comedies, a hundred singing waiters, and a hundred "American beauties" who doubled as hostesses. Authentic reenactments of vaudeville were also presented. Initially, the music hall was successful, and Rose decided to travel to Europe for eight weeks to obtain acts for the hall's next season. Within a month of the hall's opening, Rose was forced to fire many of the singing waiters and hostesses due to labor complaints. Mobsters became involved in the hall's operation during Rose's absence, including Lucky Luciano, prompting an investigation that involved J. Edgar Hoover. That September, the New York City government tried to force the music hall to apply for a theatre license because the venue showed short films, even though the hall was technically registered as a cabaret. The same month, Rose withdrew from the hall because of disagreements over pay. In November 1934, the venue was renamed the Manhattan Music Hall. However, the venue struggled to succeed without Rose's leadership. The Manhattan Music Hall was "temporarily" shuttered in January 1935, and the hall sought to reorganize shortly afterward. After another year of failures, the Manhattan Music Hall closed permanently in January 1936 and the Hammerstein's Theatre space was used by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) under the auspices of the "Popular Price Theater". The first WPA production to be staged at the Manhattan was American Holiday, which opened on February 21, 1936, and ran for a month. This was followed by Murder in the Cathedral in March, Class of '29 in May, and Help Yourself in July 1936. , no further theatrical productions have been staged at the theater after Help Yourself closed. Use as playhouse CBS playhouse Radio Theater No. 3 The Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) tested the Manhattan Theatre's acoustics in July 1936 to determine whether it was suitable as a broadcast playhouse. The next month, CBS acquired a lease on the theater, relocating there from the Little Theatre. Architect William Lescaze renovated the interior, keeping nearly all of Krapp's design touches, but covering many walls with smooth white panels. The magazine Architectural Forum praised Lescaze's work. CBS engineers also added rock wool on the floors and walls to insulate the auditorium from passing elevated and subway trains, and they added telephone and public-announcement systems. The new playhouse was tentatively known as the CBS Theatre on the Air. The radio network began broadcasting from the Manhattan in September 1936, moving in