Saturday, April 22, 2023

The farce awakens at the Orpheum Theatre

A new era is beginning at the classic Orpheum Theatre on Second Avenue between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place... yesterday afternoon, the signage arrived for the venue's next production, "The Empire Strips Back" ...
This burlesque "Star Wars" parody begins a limited run at the venue on May 10.

This is the first time in 29 years that "Stomp" signage is not present on the theater. That show, which is on the road these days, ended here on Jan. 8 after 11,000-plus performances.

And this production continues the Orpheum's use as a theater. In the 1980s, the Orpheum was well-known for Off-Broadway productions such as "Little Shop of Horrors" in 1982, Sandra Bernhard's "Without You I'm Nothing" in 1988, Eric Bogosian's "Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll" in 1990, John Leguizamo's "Mambo Mouth" in 1991, and David Mamet's "Oleanna" in 1992.

The Orpheum is reportedly owned by Liberty Theatres, a subsidiary of Reading International, which also runs Minetta Lane Theatre.

According to Cinema Treasures: "The site on which the Orpheum stands is alleged to have been a concert garden as early as the 1880s and, as such, to be one of the oldest continuously operating places of gathering for entertainment events in New York City." 

...and another view via Steven...
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3 comments:

  1. Carol from East 5th StreetApril 22, 2023 at 11:19 PM

    Hoping that the Orpheum continues as a theater and does not come under the chopping block of big real estate in NYC.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousApril 23, 2023 at 4:21 PM

    Opening night should've been May 4th, no?

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousApril 24, 2023 at 11:34 AM

    This looks like a modern day sacrilege. Normies will want to stage a protest, but of course they won't. Down with Disney.

    ReplyDelete

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