-
American Place Theatre111 W 46th, New York, NY 1003640.757900-73.9829900
-
Anderson Theater66 2nd Ave, New York, NY 1000340.725880-73.9893301
-
Astor Place Theatre434 Lafayette St, New York, NY 1000340.729410-73.9923702
-
Bastiano's Cellar Studio1 Waverly Pl, New York, NY 1001440.729610-73.9932603
-
Biltmore Theatre261 W 47th St, New York, NY 1003640.760380-73.9867104
-
Bouwerie Lane Theater330 Bowery, New York, NY 1001240.725900-73.9923505
-
Bridge Theatre4 St Marks Pl, New York, NY 1000340.729120-73.9896406
-
Café La MaMa (original location)321 E 9th St, New York, NY 1000340.728900-73.9860507
-
Café La MaMa (second location)82 2nd Ave, New York, NY 1000340.726470-73.9889008
-
Café La MaMa (third location)122 2nd Ave, New York, NY 1000340.728070-73.9876009
-
Caffe Cino31 Cornelia St, New York, NY 1001440.731410-74.00256010
-
Carnegie Recital Hall881 7th Ave, New York, NY 1001940.764930-73.97989011
-
Charles Ludlam Theater1 Sheridan Square, New York, NY 1001440.732740-74.00183012
-
Charles Theater193 Avenue B, New York, NY 1000940.728050-73.97899013
-
Cherry Lane Theatre38 Commerce St, New York, NY 1001440.731250-74.00531014
-
Circle in the Square159 Bleecker St, New York, NY 1001240.728690-73.99986015
-
Judson Memorial Church55 Washington Square S, New York, NY 1001240.730220-73.99844016
-
La MaMa (final location)74 E 4th St, New York, NY 1000340.726280-73.99021017
-
La MaMa (temporary location)9 St Marks Pl, New York, NY 1000340.729420-73.98913018
-
Mercer Arts Center240 Mercer St, New York, NY 1001240.727900-73.99549019
-
New York Poets Theatre84 E 10th St, New York, NY 1000340.730860-73.98993020
-
New York Theater Ensemble62 E 4th St, New York, NY 1000340.726450-73.99073021
-
Old Reliable Theatre Tavern231 E 3rd St, New York, NY 1000940.722360-73.98167022
-
Play-House of the Ridiculous12 W 17th St, New York, NY 1001140.738120-73.99324023
-
St. Mark's Church-In-The-Bowery131 E 10th St, New York, NY 1000340.730350-73.98708024
-
The Living Theatre / John Cage and Merce Cunningham's studio530 6th Ave, New York, NY 1001140.737440-73.99644025
-
The Public Theater425 Lafayette St, New York, NY 1000340.729030-73.99182026
-
Theater for the New City113 Jane St, New York, NY 1001440.738250-74.00945027
-
Truck and Warehouse Theater79 E 4th St, New York, NY 1000340.726670-73.99000028
-
Westbeth Artists Housing55 Bethune St, New York, NY 1001440.736720-74.00848029
-
WPA Theatre519 W 23rd St, New York, NY 1001140.748250-74.00474030
American Place Theatre
111 W 46th, New York, NY 10036
The American Place Theatre, located on West Forty-Sixth Street, was where Sam Shepard and Patti Smith’s Cowboy Mouth opened and closed at the end of April 1971.
Related Stories
- Cowboy Mouth’s Very Short Run
Anderson Theater
66 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003
The Anderson Theater—which hosted the disastrous New York City debut of the Cockettes—seated over three thousand people, and like many similar theaters on Second Avenue, it had been left to decay since the glory days of vaudeville.
Related Stories
- The Cockettes’s Disastrous New York Debut
Astor Place Theatre
434 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10003
In 1965, Jonas Mekas rented space for the Filmmakers Cinematheque to produce multimedia shows and film screenings at the Astor Place Theatre, where the Fugs also regularly performed; it was also where the first production of Tom Eyen’s Women Behind Bars was staged in 1975.
