Music Box to Play Only for Shuberts

One thing you can say about the Shubert Organization: they sure know how to get more of what they've already got in abundance.

The Broadway giant has long owned more Broadway theatres than anybody else: a grand total of 16 and 1/2. That 50 percent ownership was of the Music Box Theatre on W. 45th Street. The Music Box was built by producer Sam H. Harris, who was with the Shubert Org, and composer Irving Berlin. Since Berlin's death, it's been co-owned by the Shuberts and the Irving estate.

The New York Post's Liz Smith reports that Berlin's three daughters—Mary Ellin Barrett, Linda Emmett and Elizabeth Peters—recently sold their half to the Shubert boys. No word on how much they paid, but you can bet it was plenty. The Shuberts have pots of money, and it's not like they build new Broadway theatres every day.

Now the Shuberts own the entirety of 45th Street between Broadway and Eighth Avenue, with the exception of the ugly old Minskoff, owned by the Nederlanders. The Jacobs, Schoenfeld, Booth, Imperial, Music Box, and Golden theatres—all theirs. The first two, in case you're wondering, used to be called the Plymouth and the Royale, but were recently renamed after Shubert execs.