Village East by Angelika

Village East, originally the Yiddish Art Theatre, is at the southwestern corner of East 12th Street and Second Avenue in the East Village of Manhattan in New York City, within the former Yiddish Theatre District.{{cite aia5|page=0}}{{harvnb|National Park Service|1985|ps=.|p=2}} The theater occupies a rectangular land lot of {{convert|12,077|ft2}},{{Cite web |title=189 2 Avenue, 10003 |url=https://zola.planning.nyc.gov/l/lot/1/467/31 |access-date=April 14, 2022 |publisher=New York City Department of City Planning}} with a frontage of {{convert|103|ft}} on Second Avenue and {{convert|117.25|ft|0}} on 12th Street.{{cite news |date=May 3, 1925 |title=Yiddish Art Theater Gets Site for New Building: Purchases Landmark at Second Avenue and 12th Street for Proposed Structure |page=B2 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1112808349}}}}{{cite magazine |date=May 9, 1925 |title=Yiddish Art Theater Finds New Home on 12th St. |magazine=The Billboard |volume=36 |issue=19 |pages=11 |id={{ProQuest|1031764080}}}} It is composed of two sections: a three-story office wing with a cast-stone facade, facing east on Second Avenue, as well as an auditorium wing with a brown-brick facade, extending westward along 12th Street.{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1993|p=10}}; {{harvnb|National Park Service|1985|ps=.|p=2}} The site is a block north of St. Mark's Church.{{cite news |date=June 28, 1925 |title=Theatre Building on Second Avenue: Tearing Down Houses for Yiddish Art Home on Stuyvesant Farm Site, Near St, Mark's Church |page=RE1 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|103663798}}}}

The theater was built by Louis Jaffe, a developer and prominent Jewish community leader, for Maurice Schwartz's Yiddish Art Theatre, which presented works in Yiddish. The theater was designed in the Moorish Revival style by Harrison Wiseman, while William Pogany consulted on the interior design.{{cite web |author=Murray |first=James |last2=Murray |first2=Karla |date=January 27, 2017 |title=The Urban Lens: Inside the Village East Cinema, one of NY's last surviving 'Yiddish Rialto' theaters |url=https://www.6sqft.com/the-urban-lens-inside-the-village-east-cinema-one-of-nys-last-surviving-yiddish-rialto-theaters/ |access-date=March 5, 2017 |work=6sqft}}{{cite web |author=Amanda Seigel |date=March 18, 2014 |title=The Yiddish Broadway and Beyond |url=https://www.nypl.org/blog/2014/03/18/yiddish-broadway-and-beyond |access-date=March 5, 2017 |publisher=New York Public Library}}{{cite landmarks |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=o8ym5NeiylkC&pg=PA571 571]}} Despite the prevalence of Yiddish theaters in the area in the early 20th century, the Jaffe Art Theatre was the only one in the Yiddish Theatre District that was specifically built for a Yiddish theatrical group.{{harvnb|National Park Service|1985|ps=.|p=4}} By the 21st century, Village East was the only remaining Yiddish theater building on Second Avenue, the one-time center of the Yiddish Theatre District.{{harvnb|Nahshon|2016|p=23|ps=.}}

{{Multiple image

| align = left

| direction = vertical

| image1 = 2 Av Apr 2022 07.jpg

| caption1 = Detail of main entrance arch. In the intrados of the arch are half-menorahs. Above those, seven Moorish-style openings with medallions are arranged in a semicircle.

| image2 = 2 Av Apr 2022 02.jpg

| caption2 = Detail of smaller arches on Second Avenue (left) and 12th Street (right)

| width = 250

| image3 = Jaffe Art Theater Exterior (1985).jpg

| alt3 = Exterior of the Jaffe Art Theater in 1985

| caption3 = Exterior of the Jaffe Art Theater in 1985

}}

On the building's Second Avenue elevation, the first two stories consist of a double-height arcade with seven arches, each corresponding to one bay. The main entrance is in the second-northernmost bay and is taller and wider than the others. This bay contains a large archway surrounded by panels with geometric and foliate decorations. There are four metal-and-glass doors at the ground floor, with a projecting triangular marquee sign above.{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1993|ps=.|p=10}} The marquee was originally rectangular and had decorations at its corners.{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1993|ps=.|p=13}} To the left (south) of the main entrance is a door to the upper office stories, topped by a lintel with the inscribed words "Jaffe Art Theatre Bldg". To the right (north) is a sign board and a cornerstone, containing an inscription of the Gregorian date May 23, 1926, in English and the corresponding Hebrew calendar date in Hebrew. The intrados, near the top of the arch, contains capitals shaped like half-menorahs. Above those, seven Moorish-style openings with medallions are arranged in a semicircle. The top of the entrance bay contains a cornice supported by round corbels.

The other six arches are identical round-arched openings and are separated by paneled pilasters. The top of each pilaster contains a capital with foliate and geometric motifs and birds. The smaller arches formerly contained six storefronts, one in each bay. After the building was converted into a cinema in 1990, the northernmost bay was converted to an interior staircase, while the two bays immediately south of the main entrance became ticket counters. The remaining storefronts in the three southernmost bays contain aluminum storefronts at the first floor, as well as aluminum spandrel panels between the first and second floors. At the third floor, there are two small arched windows in each bay. These are separated by pilasters with guilloche motifs, which are topped by capitals with foliate decorations. The roof above the northernmost bay contains a small dormer unit, while the roof above the southern five bays is a terrace.

The easternmost portion of the 12th Street elevation contains two bays of double-height arches and paired windows, similar to those in the Second Avenue elevation. The steel-framed auditorium structure is clad in brick. The outer portions of the auditorium facade are treated as pavilions. They are slightly taller than the rest of the auditorium and protrude slightly from the central section of the facade. Each outer pavilion contains a metal gate at ground level, above which is an arched opening with a fire stair behind it.{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1993|ps=.|pp=10–11}} The center of the facade contains a cast-stone doorway surrounding five sets of exit doors. There is a carved corbel on either side of the doorway. Above the doors is a blind brick arch, surrounding a panel with pink terracotta quatrefoils. The top of the auditorium facade is made of a band of cast stone. An alley runs to the west of the theater.{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1993|ps=.|p=11}}

The interior is decorated in a gold, blue, rose, cream, and silver color scheme. Many of the interior decorations are inspired by the Alhambra in Spain.{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior|1993|ps=.|p=11}} The decorations also contain elements of Moorish, Islamic, and Judaic architecture.{{cite nycland |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=AwYcSFtdE_AC&pg=PA67 67]}} Most decorations resemble their original condition, even though the layout of the theater has been substantially changed. The interior of Village East was used as a filming location for the films The Night They Raided Minsky's in 1968 and The Fan in 1981, as well as a promotional video for Reese's Peanut Butter Cups in 1984.{{cite magazine |date=November 16, 1984 |title=Bruce Goes to the Movies for Reese's |magazine=Back Stage |volume=25 |issue=44 |pages=76 |id={{ProQuest|1438553105}}}}

File:2 Av Apr 2022 18.jpg

The theater has two lobbies. The main one on Second Avenue was a square space (subsequently expanded to a rectangular space), while a secondary lobby on 12th Street provides access to the balcony level. When the theater was converted into a movie theater in the early 1990s, all of the floor surfaces were covered or replaced with a carpet containing red, gold, blue, and gray patterns.{{cite magazine |last=Siegel |first=Fern |date=June 1, 1991 |title=Theatre Profile: City Cinemas' Village East: a Marriage of Past and Present |magazine=Boxoffice |volume=127 |issue=6 |pages=16, 18 |id={{ProQuest|1040614810}}}}

