Union Square Theatre was the name of two different theatres near

Union Square Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The first was a

Broadway theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...

that opened in 1870, was converted into a cinema in 1921 and closed in 1936.(8 October 1921)
Two landmarks to b removed from New York
''Loveland Reporter'' The second was an

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

theatre that opened in 1985 and closed in 2016.

58 East 14th Street

The first theatre with this name in New York City was located at 58 East 14th Street. It opened in 1870 and played a mixture of plays and operettas.Acme Theatre
Internet Broadway Database, accessed May 21, 2016 It staged

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

's first play, ''

Vera; or, The Nihilists ''Vera; or, The Nihilists'' is a play by Oscar Wilde. It is a tragedy set in Russia and is loosely based on the life of Vera Zasulich. It was Wilde's first play, and the first to be performed. A draft of the script was completed in 1880 and t ...

''. After 1883, it hosted

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

as part of the

Keith-Albee-Orpheum The Keith-Albee-Orpheum Corporation was the owner of a chain of vaudeville and motion picture theatres. It was formed by the merger of the holdings of Benjamin Franklin Keith and Edward Franklin Albee II and Martin Beck's Orpheum Circuit. Hist ...

circuit. In 1921, it was renamed the Acme Theatre and converted into a cinema that eventually showed Soviet films and closed in 1936.

Selected productions

* ''Led Astray'' by

Dion Boucicault Dionysius Lardner "Dion" Boucicault (né Boursiquot; 26 December 1820 – 18 September 1890) was an Irish actor and playwright famed for his melodramas. By the later part of the 19th century, Boucicault had become known on both sides of the ...

(1873, 161 perf.)Bordman, Gerald Martin & Thomas S. Hischak
The Oxford Companion to American Theatre
p. 380 (3d ed. 2004) * '' The Two Orphans'' (December 21, 1874, 180 perf.) * ''Rose Michel'' by

Steele MacKaye James Morrison Steele MacKaye ( ; June 6, 1842 – February 25, 1894) was an American playwright, actor, theater manager and inventor. Having acted, written, directed and produced numerous and popular plays and theatrical spectaculars of the day ...

(December 14, 1875, over 100 perf.) * ''

A Celebrated Case ''A Celebrated Case'' is a 1914 American silent drama film starring Alice Joyce, Guy Coombs and Marguerite Courtot. It is based on the 1877 play ''Une cause célèbre'' by Adolphe Philippe Dennery and Eugene Cormon. A French soldier is wrongfull ...

'' (January 23, 1878, 111 perf.) * ''The Banker's Daughter'' by

Bronson Howard Bronson Crocker Howard (October 7, 1842 – August 4, 1908) was an American dramatist. Biography Howard was born in Detroit where his father Charles Howard was Mayor in 1849. He prepared for college at New Haven, Conn., but instead of ente ...

(November 30, 1878, 137 perf.) * ''My Partner'' by

Bartley Campbell Bartley Theodore Campbell (August 12, 1843 – July 30, 1888) was an American playwright of the latter 19th century. Early years Campbell was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on August 12, 1843, to parents who had emigrated from Ireland. His wr ...

(September 16, 1879, 39 perf; short run, but became a popular play) * ''

The Lights o' London ''The Lights o' London'' is a melodramatic play, by George R. Sims, first produced in London on 10 September 1881 at the Princess's Theatre, produced by and starring Wilson Barrett. The play was a hit, running for 226 nights, and was frequentl ...

'' (December 1881) * '' A Parisian Romance'' (January 11-April 7, 1883)Advertisement (last matinee on April 7, 1883)
''New York Tribune'' (April 7, 1883) * ''A Moral Crime'' (September 7, 1885) * ''The Henrietta'' by

(September 26, 1887, 155 perf.)Wilmeth, Don B. & Christopher Bigsby, eds
The Cambridge History of American Theatre, Volume II, 1870-1945
p. 240 (199) * '' La Soirée'' (November 2013 to May 2014)

Notable people

Jennie Kimball Jennie Kimball (also, Jennie Kimball Flaherty and Jennie Kimball Schaefer; June 20, 1848 – March 23, 1896) was an American actor, soubrette, and theatrical manager. She appeared first at The Boston Theatre in 1865. After the success made by her ...

