Really?
It may seem hard to believe, but while you are sweating through your workout downstairs, right above your head on the second floor edgy, contemporary theater is taking place almost nightly in our 14th Street Y Theatre.
Off-Off Broadway theater, or “indie” theater, is a movement taking place in spaces throughout New York that have fewer than 99 seats. According to the New York Innovative Theatre Awards, Off-Off Broadway has over 500 theatre companies producing up to 2000 shows a year, with about 40,000 artists participating.
Take the current show in our theater- A Shot Away: Personal Accounts of Military Sexual Trauma, presented by the Red Fern Theatre Company. A Shot Away is “a docu-drama about sexual assault in the US military; based entirely on interviews with American soldiers who have been sexually assaulted by their “fellow” soldiers.” It has received terrific reviews from top off-off Broadway theater reviewers. Not exactly subject matter you would expect to explore just a few feet away from our preschool art room. The next show, Fairy Tale, is a gender-bending spin on Sleeping Beauty.
For about half of the year, our theatre is rented by indie shows such as these for three week slots. With our ongoing renovations in the space, we are becoming a premier downtown venue for dance, theater, and music.
Check the slide show in the lobby for info on our current shows, and climb the stairs sometime to the second floor.
For more information on the 14th Street Y Theatre, contact Becky at Becky_Skoff@14streety.org.
Thoughts + Happenings 
You’re doing a fabulous job at blogging, and, at making me miss my old ‘hood! But I will be back. My husband and I dream of retiring in NYC. Yes, people think we’re nuts. But what more could you ask for? No yard to tend, everything delivered, great restaurants everywhere and TONS of great theatre right in your backyard – pretty much no matter which little ‘hood you settle in.
What an awesome theatre!