The interior features Tiffany lighting and ceiling panels, rich woodwork, and expansive murals by American artist Everett Shinn.

[12] The primary elevation of the facade faces south on 44th Street and is made of red brick in Flemish bond, with terracotta decorative elements.

[15] To comply with fire regulations at the time of the Belasco's construction, the theater is surrounded by an alley measuring 10 ft (3.0 m) wide.

[14][15][16][17] On 44th Street, the ground-story facade consists of a water table made of granite, above which is burnt brick in Flemish bond.

[13] The easternmost section contains a stoop with three steps, which lead to a pair of wood-and-glass doors flanked by pilasters; this provides access to the balcony.

[20][21] The Belasco was outfitted with the most advanced stagecraft tools available including extensive lighting rigs, a hydraulics system, and vast wing and fly space.

[14][15] The additional exits were constructed to prevent crowd crushes, such as happened in the 1876 Brooklyn Theatre fire, where hundreds had died.

[29] At the center of the north wall, directly opposite the entrance doors, is an ornate box office within an arched opening.

[28] The auditorium has a ground-level orchestra, boxes, two balconies, promenades on the three seating levels, and a large stage behind the proscenium arch.

The boxes' wall sections are flanked by octagonal columns with capitals of stained glass, which support an arch with a molding.

[49] David Belasco intended the backstage areas to be clean and comfortable, even prohibiting stagehands from spitting onto the floor.

[6] David Belasco's Stuyvesant Theatre opened on October 16, 1907, with the musical A Grand Army Man featuring Antoinette Perry.

[95] In 1914, the theater hosted Molnár's The Phantom Rival,[96][97] which introduced the concept of blacking out the lights to change sets and costumes, rather than lowering the curtain.

[102][103] In the 1910s and 1920s, David Belasco was particularly involved in the theatrical development of several actresses, including Blanche Bates, Ina Claire, Katharine Cornell, Jeanne Eagels, and Lenore Ulric.

[112] Though he redesigned the proscenium arch's decorations and added metal sheathing to the balconies and orchestra boxes, he lost $250,000 on the productions.

[129][130] In late 1934, the Group Theatre started showing its productions at the Belasco, relocating Gold Eagle Guy from another theater.

[131][132] The Group Theatre's subsequent productions included Awake and Sing!, Dead End, Golden Boy, and Rocket to the Moon.

[137][145] In the aftermath of the Trio controversy, the theater's owners evicted Jelin, who was only reinstated in January 1946 after suing in the New York Supreme Court.

[149] Other productions during the 1940s included Home of the Brave (1945),[150][151] Burlesque (1946) with Bert Lahr,[152] Me and Molly (1948) with Gertrude Berg,[150][153] and The Madwoman of Chaillot (1948) with Martita Hunt and Estelle Winwood.

[160] The studio broadcasts included plays from the Theatre Guild of the Air series[161] and NBC Symphony Orchestra concerts.

[150] Other notable productions included Write Me a Murder (1961),[164][170] Seidman and Son (1962),[164][171] The Last Analysis (1964),[18][172] Inadmissible Evidence (1965),[147][173] and The Subject Was Roses (1966).

[18][174] The Killing of Sister George, which was hosted at the Belasco in 1966,[175][176] was shown without incident, despite being more explicit about lesbian themes than Trio had two decades prior.

[83] Joseph Papp led the program, whose $2.5 million cost was partly funded by the city government and several local newspapers.

[197] To raise money for the Belasco Theatre's upkeep, the Shubert Organization leased some of the site's unused air development rights to Feldman Equities in November 1986.

[207] The Shuberts, the Nederlanders, and Jujamcyn formed the Broadway Alliance in June 1990, wherein each company set aside one of its theaters to present dramas and comedies at reduced ticket prices.

[178][211] The Shuberts had leased the Belasco to the National Actors Theatre so the venue could remain active as part of the agreement concerning the theater's air rights.

[217][218] As part of a settlement with the United States Department of Justice in 2003, the Shuberts agreed to improve disabled access at their 16 landmarked Broadway theaters, including the Belasco.

More productions followed later in the 2000s, including Dracula, the Musical, Julius Caesar, Awake and Sing!, Journey's End, Passing Strange, American Buffalo, and Joe Turner's Come and Gone.

[224] Other shows to play the Belasco in the 2010s included End of the Rainbow, Golden Boy, a double bill of Twelfth Night and Richard III, Blackbird, The Glass Menagerie, The Terms of My Surrender, Farinelli and the King, Gettin' the Band Back Together, and Network.

[243][56][244] According to actors and backstage personnel, the ghost would be seen in clerical-like wear, sitting in an empty box during the opening night of a production.