EVG photo from January
Under increased scrutiny of its productions by the building landlord, the Archdiocese of New York, the Connelly Theater has gone dark on Fourth Street between Avenue A and Avenue B.
As The New York Times first reported:
Josh Luxenberg, who has been the theater’s general manager for the past decade, submitted his resignation late Friday. And early Tuesday, the Catholic school that is the intermediary between the theater and the archdiocese said it was "suspending all operations of its theater."Producers who have rented from the Connelly say they were aware that it was owned by the archdiocese, and that there was always a clause in their contract allowing the Roman Catholic Church to bar anything it deemed obscene, pornographic or detrimental to the church's reputation.But only recently, they said, did the archdiocese seek to rigorously scrutinize scripts before approving rentals. New York Theater Workshop said it was told by a bishop this month that it could not stage "Becoming Eve," which is adapted from a memoir about a rabbi who comes out as a transgender woman, at the Connelly early next year. It is now looking for another venue.
SheNYC Arts, which has been producing theater by women, trans, and nonbinary writers at the Connelly Theater for eight years, is now looking for a new home for its underrepresented work.
In a statement, SheNYC said that new leadership at the Archdiocese of New York "has directed the theater to deny the space to any shows or companies that would be seen as inappropriate by the Catholic Church."
This includes shows about reproductive rights, trans characters, and gender issues, SheNYC Arts has been told. The priest in charge of the jurisdiction is personally screening scripts to ensure they fit within strictly Catholic doctrines."The Archdiocese has specifically called out our past shows at the Connelly Theater, calling them 'inappropriate' for discussing issues like reproductive rights and gender and making it clear to us that shows like that will not be allowed in the future," said Danielle DeMatteo, Artistic Director of SheNYC Arts. "Especially just a few weeks before our election that could determine the future of our rights, this is a truly shocking development."
The vital Off-Broadway venue, which recently staged the future Broadway production "Job," is housed within the Cornelia Connelly Center, a Catholic school for girls from fourth to eighth grade.
The producers of "Job" released a statement on Instagram that read:
We are shocked and disappointed that the Catholic Church has shuttered one of downtown’s most beloved theatres. Simply put, "Job" would not be on Broadway without the Connelly Theater.
Great theatre is an exchange of ideas — an opportunity for audiences to develop empathy and understanding. The Church undermines that quest for shared humanity with its decision.We call on the Archdiocese to reopen the Connelly so artists and audiences can once again gather and experience the transcendence of live theatre. And in the meantime, we invite Cardinal Dolan to come to the Hayes Theater to see Job on Broadway. He can experience first-hand the powerful theatre he is now turning his back on.
New York Archdiocese spokesperson Joseph Zwilling told the National Catholic Register: "It is the standard practice of the archdiocese that nothing should take place on Church-owned property that is contrary to the teaching of the Church."
When asked if the Archdiocese mandated the theater's closure, Zwilling said, "We did not order it to be closed."
"We had seen a range of really provocative, amazing, inspiriting, artistically rigorous shows there, so I was surprised this would be rejected," Patricia McGregor, the artistic director of New York Theater Workshop on Fourth Street, told the Times. "And if in the East Village of New York City we are meeting this kind of resistance, where else might this be happening?"
The signage was removed outside the Connelly Theater yesterday, and the doors were freshly painted.
Meanwhile, Google lists the theater as "permanently closed."
Is Trump buddy Timothy Dolan going to hand the property over to Kushner now?
ReplyDeleteSo, Zwilling says "It is the standard practice of the archdiocese that nothing should take place on Church-owned property that is contrary to the teaching of the Church."
ReplyDeleteBut Dolan had NO problem with the filth that came out of Trump's mouth the other night. I guess that's b/c it was said at the Waldorf-Astoria, and not at a church-owned property?
Smacks of hypocrisy AND lousy judgment.
Here's what I expect next: this school will close b/c the diocese will say there's no money to run it...
ironically i never knew the theater was owned by the church until now, and as a direct result of this i have a negative opinion of the church. way to go, guys.
