Studio 54

Studio 54 is a New York City Broadway theater and former discothèque located at 254 West 54th Street in Manhattan. The disco opened on April 26, 1977 and closed in March 1986 and briefly reopened in 1994 after a multi-million dollar renovation. Since 1998 it has been a venue for the Roundabout Theatre Company, with a 900 seat theatre equipped with two full service bars.

History

Early years

The theatre originated as the Gallo Opera House by Fortune Gallo in 1927 for his San Carlo Opera Company. It opened on February 7, 1927 with the opera La bohème. It did not make it as an opera house; over the course of the next decade, it changed its name several times. It became known as the New Yorker Theatre in 1930, booking Ibsen's play The Vikings, but remained unsuccessful. From 1933 to 1936 it became a dinner theatre called the Casino de Paree, managed by Billy Rose. It was then the Palladium Theatre in 1936. The Federal Theatre Project leased it for its productions and changed its name to the Federal Music Theatre in 1937. The Chicago Federal Theatre achieved success here with its production of Swing Mikado, a jazzy version of the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta starring Bill Robinson. Later in 1937, the name was changed back to the New Yorker Theatre.

CBS Studio 52

This name would remain until CBS purchased the facility in 1942, renaming it Studio 52 (CBS named its studios in order of purchase and the number had nothing to do with the street). During these pre-television years, CBS would use the theater for radio broadcasts.

From the 1950s to the mid-1970s, CBS used the location as a radio and TV stage that housed such shows as What's My Line?, The $64,000 Question, Password, To Tell the Truth, Beat the Clock, The Jack Benny Show, I've Got a Secret, Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour, Captain Kangaroo, and the ill-fated CBS version of the Johnny Carson Show. The soap opera Love of Life was produced there until 1975.

In 1976, CBS concentrated most of its New York broadcast functions around the corner to its storied Ed Sullivan Theater (CBS-TV Studio 50) or west to the CBS Broadcast Center, and sold Studio 52. The Ed Sullivan Theater once had access to Studio 52 through an access door which was cinder-blocked during the Theater's Late Night with David Letterman renovation. However, it is possible that the door that was covered was, in fact, leading to an MTA utility building, instead of the Sullivan Theater.

Nightclub era

Founding

When CBS began marketing the building in 1976, various interests in the art and fashion world pushed for turning it into a trendy disco, including male model Uva Harden, who tried to get gallery owner Frank Lloyd to finance the club, until Lloyd lost a $9 million lawsuit to the estate of the artist Mark Rothko.

Carmen D'Alessio, a Valentino public relations agent who had been throwing fashionable parties, encouraged Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager, who were operating the Enchanted Garden at 63-20 Marathon Parkway in Queens, to make the leap into Manhattan. D'Alessio had "reluctantly" hosted parties outside of Manhattan at the Queens venue and had been profiled in Newsweek for doing so.

She was to introduce Rubell and Schrager to the jet set crowd including a pre-opening dinner with Andy Warhol, Halston, and Calvin Klein.

In 1977 the building was purchased and renamed for its street address, 254 West 54th Street, between Broadway and Eighth Avenue, a location already noted for another tenant in the building, famed disco record label West End Records, as well as being the former home of Scepter Records.

The club was founded by three equal partners: Steven Rubell, Ian Schrager, and Jack Dushey. They operated the company as Broadway Catering Corp. Another partner Richard DeCourcey was present until September 1977.

D'Alessio, after working in Rome and around Europe as a fashion PR, was well connected in the fashion, music, and film scenes; and generally with the kind of "A" list jetsetters, movers and shakers, and celebrities from across the United States, South America, Europe and other parts of the world who would be ideal patrons. Harden was pushed out of the project, and Rubell and Schrager gave D'Alessio much of the control for the design and promotion of the club.

Before the April 26, 1977 opening, D'Alessio sent out 5,000 invitations to her exclusive mailing list together with an enticing surprise gift to each of her invitees. Liz Smith, Cindy Adams, and other New York gossip columnists announced to the world the coming of something big.

On May 21, 1977, the New York State Liquor Authority raided Studio 54 for selling liquor without a license and closed it. The owners of the club said the incident was a "misunderstanding". The next night the club reopened but was giving out free fruit juice and soda instead of liquor. Prior to the raid, the club had been using one day use "caterers' permits", which enabled the club to serve alcohol but were intended for weddings or political affairs. The State had denied the daily permit for the night and raided the club. The club had been using these permits while waiting for its liquor license to be processed.

The scene

Among the many celebrities in attendance opening night: Mick and Bianca Jagger, Liza Minnelli, Jerry Hall, Diana Vreeland, Margaux Hemingway, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Salvador Dali, Brooke Shields, Francesco Scavullo, Janice Dickinson, Debbie Harry, Robin Leach, newlyweds Donald and Ivana Trump, newly engaged Rick Hilton and Kathy Richards, and many other well-known partygoers. Hordes scrambled to gain entry but only the lucky few got past the door. Some celebrities—including Warren Beatty, Henry Winkler, Cher, and Frank Sinatra were unable to get in, in part due to Studio 54's elusive doorman Marc Benecke. The club held around 700 patrons who paid $8 cover to get in each night.

