East 74th Street Theater

The East 74th Street Theater,[2] sometimes spelled as the East 74th Street Theatre, was an Off-Broadway theater at 334 East 74th Street in Manhattan in New York City in the United States.

East 74th Street Theater
Map
Address334 East 74th Street
Manhattan, New York City, New York
United States
Coordinates40°46′10″N 73°57′22″W / 40.76944°N 73.95611°W / 40.76944; -73.95611
Capacity199-204 seats
Construction
Opened1959[1]
ArchitectBarrie B. Greenbie[1]

History edit

Frank Day Tuttle, a theatrical and radio producer and director, purchased, renovated, and converted the Bohemian Club into the East 74th Street Theater.[3][4] Barrie B. Greenbie designed the theater in 1959.[1]

The Off-Broadway theater was located at 334 East 74th Street, between First Avenue and Second Avenue, on the Upper East Side in Manhattan, New York City.[5][6][7] It had 199-204 seats.[7][8] Its stage was described as "miniscule."[9] The Players Magazine described it in 1959 as "small and attractive."[10]

In 1961, the Phoenix Theatre rented the theater for 30 weeks, during which time it called it the Phoenix 74th Street.[5]

Performances edit

In 1959, the theater put on the comedy The Tempest by William Shakespeare.[7]

Among the other plays presented at the theater were The Crystal Heart (1960; with Mildred Dunnock, and Virginia Vestoff in her first professional appearance, with top seats selling for $4.96 ($51.08 in current dollar terms),[11] George Gershwin's Oh, Kay! (1960; with Linda Lavin, Penny Fuller, and Marti Stevens, and with high school student Daniel Lewis working a follow spot in the lighting), The Shoemaker and the Peddler (1960), One Way Pendulum by N. F. Simpson (1961), Hotel Passionato (1965), The Bernard Shaw Story (1965-66), Jean Erdman's The Coach with the Six Insides (1967), Stephen D. (1967; with Roy Scheider), and The Victims (1968).[12][13][14][15][16][17]

In the fall of 1965, Jack Moore and Jeff Duncan formed the Dance Theater Workshop, and produced a series of Monday evening concerts at the theater.[18][19] In 1966, the theater hosted a subscription series devoted to modern and ethnic dance.[20][21]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "Greenbie, Barrie B.", Robert S. Cox Special Collections & University Archives Research Center, UMass Amherst Libraries.
  2. ^ Lewis Funke (October 23, 1965). "Theater: 'Hotel Passionato', Musical; Paris-set show opens at 74th Street," The New York Times.
  3. ^ "Frank Day Tuttle, 86, Radio Producer, Dies". The New York Times. May 23, 1989. p. 47.
  4. ^ Orlin Corey, Irene Corey, Ken Holamon (1990). An Odyssey of Masquers; The Everyman Players, p. 17.
  5. ^ a b Sam Zolotow (August 10, 1961). "PHOENIX IS MOVING TO SMALLER HOME; Constant Deficit Prompts Switch to 74th Street," The New York Times.
  6. ^ Richard Chigley Lynch (1987). Broadway on Record; A Directory of New York Cast Recordings of Musical Shows, 1931-1986, pp. 51, 172.
  7. ^ a b c Sam Zlotow (December 3, 1959). "'TEMPEST' SLATED ON UPTOWN STAGE; Comedy to Open at East 74th Street Dec. 28 -- 'A Mighty Man Is He' Due Jan. 7". The New York Times.
  8. ^ Phyllis Hartnoll, Peter Found (2000). 牛津戏剧词典, p. 378.
  9. ^ Educational Theatre Journal, 1969, American Theatre Association, vol. 21, p. 103.
  10. ^ The Players Magazine, 1959, National Collegiate Players, vol. 36-37, p. 86.
  11. ^ "Atlantic in Legit Tie-Up," Billboard, February 15, 1960, p. 4.
  12. ^ John Corry (September 24, 1976). "Broadway". The New York Times.
  13. ^ "East 74th Street Theatre - Theater Information". Broadway World.
  14. ^ "VIRGINIA VESTOFF, 42; HAD LEADING ROLES IN SEVERAL MUSICALS". The New York Times. May 5, 1982.
  15. ^ Diane C. Kachmar (2015). Roy Scheider; A Film Biography
  16. ^ Donna H. Krasnow, Daniel E. Lewis (2020). Daniel Lewis; A Life in Choreography and the Art of Dance
  17. ^ Joseph Campbell (2020). The Ecstasy of Being; Mythology and Dance
  18. ^ Larry Warren (2012). Anna Sokolow; The Rebellious Spirit
  19. ^ Barnes, Clive (December 28, 1965). "Dances From Korea and Ghana Presented in 'Mondays at Nine'". The New York Times.
  20. ^ The Many Worlds of Music. Broadcast Music, Incorporated. 1966. p. 14.
  21. ^ Clive Barnes (January 4, 1966). "EAST 74TH ST. ENDS ETHNIC DANCE SERIES," The New York Times, p. 20.