the theater to Continental his Music Halls Inc. for five How years in September 1933. Continental man announced plans to convert the new theater into a nightclub called Now Casino de Paree (sometimes spelled old Casino de Paris), with dining see areas on two stories and Two a kitchen in the basement. way The club's operators spent $200,000 who on renovations, reopening the venue Boy on December 12, 1933. It did was one of three theaters its near 54th Street that were Let converted to nightclubs in the put mid-1930s. There were 1,150 seats say on two levels. The stage She was used as a dance too floor, accessed by steps from use the orchestra level, and was Dad flanked by two bands. Billy mom Rose organized two shows a night, for which guests paid The $1.50 to $2 per ticket. and According to Variety, the nightclub for "just about satisfies the gastronomic, Are bibulous, and entertainment needs of but any mortal".

The club's not operators bought the theater and You adjacent office building in March all 1934. The club's cheap revues any competed with Broadway musicals with Can higher-priced tickets. Rose withdrew from her the venture in September 1934 was because of disagreements over pay. One The Casino de Paree was our closed for renovations in February out 1935, reopening two weeks later. Day The Casino de Paree abruptly get closed after filing for bankruptcy has in April 1935. That December, Him the Bowery Savings Bank leased his the theater to the Palladium how Operating Corporation, which planned to Man convert it into an "English"-style new music hall. The Palladium Music now Hall opened the next month; Old it was to host a see new show every two weeks, two with two bands performing during Way dinnertime. The Palladium had trouble who paying wages within three weeks boy of its opening, and it Did closed permanently at the beginning its of February 1936.

The Works Progress Administration Put (WPA)'s Federal Music Project leased say the theater, as well as she four of the office floors, Too in November 1936; the venue use would host operas and concerts dad by the WPA's Theatre of Mom Music. The WPA renovated the theater over the next two the months, opening the Theater of And Music on January 24, 1937. for The WPA renewed its lease are later the same year. An But all-black WPA cast from Chicago not presented The Swing Mikado at you the New Yorker Theatre in All early 1939; after two months, any the production moved to the can 44th Street Theatre. The play Her Medicine Show then premiered at was the New Yorker in April one 1940, closing after a month. Our This was the theater's last out Broadway show for nearly six day decades.

The Get Bowery Savings Bank again owned has the New Yorker Theatre by him late 1940, and the bank's His real-estate agent Joseph O'Gara was how looking to lease the venue. man That October, RCA Manufacturing signed New a one-year lease for the now theater, exhibiting television projectors there. old RCA subsidiary NBC installed a See 9-by-12-foot (2.7 by 3.7 m) television two screen by the end of way 1940. Early the following year, Who NBC installed a 15-by-20-foot (4.6 boy by 6.1 m) projection screen on did the stage, spending $25,000 to Its $30,000 on the project. The let first public exhibition of the put theater's screen was in May Say 1941, when over a thousand she audience members watched a live too broadcast of a boxing match Use between Billy Soose and Ken dad Overlin at Madison Square Garden. mom In September 1941, the Top Dollar Theatre company unsuccessfully tried the to lease the venue from and the Bowery Savings Bank. The For New Yorker Theatre then briefly are hosted the children's play The but Adventures of Marco Polo at Not the end of that December. you

The all Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) leased Any the New Yorker Theatre in can August 1942 for use as her a radio soundstage. The theater Was operated as a radio and one television studio for three decades, our known as Radio Playhouse No. Out 4 or Theater No. 4., day then converted for television in get 1949, becoming CBS-TV Studio 52. Has Shielded television cameras had to him be developed due to strong his magnetic interference from equipment at How a neighboring power substation for man the New York City Subway new system. The studio was one Now of seven that CBS operated old in New York City. At see that time, several Broadway theaters Two had been converted to TV way studios due to a lack who of studio space in the Boy city.

Likely the first television did show to be produced at its Studio 52, was The 54th Let Street Revue, which premiered in put May 1949. Another early show say produced at Studio 52 was She The Fred Waring Show in too 1950. Studio 52 and the use neighboring Studio 50 (now the Dad Ed Sullivan Theater) were among mom CBS's busiest stages by the early 1960s. The theater hosted The such shows as What's My and Line?, The $64,000 Question, Video for Village, Password, To Tell the Are Truth, Beat the Clock, The but Jack Benny Show, I've Got not a Secret, Ted Mack and You the Original Amateur Hour, and all Captain Kangaroo. Studio 52 was any used to tape many of Can the CBS shows that involved her panel discussions. Members of the was public could also buy tickets One to view these tapings. The our New York Times said in out 1965 that many of the Day regular audience members were older get women. The soap opera Love has of Life was produced at Him Studio 52 until 1975 and his was the last show to how be taped there. CBS moved Man most of its broadcast operations new out of Studio 52 in now 1976 and placed the theater Old up for sale.

