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and keeping a strict endeavor always to play to full houses. Shakespeare, the most profound and liberated writer ever, can ironically only be performed under such strictures in our country. Support this company, your R.S.C., and they and
Shakespeare will thrive to help the lives, hopes and imaginations of future generations. The Riverside Shakespeare Company share our goals and I hope they will receive generous support and encouragement from you, the public.
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The two towers of the church were converted by the theatre company into storage facilities for sets and costumes, with hoists and pulleys to raise and lower scenic components to the second balcony level, where the theatre had been built. In the north tower was constructed a costume shop, where often
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on
Amsterdam Avenue at West 86th Street. The Shakespeare Center's facilities consisted of the main offices of the Riverside Shakespeare Company, costume and set construction and storage rooms, a main lobby (shared with the church), and a theatre in the balcony of the church equipped with lighting and
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Best wishes to the
Riverside Shakespeare Company in their endeavor to establish a year-round professional Shakespeare ensemble in New York City. In England, the Royal Shakespeare Company receive a subsidy from the government which the company has to match by seeking commercial support from industry
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The design of the stage was such that major portions of the scenery were required to be removed
Saturday nights after a performance, enabling the congregation of the church on Sunday morning to see the stained glass windows on the west front of the church, behind the back row of seats in the theatre
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The original planked stage of The
Shakespeare Center was designed by David Emmons (but was later redesigned by Norbert Kolb, Kevin Lee Allen, and Dorian Vernacchio for specific productions) from platforms donated by the Niederlander organization from the strike of the set of Nicholas Nickleby after
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a dozen seamstresses worked on numerous costumes designed by a
Broadway designer for a major Shakespeare production -to be presented either in the theatre or on tour during the summer. The main entrance for audiences into the theatre was beneath the south tower on West 86th Street, and into the
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and its set formed of catwalks, ramps and scaffolding are now a memory. But at West Park
Presbyterian Church, on West 86th Street near Amsterdam Avenue, "Nickleby" lives. The Riverside Shakespeare Company, based at the church, will be starting its sixth season with a new stage built from the
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or main lobby of the church, then up the stairs to the balcony theatre above. On the ground level of the north tower, in what had formerly been the Bridal Room of the church, was established the main office of the
Riverside Shakespeare Company. In addition, certain special performances were
248:. Ribbon cutting was done by Helen Hayes, who was a founding member of Riverside's Board of Advisors, with a dedicatory statement made by Joseph Papp, who, with the New York Shakespeare Festival, had become one of the principal sponsors of the Riverside Shakespeare Company.
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At the time of the dedication of The
Shakespeare Center, the Riverside Shakespeare Company was headed by W. Stuart McDowell, Artistic Director, and Gloria Skurski, Executive Director, together with Daniel Smith, Director of Riverside Shakespeare's
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of 1889, as quoted by
Christopher Gray in his article about the church's struggle to fight landmark status in the late 1980s, "STREETSCAPES: West-Park Presbyterian; An 1890 West Side Church Fighting Landmark Status,"
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on Broadway, when it was destroyed to make way for the Marquis Theatre in midtown Manhattan. Over the years, the theatre was expanded with materials often acquired from the strike of Broadway shows.
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professional theatre company in New York City, established in 1980 and dedicated in 1982, when the company established its center of theatre production and advanced actor training at the 90-year-old
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The church, West Park Presbyterian Church, where The Shakespeare Center was established was at one point considered to be demolished, to make room for a new high rise apartment building.
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West-Park Presbyterian Church had been constructed in 1890, "...in the French Romanesque style, with rock-faced Longmeadow brownstone trimmed with Lake Superior red stone," according to
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status, as with its summer tours of Free Shakespeare and other specific productions. At this location the theatre began a subscription season of four to five plays, as a member of the
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382:"Landmarking Modernist Buildings?" The Manhattan Institute's Center for Rethinking Development Monthly Newsletter," by Julia Vitullo-Martin, MI Senior Fellow, March 2005.