Originally, the main lobby had a floor made of terracotta, with a pattern of white rhombus motifs. The box office was on the north wall, while the south wall contained mirrored panels. Only the original ceiling of the main lobby remains intact. The center of the ceiling contains a medallion; the edges of the ceiling contain a frieze with corbels, as well as decorative rectangular and square panels. During the early-1990s renovation, the lobby was expanded southward, and a concession stand and a wall of poster boards were installed. The lobby also contains an exhibit about the history of Yiddish theatre.{{Cite news |last=Bloom |first=Steve |date=March 30, 1990 |title=Manhattan Moviemania |pages=180, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99981037/manhattan-moviemania/ 181] |work=Newsday |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99981065/manhattan-moviemaniasteve-bloom/ |access-date=April 18, 2022}}

On the northern side of the theater building, to the right of the main lobby, is the 12th Street lobby.{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior|1993|ps=.|p=23}} The walls there are buff-colored and are designed to resemble travertine. The exit doors on the north wall contain trefoil arches, corbels, and Moorish exit signs. The ceiling has three circular chandeliers and is ornately designed with floral symbols and circles. The 12th Street lobby connects to a pair of segmentally arched alcoves, inside which are stairs descending to the basement.

On the north wall of the 12th Street lobby, two curved staircases with wrought-iron railings lead up to a narrow promenade behind the balcony-level seating.{{harvnb|National Park Service|1985|ps=.|p=3}} The underside of the balcony promenade (immediately above the 12th Street lobby) contains three medallions, each of which contains six-pointed arabesques, as well as recessed lighting fixtures and a decorative border. Above the promenade are four rectangular panels and one square panel, each with cartouches at its center, in addition to recessed lighting. Small staircases at the western and eastern ends of the promenade lead up to the top of the balcony-level seating.

The auditorium has an orchestra level, a balcony, boxes, and a proscenium arch that originally had a stage behind it.{{harvnb|National Park Service|1985|ps=.|pp=2–3}} The auditorium is oriented toward the south, with the rear wall and 12th Street lobby being to the north. The original auditorium contained 1,143, 1,236,{{harvnb|Nahshon|2016|p=34|ps=.}}{{Cite news |last=Nahson |first=Edna|authorlink=Edna Nahshon |date=June 23, 2000 |title=Theater for the People, of the People |page=9 |work=Forward |id={{ProQuest|367724880}}}} 1,252, or 1,265 seats.{{cite magazine |last=Allen |first=Kelcey |date=November 3, 1926 |title=Amusements: New $1,000,000 Yiddish Art Theatre Opens Thursday Eve., Nov. 11. |magazine=Women's Wear |volume=33 |issue=106 |pages=7 |id={{ProQuest|1676859863}}}} The orchestra level was initially raked, sloping down toward an orchestra pit in front of the stage. The stage originally measured {{convert|30|by|36|ft}} across.

In 1990, the theater was multiplexed, being split into a seven-screen movie theater. Most of the original decorations remain intact, although the seating at orchestra level was raised to the height of the original stage.{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior|1993|ps=.|p=10}} Screens 1 through 5 are within the original auditorium, while screens 6 and 7 are within the stage area.{{cite web |author=Melnick |first=Ross |date=December 1, 2015 |title=City Cinemas Village East |url=http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/290 |access-date=March 5, 2017 |work=Cinema Treasures}} In all seven screens, the seats are {{convert|21|to|22|in}} wide, larger than similar theaters. The balcony level is the largest and most ornate screen; it originally had 500 seats. Below the balcony are four additional screens: two 200-seat venues within the original orchestra level, a 175-seat venue in a former basement restaurant, and a 75-seat venue in a sidewalk vault.{{Cite news |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |date=November 4, 1990 |title=Commercial Property: Theater Renovations; Juggling Preservation, Potential Profit and Sentiment |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/11/04/realestate/commercial-property-theater-renovations-juggling-preservation-potential-profit.html |access-date=April 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} The stage area was divided into two screens, one above the other. The lower screen is at the level of the original stage, while the upper screen is about {{convert|60|ft}} above the ground, within the former fly loft.

The side walls of the auditorium are made of textured plaster and were initially painted in a buff color, though it was subsequently repainted blue-gray. The front of the balcony is decorated with rosettes and round-arched panels, atop which are a parapet and railing. After the original auditorium was multiplexed, a lower balcony was created in front of the original balcony, connected to it by double staircases. The lower balcony has an exit to the promenade, directly below the original balcony, as well as a ramp leading to an exit on the north wall. There are 40 seats within the lower balcony.{{cite web |title=City Cinemas Village East Cinema |url=http://www.villagevoice.com/location/city-cinemas-village-east-cinema-6453350 |access-date=March 5, 2017 |work=The Village Voice |publisher=NYC & Company}} On either side of the proscenium arch is a wall section with one box at the balcony level.{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior|1993|p=11}}; {{harvnb|National Park Service|1985|ps=.|p=2}} The boxes are each recessed within a pointed Moorish arch, which is framed by vermiculated quoins and topped by voussoirs. The inner reveals of the boxes contain colonettes, above which are lambrequin arches. The fronts of the boxes contain rosettes and round-arched panels, which wrap around to the front of the balcony. Next to the boxes is a flat proscenium arch, which is surrounded by floral and geometric decorations. The proscenium opening has been bricked up, and a movie screen for the balcony-level seats has been installed within the proscenium.

The middle of the ceiling contains a shallow circular dome measuring {{convert|40|ft}} across.{{Cite news |last=Collins |first=Glenn |date=March 18, 1991 |title=More Screens, but Fewer Movies to Choose From |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/18/movies/more-screens-but-fewer-movies-to-choose-from.html |access-date=April 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} At the center of the dome is a medallion with the Star of David, which is enclosed within a larger six-pointed star with trefoils at its "points". A metal chandelier with two tiers hangs from the center of the dome.{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior|1993|p=11}}; {{harvnb|National Park Service|1985|ps=.|p=3}} The outer border of the dome is decorated with wrought-iron grilles and motifs of the Star of David. There are also fascia panels around the dome, some of which have been modified to accommodate projection equipment and ventilation openings. Outside of the dome, the ceiling contains ornate gilded plaster moldings. The decoration is intended to resemble a honeycomb and contains rosettes, eight-pointed stars, and strapwork. There are ducts near where the ceiling intersects with the walls. The ceiling is actually made of {{convert|3|by|3|ft|adj=on|m}} panels suspended from the roof via iron bars.