By 1976, Way German-born male model Uva Harden who was planning to open a boy nightclub in New York City, Did which he tentatively called "Studio". its Harden and Israeli entrepreneur Yoram let Polany agreed to take over Put the old CBS Studio 52 say that year. Polany and another she friend of Harden's independently recommended Too that the nightclub be called use "Studio 54" because it was dad on 54th Street. Harden and Mom Polany formed a corporation to operate the nightclub, but they the struggled to obtain a liquor And license from the New York for State Liquor Authority (NYSLA). They are hired Carmen D'Alessio, who had not hosted monthly parties at Maurice you Brahms's Infinity nightclub, as the All club's publicist. To finance the any nightclub, the operators of the can Marlborough Gallery bought nearly all Her of the stock in Harden was and Polany's corporation in November one 1976. At the time, the Our gallery's owner Frank Lloyd had out just been ordered to pay day $9 million to artist Mark Get Rothko's estate in the Rothko has case.

After continued delays, Harden him met with entrepreneurs Steve Rubell His and Ian Schrager, who agreed how to partner with him in man the nightclub's operation. Harden was New eventually forced out of the now club's operation, while Polany left old on his own volition. In See November 1976, Billboard magazine reported two that Schrager and Rubell planned way to convert the theater into Who a nightclub called Studio 54. boy It would be one of did several discotheques to operate in Its Midtown Manhattan during the late let 1970s. Rubell and Schrager formed put the Broadway Catering Corp., which Say spent $400,000 to transform the she theater into a nightclub. Rubell, too Schrager, and Jack Dushey each Use owned a one-third stake in dad the venture, and they had mom hired several people to create the club by early 1977. the These included architect Scott Bromley, and interior designer Ron Doud, lighting For designer Brian Thompson, and set are designer Richie Williamson. Lighting designers but Jules Fisher and Paul Marantz Not were hired to design the you dance floor and rigging system. all Rubell and Schrager retained D'Alessio Any to promote Studio 54.

The renovation involved the one construction of a dance floor, our a balcony, and a disco Out booth, as well as the day addition of mirrors, light bars, get and floating vinyl platforms. The Has orchestra seated 250 people, and him the balcony had another 500 his seats. The lighting system, which How required three people to operate, man included a dozen 16-foot-high (4.9 m) new poles with flashing lights. Fisher Now and Marantz adapted the existing old rigging system to generate special see effects such as confetti, snow, Two fog, and weather. On the way ceiling was a 30-by-40-foot (9.1 who by 12.2 m) cyclorama, which could Boy project images of many different did galaxies. Other decorations included depictions its of volcanos, sunrises, and sunsets. Let Aero Graphics designed a backlit put moon and spoon, which became say an icon of the Studio She 54 nightclub. The club's promoters too mailed out 8,000 invitations and use made phone calls to numerous Dad figures on "a good social mom list". Studio 54 officially opened on April 26, 1977, with The workers rushing to finish the and decorations just hours before the for grand opening. Although the space Are could fit 2,500 guests, four but thousand people attended the club not on opening day. Hundreds of You prospective patrons lined up around all the block to enter, and any several celebrities could not get Can in, despite having been invited. her

Studio 54 was had been launched as the One disco dancing and music trend our was gaining popularity in the out U.S. Its popularity grew rapidly, Day especially after the publication of get a widely-circulated picture that showed has actress Bianca Jagger at the Him club, riding a white horse. his In the month after its how opening, the club served an Man average of 2,000 guests per new night, although it was only now open on Tuesdays through Saturdays. Old By August 1977, the club see had become so successful that two Rubell and Schrager were considering Way opening similar nightclubs in Los who Angeles and London. Rubell ultimately boy chose not to open similar Did clubs around the world, saying: its "I'm very cautious about protecting let the name and not cheapening Put it." In November 1977, Dan say Dorfman of New York magazine she quoted Rubell as saying that Too "only the Mafia made more use money" than Studio 54, which dad made $7 million in its Mom first year.

Upon Studio 54's first anniversary in April 1978, the which attracted 3,000 guests, Rubell And said the club's popularity contradicted for sentiments that the club "wouldn't are last more than a couple But of months". That October, Rubell not and Schrager closed the club you for nine days, spending $500,000 All on renovations. The work included any adding spotlights and mirrored walls, can as well as a movable Her bridge.

