Curtain falls on Connelly Theater: Archdiocese takes center stage in script scrutiny drama

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."

Hit play 'Job' heads from the East Village's Connelly Theater to Broadway

"Job," Max Wolf Friedlich's 80-minute psychological thriller, enjoyed an extended run at The Connelly Theater earlier this year. 

Word came yesterday that "Job" is transferring to Broadway for 10 weeks at the Hayes Theater on West 44th Street starting on July 15. (Find ticket info here.) 

Peter Friedman and Sydney Lemmon will reprise their roles in the two-character play that concerns a crisis therapist and a big tech company employee in Silicon Valley, one who has been placed on leave after becoming the subject of a viral workplace video. 

It was great fun to see this in the East Village ... and a production that promises to prompt some post-play discussion. 

This is also the first play to jump from the Connelly Theater to Broadway in its long history.

Previously on EV Grieve:

• On the Job: Talking with playwright Max Wolf Friedlich at the Connelly Theater

This 'Job' has been extended for 3 weeks at the East Village's Connelly Theater

Photo of Max Wolf Friedlich from January by Stacie Joy 

You now have three more weeks to catch a performance of "Job" at the Connelly Theater. 

The 80-minute psychological thriller was set to close on Sunday at the venue, 220 E. Fourth St., between Avenue A and Avenue B. 

However, the run has been extended through March 23. The two-character play, starring Peter Friedman and Sydney Lemmon, concerns a crisis therapist and a big tech company employee, one who has been placed on leave after becoming the subject of a viral video. We'll leave it at that! 

"Job" enjoyed a well-reviewed five-week engagement last fall at the Soho Playhouse. This time around, the notices are just as positive (for example, "one of the best shows playing in NYC right now"). 

Playwright Max Wolf Friedlich grew up in NYC and doing theater in the East Village — at the Kraine, NY Theater Workshop, Bowery Poetry Club, Under St. Marks, etc., as he previously told EVG's Stacie Joy.

We asked Max for his thoughts on the extension.

"We're over the moon to have extended for three more weeks at the Connelly. We're so grateful audiences continue to respond to the play," he said. "On a personal note, I hope our longevity — and the success of other independent Off-Broadway productions this season — demonstrates to the theater world that young people are excited about bold, modern plays written for and marketed to them." 

Find tickets here. 

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• On the Job: Talking with playwright Max Wolf Friedlich at the Connelly Theater

On the Job: Talking with playwright Max Wolf Friedlich at the Connelly Theater

Photos and text by Stacie Joy

Updated 2/28: The play has been extended through March 23.

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The doors at the Connelly Theater, 220 E. Fourth St.,  are locked when I arrive to meet playwright Max Wolf Friedlich.

After a "Hey, I'm here!" text, he pops out of the venue with a smile, clutching a can of grapefruit Spindrift.

We take a brief tour of the site here between Avenue A and Avenue B before the scheduled 2 p.m. matinee of his well-reviewed play "Job," a psychological thriller about an employee at an unnamed big tech company who has been placed on leave after becoming the subject of a viral video. 

The play, starring Peter Friedman and Sydney Lemmon, enjoyed a buzzy five-week engagement last fall at the Soho Playhouse. Positive word-of-mouth —and reviews — have followed the production here for this six-plus week run. (When I leave at 1:30 p.m., there is already a sizable line on this rainy afternoon.)

We leave details of the play and its plot aside and talk about keeping theater affordable and accessible (there is a weekend matinee with gentler pricing) and the neighborhood and his connection to it. 

"I grew up doing theater in the East Village — at the Kraine, NY Theater Workshop, Bowery Poetry Club, Under St. Marks," he says. "I went to high school in the East Village, and many of my best friends lived here. It's my favorite neighborhood in New York. Somehow, despite all the changing demographics, it still feels like a real neighborhood — a real community."

He continues: "Being able to eat Casa Adela or Katz's on show days? Doesn't get much better. The Connelly is gorgeous, and Josh [Luxenberg, director and general manager] and his team have been so accommodating and attentive. Our whole team truly loves being on East Fourth."

"Job" is scheduled through March 3; tickets can be purchased here. 

What's going on at Connelly Theater Upstairs, the former home of the Metropolitan Playhouse

The Metropolitan Playhouse suspended production for the foreseeable future and left its home of 31 seasons this past summer at the Cornelia Connelly Center on Fourth Street between Avenue A and Avenue B. 

That 51-seat black box space is now part of the adjacent Connelly Theater and going as Connelly Theater Upstairs. Gabe Mollica's "Solo: A Show About Friendship" opens there tonight. 

About the production: 

Gabe dives deep into what it means to have friends in your 30s, his special relationship with Stephen Sondheim, working at a summer camp for children with chronic illnesses, and what happens when you break up with your best friend. 

Find tickets here. 

Meanwhile, also starting tonight, "Salesman之死" at the Connelly Theater ...