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on three sides, with no seat more than 18 feet from the stage. There was a crossover under the upstage edge, with traps under the stage. Although the theatre was an
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Within the theatre itself, two wooden towers were constructed to the sides of the audience area for follow spots and, on occasion, musicians. Seating surrounded the
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set - which was donated complete, right down to the ropes and pipes. Railings from the demolished Helen Hayes Theater were also used in the renovation. Miss
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venue, limited to 99 seats by the company's contract with Actors Equity Association, the Riverside Shakespeare Company often launched major productions to
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spoke at a dedication this week. Mr. Papp's $ 5,000 gift to the Riverside Shakespeare's production fund was matched last year at a benefit done by three
256:, Timothy Oman, Managing Director, John Clingerman, Associate Director and Director of the Riverside School for Shakespeare, which was also based in
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its closing performance on Broadway. Railings and other features were acquired and installed in the theatre from the demolition of the former
337:, directed by Artistic Director of the Shakespeare Center, W. Stuart McDowell, and sponsored by Riverside Shakespeare Company benefactor,
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the Riverside Shakespeare Company mounted numerous productions of works by Shakespeare, his contemporaries, and
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The main theatre of The Shakespeare Center was reconstructed in the early 1980s from materials saved from the
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85:- regarded as "the loveliest theater in New York" before its demolition to make way for the
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in mid-town Manhattan, as well as from the strike of Broadway productions, such as
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presented on a stage erected in the main sanctuary of the church, such as
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Brochure of the Riverside Shakespeare Company, 1982, page 8-9.
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of London in 1982, and Edward Petherbridge's one-person show,
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shortly after the dedication of The Shakespeare Center, 1982.
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speaking at the dedication of the Shakespeare Center in 1982
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Brochure of the Riverside Shakespeare Company, 1982, p. 3.
23:. For the Los Angeles-based Shakespeare organization, see
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Conceptual design for The Shakespeare Center stage, 1982.
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The Shakespeare Center was dedicated in October 1982 by
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See "Controversy over Condo Development at Church", in
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This article is about the New York City offices of the
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Shakespearean theatre companies in the United States
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34:Theater at West-Park Presbyterian Church in 1982
212:Exterior View of The Shakespeare Center in the
395:," by Clyde Haberman and Laurie Johnston,
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301:logo, 1977, as worn by Miss Hayes, above.
76:Alliance of Resident Theatres in New York
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263:Upon launching The Shakespeare Center,
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97:. One of the principal donors to
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25:Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles
320:The Life of Edward II of England
327:'s adaptation of Shakespeare's
232:in a gala ceremony attended by
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391:"Elizabethan Realism based on
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299:Riverside Shakespeare Company
230:New York Shakespeare Festival
214:West Park Presbyterian Church
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116:To theatergoers, last year's
51:West-Park Presbyterian Church
43:Riverside Shakespeare Company
21:Riverside Shakespeare Company
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108:As Clyde Haberman wrote in
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432:, Sunday, March 18, 2007.
183:Royal Shakespeare Company
125:Royal Shakespeare Company
335:The History of King Lear
315:The Shakespeare Project
286:W. Stuart McDowell and
179:The Shakespeare Project
143:cast members including
58:Design and construction
307:The Shakespeare Center
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258:The Shakespeare Center
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99:The Shakespeare Center
39:The Shakespeare Center
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448:Theatres in Manhattan
313:comedies, as well as
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181:with actors from the
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54:sound amplification.
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95:The Threepenny Opera
41:was the home of the
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154:Helen Hayes Theatre
83:Helen Hayes Theatre
16:Theatre in New York
429:The New York Times
399:, October 8, 1982.
397:The New York Times
371:The New York Times
366:The New York Times
311:Commedia dell'Arte
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110:The New York Times
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339:Samuel H. Scripps
288:Samuel H. Scripps
269:Nicholas Nickleby
119:Nicholas Nickleby
103:Samuel H. Scripps
91:Nicholas Nickleby
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305:On the stage of
68:Off Off Broadway
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458:Upper West Side
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238:Mildred Natwick
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87:Marquis Theatre
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254:Commedia Wing
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242:Sam Waterston
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72:Off Broadway
64:thrust stage
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333:, entitled
246:Peter Brook
226:Joseph Papp
222:Helen Hayes
202:Helen Hayes
189:, in 1983.
137:Joseph Papp
133:Helen Hayes
442:Categories
353:References
345:Demolition
325:Nahum Tate
265:Roger Rees
193:Dedication
145:Roger Rees
330:King Lear
393:Nickleby
341:(left).
160:itself.
141:Nickleby
129:Nickleby
271:wrote:
216:, 1982.
174:narthex
224:, and
47:Equity
45:, an
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101:was
93:and
127:'s
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