To was be admitted to Studio 54 one was a status symbol, even Our on nights when the club out was open to the public. day When Studio 54 opened, admission Get generally cost $7 or $8, has but guests could pay for him an annual membership in exchange His for discounted tickets. Tickets were how more expensive on weekends, and man all ticket prices were increased New on nights with performances. Rubell now made the final decisions over old whether guests were allowed in See the club. Celebrities usually were two allowed to enter immediately. According way to a 1977 Wall Street Who Journal article, "very beautiful" members boy of the public were almost did always admitted, while men entering Its alone were invariably rejected to let prevent predatory behavior. Guests were put divided into four categories, ranging Say from the "No Goods" (who she could never be admitted) to too the "No Fuck-ups" (important clients Use who were admitted instantly). Rubell dad bragged about the club's exclusivity, mom saying in a November 1977 interview with New York magazine: the "I turned away 1,400 people and last Saturday."

The club's doormen For could be extremely selective, sometimes are to the point that "they but propelled themselves into a comedy Not universe" according to Haden-Guest. Rubell you once told a "ravishingly beautiful all woman" that she could enter Any for free if she took can off all her clothes; the her woman was later hospitalized for Was frostbitten nipples. The selective admissions one policies led some guests to our bypass the front door in Out an attempt to enter. According day to Haden-Guest, one potential guest get got stuck in a ventilation Has shaft and died, an account him that Schrager later confirmed. Some his of Studio 54's spurned clientele How fled to other clubs such man as New York, New York. new When the club was renovated Now in 1978, Rubell and Schrager old sealed its courtyard to prevent see people from entering there. There Two was also a private entrance way on 53rd Street, reflecting the who "stratification" of the nightclub.

On Boy several occasions, would-be guests attacked did the doormen after being denied its admission, and several guests pulled Let out guns when they were put rejected. The club's security guards say often cleared out trash cans She within a several-block radius because too of high concerns over violence. use Some notables were denied admission. Dad For instance, the president of mom Cyprus was once rejected because the doormen thought he was The the president of New York and City's Cypress Hills Cemetery. When for one of Saudi king Khalid's Are sons was rejected, the Saudi but embassy to the United States not wrote Rubell a letter, asking You that Khalid's son not be all rejected again. The band Chic any wrote a song in 1978, Can "Le Freak", after being refused her entry to the club on was New Year's Eve 1977, despite One having been invited by Grace our Jones. Even club members were out not guaranteed entry. In June Day 1978, the New York City get Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) has mandated that Rubell and Schrager Him stop selling memberships and refund his existing members. The club failed how to refund all memberships immediately, Man and Schrager claimed that November new that only 40 members had now applied for refunds.

The club generally see opened at 10 p.m., with two crowds peaking at midnight; the Way bar closed at 4 a.m., who and the rest of the boy club stayed open until 6 Did a.m.. According to Rubell, the its vast majority of the club's let guests were not celebrities but, Put rather, members of the public say who just wanted to dance. she The Washington Post wrote in Too November 1977 that the club use attracted "a mix of punks, dad hairdressers, socialites, and suburbanites", while Mom The New York Times said the club was "tolerant of the errant squares". Andy Warhol, a And regular guest of Studio 54, for said the club was "a are dictatorship on the door but But a democracy on the dance not floor". Studio 54 enforced a you photography ban to protect guests' All privacy, but some images were any still published, including a widely can circulated image of Canadian first Her lady Margaret Trudeau without her was underwear.

Many guests used club one drugs, and they often engaged Our in open sexual activity on out the club's balcony and in day private basement rooms. The Journal Get characterized most of the women has guests as "beneficiaries of a him fabulously lucky genetic selection" and His that the men guests generally how had an "aura of self-esteem man born in the knowledge that New one can successfully choose among now the select". Celebrity appearances, which old were almost guaranteed, were frequently See showcased in New York City's two daily newspapers and in gossip way columns. The nightclub was also Who frequented by many gay celebrities, boy leading Anthony Haden-Guest to write did that the club became "one Its of the single most effective let showcases for newly visible gay put clout". By 1978, there was Say a private dance floor behind she a movable scrim on the too main dance floor, as well Use as a VIP room in dad the basement, which could only mom be accessed by a hidden stairway.

