The Cherry Lane Theatre is the oldest continuously running off-Broadway theater in New York City. The theater is located at 38 Commerce Street between Barrow and Bedford Streets in the

West Village The West Village is a neighborhood in the western section of the larger Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City. The traditional boundaries of the West Village are the Hudson River to the west, West 14th Street to t ...

neighborhood of

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

, Manhattan, New York City. The Cherry Lane contains a 179-seat main stage and a 60-seat studio.Lee, Felicia R. (December 21, 2010
"Cherry Lane Theater Artistic Director to Leave and Sell Building"
'' The New York Times''. Retrieved December 24, 2010
WebCitation archive

History

The building was constructed as a farm silo in 1817, and also served as a brewery, tobacco warehouse and box factory before Evelyn Vaughn, William S. Rainey, Reginald Travers &

Edna St. Vincent Millay Edna St. Vincent Millay (February 22, 1892 – October 19, 1950) was an American lyrical poet and playwright. Millay was a renowned social figure and noted feminist in New York City during the Roaring Twenties and beyond. She wrote much of he ...

converted the structure into a theater they christened the Cherry Lane Playhouse. It opened in 1923. Its first reviewed show was ''Saturday Night'' by Robert Presnell, which opened on February 9, 1924."The 1920's"
Cherry Lane Theatre website This was followed by the plays ''The Man Who Ate Popomack'', by W. J. Turner, directed by Reginald Travers, on March 24, 1924; and ''The Way of the World'' by William Congreve, produced by the Cherry Lane Players Inc., opening November 17, 1924. The theatre received a significant makeover in 1954 when it acquired much of the expensive furnishings sold off by Rockefeller Center's failing Center Theatre. The Cherry Lane Theatre has long been a home for nontraditional and

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when a ...

works. Particularly during the 1950s and '60s, it hosted many

avant garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or 'vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical D ...

performances that were identified with the

counterculture A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Ho ...

. It regularly staged works by playwrights associated with the

Theatre of the Absurd The Theatre of the Absurd (french: théâtre de l'absurde ) is a post– World War II designation for particular plays of absurdist fiction written by a number of primarily European playwrights in the late 1950s. It is also a term for the style o ...

, including one of the first productions of Samuel Beckett's '' Endgame'' in 1957. The modernist stage company

The Living Theatre The Living Theatre is an American theatre company founded in 1947 and based in New York City. It is the oldest experimental theatre group in the United States. For most of its history it was led by its founders, actress Judith Malina and painter ...

was in residence in 1951 and 1952, performing rarities like Pablo Picasso's '' Desire Caught by the Tail''. Occasionally the theatre even hosted musical performances, providing a venue for

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

and Pete Seeger long before their ascensions to fame. A succession of major American plays were produced at the theater, by writers including F. Scott Fitzgerald,

John Dos Passos John Roderigo Dos Passos (; January 14, 1896 – September 28, 1970) was an American novelist, most notable for his ''U.S.A.'' trilogy. Born in Chicago, Dos Passos graduated from Harvard College in 1916. He traveled widely as a young man, visit ...

, and Elmer Rice in the 1920s; Eugene O'Neill, Seán O'Casey,

Clifford Odets Clifford Odets (July 18, 1906 – August 14, 1963) was an American playwright, screenwriter, and actor. In the mid-1930s, he was widely seen as the potential successor to Nobel Prize-winning playwright Eugene O'Neill, as O'Neill began to withdra ...

W. H. Auden Wystan Hugh Auden (; 21 February 1907 – 29 September 1973) was a British-American poet. Auden's poetry was noted for its stylistic and technical achievement, its engagement with politics, morals, love, and religion, and its variety in ...

, Gertrude Stein,

Luigi Pirandello Luigi Pirandello (; 28 June 1867 – 10 December 1936) was an Italian dramatist, novelist, poet, and short story writer whose greatest contributions were his plays. He was awarded the 1934 Nobel Prize in Literature for "his almost magical power ...

, and

William Saroyan William Saroyan (; August 31, 1908 – May 18, 1981) was an Armenian-American novelist, playwright, and short story writer. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1940, and in 1943 won the Academy Award for Best Story for the film ''The ...

in the 1940s; Samuel Beckett, Pablo Picasso, T. S. Eliot, Jean Anouilh, and

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thre ...

in the 1950s; Harold Pinter, LeRoi Jones,

Eugène Ionesco Eugène Ionesco (; born Eugen Ionescu, ; 26 November 1909 – 28 March 1994) was a Romanian-French playwright who wrote mostly in French, and was one of the foremost figures of the French avant-garde theatre in the 20th century. Ionesco inst ...

