This fall, Christie’s will auction a remarkable collection of fine and decorative artworks from the estate of Terry Allen Kramer, the late Tony Award-winning Broadway producer who was equally famous as the “grande dame” of Palm Beach, Florida. The Terry Allen Kramer Collection includes an outstanding grouping of Impressionist and modern works, which will go under the hammer at Christie’s in New York on November 11 and 12, and a selection of porcelain, prints, and decorative art, which will be presented on October 16. Terry Allen Kramer was a legend of Broadway, winning five best-production Tony Awards between 2002 and 2017, including Hello, Dolly and Kinky Boots. Inspired by the theatrical source of the sale, Luxury Defined offers a collection of homes close to world-class theater districts.
NEW YORK CITY
Situated in Pritzker Prize-winning architect Christian de Portzamparc’s 157 West 57th Street on Manhattan’s Billionaire’s Row, Residence 37A is the perfect pied-à-terre. This high-floor one-bedroom, one-and-a-half-bathroom apartment boasts panoramic views of Central Park and a stellar location, merely seven minutes’ walk from New York’s iconic Broadway Theater District.
A few blocks south of Central Park and Lincoln Center on the west side of Midtown Manhattan, New York’s Theater District and nearby Theater Row stand at the center of the theatrical world. Presenting everything from long-running Broadway musicals to independent Off-Off-Broadway shows, New York attracts talent and audiences from all over. For those who love live theater, this section of Midtown serves up an inexhaustible playbill of performances, from established classics to avant-garde works.
LONDON
This elegant four-bedroom penthouse is situated in Oceanic House, a magnificent Grade II-listed building in the heart of London’s famous West End theater district. Originally built in 1907 as the London headquarters of the White Star Line—the booking office of RMS Titanic—the landmark building has been sensitively restored with a brand new interior echoing the luxury that will be forever associated with the age of transatlantic ocean travel.
From its famed West End to Shakespeare’s Globe, the Barbican, and the National Theatre, London remains the capital of the English-speaking theater world, as it has been for hundreds of years. This vibrant scene has something for everyone including West End musicals, new dramas at Chelsea’s Royal Court Theatre, and innovative stagings of classics at the New Vic. Stratford’s Royal Shakespeare Company performs in London on a regular basis, and smaller outlets like the Bloomsbury and Tricycle theaters and the Battersea Arts Centre cater to those who prefer more intimate productions.
PARIS
Built at the turn of the 20th century, this grand private mansion is surrounded by leafy gardens on an exclusive street in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, just a few minutes’ stroll to the beautiful Belle Époque Théâtre le Ranelagh. The residence offers nearly 2,800 square feet of sumptuous living space with large reception areas and five bedrooms, including a master suite with terrace.
Along with its preeminence in classical music and opera, Paris has a grand tradition of Francophone theatre, from Molière to Jean Genet. Theatrical venues include Comédie-Française, Odéon-Théâtre de l’Europe, Théâtre du Châtelet, and Théâtre Mogador for musicals and the Théâtre Paris-Villette for contemporary plays. In recent years, the City of Light has begun courting younger and English-speaking audiences. A new company named Theatre in Paris produces plays with English surtitles, and the recently launched Paris Fringe festival offers contemporary shows as well as performances in English.
ATHENS
The Mareza Estate is in a highly desirable neighborhood of Athens, the birthplace of Western theater and still the city with the most theater stages in the world. Perched on a hill with commanding views over the surrounding countryside, the property comprises an impeccable custom-built stone villa and nearly nine acres of grounds with resplendent gardens, stables, a tennis court, and swimming pool.
In Athens, plays are produced in or adjacent to some of the world’s oldest theatrical venues such as the Odeon of Herodes Atticus on a slope of the Acropolis and the Lycabettus Theatre on one side of Lycabettus Hill, which overlooks the city. Both have served as settings for the 60-year-old Athens and Epidaurus Festival, which in recent years has expanded to other performance spaces around the city and built its own dedicated site in the Tavros district. Modern theaters abound as well. The National Theatre of Greece and the Badminton Theater (converted from a 2004 Olympics venue) are two of the city’s major stages.
TORONTO
Toronto’s highly sought-after Yorkville neighborhood is the setting for this luxury corner suite in the Award-Winning U Condominiums, just 10 minutes’ drive from the Royal Alexandra Theatre. The contemporary two-bedroom, two-bathroom residence features two private balconies with southwest-facing views of the Toronto skyline.
Toronto is home to a thriving theater scene that is centered near downtown within the city’s larger Entertainment District. Its Royal Alexandra Theatre is the oldest continuously operating theater in North America, and Soulpepper in the modern Young Centre for the Performing Arts is a renowned year-round repertory company. Each summer, the city hosts the Toronto Fringe and SummerWorks Performance festivals. The renowned Shaw Festival in nearby Niagara-on-the-Lake as well as the Stratford Festival (formerly the Stratford Shakespeare Festival) effectively supplement the city’s booming theater scene, which includes a regular schedule of traveling shows from New York and London.
SYDNEY
The Stamford Residences is a luxury high-rise in the historic Rocks district of Sydney city center. With one of the best layouts in the building, Luxury on the Rocks is an oversized three-bedroom apartment wrapped in windows framing a captivating ever-changing panorama of Sydney Harbour. Residents will also enjoy the dazzling skyline views, the building’s five-star amenities, and the location: a short stroll to Sydney Opera House and the theater district.
Home of the Sydney Festival, Sydney Theatre Company, and National Institute of Dramatic Art —whose alumni include Mel Gibson, Cate Blanchett, and Judy Davis—Sydney is known for its world-class theater scene. Many famous actors were nurtured in (and often return to) local theaters such as the Belvoir St Theatre and Griffin Theatre Company. Sydney boasts a wide range of venues large and small, including its celebrated Opera House, which contains two theatrical stages in addition to its concert and opera venues.
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