After a failed attempt to sell the historic theatre to Lucille Lortel Theater Foundation in 2021, the Cherry Lane Theatre has been sold to the independent film and tv company, A24. According to IndieWire, A24 will keep the integrity of the theatre as opposed to using it for film screenings.
The building, located at 38 Commerce Street between Barrow and Bedford Streets in the West Village, contains two stages ~ a 179-seat main stage and a 60-seat studio.
The historic theatre was built as a farm silo in 1817, later served as a brewery, tobacco warehouse and box factory, and finally transformed into a theatre by the vaudevillian actress Evelyn Vaughn, William S. Rainey, Reginald Travers, and Edna St. Vincent Millay in 1923. It was named the Cherry Lane Playhouse.
Angelina Fiordellisi purchased Cherry Lane Theatre in 1996 and oversaw a $3 million renovation of its 179-seat Mainstage and converted a former storage space into the 60-seat Studio Theatre, along with having modernized the lobby and public spaces. With its comfort and understated elegance, the Cherry Lane Theatre has also been called the Jewel of Off-Broadway.
The Cherry Lane Theatre will celebrate its 100th anniversary in December, 2023. It is is the oldest continuously running Off-Broadway theatre in New York City,
A24 is the company behind the film adaptation of The Whale, as well as the critically-acclaimed Everything Everywhere All at Once. Other A24 films include The Humans, Hereditary, Zola, The Florida Project, Lady Bird, Moonlight, Uncut Gems, Eighth Grade, Aftersun, and more.
A24 TV productions include the Emmy-winning series Euphoria, Golden Globe-winning Hulu series “Ramy” from Ramy Youssef, which returned for a second season starring Academy Award-winner Mahershala Ali, and the Showtime comedy series “Moonbase 8” starring Fred Armisen, Tim Heidecker, and John C. Reilly.