NYPL Adds to Caffe Cino Collection For Next Year

The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts has announced that it will be making more Caffe Cino memorabilia, which are currently part of the Billy Rose Theater Division, available to the public.

Caffe Cino, a Cornelia Street cafe that opened in 1958, is considered by many to be the birthplace of Off-Off-Broadway theater. The New York Times reported that writer and artist Magie Dominic recently donated programs and scripts from her time at Cino to the library's current assortment. The library has already collected other memorabilia, as well, including posters by Kenny Burgess, photographs by James Gossage and papers from Robert Patrick - all playwrights who presented their earliest works at Caffe Cino. (Other renowned names in the theater world, such as Sam Shepard, Lanford Wilson, and Tom Eyen, shared their projects at Cino, too.)

According to The New York Times, the three most valuable pieces  in the collection include Burgess’s play poster for “The Madness of Lady Bright,” the script for “Dames at Sea,” and a program from a 1965 benefit to help rebuild the inside of Caffe Cino after a fire destroyed the interior of the building.

The collection will not be available for public viewing until early next year.