Off-Off-Broadway theatrical productions in New York City are those in theatres that are smaller than Broadway and Off-Broadway theatres. Off-Off-Broadway theatres are often defined as theatres that have fewer than 100 seats,^[1] though the term can be used for any show in the New York City area that employs union actors, but not under an Off-Broadway, Broadway, or LORT contract. The shows range from professional productions by established artists to small amateur performances.

History[link]

The Off-Off-Broadway movement began in 1958 as a reaction to Off-Broadway, and a "complete rejection of commercial theatre".^[2] Among the first venues for what would soon be called "Off-Off-Broadway" (a term supposedly coined by critic Jerry Tallmer of the Village Voice) were coffeehouses in Greenwich Village, particularly the Caffe Cino at 31 Cornelia Street, operated by the eccentric Joe Cino, who early on took a liking to actors and playwrights and agreed to let them stage plays there without bothering to read the plays first, or to even find out much about the content. Also integral to the rise of Off-Off-Broadway were Ellen Stewart at La MaMa, and Al Carmines at the Judson Poets' Theater, located at Judson Memorial Church. Another name worthy of mention is the Nuyorican Poets Café founded by Puerto Rican playwright Miguel Algarín in the mid 1970's.

An Off-Off-Broadway production that features members of Actors Equity is, of necessity, called an Equity Showcase production; not all Off-Off-Broadway shows are Equity Showcases. The Union maintains very strict rules about working in such productions, including restrictions on price, the length of the run and rehearsal times. Professional actors' participation in showcase productions is frequent and comprises the bulk of stage work for the majority of New York actors. There has been an ongoing movement to revise the Equity Showcase rules, which many in the community find overly restrictive and detrimental to the creation of New York theatre.^[3][4]

The term Indie theatre, or independent theatre, coined by playwright Kirk Bromley has been suggested to replace Off-Off-Broadway as a term.^[5]

See also[link]

• Off-Off Broadway theatres and productions

References[link]

Notes

Bibliography

• Bottoms, Stephen J. 2004. Playing Underground: A Critical History of the 1960s Off-Off-Broadway Movement. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-472-03194-5.
• Viagas, Robert. 2004. The Back Stage Guide to Broadway. New York: Back Stage Books. ISBN 0-8230-8809-X.

External links[link]

• New York Innovative Theatre Award, an awards and advocacy group for independent theater
• Review site specializing in Off-Off-Broadway
• League of Independent Theater
• offoffonline.com

Off-Broadway theatre is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts.^[1] These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres.

History[link]

Originally referring to the location of a venue and its productions on a street intersecting Broadway in Manhattan's Theatre District, the hub of the theatre industry in the United States, the term later became defined by the League of Off-Broadway Theatres and Producers as a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, or a specific production that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts.^[1]

Previously, regardless of the size of the venue, a theatre was not considered Off-Broadway if it was within the "Broadway Box" (the traditional Broadway Theatre District, extending from 40th to 54th Street, and from west of Sixth Avenue to east of Eighth Avenue, and including Times Square and 42nd Street). The contractual definition changed this to encompass theatres meeting the standard, which is beneficial to these theatres because of the lower minimum required salary for Actors' Equity performers at Off-Broadway theatres as compared with the salary requirements of the union for Broadway theatres.^[2] Examples of Off-Broadway theatres within the Broadway Box are New World Stages, the Little Shubert Theatre and the Snapple Theater Center.

According to Bloom and Vlastnik, the Off-Broadway movement started in the 1950s, as a reaction to the "perceived commercialism of Broadway" and provided an "outlet for a new generation" of creative artists. This "fertile breeding ground, away from the pressures of commercial production and critical brickbats, helped give a leg up to hundreds of future Broadway greats. The first great Off-Broadway musical was the 1954 revival of the Brecht/Weill Threepenny Opera."^[3]

A number of Off-Broadway musicals have had subsequent runs on Broadway. These have included musicals such as Hair, Godspell, A Chorus Line, Little Shop of Horrors, Sunday in the Park with George, Rent, Grey Gardens, Urinetown, Avenue Q, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Rock of Ages, In The Heights, Spring Awakening and Next to Normal. Plays that have moved to Broadway include Doubt, I Am My Own Wife, Bridge & Tunnel, The Normal Heart, and Coastal Disturbances. Other productions, such as Stomp, Blue Man Group, Altar Boyz, Perfect Crime and Naked Boys Singing have run for several years Off Broadway. The Fantasticks, the longest-running musical in theatre history, spent its original 42-year run Off Broadway.^[4]

Awards[link]

Off-Broadway shows, performers, and creative staff are eligible for awards from the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award, the Outer Circle Critics Award, the Drama Desk Award, the Obie Award (presented since 1956 by The Village Voice), the Lucille Lortel Award (created in 1985 by the League of Off-Broadway Theatres & Producers), and the Drama League Award. Although Off-Broadway shows are not eligible for Tony Awards, an exception was made in 1956 (before the rules were changed), when Lotte Lenya won for "Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical", for the Off-Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera.^[5]

See also[link]

• Broadway theatre
• Off-Off-Broadway

References[link]

External links[link]

• Internet Off-Broadway Database
• The League of Off-Broadway Theatres and Producers