Related Stories
- Women Behind Bars
Bastiano's Cellar Studio
1 Waverly Pl, New York, NY 10014
The first production of the Jackie Curtis-penned Glamor, Glory and Gold, directed by Ron Link, was performed at Bastiano’s Cellar Studio in Greenwich Village.
Related Stories
- Candy Darling Bends Gender and Warps Reality
- Candy Darling Goes Downtown
- Jackie Curtis Subverts Pop Culture
- Jackie Curtis’s Glamour, Glory, and Gold
Biltmore Theatre
261 W 47th St, New York, NY 10036
The Broadway version of Hair, directed by La MaMa’s Tom O’Horgan, debuted at the Biltmore Theatre on April 29, 1968, featuring Walter Michael Harris as the youngest cast member.
Related Stories
- Hair, an Antiwar Musical
- Hair’s Broadway Debut
- Walter Michael Harris Quits Hair and Goes West With His Brother Hibiscus
Bouwerie Lane Theater
330 Bowery, New York, NY 10012
This Off-Off-Broadway theater, where Cockette Pam Tent performed with others in The Palm Casino Revue, was located in a nineteenth century cast-iron building, a stone’s throw from CBGB.
Related Stories
- Conquest of the Universe
- Dee Dee Ramone and Pam Tent On the Scene
- Ridiculous Turnover at the Play-House
Bridge Theatre
4 St Marks Pl, New York, NY 10003
The Bridge Theatre was above the Café Au Go Go on Bleecker Street, which benefited from the abundant Greenwich Village foot traffic—especially when the Fugs performed there during their residency.
Related Stories
- John Waters Visits New York City as a Teen
- The Fugs Rage Against the Vietnam War
- Warhol Targeted During a Fugs Food Fight
Café La MaMa (original location)
321 E 9th St, New York, NY 10003
Café La MaMa’s first location was in a basement on East Ninth Street, right next door to the Harris family’s longtime residence, and after it moved to Second Avenue, Ellen Stewart kept this space as a rehearsal studio.
Related Stories
- Andy Milligan Teaches the Tricks of the Trade
- Ellen Stewart Explores the City
- Ellen Stewart Hassled By Neighbors and the City
- Ellen Stewart Moves to New York City
- Ellen Stewart Opens a Basement Theater
Café La MaMa (second location)
82 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003
After the first Café La MaMa location was shut down by the city, Ellen Stewart moved it to a loft at 82 Second Avenue, which was quickly vacated after Ellen Stewart was tipped off that the police were going to raid it one night.
Related Stories
- Balls
- Café La MaMa Faces Adversity
- La MaMa Goes to Europe
- The El Dorado Players Debut in Florida
- The El Dorado Players Perform at La MaMa
Café La MaMa (third location)
122 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003
Right after a performance of Paul Foster’s Balls at Café La MaMa’s second location, Ellen Stewart enlisted the audience to move the entire set, seats, and other items to a new location up the street, at 122 Second Avenue—just before the police raided the 82 Second Avenue location.
Related Stories
- Jackie Curtis Fired From Miss Nefertiti Regrets
- La MaMa’s Influence on Hair
- Tom O’Horgan Joins La MaMa
- Tom O’Horgan’s Kinetic Sculptures
Caffe Cino
31 Cornelia St, New York, NY 10014
Arguably the first Off-Off-Broadway theater venue, Caffe Cino was located on Cornelia—a quiet one-block-long street that terminates to the north at West Fourth Street that hosted many an experimental theater production and performance.
Related Stories
- A Bad Seed Named Andy Milligan
- A Grim Christmas Carol
- Agosto Machado Discovers Caffe Cino
- Caffe Cino Burns Down, Reopens
- Caffe Cino Cultivates Camp
Carnegie Recital Hall
881 7th Ave, New York, NY 10019
This classy midtown venue sometimes hosted more experimental fare by the likes of Yoko Ono, Harry Koutoukas, and John Cage.