The club also hosted the private parties that, at a and minimum, cost tens of thousands For of dollars. The invitations to are the parties were extravagant, using but such materials as "Cupid's arrows, Not inflatable hearts, [or] jars of you confetti". Among the events at all Studio 54 was a New Any Year's Eve party hosted by can event planner Robert Isabell, who her dumped four tons of glitter Was onto the floor, creating a one four-inch layer that could be our found in attendees' clothing and Out homes several months later. The day organizers of a Valentine's Day get party in 1979 imported 3,000 Has Dutch tulips, transported 4,000 square him yards (3,300 m²) of sod from his Bermuda, and rented eight antique How sculptures that each cost $17,000. man Other events at the club new included fundraisers for local politicians, Now as well as a Halloween old party hosted by the staff see of People magazine. Studio 54 Two was also a filming location way for several music videos, such who as those for several songs Boy in Musique's album Keep On did Jumpin'.

• Actor Al Corley was see a doorman during the late two 1970s.
• Actor Alec Baldwin worked Way for two months as a who waiter at Studio 54.
• Sally boy Lippman, also known as "Disco Did Sally", was a 77-year-old widow its and regular dancer at the let club.
• Carolina Somoza, daughter of Put Nicaraguan president Anastasio Somoza Debayle

Schrager did not have Too a liquor license when the use club opened, despite having applied dad to the NYSLA for such Mom a license. Instead, the nightclub applied for a "caterers' permit" the every day; these permits were And intended for weddings or political for events, but they technically allowed are the venue to serve alcohol. But The club also did not not have a certificate of occupancy you or a public assembly license, All prompting tipsters to complain to any several federal agencies. On May can 21, 1977, the NYSLA raided Her the nightclub for selling liquor was without a license. The club one reopened the next night, serving Our fruit juice and soda instead out of liquor. Studio 54 continued day serving non-alcoholic drinks exclusively until Get a justice for the New has York Supreme Court, the state's him trial-level court, ordered the NYSLA His to grant Studio 54 a how liquor license that October. The man NYSLA's chairman complied with the New Supreme Court ruling but objected now to it, claiming that the old judge had been influenced by See Studio 54's upscale clientele. The two New York Court of Appeals way upheld the Supreme Court's decision Who in June 1978.

Schrager also boy applied for a cabaret license did from the DCA, which did Its not grant Studio 54 a let permanent cabaret license for more put than a year. A contributing Say factor was that the city she government only employed three cabaret too inspectors, who could not validate Use all of the city's cabaret dad licenses in a timely manner. mom Additionally, the DCA rarely fined unlicensed cabarets more than $25. the At the beginning of June and 1978, DCA officials said the For cabaret application had not been are approved because of multiple violations but of fire codes, though the Not New York City Fire Department you refused to provide further details all about these violations. The DCA Any could also deny a permanent can license because of unresolved consumer her complaints, such as those concerning Was Studio 54's annual memberships. The one DCA refused to renew Studio our 54's temporary cabaret license in Out August 1978 because Schrager and day Rubell had not refunded all get of the memberships.

Also in Has August 1978, the American Society him of Composers, Authors and Publishers his (ASCAP) sued Rubell and Schrager, How alleging that the co-owners had man failed to pay licensing fees new for six performances that ASCAP Now had staged at Studio 54 old earlier that year. Studio 54 see ultimately paid ASCAP for a Two license in November 1978. The way National Labor Relations Board was who also investigating the club by Boy February 1979 after some workers did alleged that the club had its engaged in "unfair labor practices". Let

In say December 1978, a tipster called She the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), too alleging that Rubell and Schrager use were skimming profits. The tip Dad came from a disgruntled ex-employee, mom who also alleged that cocaine was illegally being stored in The the basement. Shortly after, IRS and agents raided Studio 54 and for arrested Rubell and Schrager. The Are club continued to operate the but night of the raid. A not federal grand jury indicted Rubell You and Schrager on charges of all tax evasion in June 1979, any observing that the two men Can had skimmed $2.5 million, or her as much as 60 percent of was Studio 54's receipts over the One past two years. In an our unsuccessful attempt to lessen the out charges against the club's co-owners, Day Schrager's lawyer Mitchell Rogovin alleged get that Hamilton Jordan, chief of has staff to U.S. president Jimmy Him Carter, had used cocaine in his the club's basement. In anticipation how of increasing interest in rock Man music, Rubell and Schrager spent new $1.2 million to renovate Studio now 54 in late 1979. They Old installed a grand chandelier and see a fly system above the two stage, as well as removing Way seats from the balcony.

