Off-B'way to Lose the Houseman and Fairbanks Theatres
"For 10 years the owners have wanted to sell the property to a developer," Eric Krebs, who leased the spaces and managed the theaters, told Broadway.com. "For five years I've been on a six-month notice basis, and it has finally come to pass. They've managed to sell. May 31 is my final day there."
The Douglas Fairbanks Theatre, located at 432 West 42nd Street, has been in operation for 23 years and has 199 seats. Shows there have included Catholic School Girls, Fool for Love, Be Happy for Me, Out of the Night, The Freak, Party, When Pigs Fly, Tallulah Hallelujah!, The Big Bang, If It Was Easy and, the theater's biggest hit, Nunsense. It is currently home to the long-running musical spoof Forbidden Broadway, which is booking until April 24. A production spokesperson told Broadway.com that the show, which is about to open its latest version, Special Victims Unit, would be moving after its eviction from the Fairbanks.
The John Houseman Theatre, located at 450 West 42nd Street, has been in operation for 18 years and has 287 seats. The theater has hosted productions of Much Ado About Nothing, About Time, The People Who Could Fly, The Kingfish, Selling Off, Aven' U Boys, Radio Gals, Too Jewish?, R & J, Capitol Steps, Over the River and Through the Woods, Pete 'n' Keely, Puppetry of the Penis, Little Ham, Zanna, Don't, Toxic Audio and more. Its biggest hit has been Driving Miss Daisy, which ran from April 1987 through June 1990. The Houseman is currently home to Lone Star Love, which is playing a limited engagement through January 9.
The details of the Related Companies plans for the area have not been announced yet, but it is likely a large residential tower will go up on the south side of 42nd Street between Dyer and 10th Avenues. In addition to the Houseman and the Fairbanks, this will affect the block's small theater, The Tank, which is also being demolished, and some businesses.
The announcement of the demolition of the Houseman and the Fairbanks comes after the loss of another off-Broadway institution, the Variety Arts Theater. It also arrives at a time when many producers are complaining about the financial difficulties of presenting plays off-Broadway.
"Off-Broadway is so tough right now," Krebs conceded. "I don't know how it is going to save itself."
While the closing of the Houseman and the Fairbanks is certainly not good news for off-Broadway, it at least is not directly related to the theater's failure to find a paying tenant as was the case with the Variety Arts. After Lone Star Love, Krebs promises the Houseman which also constantly has shows running in its smaller studio space has a new yet-to-be announced project moving in through mid-May.