, Terrence McNally,

Lanford Wilson Lanford Wilson (April 13, 1937March 24, 2011) was an American playwright. His work, as described by ''The New York Times'', was "earthy, realist, greatly admired ndwidely performed." Fox, Margalit"Lanford Wilson, Pulitzer Prize-Winning Playwright ...

, and

Lorraine Hansberry Lorraine Vivian Hansberry (May 19, 1930 – January 12, 1965) was a playwright and writer. She was the first African-American female author to have a play performed on Broadway. Her best-known work, the play ''A Raisin in the Sun'', highlig ...

, in the 1960s, as well as Edward Albee, staging a large number of his plays;"History: 1960-1969"
, Cherry Lane Theatre and

Sam Shepard Samuel Shepard Rogers III (November 5, 1943 – July 27, 2017) was an American actor, playwright, author, screenwriter, and director whose career spanned half a century. He won 10 Obie Awards for writing and directing, the most by any write ...

Joe Orton John Kingsley Orton (1 January 1933 – 9 August 1967), known by the pen name of Joe Orton, was an English playwright, author, and diarist. His public career, from 1964 until his death in 1967, was short but highly influential. During this brie ...

and David Mamet in the 1970s and 1980s. Beckett's ''Happy Days'' had its world premiere at the Cherry Lane, directed by Alan Schneider, on September 17, 1961.

's '' True West'' premiered at the Cherry Lane on October 17, 1982, starring

John Malkovich John Malkovich (born December 9, 1953) is an American actor. He is the recipient of several accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Screen Actors Guild Aw ...

and

Gary Sinise Gary Alan Sinise (; born March 17, 1955) is an American actor, humanitarian, and musician. Among other awards, he has won a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Tony Award, and four Screen Actors Guild Awards. He has also received a sta ...

, and produced by Kevin Dowling,

Wayne Adams Wayne Adams, CM ONS (born 1943) is a Canadian former provincial politician who was the first Black Canadian member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly and cabinet minister. Early life Adams was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1943. Politica ...

and Harold Thau.

1990s

Angelina Fiordellisi bought the theater and the building in 1996 for $1.7 million, and renovated it for $3 million. That year, artistic director Fiordellisi and Susann Brinkley co-founded the Cherry Lane Theatre Company and the Cherry Lane Alternative followed in 1997."History: 1990-1999"
, Cherry Lane Theatre In 1998, Fiordellisi, Brinkley, and playwright

Michael Weller Michael Weller (born September 26, 1942) is a Brooklyn-based playwright and screen writer. His plays include '' Moonchildren'', ''Loose Ends'', ''Spoils of War'' and ''Fifty Words''. His screenplays include ''Ragtime'', for which he was nominat ...

co-founded the company's Mentor Project,
Tallmer, Jerry. “In training to train words and Wisteria”. ''The Villager''. May 2, 2007. which matches established dramatists with aspiring playwrights in one-to-one mentoring relationships. Each mentor works with a playwright to perfect a single work during the season-long process, which culminates in a production. Participants have included Pulitzer Prize-winners

David Auburn David Auburn (born 30 November 1969) is an American playwright, screenwriter and theatre director. He is best known for his 2000 play ''Proof'', which won the 2001 Tony Award for Best Play and Pulitzer Prize for Drama. He also wrote the screenp ...

Charles Fuller Charles H. Fuller Jr. (March 5, 1939 – October 3, 2022) was an American playwright, best known for his play '' A Soldier's Play'', for which he received the 1982 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 2020 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play. ...

Tony Kushner Anthony Robert Kushner (born July 16, 1956) is an American author, playwright, and screenwriter. Lauded for his work on stage he's most known for his seminal work ''Angels in America'' which earned a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award. At the turn ...

, Marsha Norman,

Alfred Uhry Alfred Fox Uhry (born December 3, 1936) is an American playwright and screenwriter. He has received an Academy Award, two Tony Awards and the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for dramatic writing for ''Driving Miss Daisy''. He is a member of the Fellowship of ...

, Jules Feiffer, and

Wendy Wasserstein Wendy Wasserstein (October 18, 1950 – January 30, 2006) was an American playwright. She was an Andrew Dickson White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University. She received the Tony Award for Best Play and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1989 fo ...

; Pulitzer nominees

A.R. Gurney Albert Ramsdell Gurney Jr. (November 1, 1930 – June 13, 2017) (sometimes credited as Pete Gurney) was an American playwright, novelist and academic. He is known for works including '' The Dining Room'' (1982), '' Sweet Sue'' (1986/7), and '' T ...

David Henry Hwang David Henry Hwang (born August 11, 1957) is an American playwright, librettist, screenwriter, and theater professor at Columbia University in New York City. He has won three Obie Awards for his plays '' FOB'', '' Golden Child'', and '' Yel ...

