Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” may not be coming to an AMC Theatres near you, but it will be playing Broadway.
Fresh off of its electric debut at this year’s New York Film Festival, Netflix announced that the gangster epic will have an unorthodox theatrical run at the Belasco Theatre, a famed New York venue that recently hosted such Tony Award-winning productions as “Network” with Bryan Cranston and “Hedwig and the Angry Itch” with Neil Patrick Harris.
“The Irishman” brings together a murderer’s row of film talent, including Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Harvey Keitel, and Joe Pesci. It’s been marked for Oscar glory after premiering to reviews that bordered on the rhapsodic. In short, it’s the kind of movie that most theaters would kill to play. However, Netflix’s business model, which calls for a shorter than usual “exclusive” theatrical run, means that major chains such as Regal, Cinemark, and the aforementioned AMC refuse to show the movie. It will screen solely in cinemas for 26 days, in venues such as iPic and the Alamo Drafthouse, before debuting on the Netflix. Most movies screen for roughly 90 days before bowing on home entertainment platforms.
The Belasco will screen the film from Nov. 1 to Dec. 1, marking the first time the Broadway theater has welcomed a film. The film will be released globally on Netflix on Nov. 27.
“We’ve lost so many wonderful theaters in New York City in recent years, including single house theaters like the Ziegfeld and the Paris,” Scorsese said in a statement. “The opportunity to recreate that singular experience at the historic Belasco Theatre is incredibly exciting.”
Despite being best known for their film work, much of the creative team behind “The Irishman” has ties to Broadway. Scorsese directed the 1977 Liza Minnelli Broadway musical “The Act.” Pacino regularly treads the boards, and has picked up one of his two Tony Awards for his Broadway debut in “Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie?,” which was performed at the Belasco Theatre. De Niro starred on Broadway in “Cuba and His Teddy Bear” in 1986 and was the director of “A Bronx Tale, The Musical,” which opened in 2016. Keitel appeared in “Hurlyburly” in 1984 and “Death of a Salesman” in 1975.
Tickets for The Irishman at the Belasco Theatre will be $15 plus processing fees. The schedule of screenings at the Belasco Theatre will mirror the traditional Broadway model of eight performances a week — Tuesday through Sunday evenings, with matinees on Saturday and Sunday. The theatre will be dark on Mondays, giving the projectionists a day of vocal rest.
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