Related Stories
- Koutoukas’s Amphetamine Angel
- Yoko Ono's Absurdist Sensibility
Charles Ludlam Theater
1 Sheridan Square, New York, NY 10014
Located at 1 Sheridan Square, the Charles Ludlam Theater’s namesake founded the Ridiculous Theatrical Company after splitting with Play-House of the Ridiculous founder John Vaccaro.
Related Stories
- Charles Ludlam and John Vaccaro Collide
Charles Theater
193 Avenue B, New York, NY 10009
Ed Sanders and Tuli Kupferberg first met in 1962 outside the Charles Theatre on Avenue B, where Jonas Mekas screened underground films and Kupferberg was selling copies of his magazine Birth to the audience.
Related Stories
- Ed Sanders Dabbles in Underground Film
- Tuli Kupferberg and Ed Sanders Form the Fugs
- Warhol Embraces Underground Film
Cherry Lane Theatre
38 Commerce St, New York, NY 10014
Off-Broadway shifted American theater from its midtown Manhattan roots after venues such as Cherry Lane Theatre drew audiences further downtown.
Related Stories
- The Off-Off-Broadway Revolution
Circle in the Square
159 Bleecker St, New York, NY 10012
The Circle in the Square, along with Cherry Lane Theatre, helped spearhead the Off-Broadway theater movement.
Related Stories
- WBAI’s Bob Fass Melds Radio and Street Theater
Judson Memorial Church
55 Washington Square S, New York, NY 10012
Judson Memorial Church, on the south side of Washington Square, mixed radical art, politics, and performance by hosting experimental music composer and theorist John Cage, choreographer Merce Cunningham, painter Robert Rauschenberg, and so many others.
Related Stories
- Gorilla Queen Swings at Judson Church
- Happenings Happen Downtown
- Judson Memorial Church Opens its Doors to Artists
- Ronald Tavel Mounts Gorilla Queen at Judson
- The Connection is Banned by Authorities
La MaMa (final location)
74 E 4th St, New York, NY 10003
After being run out of a variety of downtown locations by city authorities, Ellen Stewart opened the La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club at 74A East Fourth—in a building that was the former site of a hotdog factory.
Related Stories
- Andy Warhol “Writes” Pork
- Ellen Stewart Takes Jackie Curtis Under Her Wing
- Harry Koutoukas Casts Lisa Jane Persky
- Harry Koutoukas Feuds with Ellen Stewart, Returns to La MaMa
- Harvey Fierstein’s In Search of the Cobra Jewels
La MaMa (temporary location)
9 St Marks Pl, New York, NY 10003
As Ellen Stewart worked on setting up La MaMa’s permanent home at 74 East Fourth Street, her theater continued staging shows in a temporary space at 9 St. Mark’s Place from 1968 to early 1969.
Related Stories
- A Transient La MaMa Gets a Permanent Home
Mercer Arts Center
240 Mercer St, New York, NY 10012
Before the Mercer Arts Center collapsed in 1973, it was where underground theater, glam rock, video art, and performance art briefly intersected in the early 1970s—planting the seeds of what would become known as “punk.”
Related Stories
- Downtown Freaks Take Over Public Access Television
- Lance Loud Forms the Mumps
- Patti Smith Pivots from Poetry to Music
- Ruby and the Rednecks at the Mercer Arts Center
- Shirley Clarke at the Kitchen
New York Poets Theatre
84 E 10th St, New York, NY 10003
New York Poets Theatre was founded by dancers James Waring and Freddie Herko, along with poets LeRoi Jones, Diane di Prima, and her then-husband, Alan Marlowe—based in the Bowery Theatre on East Tenth Street, near Third Avenue.