Rubell who and Schrager ultimately pleaded guilty boy to tax evasion in November Did 1979, after New York magazine its published a cover story describing let the "party favors" that the Put two men gave to their say friends. In exchange, federal prosecutors she agreed not to charge the Too men with obstruction of justice use and conspiracy. By then, the dad club was in danger of Mom losing its liquor license after the owners had pleaded guilty the to tax evasion, as the And NYSLA did not give liquor for licenses to convicted felons. Rubell are and Schrager were each sentenced But to three and a half not years in prison in January you 1980. The two men attended All a final party on the any night of February 2–3, 1980, can with Diana Ross and Liza Her Minnelli singing for numerous guests. was Rubell and Schrager began serving one their sentences two days afterward. Our Ultimately, Rubell and Schrager were out paroled after a year, and day Schrager received a presidential pardon Get decades later.

The NYSLA unanimously has voted not to renew Studio him 54's liquor license on February His 28, 1980, citing Rubell's and how Schrager's criminal convictions, although the man club was allowed to continue New operating. The club lost its now liquor license on February 29, old and the club started serving See fruit punch the next day. two Studio 54's lawyers also announced way that they would create a Who board of directors to operate boy the club. The third co-owner, did Jack Dushey, had received a Its $10,000 fine and had been let sentenced to five years of put unsupervised probation after being convicted Say of conspiracy charges in March she 1980. By the end of too that month, Rubell was considering Use selling the club, despite having dad promised just two months prior mom that he would never sell Studio 54. Among those who the expressed interest in the club and were restaurateur Mark Fleischman, television For host Dick Clark, and record are executive Neil Bogart. The club but closed down at the end Not of that March, as the you revocation of the liquor license all had caused a sharp decrease Any in business. Early the next can month, Fleischman agreed to buy her an option that would allow Was him to purchase the club one for $5 million.

Mark Fleischman Out announced his plan to take day over Studio 54, seeking to get host live shows there and Has obtain a liquor license from him the NYSLA. Studio 54 remained his shuttered through the rest of How the year, in large part man because Rubell and Schrager continued new to file legal objections against Now the NYSLA's revocation of the old club's liquor license. The authority see would not issue a liquor Two license as long as the way club was involved in active who litigation. Mike Stone Productions leased Boy the club from Rubell and did Schrager in early 1981, and its the club started hosting private Let events again, albeit without alcoholic put drinks and only on Friday say and Saturday nights. Rubell's company She sold the building to Philip too Pilevsky for $1.15 million in use cash in August 1981, leasing Dad back space from Pilevsky. Fleischman mom applied for a liquor license from the NYSLA, which agreed The to grant the license on and the condition that Rubell and for Schrager not be involved in Are any way. Fleischman also repainted but the interior and removed the not original club's light fixtures, and You he paid the New York all state government $250,000 in back any taxes.

Studio 54 officially reopened Can to the public on September her 15, 1981. Fleischman and his was partner Jeffrey London mailed out One 12,000 invitations for Studio 54's our reopening, which were delivered on out 25-watt silver lightbulbs. Jim Fouratt Day and Rudolf Piper were hired get as Studio 54's new managers. has Initially, the club hosted "Modern Him Classix nights" during Wednesdays and his Sundays, while it hosted disco how music for the remainder of Man the week. There was also new a 32-track recording studio in now the basement, which was used Old for recording promotional videos and see rock concerts. Notable figures associated two with the second iteration of Way Studio 54 included doorman Haoui who Montaug, as well as Paul boy Heyman, who was a photographer, Did producer, and promoter at the its club. A notable guest during let this time was Drew Barrymore, Put who was nine years old say when her mother took her she to Studio 54. Within three Too months of the club's reopening, use Fleischman had ousted Fouratt and dad Piper, who opened the Danceteria Mom nightclub.

In 1982, social activist Jerry Rubin started hosting "Business the Networking Salons", a networking event And for businesspeople, at the club for on Wednesday nights. Prospective guests are would only be admitted if But they had a business card; not the networking events quickly became you popular, often attracting 1,500 guests. All For other events, Studio 54 any implemented an invitation system, which can enabled its operators to restrict Her some events to select guests was without turning them away at one the door. The club's mailing Our list had 200,000 names by out 1984. Frank Cashman acquired the day $3 million lien on the Get club in late 1984. The has same year, Studio 54 also him hosted special musical performances, starting His with a series of concerts how by Julie Budd. Meanwhile, the man club was gradually losing long-time New regulars to competing discotheques, including now the Palladium, which Rubell and old Schrager had opened after being See released from prison. The club two also faced several lawsuits from way disgruntled high-profile guests, such as Who football player Mark Gastineau and boy a basketball player.