File:2_Av_Apr_2022_11.jpg

Above the stage were twelve dressing rooms, as well as access to the space above the dome. Under the stage were offices, storage rooms, and access to the orchestra pit. In addition, the theater's restrooms, lounge, and administrative offices were in the basement behind the auditorium (near 12th Street). The lounge contained busts of prominent playwrights and performers in Yiddish theatre, such as Abraham Goldfaden, David Kessler, Jacob Pavlovich Adler, Jacob Gordin, and Sholem Aleichem.{{Cite news |date=November 7, 1926 |title=A New Yiddish Theatre; Playhouse, Which Opens Thursday, Is Goal of Maurice Schwartz's Career |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1926/11/07/archives/a-new-yiddish-theatre-playhouse-which-opens-thursday-is-goal-of.html |access-date=April 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} The basement also included a restaurant and cabaret/nightclub.{{cite news |date=September 18, 1944 |title=Manhattan Life Sells Factory In West 37th St: Parcel Taxed at $400,000 Bought by Investor Theatre Sold in Brooklyn |page=22 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1318080433}}}}{{Cite news |date=September 18, 1944 |title=Institutions Sell Business Parcels; Insurance Concerns Dispose of Buildings in Midtown -Deal on Second Avenue |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1944/09/18/archives/institutions-sell-business-parcels-insurance-concerns-dispose-of.html |access-date=April 16, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}

The second and third stories along Second Avenue contained rehearsal rooms. These were accessed from the third bay from north, just left of the main entrance. These floors also contained offices. The Russian Art Restaurant took up one of the storefronts for several years. Among the building's office tenants were the Jewish National Workers Alliance, Yiddisher Kultur Farband, and Jewish Folk Schools. The offices were converted into apartments in the 1960s. The residents included actress Jackie Curtis, photographer Peter Hujar, and painter David Wojnarowicz.

During the 1880s, New York City's Jewish immigrant population started moving to the East Village and the Lower East Side in large numbers;{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1993|ps=.|p=2}}{{harvnb|National Park Service|1985|ps=.|p=5}} many immigrants were Ashkenazi Jews who spoke Yiddish. The Yiddish Theatre District was developed during the late 19th and early 20th centuries to provide entertainment for the growing Jewish population.{{cite book |last1=Rosenberg |first1=Andrew |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3ClbSVEha8gC&pg=PT199 |title=The Rough Guide to New York City |last2=Dunford |first2=Martin |publisher=Penguin |year=2012 |isbn=9781405390224 |access-date=March 10, 2013|postscript=none}}; {{cite book |author=Let's Go, Inc |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6-sGw8H-yRkC&pg=PA171 |title=Let's Go New York City 16th Edition |publisher=Macmillan |year=2006 |isbn=9780312360870 |access-date=March 10, 2013|postscript=none}}; {{cite book |author=Oscar Israelowitz |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3c0RAQAAIAAJ |title=Oscar Israelowitz's guide to Jewish New York City |publisher=Israelowitz Publishing |year=2004 |isbn=9781878741622 |access-date=March 10, 2013|postscript=none}}; {{cite news |last=Cofone |first=Annie |date=September 13, 2010 |title=Theater District; Strolling Back Into the Golden Age of Yiddish Theater |newspaper=The New York Times |url=http://eastvillage.thelocal.nytimes.com/tag/theater-district/ |access-date=March 10, 2013}} While most early Yiddish theaters were south of Houston Street, many producers moved north along Second Avenue in the early 20th century.{{cite web |date=October 9, 2012 |title=East Village/Lower East Side Historic District |url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/2491.pdf |access-date=September 28, 2019 |publisher=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission |page=31}}{{harvnb|National Park Service|1985|ps=.|pp=8–9}} One of them was Maurice Schwartz, who came from Ukraine and founded the Yiddish Art Theatre in 1918.{{harvnb|National Park Service|1985|ps=.|p=9}}{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1993|ps=.|p=5}}{{cite book |url= |title=לעקסיקאן פון יידישן טעאטער |date=1959 |publisher=Hebrew Actors' Union; Elisheva |editor-last=Zylbercweig |editor-first=Zalmen |editor-link=Zalmen Zylbercweig |volume=3 |publication-place=New York |at=[https://archive.org/details/nybc201091/page/2329/mode/2up cols. 2334-2340] |language=yi |trans-title=Lexicon of Yiddish Theatre}} The theatre company was originally housed in several theater buildings.{{harvnb|National Park Service|1985|ps=.|p=10}} Developer and lawyer Louis N. Jaffe had watched one of the Yiddish Art Theatre's shows at Madison Square Garden and was so impressed that he decided to build a dedicated building for the company.{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1993|ps=.|p=3}}

In May 1925, Jaffe acquired a site on 12th Street and Second Avenue, formerly part of the Stuyvesant Farm. He hired Harrison G. Wiseman to design a building with a 1,200-seat theater for Schwartz's company. The theater would be designed in what media described as an "old Jerusalem" style. In addition to being the Yiddish Art Theatre's home, the building would contain offices for the theatre company's staff and the Jaffe Art Film Corporation; a gymnasium; and a theatrical library.{{cite news |date=August 23, 1925 |title=Yiddish Art Theatre for Second Avenue: Part of the Peter Stuyvesant Estate Sold to Louis N. Jaffe. |page=RE5 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|103612193}}}}{{cite news |date=August 23, 1925 |title=Jewish Theater Planned On Old Stuyvesant Corner |page=B1 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1112936188}}}} The theatre company would lease the theater at a nominal price. The demolition of Madison Square Garden had forced the Yiddish Art Players to relocate to the Nora Bayes Theatre in the midtown Theater District.{{cite magazine |date=May 22, 1926 |title=Yiddish Art Theater Cornerstone Is Laid |magazine=The Billboard |volume=38 |issue=21 |pages=6 |id={{ProQuest|1031790129}}}} Initially, the project was to have been completed in December 1925.{{cite magazine |date=May 16, 1925 |title=New Theaters |magazine=The Billboard |volume=36 |issue=20 |pages=39 |id={{ProQuest|1031761165}}}}File:Yiddish_Art_Theatre_cornerstone.jpgWiseman filed plans with the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) at the end of May 1925, shortly after Jaffe acquired the site.{{cite magazine |date=June 6, 1925 |title=Yiddish Art Theater Files Building Plans |magazine=The Billboard |volume=37 |issue=23 |pages=9 |id={{ProQuest|1031756994}}}} The building was to cost $235,000. The DOB initially objected to the project because of its location within a residential neighborhood, the lack of exits to the west, and the absence of a setback along Second Avenue.{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1993|ps=.|pp=3–4}} Site-clearing began the next month, and five old houses were torn down to make way for the theater. Olga Loev, widow of Sholem Aleichem,{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1993|ps=.|p=4}}{{Cite news |date=May 24, 1926 |title=Lay the Cornerstone for Yiddish Theatre; Herman Bernstein, Dr. Krass and Others Extol the Art of Maurice Schwartz. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1926/05/24/archives/lay-the-cornerstone-for-yiddish-theatre-herman-bernstein-dr-krass.html |access-date=April 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} laid the theater's cornerstone at a ceremony on May 23, 1926. Playwright Herman Bernstein said that the event was "of magnitude for Jews in America", given the Yiddish Art Theatre's success in spite of early difficulties. Portraits of Abraham Goldfaden (the "father of the Yiddish theatre movement") and Peter Stuyvesant (the owner of the Stuyvesant Farm) were placed inside the cornerstone. Jaffe said he wanted the theater to be "a permanent monument to prove that the Jewish immigrant to [the United States] is a useful citizen and makes a definite contribution to the country", responding to anti-Semitic comments that Stuyvesant had made three centuries prior.{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1993|ps=.|p=12}}

By mid-1926, the Jaffe Art Theater was expected to open that September,{{cite news |date=July 18, 1926 |title=Tall Apartment on Second Avenue |page=RE1 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|103751911}}}} but it remained closed past that date. Schwartz then planned to open the theater on November 11 with The Tenth Commandment, his adaptation of Goldfaden's play Thou Shalt Not Covet.{{cite news |date=November 7, 1926 |title=The Yiddish Art Theater To Open Thursday Night |page=E4 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1112652012}}}} Before the theater opened, the New York Herald Tribune called it "a lasting monument to Yiddish art", while The New York Times said the theater building "will be the most attractive amusement structure in that locality". The Louis N. Jaffe Art Theater opened on November 17, 1926, with The Tenth Commandment. In the opening-night program, Schwartz described the theater's opening as the "culmination of a lifelong dream".{{cite news |date=November 19, 1926 |title=Yiddish Art Theater Opens, as Realization Of East Side Dream: Spectators From All Sections of City Sec Production of the Tenth Commandment With Elaborate Setting |page=18 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1112646060}}}}{{Cite news |last=Atkinson |first=J. Brooks |date=November 18, 1926 |title=The Play; New Yiddish Theatre. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1926/11/18/archives/the-play-new-yiddish-theatre.html |access-date=April 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} The opening-night visitors included theatrical personalities such as Daniel Frohman, Owen Davis, and Robert Milton, as well as non-theatrical notables such as Otto Kahn and Fannie Hurst.{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1993|ps=.|p=14}} The theater, which cost $1 million to construct, was not officially completed until January 8, 1927.

