Vacant Times Square Theatre to Become 'Broadway 4D' Attraction

NEW YORK - After standing vacant for around 20 years, the historic Times Square Theatre at  will open to a musical attraction dubbed "Broadway 4D," the New York Post reported. 

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Landlord New 42nd Street has signed a long-term lease with a company called Broadway 4D Theatres, formed by a group of entertainment industry veterans, that will take over the site at 217 W. 42nd Street, it said, describing Broadway 4D as “a 3D film enhanced show incorporating in-theater special effects,” such as scents and climatic changes.

Behind Broadway 4D are Beverly Hills entertainment lawyer Robert Kory, who manages singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, Gary Goddard, who has produced Broadway’s 2009 Tony-winning revival of Hair and pioneered 4D technology at Florida theme park rides and two Hollywood mainstays as executive producers - producer-director Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects, Superman Returns) and former CBS and Sony top executive Jeff Sagansky, who has most recently backed The Adventures of Tintin and other projects as a film financier.

4D shows are expected to launch at the Times Square Theatre by late spring or early summer 2013. Songs from musicals by the likes of Rodgers and Hammerstein and Andrew Lloyd Weber will be performed by stars of Hollywood and Broadway, according to the paper.

Financial terms of the real estate deal weren't disclosed. The Post cited a source estimate for the project’s launch cost at around $60 million.

New 42nd Street president Cora Cahan lauded the agreement, saying it will bring in “a very exciting tenant dedicated to restoring the Times Square Theatre as a place to celebrate Broadway musicals of the past, present and future.”

Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com

Twitter: @georgszalai