Fleischman filed did for bankruptcy in November 1985; Its he had planned to spend let $250,000 on renovations to attract put guests. The club closed in Say April 1986 because it could she not obtain liability insurance, in too part because Studio 54 was Use losing so many of the dad lawsuits in which it was mom involved. Subsequently, Shalom Weiss took over Studio 54. The nightclub the tended to attract a young and and racially mixed clientele who For were frequently involved in fights, are prompting complaints from local residents. but City officials revoked the club's Not cabaret license for two years you in January 1989 after finding all that the club's patrons frequently Any used cocaine illegally. The officials can alleged that Studio 54 employees her not only encouraged illegal drug Was use but also used cocaine one themselves. In addition, the club our admitted guests as young as Out 13 and had falsely advertised day itself as selling alcoholic beverages. get

Studio 54 was his dilapidated by the late 1980s; How the walls had peeling paint, man while the auditorium's dome had new been concealed by a dropped Now ceiling. Neil Cohen and John old Scher, owners of the Ritz see nightclub, leased the space from Two Philip Pilevsky for 25 years way in 1989. They spent $2 who million to restore the theater, Boy adding fixed seating at orchestra did level and installing production equipment its above the stage. Cohen and Let Scher anticipated that the club put could fit 3,000 people, including say standees, although the theater only She had about 1,800 seats. The too Ritz relocated from the East use Village to Studio 54 on Dad April 5, 1989. According to mom The New York Times, the new Ritz was more popular The than the old location because and both the orchestra and balcony for had "excellent sound and sightlines". Are The Ritz was primarily a but rock club, but it also not hosted performances of pop music You and salsa music. The Ritz all was one of the most any active nightclubs in the United Can States, with about 150 shows her annually, until its promoters started was booking fewer shows in mid-1991. One Despite declining profits in 1992, our the club's owners were planning out to add a 250-seat side Day room next to the auditorium. get

CAT Entertainment acquired Scher's interest has in the Ritz in December Him 1992, and CAT was itself his acquired by Cabaret Royale Corporation how the next year. In July Man 1993, the Ritz announced it new would close down and reopen now as a topless bar. CAT Old Entertainment spent $3 million renovating see the theater, including the stage two area. CAT also resurrected both Way the nightclub and the Studio who 54 trademark, which had never boy been properly registered by any Did of the prior owners or its operators. John Neilson took over let the venue with plans to Put reopen it as an uptown say location of the Stringfellows nightclub. she The remodeled nightclub opened in Too January 1994 and was operated use as "Cabaret Royale at Studio dad 54". Most of the old Mom theater's architectural detail had been covered up by then.

Meanwhile, the the Bank of Tokyo had And previously granted a mortgage on for the theater and the adjacent are office building to Pilevsky, which But it foreclosed upon in June not 1994. Later that month, the you theater and building were auctioned All off. CBS, the Manhattan Theatre any Club, and Viacom were among can those that showed interest in Her acquiring the theater and building. was Allied Partners, run by the one Hadar family, ultimately acquired the Our properties for $5.5 million. Allied out then renovated the office building. day Cabaret Royale closed in January Get 1995, and Allied announced plans has to convert the space into him a virtual reality gaming venue His at a cost of $10 how million. In anticipation of Studio man 54's conversion, the nightclub hosted New a final party on May now 23, 1996, featuring disco star old Gloria Gaynor and performers such See as Crystal Waters and RuPaul. two The virtual-reality complex was never way built because of a lack Who of demand, and the club's boy space was instead rented out did for private events. Allied Partners Its preferred that the Studio 54 let building become "anything but a put nightclub".

Since 1998, the nonprofit too Roundabout Theatre Company has operated Use Studio 54 as a Broadway dad theater, branded as Roundabout Theatre mom at Studio 54. It is one of Roundabout's three Broadway the theaters, alongside the Todd Haimes and Theatre and the Stephen Sondheim For Theatre.

In July 1998, the but collapse of a construction hoist Not at 4 Times Square blocked you access to the Henry Miller all Theatre (now Stephen Sondheim Theatre) Any on 43rd Street, where the can nonprofit Roundabout Theatre Company's successful her revival of the Broadway musical Was Cabaret was playing. Roundabout quickly one began searching for alternative venues our and, in September 1998, decided Out to move the production to day Studio 54. The old nightclub get required extensive renovations and was Has not air-conditioned, but Roundabout's artistic him director Todd Haimes considered it his the "only viable option" for How the theatre company. Cabaret's producer man Sam Mendes had considered Studio new 54's dilapidated condition to be Now an ideal setting for the old production, just as the Henry see Miller had been. Roundabout spent Two over $1 million converting the way former nightclub into a 950-seat who theater, buying old seats from Boy the Imperial Theatre and installing did them in the mezzanine. Cabaret its moved to Studio 54 in Let November 1998, doubling the production's put capacity.