The Jaffe Art Theatre was one of the last Yiddish theaters to open on Second Avenue, having been completed just as Yiddish theater was starting to decline. From 1926 to 1945, the Jaffe Art Theatre largely hosted Yiddish productions, though it changed names several times based on whichever company appeared there. It hosted not only straight plays but also revues, musicals, and operettas. Notable performers during this era included Joseph Buloff, Celia Adler, Luba Kadison, Ludwig Satz, Molly Picon, Menasha Skulnik, Joseph M. Rumshinsky, Ola Lilith, and Jacob Ben-Ami.{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1993|ps=.|pp=6–7}} Yiddish theatre historian Nahma Sandrow referred to the theater as "a temple" for Yiddish theatre, saying: "It was more than just a physical building; it really existed in people's cultural consciousnesses".{{Cite news |last=Firestone |first=David |date=August 2, 1988 |title=Yiddish Theater: Closing of an Era |pages=115. [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99978642/ 116], [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99978700/ 135] |work=Newsday |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99978623/yiddish-theater-closing-of-an/ |access-date=April 18, 2022}}

For the rest of the 1926–1927 season, the Jaffe Art Theatre was occupied by limited runs of six productions: Mendele Spivak in 1926{{cite magazine |date=December 24, 1926 |title=Thin Plot Thread Tense With Woe In "Mendel Spivak": Sober Glory Of Fight Against Poverty And Sorrow Effectively Developed In Splendid Production At Yiddish Art Theatre. |magazine=Women's Wear |volume=33 |issue=149 |pages=12, 44 |id={{ProQuest|1677121263}}}} and Her Crime, Reverend Doctor Silver, Yoske Musicanti, Wolves, and Menschen Shtoib in early 1927.{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1993|ps=.|p=15}} After a summer hiatus,{{Cite news |date=August 30, 1927 |title=Yiddish Art Theatre to Open Sept. 9 |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1927/08/30/archives/yiddish-art-theatre-to-open-sept-9.html |access-date=April 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} the theater then reopened the 1927–1928 season with the play Greenberg's Daughters in September 1927.{{cite news |date=September 10, 1927 |title='Greenberg's Daughters' Opens Yiddish Art Theater: Venerable Plot Proves Interesting Through Its Realism and Ability of Cast |page=9 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1131514008}}}} The season also featured the play The Gardener's Dog, the first American production by Boris Glagolin's Moscow Revolution Theater.{{Cite news |date=October 17, 1927 |title=Boris Glagolin's Debut; Russian to Produce de Vega Play at Yiddish Art Theatre Thursday. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1927/10/17/archives/boris-glagolins-debut-russian-to-produce-de-vega-play-at-yiddish.html |access-date=April 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} Other plays of that season included The Gold Diggers and On Foreign Soil in late 1927, as well as Alexander Pushkin and American Chasidim in early 1928. Schwartz appeared in many of these plays. Despite high expectations, the theater performed worse than expected in its first two seasons.{{cite news |date=August 9, 1930 |title=Lipshitz Pays $433,375 For Yiddish Art Theater: Property Costing $950,000 in 1926 Sold at Foreclosure |page=24 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1113715437}}}}{{cite magazine |date=April 18, 1928 |title=Legitimate: Suing for $77,500 Rent Deposit for Yiddish Art |magazine=Variety |volume=91 |issue=1 |pages=49 |id={{ProQuest|1475750456}}}} Among the reasons for this were the rise of talking pictures, negotiations with performers' unions, and a decline in Jewish immigration.

In April 1928, Jaffe leased the theater to the Amboard Theatre Corporation, headed by Morris Lifschitz. The next month, the Louis N. Jaffe Art Theatre Corporation sold the theater to a client of Jacob I. Berman.{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1993|ps=.|p=6}}{{Cite news |date=May 3, 1928 |title=Sales on Second Avenue to "a cl; Corporation Adds to Plot--Yiddish Art Theatre Sold. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1928/05/03/archives/sales-on-second-avenue-corporation-adds-to-plotyiddish-art-theatre.html |access-date=April 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} The Yiddish Art Theatre moved out after two seasons{{cite magazine |date=September 19, 1928 |title=Legitimate: Yiddish Season in New York Under Way |magazine=Variety |volume=92 |issue=10 |pages=47 |id={{ProQuest|1475752171}}}}{{Cite news |date=September 7, 1928 |title=Yiddish Theatre's Plans; Company of Thirty Players Will Appear in Six Productions. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1928/09/07/archives/yiddish-theatres-plans-company-of-thirty-players-will-appear-in-six.html |access-date=April 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} because Schwartz had severed his agreement with Jaffe. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) stated that the Jaffe Art Theatre remained vacant for the 1928–1929 season,{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1993|ps=.|p=7}} but contemporary news reports indicate that the Yiddish Folk Theatre occupied the building during that season, starting with a dance recital in September 1928.{{cite news |date=September 26, 1928 |title=Zemach's Dance Recital Enjoyed by Packed House: First Offering of Season Held at Yiddish Folks Theater |page=18 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1113496447}}}} The Yiddish Folks Theatre gave at least two other performances at the theater, both directed by Ludwig Satz. His Wife's Lover opened in October 1929,{{Cite news |date=October 21, 1929 |title=A Play of Merriment; "His Wife's Lover" Provides Pleasant Fare at Yiddish Folks Theatre. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1929/10/21/archives/a-play-of-merriment-his-wifes-lover-provides-pleasant-fare-at.html |access-date=April 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}{{cite news |date=October 25, 1929 |title=His Wife's Lover' Opens Season at Salz Theater: Jewish Comedian Stars in 3-Act Musical Show |page=23 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1111672192}}}} followed by If the Rabbi Wants that December.{{Cite news |date=December 23, 1929 |title='If the Rabbi Wants' Makes Fun of Dybbuk; Ludwig Satz Caricatures Chasidism at Yiddish FolksTheatre. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1929/12/23/archives/if-the-rabbi-wants-makes-fun-of-dybbuk-ludwig-satz-caricatures.html |access-date=April 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}{{cite news |date=December 24, 1929 |title=Ludwig Satz Appears In 'If the Rabbi Wants': Plays in Operetta Directed by Himself at Yiddish Folk Theater |page=11 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1112019187}}}}

