The modern theater, named in honor of American playwright Eugene O'Neill, has 1,108 seats across two levels and is operated by ATG Entertainment.

The original facade was removed in a 1940s renovation and replaced with stucco; the modern theater is of painted limestone and contains a large iron balcony.

After a series of unsuccessful shows, the Shuberts lost the theater to foreclosure in 1934, upon which it hosted Tobacco Road, which became the longest-running production in Broadway history.

The Eugene O'Neill Theatre is on 230 West 49th Street, on the south sidewalk between Eighth Avenue and Broadway, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City.

The Eugene O'Neill shares the block with the Walter Kerr Theatre to the south and Crowne Plaza Times Square Manhattan to the east.

Above the doors are Adam-style latticework containing medallions with classical figures; these are topped by segmental arches with bands of foliate decoration.

[28] The balcony's underside contains molded bands, which divide the surface into panels with medallions and crystal light fixtures.

[7][6] In November 1924, the Shuberts sold eight row houses at 224–238 West 49th Street for $2 million to Daniel Darrow, who planned to build a theater and a 15-story hotel on the site.

[43][44] The Forrest opened on November 24, 1925, with the musical Mayflowers featuring Ivy Sawyer, Joseph Santley, and Nancy Carroll.

[48][49] The Forrest's other productions in the mid-1920s were largely unsuccessful,[45] with a succession of flops including The Matinee Girl, Mama Loves Papa, and Rainbow Rose in 1926.

[48] The first hit at the theater was Women Go on Forever with Mary Boland, James Cagney, and Osgood Perkins, which opened in 1927[45][50] and ran for 118 performances.

[51][52] This was followed by what theatrical historians Louis Botto and Robert Viagas called "potboilers whose very titles denoted their doom":[53] Bless You, Sister in 1927, as well as Mirrors, The Skull, The Common Sin, and The Squealer in 1928.

[45][57][58] By then, the Broadway theatrical industry was suffering due to the Great Depression: eighty-seven percent of productions in the 1929–1930 season had flopped.

[43][24] This was part of a Depression-era trend in which Broadway theatrical operators had begun offering promotions and services to attract visitors.

[24] However, by January 1933, the Lawyers Title and Guaranty Company moved to foreclose on a $960,000 mortgage loan on the Forrest Theatre and Hotel.

[73] The firm of Sam Grisman and Harry H. Oshrin leased the Forrest Theatre for a year in September 1934 for their play Tobacco Road.

[68] Tobacco Road returned in 1942,[83] but the revival closed after just 34 performances;[84][85] the theater hosted Claudia[84][86] and Three Men on a Horse the same year.

[121][122][123] Liam O'Brien's play The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker with Burgess Meredith was staged at the end of 1953,[124][125] followed the next year by All Summer Long[126][127] and Quadrille.

[128][129] In 1955, the Coronet hosted a transfer of The Bad Seed,[130][131] as well as a double bill of Arthur Miller's A Memory of Two Mondays and A View from the Bridge.

[160] The first hit at the Eugene O'Neill was the Charles Gaynor revue Show Girl with Carol Channing,[161] which opened in 1961[162][163] and had 100 performances.

[197][198] Mason oversaw a restoration of the theater that year, redecorating the interior in beige and red velvet and the exterior in limestone.

[209] The Wake of Jamey Foster and Monday After the Miracle had short runs in 1982,[210] but Moose Murders, which closed after its premiere on February 22, 1983,[211][212] remained especially notorious in the decades afterward.

[217][218] The Eugene O'Neill's other productions of the decade included a limited concert engagement by Tom Waits in 1987,[219][220] as well as David Henry Hwang's M. Butterfly in 1988.

Restoration architect Francesca Russo used historical photos to design plasterwork and decorations that approximated the theater's original appearance.

[256][257] The off-Broadway play Caroline, or Change relocated to the Eugene O'Neill in February 2004,[258][259] but it closed that August due to poor ticket sales.

[268][269] In 2009, Roth acquired a 50 percent stake in Jujamcyn and assumed full operation of the firm when Landesman joined the National Endowments of the Arts.

[276][277] During the run of The Book of Mormon, the Eugene O'Neill held a one-night reading of Dustin Lance Black's play 8 on September 17, 2011.

[282] As part of a settlement with the United States Department of Justice in 2021, Jujamcyn agreed to improve disabled access at its five Broadway theaters, including the Eugene O'Neill.

[283][284] Jujamcyn and Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) agreed to merge in early 2023; the combined company would operate seven Broadway theaters, including the Eugene O'Neill.

[285][286] In July 2023, Jordan Roth sold a 93 percent stake in Jujamcyn's five theaters, including the Eugene O'Neill Theatre, to ATG and Providence Equity.