Theater News

Playhouse 91, Upper East Side Theater Venue, Closes

Playhouse 91, the only 299-seat Off-Broadway theater located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, is permanently closed as of today, May 31.

Over the past two decades, the venue has housed such companies as the Light Opera of Manhattan, the Riverside Shakespeare Company, and the Jewish Repertory Theatre. Once called “the crème de la crème of Off-Broadway theaters” by Clive Barnes, Playhouse 91 was built in a former stable and ice house in 1980. The first show there was the play Quartermaine’s Terms, which ran for two years.

Among the many other notable productions at the theater were Arthur Miller’s After The Fall, starring Frank Langella; Spook House, starring Harvey Fierstein; The Syringa Tree, starring Pamela Gien; and, most recently, Menopause, The Musical, which closed there on May 14 after a four-year run.

Located at 316 East 91st Street between First and Second avenues, Playhouse 91 was operated by Patricia Greenwald, Leonard Soloway, and Steven M. Levy since January 1, 2000.