File:Stay_Safe_and_Healthy_(49674923947).jpg

The comedienne Molly Picon leased the Jaffe Art Theatre in June 1930,{{cite magazine |last=Allen |first=Kelcey |date=June 26, 1930 |title=Amusements: Yiddish Folks Theatre Leased For Molly Picon |magazine=Women's Wear Daily |volume=40 |issue=125 |pages=14–15 |id={{ProQuest|1727884955}}}}{{Cite news |date=June 26, 1930 |title=Molly Picon's Plans; Will Appear In the Yiddish Folks Theatre Next Season. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1930/06/26/archives/molly-picons-plans-will-appear-in-the-yiddish-folks-theatre-next.html |access-date=April 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} and it was renamed Molly Picon's Folks Theatre. Isaac Lipshitz acquired the theater in a foreclosure proceeding that August,{{Cite news |date=August 9, 1930 |title=Theatre Is Foreclosed; Plaintiff Gets Yiddish Folks Playhouse on Second Avenue. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1930/08/09/archives/theatre-is-foreclosed-plaintiff-gets-yiddish-folks-playhouse-on.html |access-date=April 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} and the play The Girl of Yesterday opened the next month, starring Picon.{{cite news |date=September 27, 1930 |title=The Girl of Yesterday': Molly Picon Opens Yiddish Season at Her New Theater |page=12 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1113707952}}}}{{Cite news |date=September 27, 1930 |title=Molly Picon Excel in Entertaining Play; Sprightly Fun and a Slice of Tragedy in 'the Girl of Yesterday' at Folk Theatre. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1930/09/27/archives/molly-picon-excel-in-entertaining-play-sprightly-fun-and-a-slice-of.html |access-date=April 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} This was followed in January 1931 by the play The Love Thief, also starring Picon.{{cite news |date=January 19, 1931 |title=Molly Picon Wins Ovation With Role in 'Love Thief': Sings with Usual Charm and Impersonates Inebriate |page=10 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1114163789}}}}{{Cite news |date=January 19, 1931 |title=Miss Picon Sprightly in Underworld Role; "The Love Thief," a Musical Play With Crooks and Pistols, Offered at Her Folk Theatre. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1931/01/19/archives/miss-picon-sprightly-in-underworld-role-the-love-thief-a-musical.html |access-date=April 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} Prosper Realty Corporation was recorded as taking ownership of the theater that February. Misha and Lucy German (also spelled Gehrman{{Cite news |date=April 10, 1934 |title=Gehrmans Back in Brooklyn with Revised Comedy |pages=346 |work=New York Daily News |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99826685/gehrmans-back-in-brooklyn-with-revised/ |access-date=April 16, 2022}}) leased the theater in May 1931, and the theater was rebranded yet again as the Germans' Folks Theatre.{{Cite news |date=May 23, 1931 |title=Folks Theatre Leased; Misha and Lucy German to Open There in September. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1931/05/23/archives/folks-theatre-leased-misha-and-lucy-german-to-open-there-in.html |access-date=April 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} Under the German family's ownership, the theater hosted at least four performances: One Woman in 1931{{cite news |date=December 15, 1931 |title='One Woman' Presented At Yiddish Folks' Theater |page=16 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1125422011}}}} and In a Tenement House, Pioneers, and Wedding Chains in 1932.{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1993|ps=.|pp=15–16}}

The Yiddish Art Theatre returned to the theater after Schwartz leased it for the 1932–1933 season.{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1993|ps=.|p=16}}{{Cite news |date=October 3, 1932 |title=7 Yiddish Theatres Open Their Seasons; Art Company, Under Maurice Schwartz, Produces "Yoshe Kalb" at The Folks |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1932/10/03/archives/7-yiddish-theatres-open-their-seasons-art-company-under-maurice.html |access-date=April 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} The company opened the season with Yoshe Kalb, which ran for 235 performances at the theater{{harvnb|Nahshon|2016|p=45|ps=.}} and was then performed on Broadway in English,{{Cite news |date=December 29, 1933 |title=' Yoshe Kalb' Translated Into English, With Fritz Leiber as the Nyesheve Rabbi. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1933/12/29/archives/-yoshe-kalb-translated-into-english-with-fritz-leiber-as-the.html |access-date=April 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} for a total of 300 performances.{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1993|p=7}}; {{harvnb|National Park Service|1985|ps=.|p=10}} Other Yiddish plays performed in 1932–1933 included Chayim Lederer, Legend of Yiddish King Lear, Bread, and Revolt. Schwartz also leased the theater for the 1933–1934 season, when he hosted Wise Men of Chelm, Josephus, and Modern Children. The theatrical company departed in April 1934, and the venue again became the Yiddish Folks Theatre, since Schwartz owned the rights to the "Yiddish Art Theatre" name. Under the direction of Joseph Buloff, the New York Art Troupe leased the theater for the 1934–1935 season,{{Cite news |last=W.s |date=September 22, 1934 |title=Art Troupe Offers Soviet Period Play; ' The Verdict,' Work on Strife in Russia, Opens Season at Yiddish Folks Theatre. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1934/09/22/archives/art-troupe-offers-soviet-period-play-the-verdict-work-on-strife-in.html |access-date=April 16, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news |last=Hartman |first=Walter |date=September 25, 1934 |title=Molly Picon and Art Troupe Open Yiddish Season |pages=386 |work=New York Daily News |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99826933/molly-picon-and-art-troupe-open-yiddish/ |access-date=April 16, 2022}} hosting eight plays there.

Menasha Skulnik and Joseph M. Rumshinsky signed a lease for the theater in April 1935,{{Cite news |date=April 30, 1935 |title=Theatre Notes |pages=38 |work=New York Daily News |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99827414/theatre-notes/ |access-date=April 16, 2022}} then announced plans to lease the theater as a movie house "until the fall".{{Cite news |date=May 13, 1935 |title=Yiddish Road Shows Featured |pages=77 |work=New York Daily News |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99827596/yiddish-road-shows-featured/ |access-date=April 16, 2022}} One newspaper proclaimed that the Yiddish Folks Theatre would become the world's first movie theater that hosted films exclusively in Yiddish, though it is unknown whether this ever happened. The first live show that Skulnik and Rumshinsky hosted at the theater was Fishel der Gerutener (English: "The Perfect Fishel"), which opened in September 1935.{{Cite news |last=W.s |date=September 30, 1935 |title=Comedy at Folks Theatre. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1935/09/30/archives/comedy-at-folks-theatre.html |access-date=April 16, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1993|ps=.|p=17}} The men hosted three other shows: Schlemiehl in September 1936,{{Cite news |date=September 17, 1936 |title=Yiddish Theatres Are Opening Today; Rosh ha-Shanah to Be Marked by Beginning of Season in Nine Theatres. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1936/09/17/archives/yiddish-theatres-are-opening-today-rosh-hashanah-to-be-marked-by-be.html |access-date=April 16, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}{{cite news |date=September 17, 1936 |title=News of the Theaters: 'Seen but Not Heard' Will Open Tonight; 9 Plays Offered by Yiddish Theaters Lee Baker |page=19 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1222099844}}}} Straw Hero in November 1936,{{Cite news |date=November 24, 1936 |title=New Offerings, Extra Shows in Yiddish Houses |pages=42 |work=New York Daily News |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99831075/new-offerings-extra-shows-in-yiddish/ |access-date=April 16, 2022}}{{Cite news |last=W.s |date=November 24, 1936 |title=Straw Hero' Presented; Menasha Skulnik Is Star of Play at the Folks Theatre. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1936/11/24/archives/straw-hero-presented-menasha-skulnik-is-star-of-play-at-the-folks.html |access-date=April 16, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} and The Galician Rabbi in 1937.{{cite news |date=March 9, 1937 |title=News of the Theater: Constance Cummings Signed for Broadway Role in Melodrama This Spring Constance Cummings |page=13 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1246944967}}}}{{Cite news |date=February 4, 1937 |title=News of the Stage; ' Frederika' Opens Tonight-'Clitterhouse' Booked for The Hudson--'Storm in a Teacup' Here March 8. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1937/02/04/archives/news-of-the-stage-frederika-opens-tonightclitterhouse-booked-for.html |access-date=April 16, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}

