BroadwayMouth’s post reminded me that I’ve yet to find a satisfying list of (what I’d call major) Off-(and Off-Off-)Broadway listing for interested theatergoers... non-Broadway companies/houses in and around New York.
The Times listing is fairly complete, but it’s also overwhelming, confusing, and unwieldy. Other sites, aside from being incomplete, are often not updated, presumably because show turnover is so much higher than in Broadway houses.
I got tired of visiting and returning home only to discover that there were small shows I kicked myself for not knowing about before I went because information about them wasn’t readily available, so I compiled this list of companies I make a point to check in on when planning trips to the city. I keep it in a text file on my desktop.
Obviously there are hundreds, if not thousands, of small(er) companies, but these are the ones I consistently keep tabs on. Maybe some people will think this is silly, but for others, maybe it can serve as a resource. (If I’m missing anything obvious, feel free to add to it!)
54 BELOW 59E59 AMERICAN THEATER OF ACTORS ARS NOVA ATLANTIC THEATER COMPANY BARROW STREET THEATRE BEDLAM THEATRE BROOKLYN ACADEMY OF MUSIC CHERRY LANE THEATRE CIVILIANS CLASSIC STAGE COMPANY DUKE ON 42nd ELEVATOR REPAIR SERVICE ENCORES! ENSEMBLE STUDIO THEATRE FLEA THEATER FOUNDRY THEATER GALLERY PLAYERS GYM AT JUDSON HERE IRISH REPERTORY THEATRE JOE'S PUB LA MAMA LABYRINTH THEATER COMPANY/BANK STREET THEATER LINCOLN CENTER LYNN REDGRAVE THEATER MANHATTAN THEATRE CLUB McCARTER THEATRE MCC/LUCILLE LORTEL THEATRE MET OPERA MINT THEATER NEW VICTORY THEATER NEW WORLD STAGES NEW YORK THEATRE WORKSHOP PAPERMILL PLAYHOUSE PARK AVENUE ARMORY PEARL THEATRE PLAYERS THEATRE PLAYWRIGHTS HORIZONS PRIMARY STAGES PROSPECT THEATER P.S. 122 PUBLIC THEATER RATTLESTICK PLAYWRIGHTS THEATER ROUNDABOUT THEATRE COMPANY SECOND STAGE THEATRE SHEEN CENTER SIGNATURE THEATRE COMPANY SOHO PLAYHOUSE SOHO REP ST. ANN'S WAREHOUSE THEATRE FOR A NEW AUDIENCE THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY THEATRE ROW TRANSPORT GROUP UNION SQUARE THEATRE VINEYARD THEATRE WESTSIDE THEATRE WOOSTER GROUP YORK THEATRE
CHURCH DOOR TOUCAN GAY MARKETING PUPPIES MUSICAL THEATER STAPLES PERIOD OIL BITCHY SNARK HOLES
That's a nice list (I am sure there are omissions but right now I don't have time to cross check.) Do you check TimeOut and the Voice, Playbill and Theatermania? Between them, it is hard to imagine you'd miss much.
Don't forget EST (Ensemble Studio Theater), growl!
I'll offer a list of some Indie Theater companies that I've worked with who don't have permanent homes...but it's easy to check their sites to see if there's something coming up that's interesting:
I check a lot of sites, HH -- even with this list, I still do, but I think having to cross-check like that is part of what's not very convenient. I sometimes forget which sites have listed what and which haven't during the process, so I've found that having this list all in one place ensures I haven't overlooked anything.
I don't always visit the individual sites of all of these companies, but I have done that in the past. That may sound strange, but I've learned to trust the companies' sites more than the listings, and so I usually find that easier/more comforting.
And, yes, please feel free to add any others you deem worthwhile in the comments!
If a lot of other suggestions come in, maybe I can edit and somehow re-organized the OP.
CHURCH DOOR TOUCAN GAY MARKETING PUPPIES MUSICAL THEATER STAPLES PERIOD OIL BITCHY SNARK HOLES
I know you said you were trying to make a list of "major" theatres/companies, but a few months ago some people in one of my theatre classes put together this list of smaller theatre companies that they recommend. Here is the list they made (I deleted the ones that have already been mentioned here):
ABC No Rio Jack The Chocolate Factory Musical Theatre Factory New Ohio Theater Skirball Center (of NYU) New Dramatists Dixon Place PS 122 Baryshnikov Arts Center Lava House of Yes STREB Triskelion Arts The Brick
Companies: DV8 Punch Drunk Theater Kneehigh Theater Pig Iron Theater SITI Company
I hope you guys don't mind me pimping out a show in which a lot of friends are involved. I've worked with them a bunch of times over the past decade and I adore these artists.
This fall at the Gym at Judson, Gideon Productions is remounting their HONEYCOMB TRILOGY, a three part sci-fi epic about an alien invasion of Earth and the fight for human survival. All three plays premiered over the course of 6 months in 2012 and now, they're running in rep from October 13-November 14. You can see each play individually over the course of a few weeknights, or you can pull a marathon and see all three in one day. At any rate, it's going to be an event and I'm terribly excited for it.
I came across the info on this while I was updating the OP, Robbie, and I have to say, since, for whatever reason, marathon theater makes my c0ck all hard and drippy, I’m gonna have to try to check this out.
CHURCH DOOR TOUCAN GAY MARKETING PUPPIES MUSICAL THEATER STAPLES PERIOD OIL BITCHY SNARK HOLES
Would that other October thing be SMALL TOWN CONFESSIONS by Phil Geoffrey Bond at the Laurie Beechman Theater, two performances only, October 5 and 19? Starring me? And others?