A week after the opening, Halston asked Rubell to open the club on a Monday night (May 2, 1977, when it would have been closed) for Bianca Jagger's 27th birthday party. Bianca entered on a white horse and the resulting publicity firmly established Studio 54 as the preferred nightclub for celebrities, including Michael Jackson, Rudolf Nureyev, Elton John, Truman Capote, Margaret Trudeau, John Travolta, Jackie Onassis, Elizabeth Taylor, Gloria Swanson, Mae West, Farrah Fawcett, Martha Graham, Lorna Luft, Divine, Rod Stewart, Alice Cooper, Suzanne Somers, Bette Davis, Freddie Mercury, Zsa Zsa and Eva Gabor, Bette Midler, Dolly Parton, Pelé, Hugh Hefner, Sophia Loren, Diane von Fürstenberg, Margit and Erik Brandt, Eartha Kitt, and Lillian Carter, then-president Jimmy Carter's mother. The music world's top performers also graced the club's stages to perform their new songs: Donna Summer, Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band, Grace Jones, Gloria Gaynor, Cheryl Lynn, Brooklyn Dreams, James Brown, Phylis Hyman, Chic, Rick James, Sylvester and The Village People all sang their signature tunes during the endless nights of partying.

Studio 54 was operated by the flamboyant, publicly visible Rubell and his retiring silent partner Schrager. At the club's prime, Rubell became widely known for hand-selecting guests from the always huge crowds outside, mixing beautiful "nobodies" with glamorous celebrities in the same venue. London author/ journalist Keith Barker-Main recalls his first time at 54. Then still underage, he nervously stood outside at the back of the crowd feigning disinterest. His black cutaway tee shirt caught Rubell's eye. Bearing the logo "Fuck Studio 54!" it earned him a life time free membership from the owner, impressed by such chutzpah.

"Studio", as it came to be called, was notorious for the hedonism that went on within; the balconies were known for sexual encounters, and drug use was rampant. Its dance floor was decorated with a depiction of a Man in the Moon that included an animated cocaine spoon. John Blair and Jason presented "Sundays at Studio 54", which catered to a gay clientèle.

End of the first era

In December 1978 Rubell was quoted in the New York newspapers as saying the Studio had made $7 million in its first year and that "only the Mafia made more money." Shortly thereafter the club was raided and Rubell and Schrager were arrested for skimming $2.5 million. After the arrests Rubell accused Jimmy Carter's White House Chief of Staff Hamilton Jordan of snorting cocaine in the basement. A grand jury met 19 times and interviewed 33 witnesses before concluding that Rubell's testimony was not reliable enough to file charges.

The club closed with one final party called "The End of Modern-day Gomorrah", on February 4, 1980. Diana Ross, Ryan O'Neal, Janice Dickinson, Jocelyne Wildenstein, Richard Gere, Gia Carangi, Reggie Jackson, and Sylvester Stallone (who, as legend has it, bought the last drink) were among the guests that night. New York lawyer Gary Naftalis successfully represented Schrager in the ensuing tax-evasion prosecution. After the club's closing, cocaine and money were found in its walls. Schrager and Rubell were found guilty and would spend 13 months in prison.

1980s

In 1981, the building was sold by JISA Associates, of which Steven Rubell was a principal, to Philip Pilevsky for $2.2 million. Pilevsky in turn leased it to Mark Fleischman and it reopened on September 12, 1981. That night's star studded line up of Andy Warhol, Calvin Klein, Cary Grant, Gloria Vanderbilt, Mark Gastineau, Gina Lollobrigida, and Brooke Shields (who was currently on the cover of the September issue of Vogue as well as starring in Klein's infamous jeans commercials), brought back a sense of glamour to the club and New York nightlife in general. Celebrities continued to pack the club (the guest book on various nights ca. 1983-84 reported Janet Jackson, Demi Moore, Jennifer Grey, Tom Cruise, David Alan Grier, Vanity, Drew Barrymore, Jermaine Jackson, Whitney Houston, and Leif Garrett haunting the club), though the level of sensationalism was toned down from the club's early years. Madonna, Wham!, Duran Duran, Culture Club, and Run-DMC performed onstage before their respective breaks in the 'big time'. In 1985, heavy metal groups Slayer, Venom and Exodus shot a video at Studio 54 called "Ultimate Revenge for Disco".

This second incarnation closed down in March 1986 due to an expired lease.

