256 West 47th StreetThe Brooks Atkinson Theatre is a Broadway theater located at 256 West 47th Street in Manhattan. This intimate playhouse is popular with theatergoers having housed a long list of distinguished dramas and comedies starring such talents as Matthew Broderick, Glenn Close, Richard Dreyfuss, Gene Hackman, Ed Harris, Derek Jacobi, Nathan Lane, Gary Sinise, Jerry Stiller, and Marisa Tomei. On November 1, 2022, the Brooks Atkinson Theatre has renamed the Lena Horne Theatre in recognition of the legendary entertainer and civil rights activist, becoming the first Broadway theatre to be named for a Black woman.
The musical Six premiered when the Theatre reopened on September 17, 2021. The musical is a modern retelling of the lives of the six wives of Henry VIII presented as a pop concert, as the Queens take turns singing and telling their story to see who suffered the most due to Henry and should, therefore, become the group's lead singer.
Designed by architect Herbert J. Krapp, it was constructed as the Mansfield Theatre by the Chanin brothers in 1926. After 1933, the theatre fell into relative disuse until 1945, when Michael Myerberg bought and leased it to CBS for television productions. Known as CBS Studio 59, the theater played host to the long-running panel shows What's My Line? and I've Got a Secret. In 1960, it was renamed after the former New York Times theater critic Brooks Atkinson, and returned to legitimate use. The Nederlander Organization purchased part-ownership of the Atkinson in 1967.
In 2000, the interior was refurbished with restored decorative finishes by EverGreene Architectural Arts, and now the theatre is once again illuminated by the original chandelier that had been removed over 40 years prior. It has 1,069 seats and is one of the Nederlander Organization's nine Broadway houses.