Friday 5: Favorite Off-Broadway Theaters - The Institutions

Favorite Off-Broadway Theaters

(The Institutions)

A couple of Fridays ago, we shared our 5 favorite "stand alone" off-Broadway theaters - those individual theaters, non-subscription based, quirky spaces (HERE). Today, we we share our 5 favorite off-Broadway institutions, part of a theater company, or multi-faceted entertainment juggernauts.

Atlantic Theater Company

This nifty space used to be a church. The outside and surrounding area is charming for the middle of Manhattan. I've been there a few times, including the intriguingly odd "mod" musical These Paper Bullets (above, left). It was interesting and strange. And I got to stand about 2 feet away from BillieJoe Armstrong, one of the show's writers and member of Green Day of Amrican Idiot fame. Over the years, ATC has been the birthplace of some of my favorite musicals, including Kimberly Akimbo and The Band's Visit. But I consider myself most fortunate to have seen the off-Broadway premiere of Spring Awakening (above, right). The space was so perfect for it, that when the show transferred to Broadway, they recreated it down to the last detail!

 

Classic Stage Company

Hard to believe they can do so much in such a small space! It is unassuming from the fet go - it's really easy to walk right by it as you go down the street. I've been there several times, and have been impressed every single time. One of my favorite shows there was the rarely performed Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, Allegro, starring one of my favorite performers, Claybourne Elder (above, right). I've also seen a trio of Sondheim shows - all relatively rarely performed: Passion with Melissa Errico, Ryan Silverman and Judy Kuhn, Pacific Overtures (above, left) with George Takei, Thom Sesma and Ann Harada, and Assassins with Ethan Slater, Will Swensen, Brandon Uranowitz, Steven Pasquale and Judy Kuhn. The caliber of performers and creatives make this small space a must-see as often as possible.

 

The Laura Pels Theatre - Roundabout Theatre Company

A somewhat conventional space, albeit "off-Broadway" size, here's another venue I always look forward to returning to (the stairs to get down to it - and back up - notwithstanding!). Two Fiasco Theater Company productions that we caught there were real standouts: Into the Woods (above, right) and Merrily We Roll Along, both performed by tiny casts playing multiple roles. Their minimalist approach forces creativity, and both productions were all the better for it. We also really enjoyed the all-star production of Maury Yeston's Death Takes a Holiday, (above, left) including stellar performances from Julian Ovendon and the late Rebecca Luker. As of this writing, we are very much looking forward to seeing the new musical The Heart at this venue.

 

The Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater - Lincoln Center Theater

With the resources of Lincoln Center, this venue is really lovely, a sort of miniature version of the gargantuan Vivian Beaumont Theater upstairs. Over the years, I've seen a wide-variety of amazing productions - each one daring, thought-provoking and envelope-pushing. Among my favorites there have been LaChiusa's Hello, Again, with Donna Murphy and Carolee Carmello (above, left), a play, Twelve Dreams, the subway musical, Happiness with Joanna Gleason, the commedia del arte musical, The Glorious Ones with Marc Kudisch, and most recently, another LaChiusa musical, The Gardens of Anuncia, starring Priscilla Lopez (above, right). This is really one of my favorite theaters spaces of any size.

 

Playwrights Horizons

This venerable institution sits in the center of the 43nd Street block known as Theater Row. Home to decades worth of world premieres, its production history is a who's who of award-winning modern classics. Famously, it produced the world premieres of both Sunday in the Park with George and Assassins, not to mention shows like Violet, Grey Gardens, Floyd Collins, all three one acts of the Falsettos trilogy, A Strange Loop, and plays like Stereophonic and Clybourne Park. I've been fortunate to have seen a variety of new musicals there including adaptation of the independent films Saved (above, right) with Celia Keenan-Bolger, Julia Murney and a new actor named Aaron Tveit, and Far From Heaven (above, left) starring Kelli O'Hara and Steven Pasquale.