The Ritz and Cabaret Royale

From 1989 until early 1993, the club's lease was owned by CAT Entertainment Corp (contrary to claims by a man named John Neilson, a sometime employee of Brian A Travis, the major shareholder in CAT Entertainment) and known as The Ritz. During that period, the club hosted occasional rock concerts and was otherwise used by CAT Entertainment as a public venue available for rent. In 1993, CAT Entertainment was acquired by Cabaret Royale Corporation, a nightclub operator based in Dallas. CAT Entertainment completed a renovation of the club earlier abandoned because of a lack of funds, and resurrected both the club and the Studio 54 trademark, which had never been properly registered by any of the prior owners or operators.. The newly remodeled club was operated as "Cabaret Royale at Studio 54" by CAT Entertainment until early 1995. The Pilevsky interests which owned the theater itself and the adjacent office building had several years earlier granted a mortgage on the properties to the Bank of Tokyo and, in an effort to resolve a large unpaid indebtedness of Pilevsky to the bank and to forestall foreclosure, a trustee had been appointed by Pilevsky and the bank and granted the right to sell those and numerous other properties owned by Pilevsky. In late 1994, Allied Partners acquired the Studio 54 properties and, after protracted litigation, CAT Entertainment lost its lease on the club and ceased operations.

Roundabout Theater at Studio 54

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. Roundabout later bought the building in 2003 from Allied for $22.5 million , and Cabaret played until 2004.

Notable productions

1998: Cabaret
2004: Assassins
2004: Pacific Overtures
2005: A Streetcar Named Desire
2005: A Touch of the Poet
2006: The Threepenny Opera
2006: The Apple Tree
2007: 110 in the Shade
2007: The Ritz
2008: Sunday in the Park with George
2008: Pal Joey (scheduled December 2008)
2009: Dancin' (scheduled May 2009)

Upstairs at Studio 54

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.

It was briefly owned by Noel Ashman.

Upstairs at Studio 54 Performances:

Other tenants

The building, which is still frequently referred to as the Studio 54 building, houses a variety of tenants, among them a theater venue, offices, and an educational facility called Mandl School, the College of Allied Health.

Franchises

Studio 54, Carlisle, UK

As part of the thriving Terminal 1 Nightclub, where the theme is 4 different destinations in one building the Studio 54 theme is alive and kicking in the main room. Hosting cheesy music and disco balls all over a multi colored dance-floor, with movies such as Saturday Night Fever and Grease showing the feel of the late 70s and early 80s.

Studio 54, Antwerp, Belgium

In Antwerp Studio 54 is a successful event taking place in gay discotheque Red & Blue every first Sunday of the month. Keeping the spirit of the original Studio 54 in mind, the party is all about excess, disco and glamour. Every evening brings great disco music, drag queen entertainment and a performance by an international disco artist (Gloria Gaynor, Sister Sledge, Luv', Boney M.). Every Studio 54 has a different theme, guests are encouraged to dress up to the theme. The event also holds a strict dress code.

Every September Studio 54 moves to the Antwerp Sports Palace to host its yearly biggest disco party in the world.

Studio 54, Las Vegas

After the New York club closed down in 1995, Studio 54 moved to Las Vegas, in the MGM Grand.

Studio 54, Berlin

In January 2005, MGM announced that they were scouting for the proper location in Berlin, Germany to open Studio 54 Berlin. The project was led by Joseph Jackson, the father of Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson. Only three months after its opening in May 2006 the club had to be closed again because of insolvency.

The plans for a second continuously-operating Studio 54 has caused fans of the original to charge that MGM is only interested in the commercialization and franchising of the Studio 54 name, and that these clubs will be nothing more than regular discotheques with the Studio 54 name.

Studio 54, León & Oviedo

In Spain, two locals carry the same name as the NY's discotheque.

Studio 54, Coventry

Coventry University Students' Union on Cox Street goes by the name of Studio 54, which is commonly abbreviated in advertising and branding, and also known locally in roman numerals as 'LIV'.

Cultural impact

During its heyday it played a formative role in the growth of disco music and nightclub culture in general.

A compilation album of disco music, A Night at Studio 54, was released by Casablanca Records in 1979. It peaked at #21.

The disco was depicted in the 1998 film 54 and was the model for the club featured in the movie, The Last Days of Disco. It was parodied in the 2002 movie Austin Powers in Goldmember as Studio 69.

On the season seven (1981-1982 season) of Saturday Night Live hosted by George Kennedy (with musical guest Miles Davis), there is a musical sketch called "53 at Studio 54", about an old man who goes to the famous discotheque.

In an episode of Sex and the City, Studio 54 is mentioned when Carrie Bradshaw is discussing Aleksander Petrovsky's past loves. In an earlier episode, Samantha Jones's 25 year old personal assistant makes a dig about Samantha's age, when she remarks "I also stood in line for Studio 54 - the movie!!"

In an episode of Ugly Betty, Studio 54 is mentioned when Amanda is asking Wilhemina for information about her father.

In Don't Forget the Lyrics!, Wayne Brady told Kevin Cronin to imagine he was at Studio 54 and sing "Last Dance".

The Welsh band Stereophonics song Vegas Two Times mentions the Las Vegas Studio 54.

In King of the Hill the episode 'Strangeness on a Train', it mentions a Studio 54 as a train mystery theme.

The incident surrounding Rick James and Charlie Murphy (Eddie Murphy's brother) as parodied in the infamous Chappelle's Show sketch, which spawned the "I'm Rick James, bitch" catchphrase.

A line in the song Le Freak mentions "just come on down to the 54", a reference to its days as an iconic disco dancing venue.