History
Rich History Rooted On Long Island
Before Jones Beach, The Paramount, or Nassau Coliseum, there was Westbury Music Fair! For decades, Long Islanders have come to see some of the best in live entertainment.
Three Partners and a Vision
One of the last remaining venues in the round with a rotating state, Flagstar at Westbury Music Fair first opened in 1956 as the Westbury Music Fair to host Broadway-style shows 35 miles from midtown Manhattan. Founded by three partners Frank Ford, Lee Guber, and Shelly Gross. A brilliant, multicolored striped tent, constructed in Chicago, and 1,700 chairs from New England were set up for the venue’s first production, The King and I, starring Charles Korvin and Constance Carpenter.
From Broadway to Year-Round Entertainment
In 1966, the tent gave way to a state-of-the-art, fully enclosed theatre-in-the-round, enabling the Westbury Music Fair to provide entertainment year-round. The first entertainer to perform in the new facility in 1966 was Jack Benny with special guest Wayne Newton - but not without some protest. Theater employees rallied on top of the hill leading down to the theater on opening day, refusing to work unless they were unionized. Benny, bearing witness to the event, borrowed a scooter from one of the theater’s general managers and rode up the hill to support the workers, refusing to perform unless a union contract was established. On that day, an agreement was reached, workers were unionized, and Jack Benny performed.
Stars In The Rounds
The following decades were filled with acts that would later become household names. Artists who performed in the round included Judy Garland (1967), Stevie Wonder (1967), The Who (1968), Bruce Springsteen, (1975), and Ray Charles (1981), as well as noted regulars Tony Bennett, Tom Jones, Don Rickles, Diana Ross, and many more.
Traditions Start As Ideas
In May 2002, R&B singer Luther Vandross autographed the backstage kitchen wall — starting what would become a Westbury tradition for visiting artists.