"This Theater District venue is home to Disney's Broadway productions, but its history dates back to 1903. It once featured The Ziegfeld Follies, a series of extravagant stage revues by Broadway showman Florenz Ziegfeld. Yet a Ziegfeld performer named Olive Thomas is lurking around. In 1920, this stage beauty died from accidental mercury poisoning while honeymooning in Paris with her second husband, Jack Pickford. At their hotel, Thomas reportedly was looking for a sleeping tonic and mistakenly ingested a toxic solution."
"The New Amsterdam Theatre must have been her happy place. Apparently, in 1997, an overnight security guard saw a woman in a green-beaded gown walk across the stage, blow him a kiss, and pass through a wall. In response to various happenings, Thomas' photograph was placed at every theater entrance and exit. A staff tradition of blowing a kiss and saying, "Goodnight, Olive," upon leaving the building started."
The New Amsterdam Theatre opened in 1903 and serves as a Theater District venue and home to Disney's Broadway productions. The theater once hosted The Ziegfeld Follies, a series of extravagant stage revues by Florenz Ziegfeld. Ziegfeld performer Olive Thomas died in 1920 from accidental mercury poisoning while honeymooning in Paris with her second husband, Jack Pickford, reportedly after mistaking a toxic solution for a sleeping tonic. In 1997 an overnight security guard reported seeing a woman in a green-beaded gown walk across the stage, blow a kiss, and pass through a wall. Staff placed Thomas' photograph at all entrances and exits and began a tradition of blowing a kiss and saying "Goodnight, Olive" when leaving.
Read at Fodors Travel Guide
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