Nikon at Jones Beach Theater
Encyclopedia
Nikon at Jones Beach Theater is an outdoor amphitheatre
Amphitheatre
An amphitheatre is an open-air venue used for entertainment and performances.There are two similar, but distinct, types of structure for which the word "amphitheatre" is used: Ancient Roman amphitheatres were large central performance spaces surrounded by ascending seating, and were commonly used...

, located at Jones Beach State Park
Jones Beach State Park
Jones Beach State Park is a state park of the U.S. state of New York. It is located in southern Nassau County, in the hamlet of Wantagh, on Jones Beach Island, a barrier island linked to Long Island by the Meadowbrook State Parkway, Wantagh State Parkway and Ocean Parkway .The park is renowned for...

 in Wantagh, New York
Wantagh, New York
Wantagh is a hamlet and census-designated place in Nassau County, New York, United States...

. It is one of two major outdoor arenas in the New York metropolitan area
New York metropolitan area
The New York metropolitan area, also known as Greater New York, or the Tri-State area, is the region that composes of New York City and the surrounding region...

, along with PNC Bank Arts Center
PNC Bank Arts Center
The PNC Bank Arts Center is a modern amphitheatre located in Holmdel Township, New Jersey, USA. About 17,500 people can occupy the amphitheater; there are 7,000 seats and the grass area can hold about 10,500 people. Concerts are from May through September featuring 35–45 different events of...

. The theater was designed to specifications provided by Robert Moses
Robert Moses
Robert Moses was the "master builder" of mid-20th century New York City, Long Island, Rockland County, and Westchester County, New York. As the shaper of a modern city, he is sometimes compared to Baron Haussmann of Second Empire Paris, and is one of the most polarizing figures in the history of...

, who created Jones Beach State Park
Jones Beach State Park
Jones Beach State Park is a state park of the U.S. state of New York. It is located in southern Nassau County, in the hamlet of Wantagh, on Jones Beach Island, a barrier island linked to Long Island by the Meadowbrook State Parkway, Wantagh State Parkway and Ocean Parkway .The park is renowned for...

.

History

Opened in 1952 as the Jones Beach Marine Theater, the venue originally had 8,200 seats and hosted musicals. Moses had several boxes designated for his own use - Moses' friend Guy Lombardo
Guy Lombardo
Gaetano Alberto "Guy" Lombardo was a Canadian-American bandleader and violinist.Forming "The Royal Canadians" in 1924 with his brothers Carmen, Lebert, and Victor and other musicians from his hometown, Lombardo led the group to international success, billing themselves as creating "The Sweetest...

 performed often in the early years. The opening show was the operetta extravaganza "A Night in Venice" by Johann Strauss II
Johann Strauss II
Johann Strauss II , also known as Johann Baptist Strauss or Johann Strauss, Jr., the Younger, or the Son , was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed over 500 waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, and other types of dance music, as well as several operettas...

, produced by film producer, Mike Todd
Mike Todd
Michael Todd was an American theatre and film producer, best known for his 1956 production of Around the World in Eighty Days, which won an Academy Award for Best Picture...

, complete with floating gondolas and starring Enzo Stuarti
Enzo Stuarti
Enzo Stuarti was an Italian American tenor and musical theater performer. After a performing on Broadway under the stage names Larry Laurence and Larry Stuart, he changed his name again and began a recording career in which he released several successful albums...

, Norwood Smith and Nola Fairbanks
Nola Fairbanks
Nola Fairbanks is the granddaughter of Mormon pioneers Ralph Jacobus Fairbanks and Celestia Adelaide Johnson Fairbanks from Payson, Utah and Death Valley, California and has done film and Broadway work...

. Lombardo's final show was the 1977 production of Finian's Rainbow
Finian's Rainbow
Finian's Rainbow is a musical with a book by E.Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy, lyrics by Harburg, and music by Burton Lane. The 1947 Broadway production ran for 725 performances. Several revivals and a 1968 film version followed. A Broadway revival ran from October 8, 2009 until January 17, 2010...

, with Christoper Hewett in the title role. After Lombardo's death in 1977, the series resumed in 1978 with Annie Get Your Gun
Annie Get Your Gun
Annie Get Your Gun may refer to:*Annie Get Your Gun , a 1946 musical play*Annie Get Your Gun , a 1950 film version of the 1946 musical*Annie Get Your Gun , 1946, with Ethel Merman and Ray Middleton...

, starring Lucie Arnaz. Beginning in the 1980s, the primary focus of the venue would change to concerts. In 1991 and 1992, under contract from concert promoter Ron Delsner, the theatre would undergo an extensive renovation, adding a second level, and increasing the capacity to 11,200 seats. The capacity was expanded again in 1998 to hold 15,000 seats. The original design of the theater had a "moat" — the stage was actually on Zachs Bay and separated from the beach, and performers could be brought to the stage by boat (some scenes had floating scenery). The moat was covered or filled in during the first renovation and seats closer to the stage were installed. The Guy Lombardo Orchestra would pass through the "moat" on a yacht during the intermissions. The band would play tunes while floating in front of the audience.

Later years and today

In 2002, the company of clothing designer Tommy Hilfiger
Tommy Hilfiger
Thomas Jacob "Tommy" Hilfiger is an American fashion designer and founder of the premium lifestyle brand Tommy Hilfiger.-Early life:...

 purchased the naming rights to the venue, giving it the name Tommy Hilfiger at Jones Beach Theater for four years. On April 13, 2006, after Tommy Hilfiger, under new ownership, declined its option to keep the company's name on the theater, naming rights were purchased by the camera company Nikon
Nikon
, also known as just Nikon, is a multinational corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, specializing in optics and imaging. Its products include cameras, binoculars, microscopes, measurement instruments, and the steppers used in the photolithography steps of semiconductor fabrication, of which...

, giving the venue its current name, Nikon at Jones Beach Theater.
The venue has a strict no-alcohol policy except in designated VIP boxes located behind the orchestra & the VIP tent area. Separate additional tickets are required to enter the popular VIP tent area. In 2009 Jones Beach introduced The Bay Stage. The performances will be staged in an alternate location on the theater property. The general admission capacity is 5,000.

See also

  • PNC Bank Arts Center
    PNC Bank Arts Center
    The PNC Bank Arts Center is a modern amphitheatre located in Holmdel Township, New Jersey, USA. About 17,500 people can occupy the amphitheater; there are 7,000 seats and the grass area can hold about 10,500 people. Concerts are from May through September featuring 35–45 different events of...

    , an outdoor amphitheatre in Holmdel Township, New Jersey
    Holmdel Township, New Jersey
    Holmdel Township is a township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 16,773. Holmdel Township was formed by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 23, 1857, from portions of Raritan Township .Holmdel is a suburb of...

  • List of contemporary amphitheatres

External links

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