Architect
Thomas M. James (Hill, James, & Whitaker) designed the building, which seats approximately 1,600 people. Originally conceived as The Lyric Theatre by developer
Charles H. Bond, it was taken over by
The Shubert Organization in 1908 after Bond's death. The theater was named in honor of
Sam S. Shubert, middle brother of the
Shubert family, who had died in 1905. The theater opened on January 24, 1910, with a production of Shakespeare's
The Taming of the Shrew, starring
E. H. Sothern and
Julia Marlowe. The building was added to the
National Register of Historic Places as the
Sam S. Shubert Theatre in 1980. In February 1996, the
Wang Center for the Performing Arts signed a 40-year lease agreement to operate the theatre with the Shubert Organization, which continues to own the building and property. The theatre reopened after renovation in November 1996, as the first stop on the first national tour of the musical
Rent. The
Boch family became the namesake of the center in 2016, making the full name of the theatre the Shubert Theatre at the
Boch Center. ==Pre-Broadway engagements==