, actor, soubrette, theatrical manager *

Jessie Vokes Jessie Vokes (14 June 1848 – 7 August 1884) was a British music hall, pantomime and burlesque actress and dancer of the 19th-century and a member of the Vokes family, Vokes Family of entertainers. For more than ten years they were the central at ...

, actress and dancer

100 East 17th Street

The second theatre was located at 100 East 17th Street (also known as

44 Union Square 44 Union Square, also known as 100 East 17th Street and the Tammany Hall Building, is a three-story building at 44 Union Square East in Union Square, Manhattan, in New York City. It is at the southeast corner of Union Square East/Park Avenue So ...

) in the former

Tammany Hall Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York City political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society. It became the main loc ...

building, built in 1929. It opened in 1994 and was operated by Liberty Theatres. On January 3, 2016, the theater was closed as part of a complete renovation of the building, including the planned demolition of the theatre. Its longest-running productions were ''

Slava's Snowshow ''Slava's Snowshow'' is a stage show created and staged by Russian performance artist Slava Polunin. The show won the Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Special Theatrical Event. Produ ...

'', for 28 months, and ''Wit'', for 18 months. Its final production was ''The 39 Steps''.Union Square Theatre
Internet Off-Broadway Database

Selected productions

* '' The 39 Steps'', April 2015–January 2016 *Murder Ballad, May 7, 2013 – July 21, 2013 * ''

'', September 2004–January 2007 * '' Bat Boy: The Musical'', book by Keythe Farley and

Brian Flemming Brian Flemming is an American film director, playwright and activist. His films include '' Hang Your Dog in the Wind'', '' Nothing So Strange'', and '' The God Who Wasn't There''. His musicals include '' Bat Boy: The Musical'', which won the LA ...

and music and lyrics by Laurence O'Keefe, March 2001–December 2001 * ''Wit'', October 1998–April 2000 * ''

The Laramie Project ''The Laramie Project'' is a 2000 play by Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project (specifically, Leigh Fondakowski, writer-director; Stephen Belber, Greg Pierotti, Barbara Pitts, Stephen Wangh, Amanda Gronich, Sara Lambert, ...

'' by

Moises Kaufman Moises or Moisés is a male name common among people of Iberian origin. It is the Spanish, Portuguese and Tagalog equivalent of the name Moses. ;Places * Doctor Moisés Bertoni, a village in the Caazapá department of Paraguay * Moises Padilla, ...

and the Members of the

Tectonic Theater Project Tectonic Theater Project is a stage and theatre group whose plays have been performed around the world. The company is dedicated to developing works that explore theatrical language and form, fostering dialogue with audiences on the social, pol ...

, 2000 * '' Visiting Mr. Green'' by

Jeff Baron Jeff Baron is an American novelist, playwright and screenwriter currently living in Manhattan. He is the author of ''I Represent Sean Rosen'' and ''Sean Rosen Is Not for Sale'', published by Greenwillow/HarperCollins and the ''Electro-Pup'' seri ...

, 1997–1998 * ''

Eating Raoul ''Eating Raoul'' is a 1982 American black comedy film written, directed by and starring Paul Bartel with Mary Woronov, Robert Beltran, Ed Begley Jr., Buck Henry, and Susan Saiger. It is about a prudish married couple (Bartel and Woronov) who r ...

'', 1992 (Source
Internet Off-Broadway Database

References

External links

Union Square Theatre
at

Internet Off-Broadway Database The Internet Off-Broadway Database (IOBDB), also formerly known as the Lortel Archives, is an online database that catalogues theatre productions shown off-Broadway. The IOBDB was funded and developed by the non-profit Lucille Lortel Foundation ...

{{Authority control Off-Broadway theaters Theatres in Manhattan Union Square, Manhattan