Despite being regarded by the theatrical community as being on the "wrong side" of Broadway, the Cort hosted numerous hit productions during its early years.

In 2022, the theater was renamed after actor James Earl Jones, becoming the second Broadway venue named after a Black theatrical personality.

[4] The James Earl Jones Theatre, designed by Thomas W. Lamb in the neoclassical style for impresario John Cort, was constructed in 1912.

[11][12] The main elevation of the Jones's facade faces north on 48th Street and is made of marble,[13][8] with a layer of stone underlying it.

[15][16][17] A contemporary New-York Tribune article characterized the main facade elevation as being designed in the Louis XVI style.

[15] The original marquee had three Art Nouveau arches,[14] but it was replaced in the 20th century with a boxy structure with signs on either side.

[14][23] There are glass display boxes at ground level, as well as a glazed window at the eastern corner of the annex's upper stories.

Above each pair of second-balcony boxes, there is an eared architrave, as well as a latticework panel that depicts female figures flanking swags and a cartouche.

[44] John Cort was a theatrical operator who had become highly successful on the West Coast of the United States, with 150 theaters at his peak, and came to New York City in 1905.

[5] Edward B. Corey acquired the lots on 138–146 West 48th Street and leased them to Cort for 21 years starting in January 1912.

[9] Theatre magazine wrote of the Cort's "sweeping, commanding lines, comfortable seats and admirable acoustic properties.

[56] In 1913, Cort gave Oliver Morosco the exclusive rights to show plays at his namesake theater for five years.

[64][65][66] Due to the large number of early hits at the Cort, it was quickly perceived among the theatrical community as a "lucky" venue.

[74] These included Jim Jam Jems (1920),[75] with Joe E. Brown;[76] Captain Applejack (1921);[77] Merton of the Movies (1922);[78] and The Swan (1923),[79] with Basil Rathbone and Eva Le Gallienne.

[87] A dispute arose in October 1925 when three producers sued each other, alleging that Cort had granted each of them the right to use the theater during the same time period.

[100] The Cort hosted Jed Harris's revival of the play Uncle Vanya in 1930,[101][102] along with the hit production Five Star Final the same year.

[109][110] Two plays by George Abbott took up the Cort during most of the next three years: Boy Meets Girl (1935)[101][111] and Room Service (1937),[101][112] both of which had hundreds of performances.

[113] Several major productions followed, including The White Steed (1939),[114][115] The Male Animal (1940),[113][116] Charley's Aunt (1940),[117][118] Cafe Crown (1942),[117][119] The Eve of St. Mark (1942),[120][121] and A Bell for Adano (1944).

[146][147] The Cort hosted several productions in the early 1960s, including The Hostage and Advise and Consent in 1960,[148] as well as Purlie Victorious and Sunday in New York in 1961.

[150] In May 1962, the Royal Dramatic Theatre of Sweden had a brief engagement with The Father, Long Day's Journey into Night, and Miss Julie in repertory.

[151] CBS leased the theater as a television studio for The Merv Griffin Show, which started broadcasting from there in August 1969.

[155] Two years into CBS's lease, the construction of the neighboring 1211 Avenue of the Americas caused structural damage to the theater's interior, and two girders were placed on the eastern wall.

[182] The Cort hosted the hit The Grapes of Wrath in 1990,[183][184] as well as Lincoln Center Theater's short-lived production of Two Shakespearean Actors in 1992.

[209][210] 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 Cort.

[211][212] The theater's other productions in the decade included On Golden Pond (2005), Barefoot in the Park and The Little Dog Laughed (2006), Radio Golf and The Homecoming (2007), The 39 Steps (2008), and You're Welcome America: A Final Night with George W. Bush (2009).

[30][33] Early in the 2010s, the theater hosted Fences and Time Stands Still in 2010; Born Yesterday and Stick Fly in 2011; and The Lyons and Grace in 2012.

[30][33] Fences set the box office record for the theater, grossing $1,175,626 over eight performances for the week ending July 11, 2010.

[225][226] In 2017, the Shuberts received permission from the LPC to construct a 35-foot-wide annex west of the existing theater, designed by Kostow Greenwood Architects.

[248] The James Earl Jones Theatre's marquee was revealed on September 12, 2022, celebrating the completion of the theater's $47 million renovation and expansion.

[249][250] Ohio State Murders officially opened in December 2022 as the renamed theater's first show,[251] running for one month.