Secrets of the NYCB Theater at Westbury
In 1967, after Judy Garland was fired from a role in the movie adaptation of Jacqueline Susan's novel "Valley of the Dolls," Westbury owner Lee Guber took advantage of the situation. He met Garland at the airport when she arrived in New York and convinced her right there to perform at Westbury. Garland put on a one-day cabaret performance of her greatest hits on June 18, 1967, wearing a sequined pantsuit she took from the "Valley of the Dolls" set. Credit: NYCB Theater at Westbury
It opened its doors in 1956 as the Westbury Music Fair, housed in a circus tent on the grounds of an abandoned industrial site off Brush Hollow Road.
Ten years later, after finding success, the theater was rebuilt into a permanent indoor structure that stands today as the NYCB Theater at Westbury.
Marketing manager Dan Kellachan, who has worked there for 35 years, has seen it all. He shared with Newsday some little-known tidbits that make up the theater’s rich history.
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