By: Elizabeth Kwan
Soho Rep, a nonprofit theater in New York City, announced on July 29, 2024, its plans to share space with Playwright Horizons because of budget constraints.
Soho Rep was established in 1975 by jazz pianist Jerry Engelbach and drama critic Marlene Swartz. Its debut location sustains 65 seats. The theater currently has 50 employees and 5 full-time employees. It has hosted numerous productions such as Jackie Sibblies Drury’s “Fairview,” Shayok Misha Chowdhury’s “Public Obscenities,” and a final show of Alina Atroyano’s and Jacob-Jenkin’s “Give Me Carmelita Tropicana!”.
Director Cynthia Flowers said, “Soho Rep… is a constellation of values that have long governed its approach to an artist-centered, artist-led investigation of our collective humanity. The loss of a building can impact an organization… but so can holding on to one for too long.” The directors and employees of Soho Rep agree that this is not a grand finale, but that the show must go on.
“We want to approach this as an opportunity to experiment,” said Caleb Hammons, Director of Soho Rep. Soho Rep will move its company into Playwright Horizon’s property. The two companies are still deciding the details of how to share their space, but the current plan is for Soho Rep to produce two out of three shows each season in a 128-seat room. There could be higher quality productions since sharing space with Playwright Horizons saves money for Soho Rep.
Rising rent especially from inflation and after the pandemic has affected not only Soho Rep Theater but countless theaters across the nation as well. The US lost over 2,000 movie theaters within the first year of the pandemic, with this downward trend representing live theaters, too. During the pandemic, television and iPads usurped live theater productions because of convenience. According to the Wallace Foundation, there has been an 88% decrease in ticket income for US theaters since the year 2021.
Soho Rep and Playwright Horizons are still concluding whether they want this shared space to be a temporary or permanent fix.