37 ARTS: A Tale of Two Buildings

Interesting contrast between two articles appearing today in two NYC newspapers reporting on developments at the relatively new 37 ARTS complex (on W. 37th St. between 10th and nowhere) which houses both the Off-Broadway 37 Arts Theatre, home recently to commercial runs of In the Heights and Hurlyburly, and the Baryshnikov Arts Center, the dancer's playground of rehearsal and workshop space, leased out to small companies.

The Times tells of plans for a large new 299-seat space for the Wooster Group within the Baryshnikov space. Yay!

On the other hand, Michael Riedel in the Post reports simultaneously of financial chaos in the building, driven mostly by the string of unintentionally non-profit productions in the utterly commercial 499-seat venue downstairs. Claims MR: "A state-of-the-art off-Broadway theater owned and operated by two of Broadway's top producers is riddled with debt and faces possible foreclosure and bankruptcy, The Post has learned."

As for Misha, he must have come down off that New York Times high when reading:

Caught in the middle is Mikhail Baryshnikov, whose nonprofit dance foundation is housed in the building's top three floors. Baryshnikov's company is facing liens of nearly $4 million, the documents show.

Hey, great news about the Wooster Group, to be sure. Let's just hope their space is not reduced to Shakespeare in the Parking Lot by the time they move in...

And yes, you can file this under "Death of Commercial Off Broadway, continued..."