The theater's main entrances are from a passageway connecting 44th and 45th Streets, in the middle of a city block between Broadway to the east and Eighth Avenue to the west.

The Minskoff Theatre was added during the planning process; in exchange, One Astor Plaza's developers were allowed to erect a taller building with additional floor area.

The theater subsequently hosted long runs such as West Side Story, The Pirates of Penzance, Black and Blue, and Sunset Boulevard in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Minskoff Theatre is on the third floor of One Astor Plaza, also known as 1515 Broadway, along Times Square in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City.

[16] According to Mielziner, the large trusses above the Minskoff's roof provided "a clear example of what expense a builder is willing to go to get that extra rentable space".

[3] Sam Minskoff & Sons had hired Kahn and Jacobs to design One Astor Plaza in 1967,[18][17] having acquired the site the previous year.

[16][17] The Minskoffs had applied for zoning amendments for their new tower, and a member of the New York City Planning Commission (CPC) notified the Urban Design Group (UDG) about the application.

[30][31] As planning progressed, members of the Broadway-theatre industry expressed concerns that theatrical experts had not been consulted in the design of One Astor Plaza's theater.

[31] Six parties testified in favor; the Shubert Organization, the largest operator of Broadway theaters, was the only dissenting speaker.

[44] Theatrical historian Ken Bloom described most of the Minskoff's earliest productions as "a series of concerts, ballets, and flop musicals".

[56][57] Henry Fonda's solo show Clarence Darrow arrived in March 1975,[58][59] followed by Bette Midler's Clams on the Half Shell Revue that April[60][61] and Pearl Bailey and Billy Daniels's production of Hello, Dolly!

[64][65] The Dutch National Ballet made its United States debut at the Minskoff in November 1976,[66][67] and the Chinese Acrobats of Taiwan performed the same month.

[68][69] The Merce Cunningham Dance Company had a brief engagement in January 1977,[70][71] and the Minskoff hosted the final performances of the long-running musical Pippin, which transferred from the Imperial, later that year.

[87][88] The Minskoff staged further live performances in late 1979,[83] including appearances from Shirley Bassey in September,[89][90] Engelbert in November,[91][92] and the Chinese Acrobats & Magicians of Taiwan in December.

[102][103] A revival of the musical Can-Can lasted five performances in April 1981,[104][105] and Joseph Papp's production of The Pirates of Penzance relocated from the Uris to the Minskoff that August,[106][107] running for a year and three months.

[111][112] When One Astor Plaza was sold in 1984 to Tishman Speyer and the Equitable Life Assurance Society, Jerome Minskoff and James Nederlander negotiated a long-term lease for the theater.

[113][114] The musical The Tap Dance Kid relocated from the Broadhurst to the Minskoff in March 1984,[115] closing the next year after 669 total performances.

[127] The musical Teddy & Alice lasted for 77 performances after opening in late 1987,[128][129] and the long-running Cabaret transferred from the Imperial early the next year.

[145] A revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat came to the theater in November 1993,[146][147] running for six months.

[168][169] The show lost its entire $12 million investment, making it one of the most expensive flops in Broadway history,[170] and closed after 56 performances.

[174] By then, some figures in the theatrical industry had begun to believe that the Minskoff was an unlucky theater, as it had rarely hosted a profitable show.

[175] In November 2005, the long-running musical The Lion King was booked for the Minskoff, having been forced to relocate after eight years at Disney's New Amsterdam Theatre.

[186][187][c] As part of a settlement with the United States Department of Justice in 2014, the Nederlanders agreed to improve disabled access at their nine Broadway theaters, including the Minskoff.

[190] The Lion King achieved the box office record for a show at the Minskoff Theatre, grossing $3,696,977 over twelve performances for the week ending January 2, 2019.