The auditorium contains Adam style detailing, steep stadium seating at the orchestra level, a large balcony, and an expansive plaster dome.

The Majestic, Bernard B. Jacobs, and John Golden theaters, along with the Lincoln Hotel, were all developed by Chanin and designed by Krapp as part of a theater/hotel complex.

It adjoins six other theaters clockwise from north: the John Golden, Bernard B. Jacobs, Gerald Schoenfeld, Booth, Shubert, and Broadhurst.

[19] In both sections, the ground floor is clad in rusticated blocks of terracotta, and the upper stories contain gold-colored, bonded Roman brick.

[23] The upper left corner of the auditorium section, directly above the entrance, has a terracotta Palladian window with a blind opening, twisting columns, an arched tympanum, and a finial.

[30] The ticket lobby, accessed from the western section of the theater building, contains three double doors that lead north to the entrance foyer.

[26][28] The hallway's walls contain paneling, while the ceiling consists of a shallow vault with molded acanthus leaf ornaments and lighting fixtures.

[26][28] Halfway through the auditorium's length are exit doors on either side, connected by a wide aisle that separates the front and rear rows.

[41][44] By October 1926, the Chanins had decided to construct and operate a theatrical franchise "in New York and half a dozen other large cities in the United States".

[48][50][43] In March 1926, Krapp filed plans with the New York City Department of Buildings for the hotel and theaters, which were projected to cost $4.5 million.

[65][b] The opening of the Majestic, Masque, and Royale signified the westward extension of the traditional Broadway theater district, as well as an expansion of the Chanins' theatrical developments.

[69][70] Each of the Chanin theaters was intended for a different purpose: the 1,800-seat Majestic for "revues and light operas", the 1,200-seat Royale for "musical comedies", and the 800-seat Masque for "intimate" plays.

[83][84][85] In exchange, the Shuberts sold a parcel of land on the Upper West Side to the Chanins,[83][85] who bought several adjacent lots and developed the Century apartment building there.

[90] Lew Leslie's International Revue with Gertrude Lawrence, Harry Richman, and Jack Pearl opened in 1930 at the then-exorbitant cost of $200,000,[91] but it closed after only three months.

[91] During 1933, the Majestic hosted Pardon My English;[95][98] Ray Henderson and Lew Brown's Strike Me Pink;[95][99] and a transfer of Earl Carroll's Murder at the Vanities.

[110] A representative of the Shubert family bought the rights to operate the theaters for $700,000,[111] but the Bankers Securities Corporation retained a half interest.

[112] In 1937, the Majestic saw little success with revivals of The Bat[104][113] and The Cat and the Canary,[104][114] but the original production of the operetta Three Waltzes had a longer run of 122 performances.

[120][122] The Majestic hosted a revival of Porgy and Bess in 1942, which ran nearly 300 performances,[123][124] as well as Native Son,[120][125] a Black drama that Lee Shubert unsuccessfully attempted to close prematurely.

[133][134] The long-running Harold Rome musical Call Me Mister transferred to the Majestic in 1947,[123][135] and the American Repertory Theater showed Alice in Wonderland the same year.

[140][145] David Merrick's Fanny, with Ezio Pinza and Walter Slezak, was even more successful when it opened later that year,[146] ultimately running 888 times.

[19][148] This was followed the next year by Meredith Willson's hit The Music Man, which featured Robert Preston, Barbara Cook, and David Burns[149] and ultimately ran 1,375 performances.

[140][150] Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe's musical Camelot opened in 1960 with Julie Andrews, Richard Burton, and Robert Goulet.

[157] In 1963 alone, these included Hot Spot,[158][159] featuring Judy Holliday's last Broadway appearance;[157] a transfer of Tovarich, with Vivien Leigh and Jean Pierre Aumont;[154][160] and Jennie, with Mary Martin.

[177][178] Much more successful was the musical The Wiz, an adaption of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz with an all-Black cast,[176] which opened at the Majestic in 1975 and transferred after two years.

[207] In March 1987, Shubert chairman Bernard B. Jacobs announced that the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical The Phantom of the Opera would be hosted at the Majestic, following negotiations with producer Cameron Mackintosh.

[209] Initially, Mackintosh was hesitant to relocate Phantom to the Majestic, citing the seating areas' dimensions, and was considering moving the musical to a competing theater.

[210][c] Mackintosh changed his mind after theatrical consultant Peter Feller, working with the Shuberts, suggested modifying the theater slightly to fit Phantom's set requirements.

[224][225] Between performances, the Majestic hosted memorials and tributes, such as those of Tony Randall,[226] Cy Coleman,[227] Kitty Carlisle,[228] and Gerald Schoenfeld.

[229] 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 Majestic.

[242] The musical struggled to regain pre-pandemic attendance levels, grossing $850,000 to $1 million per week, which was not enough to cover the show's extremely high operating costs.