NYU Drops the Curtain on Provincetown Playhouse?
The Villager reports this week that "New York University proposes to demolish the four-story buildings on
MacDougal St. where the Provincetown Playhouse first produced the plays of Eugene O'Neill, and redevelop them to include new space for the university’s law school as well as a new theater."
The 170-seat theatre was refurbished only a decade ago, and although the building and its neighbors are not protected as city landmarks, they have undeniable cultural significance. NYU has owned the theatre, located across from the NYU Law School, since 1984 and currently uses it for various programs for its Steinhardt School of Education.
“There’s no reason to demolish a building that is so important to the history of the Village, New York City and the history of the theater,” said Andrew Berman, director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation.
Even though protests may seem a natural reaction to demolishing this Greenwich Village icon, NYU and New York's Community Board 2 explain that they are working together on the redevelopment to bring harmony, not destruction, to the Village.
Read the full story, including a brief history of the Provincetown Playhouse, here. Let us know what you think about the possible destruction of this nearly century-old theatre.
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