13th Street Repertory Theatre

Theater in New York City September 2026 September 2026 13th Street Repertory Theatre 13th Street Repertory Theatre.jpg Red awning covering the sidewalk and stairs down to the basement entrance of the theater; immediately to the left, stairs leading up to the first-floor entrance to the rest of the 3-story tenement building that houses the theater. 13th Street Theatre 50 West 13th Street Manhattan, New York City United States 40.7362 -73.9965 type:landmark_region:US-NY inline,title 65 Off-off-Broadway theater 1960s 2023 13th Street Repertory Theatre (originally the 13th Street Theatre) was an off-off-Broadway theater located in the basement of a townhouse at 50 West 13th Street in Manhattan's Greenwich Village. Established as a performance venue in the early 1960s, it became a part of New York City's off-off-Broadway movement, hosting experimental theatre companies, emerging playwrights and performers. The theater hosted early productions by the Ridiculous Theatre Company and the first musical by Barry Manilow. Under the ownership of producer Edith O'Hara, the venue was renamed 13th Street Repertory Theatre and became known for nurturing new theatrical works. Its most notable production was Line by Israel Horovitz, which became the longest-running play in off-off-Broadway history. The theater closed in 2023. In 2024, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the building a New York City landmark. History The theater was in the basement level of a townhouse located at 50 West 13th Street, Manhattan, parts of which date back to the late 1700s.June 2026 A trap door in what was formerly a carriage house, now the theater's backstage dressing room, leads down to a cellar dating back to the Pre-Civil War Era. That cellar was a Greenwich Village way station on the Underground Railroad. In the 1940s, the building was a ceramics studio and hub for artists.June 2026 From the early 1960s, the building's basement level became a performance space called the 13th Street Theatre, one of many small venues that were springing up in the early years of the off-off-Broadway movement. The Drunkard, the first musical by then 19-year-old composer Barry Manilow, was performed at the space on weekends from 1964 to 1970, promising its audiences "free beer or root beer" during its two shows each night.https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/barry-manilow-early-career-i-687976 Barry Manilow Early Career The Hollywood Reporter Riefe Jordan March 12, 2014 In the early 1970s, the 13th Street Theatre was home to the Ridiculous Theatre Company.Kaufman Bill June 3, 1973 Theatre/Funny Camille by the Ridiculous Troupe https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-suffolk-edition-theatrefunny/199946870 June 20, 2026 Newsday (Suffolk Edition) Part II/2 They presented productions such as Corn in December 1972,December 21, 1972 Off off-b'way https://archive.org/details/per_village-voice_the-village-voice_1972-12-21_17_51/mode/2up?q=corn The Village Voice 17 51 68 Shanghai Loca by Alexis Del Lago in March 1973,March 15, 1973 Off off-b'way https://archive.org/details/per_village-voice_the-village-voice_1973-03-15_18_11/page/n65/mode/2up?q=lago The Village Voice 18 11 66 and Camille in June 1973. In 1973, producer Edith O'Hara presented Hot and Cold Heroes at the theater.Wallach Allan May 14, 1973 No Nurishment in Heroic Effort https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-item-no-nurishment-in-heroic-e/199948087/ June 20, 2026 The Daily Item 6 The play, written by Albert Poland, contained a "segment spoofing such practitioners of the Off-Off-Broadway theater scene as author-composer Al Carmines and the Playhouse of the Ridiculous." O'Hara became the owner of the theater and renamed it 13th Street Repertory Theatre. She intended to make it a place for actors, directors, playwrights and designers to develop and create theater arts in a supportive environment.http://vanishingnewyork.blogspot.com/2007/11/13th-st-rep-edith-ohara.html 13th St. Rep & Edith O'Hara Moss Jeremiah November 1, 2007 Jeremiah's Vanishing New York September 13, 2018http://forgotten-ny.com/2008/01/13-steps-a-walk-on-13th-street A Walk on 13th Street Forgotten New York January 13, 2008https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/01/nyregion/13th-street-repertory-greenwich-village.html The Little Theater That Could The New York Times Vadukul Alex September 1, 2017 In 1974, O'Hara presented Israel Horovitz's expressionistic comedy Line, which went on to become the longest-running play in off-off Broadway history.https://www.nytimes.com/1976/03/22/archives/stage-line-a-surprising-look-at-fight-to-be-first-play-by-horovitz.html Stage: Line, a Surprising Look at Fight to Be First Barnes Clive March 22, 1976 New York Timeshttps://www.backstage.com/news/unbroken-line-22-years-at-13th-street-repertory-company Unbroken Line, 22 Years at 13th Street Repertory Company Backstage Portantiere Michael