Related Stories
- Censoring Flaming Creatures
New York Theater Ensemble
62 E 4th St, New York, NY 10003
Located at 62 East Fourth Street, the New York Theater Ensemble was the staging ground for many an outrageous production, including the Wayne County-penned play World: Birth of a Nation.
Related Stories
- Tony Zanetta Gets Ridiculous
- Wayne County’s first play, World: Birth of a Nation
Old Reliable Theatre Tavern
231 E 3rd St, New York, NY 10009
Norman Hartman’s Old Reliable Theatre Tavern was an old-school bar was located on Third Street between Avenues B and C, a volatile neighborhood (playwright Jeannine O’Reilly used to quip, “The way to get to the Old Reliable is to turn left at the burning car”).
Related Stories
- An Unlikely Theater
- Caffe Cino Closes, the Old Reliable Rises
- Joyce Dynel at the Old Reliable
- The Old Reliable’s Odd Mix
Play-House of the Ridiculous
12 W 17th St, New York, NY 10011
Between the Play-House of the Ridiculous company’s debut at the Coda Gallery and landing a home at La MaMa, John Vaccaro’s troupe staged shows in this loft on West Seventeenth Street.
Related Stories
- A Play-House for Misfits
- John Vaccaro’s Methods of Madness
St. Mark's Church-In-The-Bowery
131 E 10th St, New York, NY 10003
Like Judson Memorial Church, St. Mark’s Church opened its doors to the artists who populated its surrounding neighborhoods—hosting the Poetry Project and Theatre Genesis, among many other artistic endeavors.
Related Stories
- Macho Americano at Theatre Genesis
- Patti Smith’s Debut at St. Mark’s Church
- Sam Shepard Joins the Holy Modal Rounders
- Theatre Genesis Opens at St. Mark’s Church
The Living Theatre / John Cage and Merce Cunningham's studio
530 6th Ave, New York, NY 10011
The Living Theatre was housed in an old four-story department store building on the corner of Sixth Avenue and Fourteenth Street; John Cage and Merce Cunningham rented a studio on the third floor of the Living Theatre, which accelerated the cross-fertilization of scenes.
Related Stories
- Downtown Zen
- John Cage Blows Up Convention
- Larry Kornfeld Joins the Living Theatre
- Peter Crowley Joins the Circus, and the Living Theatre
- Shirley Clarke Makes The Connection
The Public Theater
425 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10003
Joseph Papp’s Public Theater hosted the first production of Hair in 1967, one of many adventurous shows presented by the theater over the years.
Related Stories
- Invitation to a Beheading, The Clown and Other Roles
Theater for the New City
113 Jane St, New York, NY 10014
Theater for the New City was founded in 1971 by Crystal Field, George Bartenieff, Theo Barnes, and Lawrence Kornfeld (who had previously worked with the Judson Poets’ Theatre); by the mid-1970s, it had become a second home for Hibiscus and the Angels of Light.
Related Stories
- The Angels of Light at Theater for the New City
Truck and Warehouse Theater
79 E 4th St, New York, NY 10003
The Truck and Warehouse Theater, located across Fourth Street from La MaMa and Club 82, hosted the second production of Tom Eyen’s Women Behind Bars.
Related Stories
- Elton John Goes Downtown
Westbeth Artists Housing
55 Bethune St, New York, NY 10014
An early example of “adaptive reuse,” the old Bell Laboratories Buildings were converted in the late-1960s into Westbeth Artists Housing—where Ed Sanders moved after fleeing the increasingly grim East Village in 1970.
Related Stories
- Wayne County at the Trucks
WPA Theatre
519 W 23rd St, New York, NY 10011
Between 1971 and 1976, the WPA Theatre (Workshop of the Players Art) presented Off-Off-Broadway shows at its at 333 Bowery location—where Jackie Curtis’s Vain Victory moved after its wildly successful run at La MaMa.
Related Stories
- Vain Victory Moves to the WPA Theatre