Cherry Lane Theatre to Restructure; Gretchen Cryer, David Henry Hwang, Jean-Claude van Itallie Named to Mentor Project

The Cherry Lane Theatre has announced that it will undergo a period of restructuring in the 2010-2011 season. During the coming, the theater will not offer any homegrown productions on its mainstage, but will continue to offer its annual Mentor Project, which pairs noted playwrights with emerging authors.

Gretchen Cryer, David Henry Hwang and Jean-Claude van Itallie will serve as the mentors in this play development and production series. Playwrights and specific dates will be announced shortly.

The decision to use the coming year as a period for restructuring comes as the company attempts to address a deficit of $167,000, which has arisen in the wake of a decrease in government funding, foundation grants, rental income and ticket sales.

While the Cherry Lane will not be producing on its mainstage, the venue’s two stages will continue to be available to other theater companies and commercial productions. The theater will not renew its lease on its third space, The Cherry Pit, when it expires in December.

For more information, click here.