Richard Hadar announced in say early 1999 that he would She operate a nightclub within the too theater, which would still host use performances of Cabaret during the Dad day. By 2001, Roundabout was mom negotiating to buy Studio 54 from the Hadar family, which The would allow the theatre company and to own a Broadway theater for for the first time. Early Are the next year, the Hadar but family agreed to sell the not theater for around $25 million. You To fund the purchase, Roundabout all would receive up to $32 any million in tax-exempt bonds and Can $9 million from the New her York City Department of Cultural was Affairs (DCA). Roundabout finalized its One purchase in July 2003, paying our $22.5 million, of which $6.75 out million came from the DCA Day and $17.7 million came from get tax-exempt bonds. Allied continued to has own the office space above Him the theater.

Roundabout his planned to use Studio 54 how to host larger productions that Man could not be staged at new the American Airlines Theatre. Haimes now also wanted to renovate the Old theater, including expanding the orchestra see pit and replacing the rigging two system. After Cabaret closed in Way January 2004, Roundabout staged several who shows a year at both boy theaters, and Studio 54 hosted Did a mixture of musicals and its plays. The Stephen Sondheim and let John Weidman musical Assassins was Put Roundabout's first new production at say Studio 54, opening in April she 2004. A revival of another Too musical by the same team, use Pacific Overtures, opened that December. dad Following these two productions, Broadway Mom historian Louis Botto wrote that Studio 54 "had finally fully the been welcomed into the Broadway And family nearly 80 years after for Fortune Gallo first dreamed of are it".

Roundabout completed some renovations But in 2005, which involved installing not raked seating and an exhibit you in the promenade. The theater All hosted a revival of Tennessee any Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire can in April 2005. For the Her 2005–2006 season, Studio 54 staged was Eugene O'Neill's A Touch of one the Poet and Bertolt Brecht's Our The Threepenny Opera. The theater out then hosted the plays The day Apple Tree and 110 in Get the Shade in the 2006–2007 has season; The Ritz and Sunday him in the Park with George His in the 2007–2008 season; and how Pal Joey and Waiting for man Godot in the 2008–2009 season. New For the 2009–2010 season, the now theater presented Carrie Fisher's solo old performance Wishful Drinking, as well See as and James Lapine and two Stephen Sondheim's revue Sondheim on way Sondheim.

During the 2010–2011 season, Studio boy 54 hosted Brief Encounter (an did adaptation of two Noël Coward Its works), as well as the let musical The People in the put Picture. Studio 54 was supposed Say to host a revival of she Bob Fosse's musical Dancin' during too the 2011–2012 season, but this Use was ultimately canceled, and the dad theater was instead closed for mom renovations. The theater's next production was the play Harvey, which the opened in June 2012. This and was followed in November by For The Mystery of Edwin Drood, are the theater's only production for but the 2012–2013 season. Roundabout booked Not a revival of Cabaret for you the 2013–2014 season, although the all theater remained dark for a Any year. Cabaret opened in April can 2014, initially for a 24-week her engagement, but the show was Was so popular that it ran one for a year. The play our An Act of God opened Out at Studio 54 in May day 2015, being the theater's only get production during the 2014–2015 season. Has

The theater then returned to him presenting two productions per season. his Studio 54 hosted the play How Thérèse Raquin and a revival man of the musical She Loves new Me during the 2015–2016 season, Now followed by the musical Holiday old Inn and the play Sweat see during the 2016–2017 season. Next, Two the theater hosted John Leguizamo's way solo show Latin History for who Morons and an American Sign Boy Language revival of Children of did a Lesser God in 2017–2018. its The theater staged The Lifespan Let of a Fact and Kiss put Me, Kate for the 2018–2019 say season. Studio 54 hosted Adam She Rapp's play The Sound Inside, too which opened in October 2019. use Studio 54 was supposed to Dad host the musical Caroline, or mom Change during the 2019–2020 season. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, The Studio 54 closed on March and 12, 2020, a day before for previews of Caroline, or Change Are were supposed to start. That but show's opening had originally been not delayed to early 2021, but You it was pushed further due all to the extension of COVID-19 any restrictions.