By the late 1930s, the popularity of Yiddish theatre was starting to wane. Various reasons were cited for the decline, including a slowdown in the number of Jewish immigrants after World War I and the fact that younger Jews were blending in with American culture.{{harvnb|National Park Service|1985|ps=.|pp=11–12}}{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1993|ps=.|pp=7–8}} In addition, the city's Jewish population dispersed from the Lower East Side and East Village. By March 1937, just ten years after the Yiddish Folks Theatre had opened, independent film operators Weinstock and Hertzig planned to lease the theater for movies.{{cite magazine |date=March 10, 1937 |title=Legitimate: Yiddish Legits Forsaking 2d Avenue; Several Moving to Times Square |magazine=Variety |volume=125 |issue=3 |pages=52 |id={{ProQuest|1475928660}}}} Saulray Theatres Corporation leased the theater the next month, and it became a movie theater called the Century. The conversion occurred as similar Yiddish venues in the East Village and Lower East Side had become movie houses. Shortly after the Century reopened, its sound equipment was replaced.{{cite magazine |date=June 28, 1937 |title=RCA Installations |magazine=The Hollywood Reporter |volume=40 |issue=11 |page=24 |id={{ProQuest|2594621682}}}} The theater went into foreclosure by September 1937 and was taken over by the Greater New York Savings Bank.

In June 1940, the Yiddish Folks Theatre leased the Century for one season.{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1993|ps=.|p=8}}{{Cite news |date=June 6, 1940 |title=Theatre's Dilemma; 2 Hits Cut Matinees; Miss Goddard's Role |pages=611 |work=New York Daily News |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99834155/theatres-dilemma-2-hits-cut-matinees/ |access-date=April 16, 2022}} The Yiddish Folks Players then presented Sunrise that October,{{Cite news |last=Hartman |first=Walter |date=October 21, 1940 |title='Sunrise' Strikes Yiddish Theatre As Hit Musical |pages=108 |work=New York Daily News |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99859741/sunrise-strikes-yiddish-theatre-as/ |access-date=April 16, 2022}} followed by Sixty Years of Yiddish Theatre, a musical in honor of Rumshinsky, in January 1941.{{Cite news |date=January 2, 1941 |title=Yiddish Cavalcade |pages=236 |work=New York Daily News |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99859869/yiddish-cavalcade/ |access-date=April 16, 2022}}{{cite news |date=January 2, 1941 |title=News of the Theater: 'Lady Who Came to Stay,' McClinlic's First Play of Season, Opens Tonight |page=10 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1248214943}}}} The troupe's manager Jacob Wexler died in the middle of the 1940–1941 season, and Ola Lilith took over the troupe's management. The third and final Yiddish show of the season was A Favorn Vinkel ("The Forsaken Nook") in February 1941, with a special performance in honor of Ludwig Satz.{{Cite news |date=February 18, 1941 |title=Ludwig Satz Testimonial Today |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1941/02/18/archives/ludwig-satz-testimonial-today.html |access-date=April 16, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news |date=February 15, 1941 |title=Sarah Churchill Back on the London Stage; Betty Field's Film Role |pages=277 |work=New York Daily News |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99860123/sarah-churchill-back-on-the-london/ |access-date=April 16, 2022}} The Century's operators announced that March that they would return the theater to a film policy, showing three American feature films every day.{{cite news |date=March 12, 1941 |title=Hollywood News and New York Screen Notes: Shirley Temple's Next Film |page=18 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1261403585}}}}{{Cite news |date=March 14, 1941 |title=Films for Century |pages=257 |work=New York Daily News |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99860400/films-for-century/ |access-date=April 16, 2022}} After a renovation, the Century screened the feature film Gone with the Wind that April.{{cite news |date=April 12, 1941 |title=Of Local Origin |page=19 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|105571580}}}} In addition, O'Gara & Co. Inc. was hired to lease out the office space on Second Avenue.{{cite news |date=June 11, 1941 |title=Large Loans Obtained On 2 Kings Buildings |page=37 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1263682179}}}}

In 1942, the Greater New York Savings Bank leased the theater to the Century Theatre Company for ten years.{{cite news |date=December 10, 1942 |title=Century Company Rents Lower 2d Av. Theater |page=33 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1264310095}}}}{{cite news |date=December 10, 1942 |title=Theatre in 2d Ave, Leased: I I Century Company Takes Building at 12th St, for Ten Years I |page=46 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|106247408}}}} The bank then leased the Jaffe Art Theatre in January 1944 to Benjamin Benito, who planned to stage Italian opera and vaudeville there.{{Cite news |date=January 18, 1944 |title=Blockfront Sold in Sixth Avenue; Five Buildings Included in a Liquidation Deal -- Large Apartments Traded |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1944/01/18/archives/blockfront-sold-in-sixth-avenue-five-buildings-included-in-a.html |access-date=April 16, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} The Raynes Realty Company acquired the theater from the bank that September and discontinued Benito's lease. Jacob Ben-Ami's New Jewish Folk Theater leased the theater during the 1944–1945 season, operating it as the Century Theatre.{{cite news |date=October 8, 1944 |title=Ben-Ami, Actor 25 Years, Will Try Producing: English and Yiddish Slagt Veteran Plays New Rold at Jewish Folk Theater |page=C2 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1249235099}}}}{{Cite news |last=Ben-Ami |first=Jacob |date=October 1, 1944 |title=A New Jewish Theatre |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1944/10/01/archives/a-new-jewish-theatre.html |access-date=April 16, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} Ben-Ami presented two shows, The Miracle of the Warsaw Ghetto by H. Leivick and We Will Live by David Bergelson, in what was the theater's last season as a Yiddish theatrical venue. By then, many Yiddish speakers had been murdered in the Holocaust, further contributing to the decline in Yiddish theatre.{{Cite news |last=Jacobs |first=Andrew |date=December 8, 1996 |title=The Last Act |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/12/08/nyregion/the-last-act.html |access-date=April 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} The Jaffe Art Theatre then reopened as a 1,082-seat movie theater, the Stuyvesant Theatre, around March 1946. The theater continued to screen films until 1953.

