NYTimes: Tucked away behind Madame Tussaud's is the dusty, cavernous Liberty Theater. The Liberty, which had more than 1,000 seats, was once a center of American musical theater. Designed by Herts & Tallant in 1904, the architects of the New Amsterdam Theater on the same block, it introduced shows by Cole Porter, Jerome Kern and the Gershwins. The second show produced there was George M. Cohan's ''Little Johnny Jones,'' whose songs included ''The Yankee Doodle Boy'' and ''Give My Regards to Broadway.'' 

Photo by Shaun Crossman 

The Liberty ceased being a home for Broadway shows in the 1930's, when it was converted into a movie theater. In the 90s British director Deborah Warner brought audiences to the Liberty, taking advantage of its crumbling aesthetic for her 1996 production of ''The Waste Land.” ''This is a potential scandal,'' Ms. Warner said. ''[New Yorkers] are very bad. ''Your lack of preservation is outrageous. You will kick yourself in 10 years. We need these theaters for our souls.''

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 ''New York has a real theater shortage,'' she said. ''There's not enough large-scale Off Broadway houses, so when we come to town, we have to go to BAM, the real national theater of your country. The Liberty should be a theater run by a nonprofit. I would like to run it.'' She paused before adding, ''You certainly don't need another nightclub.''