Cherry Lane Theatre Information
Many theater fans might be surprised to learn that the current building for Cherry Lane Theatre had its start in 1817 as a farm silo, tobacco warehouse, and box factory. The building was later converted by Edna St. Vincent Millay and the Provincetown Players into a theater they called the Cherry Lane Playhouse. The theater opened in 1924 with Saturday Night, by Richard Fresnell, serving as its debut theatrical presentation. Other plays soon followed, including The Man Who Ate Popmack, by W.J. Turner in March and The Way of the World, by William Congreve in 1924. The theater continued entertaining audiences in its original form until 1954 when it acquired furnishings that were sold off when Rockefeller Center’s Center Theatre fell.
Cherry Lane Theatre was always known for being a home for experimental work, especially during the 1950s and 60s, where it hosted avant-garde performances that were often identified with the counterculture movement of the age. This preference for the nontraditional even led it to stage works by playwrights associated with the Theatre of the Absurd including Samuel Beckett’s Endgame in 1957. From the 50s to the 80s, some of the biggest names in playwriting opened successful shows at the venue including F. Scott Fitzgerald, Elmer Rice, Seán O’Casey, W. H. Auden, Pablo Picasso, T. S. Eliot, as well as Edward Albee, Joe Orton, and many more.
Plays weren’t the only focus for Cherry Lane Theatre, as it also served as the venue for musical performances such as Bob Dylan and Pete Seeger before their rise to stardom.
The theater had a debt to contend with during this time, but in 1996, Angelina Fiordellisi bought the theater and building for $1.7 million and renovated it for $3 million. Fiordellisi co-founded the company’s Mentor Project that matched dramatists with aspiring playwrights in a one-on-one mentorship for mutual talent development and the production of a perfected single work. Big names including Edward Albee, Marsha Norman, Tony Kushner, and Jules Feiffer participated in Cherry Lane Theatre’s program and have gone on to critical acclaim and fame. Fierdellisi also hosted other programs from the theater including a Master class series in 2000.
Today, Cherry Lane Theatre and Cherry Lane Studio are considered safe havens for the development of new plays. Their programs give playwrights the chance to hone their talents without review pressure clouding their passions. Audiences that come to Cherry Lane Theatre expect thrills and new forms of entertainment that other theatres are unwilling to experiment on. That’s why tickets to CLT events run out fast!
See the below pages for further information on the Cherry Lane Theatre:
Cherry Lane Theatre Parking:
Read about parking options and rules at the Cherry Lane Theatre.
Ticket Policies:
Read about the industry leading ticket guarantee and ticket authenticity policies when purchasing from tickets via this website.
Cherry Lane Theatre Seating Chart:
View the Cherry Lane Theatre seating chart and read information on the various seating options.