File:2_Av_Apr_2022_22.jpg

In October 1953, Norris Houghton and T. Edward Hambleton formed the Phoenix Theatre company and leased the Jaffe Art Theatre, initially for a series of five plays.{{cite news |last=McCord |first=Bert |date=October 5, 1953 |title=New Producing Company Formed, Will Offer 5 Plays |page=12 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1322516155}}}}{{Cite news |date=October 5, 1953 |title=Getting Married |pages=63 |work=New York Daily News |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99863175/getting-married/ |access-date=April 16, 2022}} The Phoenix Theatre was a pioneering project in the development of off-Broadway, with a different approach to legitimate theatre than found on Broadway. Houghton and Hambleton had wanted a theater away from Broadway's Theater District. The Jaffe Art Theatre had appealed to them because it was newer than most Broadway venues and also because it was close to Stuyvesant Town–Peter Cooper Village, which had 30,000 residents. The group planned to charge a relatively cheap $1.20 to $3.00 per ticket; in return, performers would not be paid more than $100 per week, and each show would have a four-week limited run.{{Cite news |last=Houghton |first=Norris |date=November 29, 1953 |title=The Phoenix Rises; Phoenix Rises on Second Avenue |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1953/11/29/archives/the-phoenix-rises-phoenix-rises-on-second-avenue.html |access-date=April 16, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} A writer for Variety described Phoenix's formation as "one of the most important off-Broadway developments of recent years".{{cite magazine |last=Gross |first=Jesse |date=January 4, 1956 |title=Legitimate: Off-B'way Show Biz Started To Perk Back la 1949 |magazine=Variety |volume=201 |issue=5 |pages=471 |id={{ProQuest|1017002496}}}}

Phoenix's first production was Sidney Howard's play Madam, Will You Walk?, which opened in December 1953 with Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy.{{Cite news |last=Atkinson |first=Brooks |date=December 2, 1953 |title=At the Theatre; Sidney Howard's 'Madam, Will You Walk' Is Opener at the New Phoenix Theatre |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1953/12/02/archives/at-the-theatre-sidney-howards-madam-will-you-walk-is-opener-at-the.html |access-date=April 16, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} Other notable shows of the 1953–1954 season included Coriolanus, The Golden Apple, and The Seagull. The troupe's first season was successful; The Golden Apple transferred to Broadway, while The Seagull was sold out through its limited run.{{cite magazine |date=May 31, 1954 |title=Rise of the Phoenix |magazine=Newsweek |volume=43 |issue=22 |pages=75 |id={{ProQuest|1843931394}}}} This prompted Houghton to renew his lease on the theater.{{Cite news |last=Houghton |first=Norris |date=October 10, 1954 |title=Phoenix Continues to Rise; Theatre Has Elaborate Plans for Its New Stage Season |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1954/10/10/archives/phoenix-continues-to-rise-theatre-has-elaborate-plans-for-its-new.html |access-date=April 16, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} The 1954–1955 season included the plays Sing Me No Lullaby, The Doctor's Dilemma, and The Master Builder,{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1993|ps=.|p=18}} as well as the revue Phoenix {{'}}55.{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1993|ps=.|p=9}}{{Cite news |last=Funke |first=Lewis |date=April 25, 1955 |title=Theatre: Satire on the Middle Class; ' Phoenix '55,' a Revue, Opens Downtown |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1955/04/25/archives/theatre-satire-on-the-middle-class-phoenix-55-a-revue-opens.html |access-date=April 16, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} The theater also started hosting Sideshows, a set of "programs of diverse entertainment", on Monday nights during that season.{{Cite news |last=Funke |first=Lewis |date=September 11, 1955 |title=Gossip of the Rialto; Roger Stevens Aiding Phoenix in New Program -- Gloria Swanson Reports |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1955/09/11/archives/gossip-of-the-rialto-roger-stevens-aiding-phoenix-in-new-program.html |access-date=April 16, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} Additionally, air-conditioning was installed in the theater around 1955 so shows could be presented there during the summer. The presence of the Phoenix Theatre and other off-Broadway companies on Second Avenue contributed to a revival of the former theatrical hub there.{{cite magazine |last=Gross |first=Jesse |date=March 28, 1956 |title=Legitimate: New York's 2d Ave., Ex-Yiddish Hub, Making Off-B' way Legit Comeback |magazine=Variety |volume=202 |issue=4 |pages=67, 70 |id={{ProQuest|1014806771}}}}

During the 1955–1956 season, Phoenix presented plays from aspiring directors at the Jaffe Art Theatre as part of an experimental program. The regular season also included the plays Six Characters in Search of an Author, The Adding Machine, Miss Julie and The Stronger in repertory, and A Month in the Country. For the 1956–1957 season, Phoenix changed its policy to present exclusively revivals of 18th- and 19th-century works.{{Cite news |last=Funke |first=Lewis |date=May 20, 1956 |title=Gossip of the Rialto; New Revue and Drama Off Broadway |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1956/05/20/archives/gossip-of-the-rialto-new-revue-and-drama-off-broadway.html |access-date=April 16, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} The shows during this season included Saint Joan, Diary of a Scoundrel, The Good Woman of Setzuan, Measure for Measure, The Taming of the Shrew, and The Duchess of Malfi. After the season ended, Phoenix was reorganized as a nonprofit in an attempt to solve its financial troubles, and Theater Incorporated took over the theater building.{{Cite news |last=Funke |first=Lewis |date=March 17, 1957 |title=News and Gossip of the Rialto; Theatre Incorporated Is Returning to Take Over Phoenix |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1957/03/17/archives/news-and-gossip-of-the-rialto-theatre-incorporated-is-returning-to.html |access-date=April 17, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} After Phoenix's reorganization, the theater hosted several shows during the 1957–1958 season, including Mary Stuart, The Makropulos Secret, The Chairs and The Lesson in repertory, The Infernal Machine, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Broken Jug, La Malade Imaginaire, and three Molière plays in repertory.{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1993|ps=.|pp=18–19}} Phoenix continued to lose money and had a relatively small 3,000 subscribers during 1957–1958.{{Cite news |last=Schumach |first=Murray |date=October 19, 1958 |title=The Phoenix in Crisis; Phoenix Theatre in Crisis |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1958/10/19/archives/the-phoenix-in-crisis-phoenix-theatre-in-crisis.html |access-date=April 17, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}

File:Jaffe Art Theater Balcony (1985).jpg

For the 1958–1959 season, Phoenix decided to book plays by Nobel Prize-winning writers such as T. S. Eliot.{{Cite news |last=Calta |first=Louis |date=January 28, 1958 |title=12 Prize Plays May Be Produced; Houghton and Hambleton Plan Nobel Works -- T. S. Eliot Drama on Way |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1958/01/28/archives/12-prize-plays-may-be-produced-houghton-and-hambleton-plan-nobel.html |access-date=April 17, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}{{cite magazine |date=January 28, 1958 |title=Theatres: Amusements: Nobel Prize Cycle Planned By Phoenix |magazine=Women's Wear Daily |volume=96 |issue=19 |pages=44 |id={{ProQuest|1565192486}}}} The plays during that season included The Family Reunion, Britannicus, The Power and the Glory, The Beaux' Stratagem, and Once Upon a Mattress. After launching a drive to enroll new subscribers in April 1959,{{Cite news |last=Calta |first=Louis |date=April 29, 1959 |title=Phoenix Begins Subscriber Drive; 12,500 Patrons Are Sought as Meeting Is Held -- Park Protests Mount |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1959/04/29/archives/phoenix-begins-subscriber-drive-12500-patrons-are-sought-as-meeting.html |access-date=April 17, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} the theatrical company enrolled 9,000 subscribers and obtained $150,000 in subsidies by that June.{{Cite news |last=Zolotow |first=Sam |date=June 25, 1959 |title=Phoenix Enrolls 9,030 Subscribers; Theatre Will Get Subsidies of $75,000 to Continue -Plans for Park Site Set |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1959/06/25/archives/phoenix-enrolls-9030-subscribers-theatre-will-get-subsidies-of.html |access-date=April 17, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} This enabled Phoenix to pre-select all of the plays in a season, rather than booking plays as the season progressed, for the first time in the troupe's history.{{Cite news |last=Kubasik |first=Ben |date=October 6, 1959 |title=An Off-Broadway Playhouse Casts Itself in Long-Run Role |pages=53 |work=Newsday |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99890301/an-off-broadway-playhouse-casts-itself/ |access-date=April 17, 2022}} The theater then hosted plays such as Lysistrata, Peer Gynt, and part 1 and part 2 of Shakespeare's Henry IV during 1959–1960.{{Cite news |last=Gelb |first=Arthur |date=September 6, 1959 |title=News and Gossip Gathered on the Rialto; Phoenix Sitting Pretty -- Holbroook's Farewell -- Rose Takes an Option |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1959/09/06/archives/news-and-gossip-gathered-on-the-rialto-phoenix-sitting-pretty.html |access-date=April 17, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} Phoenix's last full season at the theater, in 1960–1961, consisted of H.M.S. Pinafore, She Stoops to Conquer, The Plough and the Stars, The Octoroon, and Hamlet. The company relocated to the much smaller 74th Street Theater in late 1961 after The Pirates of Penzance, the first play of the 1961–1962 season, was staged at the Second Avenue theater.{{Cite news |last=Zolotow |first=Sam |date=August 10, 1961 |title=Phoenix Is Moving to Smaller Home; Constant Deficit Prompts Switch to 74th Street |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1961/08/10/archives/phoenix-is-moving-to-smaller-home-constant-deficit-prompts-switch.html |access-date=April 17, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}{{cite news |last=Little |first=Stuart W. |date=August 10, 1961 |title=The Phoenix Is Moving To Smaller Hq. on E. 74th |page=10 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1325840685}}}} This move was prompted by the fact that, after its first season, Phoenix had consistently operated at a loss and could not fill the Jaffe Art Theatre.{{Cite news |date=October 23, 1961 |title=Downtown Phoenix Lowers the Curtain |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1961/10/23/archives/downtown-phoenix-lowers-the-curtain.html |access-date=April 17, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}

