Jimmy Fallon Will Make His Broadway Debut in the Tonight Show’s Original Theater

Jimmy Fallon’s Broadway debut will also be a homecoming of sorts for the Tonight Show host.

When he takes the stage the week for his six-day stint in All In, he’ll be doing so at the Hudson Theatre—the very place The Tonight Show was born. The franchise debuted as Tonight Starring Steve Allen back in 1954, with host Steve Allen emceeing the 105-minute show from the New York City theater.

NBC had purchased the Hudson Theatre four years earlier—one of many Broadway theaters that had been commandeered by networks as television boomed and the demand for studio space grew faster than the city could supply.

Fallon shared the serendipitous fun fact on his own show late last, calling the coincidence “the craziest thing.”

 “So I’ll be going from The Tonight Show over to the Tonight show,” he joked.

Allen is credited with inventing the late-night talk as we know it, including the “man on the street” interview, which was originated on the sidewalk outside the Hudson. 

Allen’s successor, Jack Paar, would continue to host Tonight from the Hudson Theatre from his 1957 debut until 1960, when the show moved to Studio 6B at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. That’s where The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon now resides.

“It’s kind of a cool thing,” Fallon said last night before looking skyward and pointing. “Hey, Steve,” he said.

Penned by former Saturday Night Live writer Simon Rich, All In: Comedy About Love is produced by Lorne Michaels. Fallon will also share the stage with Aidy Bryant—one of a few SNL alums who have taken the stage in the show’s rotating cast. (Also appearing in the show this week are Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Nick Kroll,)

Fallon appears in All In this Tuesday, January 28th through Sunday, February 2nd.

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