About Us

The Nederlander Organization

Founded by David T. Nederlander, the Nederlander Organization began in 1912 with the purchase of a 99-year lease on the old Detroit Opera House. Now into their third generation of theatre development, ownership, management and production, the Nederlander Organization is clearly one of the largest, most experienced operators of live theatre in the world.

Generally credited with creating the outdoor amphitheater concept as it is known today, the Nederlanders developed a unique ability to maintain a variety booking approach that responded to varied community interests.

Under the guidance of its Chairman, James M. Nederlander, these policies have included a significant effort to produce and present cultural attractions such as the Bolshoi Ballet, The Moiseyev Ballet, The D’oyly-Carte Opera, The Georgian State Dance Company, Ballet Folklorico, The Peking Opera and local symphonies.

The popular music attractions presented by Nederlander have included virtually every star from Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Michael Feinstein and others to pop stars such as Billy Joel, Bonnie Raitt, Boyz II Men, Bon Jovi, Celine Dion, Willie Nelson, Alanis Morissette, Barry Manilow, Phil Collins, Tina Turner and many more. The outdoor performing arts centers currently operated by Nederlander include The Greek Theatre, a 6,000-seat amphitheater leased from the City of Los Angeles, and Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim, an amphitheater with a capacity of 20,000 persons.

The legitimate theatres owned and/or operated by Nederlander, presenting dramatic plays, comedies, musicals and dance include in New York on Broadway, the Brooks Atkinson, the Gershwin, the Marquis, the Minskoff, the Nederlander, the Palace, the Richard Rodgers and the Neil Simon; in Detroit, the Fisher and the Masonic Temple Theatres; in Los Angeles, the Pantages, the Wilshire and the Henry Fonda Theatres; in Chicago, the Shubert Theatre; in San Diego, The Broadway Series at the Civic Theatre; and in London, England, the Aldwych, the Adelphi and the Dominion Theatres.

In addition to producing and/or booking major musicals such as Rent, Riverdance, Copenhagen , Chicago, Titanic, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Will Rogers Follies, Sunset Boulevard, Saturday Night Fever, Beauty and the Beast and Aida in the legitimate theatres, the Nederlanders have also produced, co-produced or participated in a very substantial number of shows over the years which include the Broadway productions with the Houston Grand Opera Company of Porgy and Bess and Hello Dolly; the Royal Shakespeare Company productions of Les Liaisons Dangereuses, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Sherlock Holmes, Cyrano de Bergerac and Much Ado About Nothing; as well as Copenhagen, Me and My Girl, Annie, La Cage aux Folles, Death and the Maiden, Shadowlands, Benefactors, Noises Off, Applause, Seesaw, Treemonisha, Habeas Corpus, Otherwise Engaged, Betrayal, Woman of the Year, Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music; The Dresser, Nine, Merlin, Night and Day, My Fat Friend, Stepping Out, Legs Diamond and Breaking the Code.

They have also been involved as investors and/or co-producers in the following productions, revivals and touring companies: Sweet Charity, Sugar Babies, Grand Hotel, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, Stop the World, I Want to Get Off, Oklahoma, Strange Interlude, The Red Shoes, Aren’t We All?, Singin’ in the Rain, Orpheus Descending, Peter Pan, The Music Man (including the 2000 production), Hello Dolly starring Carol Channing, The King and I starring Yul Brenner/Lou Diamond Phillips, Annie Get Your Gun, My Fair Lady starring Rex Harrison, I Do! I Do!, The Sound of Music, South Pacific starring Jane Powell and Howard Keel, Barnum starring Jim Dale, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Sophisticated Ladies, Dancin’, Showboat, Camelot starring Richard Burton/Richard Harris, Fiddler on the Roof, Man of La Mancha starring Richard Kiley, On A Clear Day, Whose Life is it Anyway?, Sweeney Todd, West Side Story, Flamenco Puro, Starlight Express and Can Can!