Craig Lucas Craig Lucas (born April 30, 1951) is an American playwright, screenwriter, theatre director, musical actor, and film director. Biography Born on April 30, 1951, he was found abandoned in a car in Atlanta, Georgia. Lucas was adopted when he was ...

, and Theresa Rebeck; and Obie Award winners

Ed Bullins Edward Artie Bullins (July 2, 1935November 13, 2021), sometimes publishing as Kingsley B. Bass Jr, was an American playwright. He won awards including the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award and several Obie Awards. Bullins was associated with ...

and Lynn Nottage, as mentors. From the outset, Edward Albee has participated as the Mentor's Mentor by attending Project readings and performances and conducting a yearly Master Class.

2010s

In July 2010, the theater announced a one year hiatus in an effort to tackle mounting debt. In August 2011, Angelina Fiordellisi announced that Cherry Lane Theatre had been able to work off almost all of its debt, and planned to produce again in 2012. Fiordellisi had received hundreds of phone calls and emails and visits from people who were concerned to hear that she was leaving and that the theatre was for sale, and when those people started referring rentals to Cherry Lane, she was able to look ahead and feel more secure about the theatre's financial future. Cherry Lane Theatre began producing new works again with its Obie Award–winning Mentor Project in February 2012. In July 2021, it was announced that the theatre had been sold to the Lucille Lortel Foundation, and Fiordellisi would remain involved with the Cherry Lane Alternative. However, in November, it was announced that the sale to the Lortel Foundation had fallen through, and the theater was back on the market for nearly $13 million.

Productions

Productions staged at the Cherry Lane include '' The Rimers of Eldritch,''

Claudia Shear Claudia Shear (born September 12, 1962) is an American actress and playwright. She was nominated for the Tony Award, Best Play and Best Actress for her play '' Dirty Blonde''. Early life Shear was born in Brooklyn, New York on September 12, 1962 ...

's ''Blown Sideways Through Life,'' '' Fortune's Fool'' with

Alan Bates Sir Alan Arthur Bates (17 February 1934 – 27 December 2003) was an English actor who came to prominence in the 1960s, when he appeared in films ranging from the popular children's story '' Whistle Down the Wind'' to the " kitchen sink" dram ...

and

Frank Langella Frank A. Langella Jr. (; born January 1, 1938) is an American stage and film actor. He has won four Tony Awards: two for Best Leading Actor in a Play for his performance as Richard Nixon in Peter Morgan's '' Frost/Nixon'' and as André in Flor ...

, '' The Sum of Us'' with Tony Goldwyn, the

Richard Maltby Jr. Richard Eldridge Maltby Jr. (born October 6, 1937) is an American theatre director and producer, lyricist, and screenwriter. He conceived and directed the only two musical revues to win the Tony Award for Best Musical: '' Ain't Misbehavin (1 ...

/ David Shire musical ''

Closer Than Ever ''Closer Than Ever'' is a musical revue in two acts, with words by Richard Maltby, Jr. and music by David Shire. The revue contains no dialogue, and Maltby and Shire have described this show as a "bookless book musical." The show was originally con ...

,''

's '' True West,''

's '' Entertaining Mr. Sloane,'' Edward Albee's ''

The Zoo Story ''The Zoo Story'' is a one-act play by American playwright Edward Albee. His first play, it was written in 1958 and completed in just three weeks. The play explores themes of isolation, loneliness, miscommunication as anathematization, social di ...

,''

John-Michael Tebelak John-Michael Tebelak (September 17, 1949 – April 2, 1985) was an American playwright and director. He is best known for creating the musical ''Godspell'', based on the Gospel of Saint Matthew, with the composer Stephen Schwartz, who wrote ...

and Stephen Schwartz's '' Godspell,''

Paul Osborn Paul Osborn (September 4, 1901 – May 12, 1988) was an American playwright and screenwriter. Osborn's original plays are '' The Vinegar Tree'', ''Oliver Oliver'', and ''Morning's at Seven'' and among his several successful adaptations, ''On Borr ...

's ''

Morning's at Seven ''Morning's at Seven'' is a play by Paul Osborn. Its plot focuses on four aging sisters living in a small Midwestern town in 1928, and it deals with ramifications within the family when two of them begin to question their lives and decide to ma ...

,'' Laura Pedersen's ''The Brightness of Heaven'' (later changed to '' For Heaven's Sake!''), the long-running '' Nunsense'', and David Rimmer's ''Album'', a Pulitzer Prize finalist. Also presented was a 25th-anniversary revival of ''Nunsense,'' running June 15 to July 18, 2010.''History: 2010 and Onward''
, Cherry Lane Theatre

References

External links

Official websiteWebCitation archive
* {{Authority control Off-Broadway theaters Greenwich Village Tobacco buildings in the United States