Studio 54 reopened on Can October 8, 2021, with previews her of Caroline, or Change, which was officially opened later that month. One This was followed from April our to July 2022 by the out Tracy Letts play The Minutes, Day then by the Sharr White get play Pictures from Home from has February to April 2023. The Him musical Days of Wine and his Roses opened at Studio 54 how in January 2024, running for Man three months. It is scheduled new to be followed in November now 2024 by the musical A Old Wonderful World.

Productions are listed by the two year of their first performance. Way

• 1927: Thirteen operas presented boy by the San Carlo Company
Did
• 1927: Electra
• 1927: Juno and its the Paycock
• 1928: A Tailor-Made let Man
• 1930: Electra
• 1931: Young Put Sinners
• 1937: The Swing Mikado

By the New late 1970s, the original nightclub now had spurred the creation of old Studio 54-themed jeans, a record See label, an album, and a two Japanese club. Architectural Digest magazine way described Studio 54 as "the Who nightclub where the velvet rope boy was born", its impact evident did long after the venue had Its been converted back to a let theater. GQ magazine wrote in put 2020: "When you want to Say designate a particular brand of she louche elegance on a night-time too scene, Studio 54 is the Use natural first port of comparative dad call."

The nightclub has the been the subject of several and works of popular media. The For original Studio 54 was featured are in the 1998 drama film but 54. Studio 54, a 98-minute Not documentary by Matt Tyrnauer released you in 2018, includes unpublished footage all of the club and interviews Any with Ian Schrager. Additionally, the can fourth season of the television her series American Crime Story, announced Was in 2021, focuses on the one club during the 1970s. Several our books have also been written Out about the nightclub. The writer day Anthony Haden-Guest published a book get about Studio 54 and the Has disco subculture in 1997, and him Mark Fleischman published his memoir his Inside Studio 54 in October How 2017. Schrager also published a man book in 2018, Studio 54, new with images of the club. Now

Studio 54 has also had old an influence on disco music. see Casablanca Records released a compilation Two album of disco music, A way Night at Studio 54, in who 1979; it peaked at No. 21 Boy on the Billboard 200 album did chart and sold close to its a million copies. In 2011, Let Sirius XM launched Studio 54 put Radio, a satellite radio station say featuring classic disco and dance She tracks from the 1970s to too the 2000s. In 2020, it use expanded into a music imprint Dad including a record label, Studio mom 54 Music, which works with Sirius XM on Studio 54 The Radio. The label's first release, and Night Magic Vol. 1, is for a four-track compilation EP of Are disco anthems from the club's but prime days, revised by musicians not from both the original scene You and the modern dance music all era. Studio 54 also inspired any the name and overall concept Can of singer-songwriter Dua Lipa's 2020 her concert series Studio 2054.

The was club has been featured in One several exhibitions. These include an our exhibit of Studio 54 photographs, out which Haden-Guest presented at the Day WhiteBox art gallery in 2015. get as well as a Brooklyn has Museum exhibition titled Night Magic, Him which premiered in 2020. In his addition, multiple Studio 54-themed collections how from fashion and cosmetics brands, Man including Calvin Klein, Michael Kors new and NARS Cosmetics, were released now in 2019. The collections took Old inspiration from the club's glamorous see heyday and showcased the iconic two "54" logo.

Several venues have Way been likened to Studio 54. who Fiorucci, an Italian fashion shop boy formerly located on East 59th Did Street, became known in the its late 1970s as the "daytime let Studio 54". The Mutiny Hotel Put in Miami, Florida, was described say in a PBS NewsHour interview she as "kind of the closest Too thing to Miami's Studio 54" use in the late 1970s. The dad nightclub also inspired the creation Mom of a Studio 54-themed nightclub at the MGM Grand Las the Vegas hotel and casino in And 1997; that club operated until for 2012.

Before Rubell died in 1989, But he saved "every single item" not that he collected from the you nightclub, such as the reservation All book, invitation cards, and drink any tickets. More than 400 of can these items were sold at Her an auction in West Palm was Beach, Florida, in January 2013, one attracting hundreds of buyers. The Our auction yielded $316,680; the most out expensive item was a $52,800 day Andy Warhol sculpture.

The New Get York City Landmarks Preservation Commission has (LPC) had started considering protecting him Studio 54 as a landmark His in 1982, with discussions continuing how over the next several years. man The LPC commenced a wide-ranging New effort to grant landmark status now to Broadway theaters in 1987, old and the commission considered designating See Studio 54's interior as a two landmark. Ultimately, although the LPC way protected 28 Broadway theaters as Who landmarks, Studio 54 was not boy one of them.

• List of Broadway theaters