ReplyDeleteNow let’s hear what Dolan has to say about all of the sexual abuse at the hands of his priests
ReplyDeletevery upsetting
ReplyDeleteConsidering the tax breaks religions get, I'd like to start scrutinizing THEIR behavior before they get their benefits. Seems only fair.
ReplyDeletePot calling the kettle black right here.
ReplyDeleteThe archdiocese seems to be mobilizing in a variety of ways to pay for its ongoing lawsuit with Chubb and prepare for the possibility of losing it. It would not surprise me if they are clearing the way for a future sale of the property? Does anyone know the name of the "change in leadership?"
ReplyDeleteMost likely Bishop Edmund Whalen, who is angling to be the next archbishop after Dolan retires in February.
DeleteAfter reading BS like this, I am very grateful I fled the Catholic Church at 19 and eventually became an atheist after coming out. This very institution has committed endless atrocities towards so many, including myself. Crime and corruption follow them everywhere. Here is a fun fact. The Catholic Church owns more properties than any other entity in the world. The power they behold to get shit done is undeniable. Look at what happened to this theater. So messed up!
ReplyDelete"Producers who have rented from the Connelly say they were aware that it was owned by the archdiocese, and that there was always a clause in their contract allowing the Roman Catholic Church to bar anything it deemed obscene, pornographic or detrimental to the church's reputation."
ReplyDeleteYet they happily support an adjudicated rapist, a convicted felon, a man who brags about grabbing a woman's genitals, a man who fathered five children from three wives, who cheated on his third wife with a porn star, a man who talks about how hot his daughter is, and a man who stole money from a charity for children who are living with cancer. Are you fucking kidding me? How is any of this not obscene or detrimental? This is the epitome of hypocrisy. I am seething as I write this. Our community needs this theater. We need creativity in allowing us to examine our own lives and relationships through performance art. This is yet another loss for the EV.
An all girls POC free Catholic Middle School shares the building with the theater space. Hopefully the school can expand and deepen their performing arts program.
ReplyDeleteOr another theater troupe or performing arts troupe will move in.
This is just so sad to hear on so many levels. Oh, and the new door color is f'ing awful.
ReplyDeleteTerrible! Connelly Theater is one of best things about this block. The pedophiles in the church trying to censor art? The church is looking to sell the property to pay for all their legal issues…, smh
ReplyDeleteGood for the church.
ReplyDeleteThe church is the only place that I have seen the devil do his work
DeleteSo rather than closing the theater completely (and losing the revenue opportunity), why doesn't the Archdiocese bring in Catholic plays and playwrights whose work conforms to Church doctrine? Maybe it's because right-wing art is predictable, preachy, lacking any creativity whatsoever, and any humor is purely punch-down.
ReplyDeleteI think the Sheen Center already does that
Delete(Another Catholic Church-owned theater space)
DeleteHow did they all their property?
ReplyDeleteShort memory alert! From the late 1980’s and into the 1990’s the building housed RAPP Arts Center. A multi-disciplinary arts haven that hosted a wide range of progressive art like Butoh from Poppo and the Go Go Boys, the Bang On A Can New Music Festival was resident there, Laura Linney made her stage debut there, Theater For A New Audience had its headquarters there, Salt and Peppa shot music videos there, and there was a long list of now famous bands who played in the place. Visual artists rented studios and lived in the former nuns’ quarters on the top floor. The proprietor had a unique tactic when the Catholic church eventually began proceedings to get rid of RAPP, he sublet the space to himself thus stalling out court proceedings for another year.
ReplyDeleteGiven the Catholic church’s long history of profound immorality and abusiveness to the most vulnerable of its followers, well-documented and covered by major news outlets, this episode is just a naked attempt to refurbish the church’s gross hypocrisy in a hollow publicity stunt. And who pays the consequences? Art and culture of course, a perennial scapegoat and pawn for all conservatives. The church really does not have any moral authority anymore.