Touch Of Broadway Theatre History

Originally opened in May 1926, the Broadway operated as a fully equipped movie and vaudeville theater with 1,090 seats, including the balcony and eight boxes. The opulent New Jersey theatre was created in a French Revival motif by the Philadelphia firm of Eberhard, Magaziner, and Harris.

Two crystal chandeliers light the house and inner lobby of the Broadway. And, a great deal of the original cast plaster detail remains intact today with the original molds still on the premises. A small orchestra pit, four private dressing rooms, a common room, two bathrooms, and a pipe organ blower room in the basement can also be found.

The Broadway Theatre of Pitman still has its original 3/8 Kimball theatre pipe organ – a unique instrument for its size. The Southern Jersey Theatre Organ Society has restored the Kimball to full concert status.

Among the famous celebrities who played the theater are Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Ida Lupino, Abbott & Costello, George Burns & Gracie Allen, Harry Blackstone, Sr., one of the greatest magicians of the twentieth century, Jerry Lee Lewis, Kenny Rogers, Joey Dee & the Starliters, Herman’s Hermits, the Flamingos, the Coasters, George Carlin, the Amazing Kreskin… the list goes on and on.

The Theatre was purchased at a sheriff’s sale in February 2006 by Peter Slack. In addition, on September 23 of that year, the Greater Pitman Chamber of Commerce, in cooperation with Heritage Foundation, Inc., helped reopen the theatre doors with the Bring Back Broadway Gala, a once-in-a-lifetime, black-tie optional gala to celebrate the Broadway Theatre of Pitman’s rebirth as the pride of Pitman.

We look forward to the opportunity to delight audiences from the area with live performances, concerts, special events and movies – while bringing a piece of Pitman’s history back to life.