February 21, 2001 Its final performances in 2018 were directed by Jay Michaels and co-produced by Mary Elizabeth Micari, using the show's original production scheme.June 2026 Comic monologuist and TV personality Brother Theodore performed his "stand up tragedy" act at the theater on and off for over twenty years.http://www.nydailynews.com/q-new-york-oldest-comic-brother-theodore-article-1.720277 Q&A New York's Oldest Comic: Brother Theodore The New York Daily News O'Haire Pat March 31, 1996 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20181124162317/https://www.nydailynews.com/q-new-york-oldest-comic-brother-theodore-article-1.720277 November 24, 2018 The Accidental Pervert, a play about a boy’s coming of age via a childhood studded with perpetual pornography, ran at 13th Street Repertory Theatre from 2012 to 2015. It starred Andrew Goffman and was directed by Charles Messina. The theater ran its first contracted off-Broadway show in July 2018, the BAHR production of Jerry Small's Before We're Gone, directed by Joe John Battista, the theater's artistic director starting in 2015.https://www.broadwayworld.com/off-off-broadway/article/BEFORE-WERE-GONE-By-Jerry-Small-Takes-Over-The-13th-Street-Repertory-Theatre-In-July-20180628 Before We're Gone, by Jerry Small, Takes Over the 13th Street Repertory Theatre in July Christi A.A. June 28, 2018 Broadway WorldGenzlinger Neil October 24, 2020 Edith O'Hara, a Fixture of Off Off Broadway, Dies at 103 https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/24/theater/edith-ohara-dead.html June 15, 2026 The New York Times en-US 0362-4331 A 2019 revival of Tom Eyen's Women Behind Bars was directed by Battista.http://www.theaterscene.net/plays/offbway-plays/women-behind-bars/darryl-reilly Women Behind Bars March 31, 2019 Theater Scene The theater closed in 2023.Paradiso Roger March 3, 2023 The Mysterious Disappearance of The 13th Street Theater https://villageview.nyc/2023/03/03/the-mysterious-disappearance-of-the-13th-street-theater June 15, 2026 The Village View en-US Following a four-year preservation campaign, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the building a New York City landmark in October 2024.Barron James June 20, 2024 The Fight to Save a Rowhouse With Ties to Theatrical History https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/20/nyregion/landmark-13th-street-repertory-theater.html June 15, 2026 The New York Times en-US 0362-4331October 22, 2024 Victory! After Four-Year Campaign, 50 West 13th Street Wins Landmark Designation! Village Preservation https://villagepreservation.org/campaign-update/victory-after-four-year-campaign-50-west-13th-street-wins-landmark-designation/,%20https://villagepreservation.org/campaign-update/victory-after-four-year-campaign-50-west-13th-street-wins-landmark-designation/ June 20, 2026 en-US The designation, under the name "Jacob Day Residence", recognized its associations with abolitionist and civil rights leader Jacob Day, suffragist Sarah Smith Garnet and 13 Street Repertory Theatre. Edith O'Hara Edith O'Hara (born Edith Mildred Hopkins; February 15, 1917 – October 16, 2020), a former newspaper reporter and schoolteacher from Idaho, she became a theater producer in the 1950s in Pennsyolvania in the 1950s.https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/edith-oharas-passion-for-theater-still-going-strong_us_59b9e6b3e4b0390a1564daea Edith O'Hara's Passion for Theater Still Going Strong Huffington Post Starr Bernard September 14, 2017https://www.broadwayworld.com/off-off-broadway/article/13th-Street-Rep-to-Launch-Celebration-of-Founder-Edith-OHaras-100th-Year-20160413 13th Street Rep to Launch Celebration of Founder Edith O'Hara's 100th Year April 13, 2016 Broadway World Arriving in New York by the 1960s, her earliest production in New York was Kenn Long and Jim Crozier's musical Touch. She founded 13th Street Repertory Theatre in 1972 and was co-owner of the building from the early 1980s, living in an apartment upstairs from the theater. O'Hara championed one of the first productions on the subject of same sex marriage, Bill Solly and Donald Ward's Boy Meets Boy. Besides presenting new theater works, O'Hara sought to entertain young audiences and educate young artists. Her after-school programs for children included Mama Hare's Tree and the Kid City Theater. Her two daughters, Jill O'Hara and Jenny O'Hara, are theater and film actors. Her son is singer/songwriter Jack O'Hara, a founding member of the country rock band Eggs Over Easy. She died at the age of 103. References External links Official website https://web.archive.org/web/20080509092844/http://www.13thstreetrep.org/ May 9, 2008 Facebook Documentary about O'Hara and the theater (2026) Category:2023 disestablishments in New York City Category:Arts organizations disestablished in 2023 Category:Former theatres in Manhattan Category:Greenwich Village Category:New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan Category:Off-off-Broadway