Actor Channing Tatum’s "Magic Mike Live," a dance revue that has played to success in London and Las Vegas, is set to open in New York's tourist and entertainment hub of Times Square.
The stage production, created and co-directed by Tatum and inspired by his hit "Magic Mike" films featuring shirtless male dancers with chiseled abs, will premiere at 762-766 Eighth Ave., at the corner of 47th Street, landlord BLDG Management said in a statement.
BLDG said "Magic Mike Live" will occupy the entire building spanning about 24,000 square feet as a permanent production under a long-term lease. The deal was signed by Free Association Live, the live entertainment arm of Tatum’s production company, Free Association.
The transaction includes complete renovation of the upper floors of the building, which used to house the famed nightclub Copacabana before it closed at the location during the pandemic and later reopened at 625 W. 51st St.
A spokesperson for BLDG declined to specify the rent terms.
Free Association Live plans to restructure the second through fourth floors, creating a second-level lobby and "dual lounge experience” on top of a 425-seat, in-the-round performance venue, according to the "Magic Mike Live" website. The show is set to open in October.
The lease comes as Times Square has continued to show signs of recovery from the pandemic. The so-called Crossroads of the World has projected 2025 foot traffic of more than 80 million visitors, its highest total since 2019, a spokesperson for Times Square Alliance, the area’s business improvement district, told CoStar News in late December. Some 89% of the area’s storefront businesses were open in December, and hotel occupancy reached 90% in November, Times Square Alliance data shows.
One Times Square, the 121-year-old New York tower hosting the New Year’s Eve ball drop, recently opened to the public for the first time in decades.