James Earl Jones Theatre Honored

ASHLEIGH WALSH, FACILITIES OPERATIONS MANAGER

​On April 10th, 2024, The James Earl Jones Theatre was an honored recipient of the NY Landmark Conservancy’s  34th Annual Lucy G. Moses Preservation Award for its recent restoration and expansion project amongst several other esteemed honorees from across the five boroughs of New York City. As the Conservancy’s program states: “The Lucy G. Moses Preservation Awards are the New York Landmarks Conservancy’s highest honors for outstanding preservation” and include recognition of organizations, architects, individuals, craftspeople, and building owners who are committed to preserving the architecture and visual history of our city. To emphasize the gravitas this honor carries, the conservancy’s president, Peg Breen, opened the ceremony by welcoming us all to “the Oscars of Preservation,” and so it was.
 
Several members of the Shubert Facilities Department attended the sold-out ceremony held at the Plaza Hotel. Also present were representatives from some of our project’s contractors and consultants including: Kostow Greenwood Architects, McLaren Engineering, Façade Maintenance Design, and NYCCODE, LLC.  Facilities’ Senior Vice President John Darby accepted the award on behalf of the Jones team and The Shubert Organization, Inc. (the company’s second award in this category; the first being the Longacre in 2008).
 
After thanking the entire project’s team including our colleagues, architects Francesca Russo and Kostow Greenwood, and the many consultants and tradespeople who helped us on the project, John rightfully observed the Jones Theatre’s restoration and expansion was a special one. It was the largest project Shubert had ever taken on and notably occurred during a harrowing time period of Covid-19 where our industry was all but shut down with a very uncertain future ahead.  To see its vigor restored and its usability for modern audiences improved was, and is, a continued thrill to behold and to have been a part of.
 
With a smile, John recalled James Earl Jones’ visit to his newly christened theatre where he reflected back to when he made his Broadway debut there in the 1958 production of “Sunrise At Campobello” in a bit part role. Mr. Jones chucklingly revealed that he had flubbed the one line he had and quipped he had always struggled with a stutter, leaving his audience at the time (and ours at the Conservancy) both agape with incredulity and admiration of the man known in the acting world for his booming, articulate, and characteristic voice. It was made clear Jones’ relatability, relevancy, and humanity remains securely intact.
 
Although only one of our number could approach the podium, I know I speak collectively with our many team members and collaborators, that we are honored and humbled to accept this award. The Jones’ restoration is truly remarkable and provides a unique example of a historical theatre conceptualized to expand in order to accommodate and increase accessibility for modern audiences as we march ever forward toward a more diverse and equitable future in the theatrical world for audiences and artists alike. It is a triumph and I am quite proud to have played my own “bit role” in the process.
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