Broadway Features and Reviews
Haunting Broadway: The Ghost of David Belasco
By Leora Kanner, Broadway Magazine
As Halloween ominously approaches, New York City emerges as not only the heart of culture, but as the heart of everything creepy and supernatural. As Broadway and the theater world is the center for anything fantastical and imaginative, it is only fitting that it also houses some incredible and well developed reports of the inexplicable --aside from what is purposefully presented on stage.
Accounts of ghosts are plentiful in the theater. Many of these ghosts are high profile names, well-known individuals involved with the theaters or the shows that played in them. It is believed that the Belasco Theater on W 44th continues to be the home of its founder and builder, David Belasco, who lived in an upstairs apartment. Problem is, David Belasco has been dead since 1931.
David Belasco was a man dedicated to the theater that bears his name. He spent almost every waking hour in the Belasco and lived in an apartment above the theater. Accounts of sightings claim that David Belasco appears as a real man, wearing a clerical collar and cassock. It was a costume he also wore when he was alive. Due to his dress and demeanor, Belasco was affectionately nicknamed as the "Bishop of Broadway" or "the monk." It would be interesting to hear his reaction to the language in the current show at the Belasco, David Mamet's American Buffalo.
Belasco allegedly began to "appear" consistently after his death. Footsteps are often heard in the theater late at night, despite the motion sensors and high security. A lone dark figure watches actors from the balcony, or even speaks to them after the show. Closed doors open and close and the elevator moves even when it is disconnected. The New York Times reported once that a dog would growl at an invisible prowler at the theater every afternoon at 4, supposedly in response to a visit from the famous founder. Many other accounts exist that seem to confirm the continued presence of David Belasco. According to Historic Haunted America by Norman and Scott, stagehands of the 1995 production of Hamlet heard "strange sounds" in the theater, among other occurrences involving curtains and bizarre sightings.
Knowledge of the Belasco ghost is not limited to weird noises and perceived movements. It is believed that Belasco's love of women persevered into his death as well; the "blue lady," a second ghost, has famously been seen around the Belasco Theater and women actors and stagehands report interactions with Belasco as well.
Still skeptical? The ghost hunting organization Paranormal NYC conducted an investigation on September 10th 2006 for the Sci-Fi Channel. An "unusual moment" was observed only once during the investigation; one of the investigators saw a white soccer-sized ball moving "erratically" in a dark room.
Although no conclusions were made from the investigation, Dom V, the lead investigator on the case explained that: "Staff and performers have claimed to see the ghost of David Belasco standing in the balcony watching. Staff has also seen him backstage, they all feel that Mr. Belasco remained with the theater that he created even until this day."
It would seem that the incomprehensible exists on Broadway at all times. On stage, Broadway productions thrill audiences by creating new worlds and alternate realities. When the lights go down on the stage of the Belasco theater after a performance, it seems that the show is never quite over.
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