In November 1961, Michael Iannucci and Milton Warner leased the Jaffe Art Theatre for one year, with an option to renew for another year.{{Cite news |last=Zolotow |first=Sam |date=November 9, 1961 |title=Phoenix Theatre Leased for Year; 'This Was Burlesque' Will Open There Next Month |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1961/11/09/archives/phoenix-theatre-leased-for-year-this-was-burlesque-will-open-there.html |access-date=April 17, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} The next month, the theater was renamed the Casino East Theater and reopened with a Yiddish-language show, Gezunt un Meshuga ("Hale and Crazy").{{cite magazine |date=December 13, 1961 |title=Legitimate: Yiddish Legit Making Comeback in 2d Ave., N.Y.; Well. 2 Theatres Revert |magazine=Variety |volume=224 |issue=3 |pages=57 |id={{ProQuest|1014844350}}}}{{cite news |last=Little |first=Stuart W. |date=December 5, 1961 |title=Equity Job Feelers Out Already for World's Fair |page=18 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1326268708}}}}{{Cite news |last=Shepard |first=Richard F. |date=December 11, 1961 |title=Theatre: Israeli Revue; 'Gezunt un Meshuga' Opens at the Casino |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1961/12/11/archives/theatre-israeli-revue-gezunt-un-meshuga-opens-at-the-casino.html |access-date=April 17, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} By then, it had 1,150 seats. In March 1962, Casino East hosted the satirical burlesque production This Was Burlesque starring Ann Corio.{{Cite news |date=March 7, 1962 |title='This Was Burlesque' at Casino East Narrated by Ann Corio |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1962/03/07/archives/this-was-burlesque-at-casino-east-narrated-by-ann-corio.html |access-date=April 17, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news |last=Davis |first=James |date=March 12, 1962 |title=The Backstage Beat |pages=13 |work=New York Daily News |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99897491/the-backstage-beatjames-davis/ |access-date=April 17, 2022}} During this time, Iannucci managed the front of house, or the publicly accessible parts of the theater. Corio oversaw the stage and backstage operations, with a speaker in her dressing room that allowed her to hear everything on stage.{{Cite news |date=February 28, 1964 |title=Hackett to Bow in Musical Role; Comedian to Appear in Fall in 'I Had a Ball' Here |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/02/28/archives/hackett-to-bow-in-musical-role-comedian-to-appear-in-fall-in-i-had.html |access-date=April 17, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} The revue was successful, ultimately lasting 1,509 performances at the Casino.{{Cite news |last=Gelder |first=Lawrence Van |date=March 9, 1999 |title=Ann Corio, a Burlesque Queen on Broadway, Is Dead |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/09/arts/ann-corio-a-burlesque-queen-on-broadway-is-dead.html |access-date=April 17, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} This Was Burlesque ultimately relocated to the Hudson Theatre on Broadway in March 1965.{{Cite news |date=March 17, 1965 |title=Altered 'Burlesque' Moves to Broadway |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1965/03/17/archives/altered-burlesque-moves-to-broadway.html |url-status=live |access-date=October 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211023003539/https://www.nytimes.com/1965/03/17/archives/altered-burlesque-moves-to-broadway.html |archive-date=October 23, 2021 |issn=0362-4331}}{{cite news |date=March 18, 1965 |title=The Theater: The Old Shock Treatment |page=16 |work=Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|133058401}}}} Corio said that tourists could not find Casino East and that ticket sellers could more easily sell tickets to the show if it were on Broadway.{{Cite news |last=Zolotow |first=Sam |date=February 17, 1965 |title=Burlesque' Sets Broadway Move; Ann Corio's Satire to Enter Hudson Theater March 16 |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1965/02/17/archives/burlesque-sets-broadway-move-ann-corios-satire-to-enter-hudson.html |access-date=April 17, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}

Afterward, Casino East became the Gayety Theater,{{cite magazine |last=Cohen |first=Jor |date=November 24, 1965 |title=Burgeoning Burlesque Outstripping Other Attractions; New B.O. Bonanza |magazine=Variety |volume=241 |issue=1 |pages=1, 70 |id={{ProQuest|1014850479}}}} the only burlesque theater in Manhattan.{{Cite news |date=April 3, 1967 |title=A Bust in Burlesque Strike? Anne Howe! |pages=141 |work=New York Daily News |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99930033/a-bust-in-burlesque-strike-anne-howe/ |access-date=April 17, 2022}} The venue was operated by Leroy Griffith, who had opened the burlesque venue there following the success of Corio's show. The operator charged $4 admission, higher than at the Hudson Theatre.{{Cite news |last=McHarry |first=Charles |date=November 29, 1965 |title=On the Town |pages=147 |work=New York Daily News |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99929995/on-the-towncharles-mcharry/ |access-date=April 17, 2022}} Fittingly, director William Friedkin shot the burlesque scenes for The Night They Raided Minsky's at the theater in 1967. The off-Broadway production Oh! Calcutta!, a revue in which all the cast members were nude, was announced for the theater in April 1969, upon which point the venue was renamed the Eden Theater.{{Cite news |last=Seligsohn |first=Leo |date=April 18, 1969 |title=Tynan Planning 'Elegant Erotica' |pages=143 |work=Newsday (Nassau Edition) |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99931818/tynan-planning-elegant-eroticaleo/ |access-date=April 17, 2022}}{{Cite news |date=April 11, 1969 |title=New Show to Bring Gayety New Name |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1969/04/11/archives/new-show-to-bring-gayety-new-name.html |access-date=April 17, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} The revue's producer George Platt explained the renaming by saying, "We're not doing a burlesque show, we're doing a legitimate show." Oh! Calcutta! opened at the theater in June 1969.{{Cite news |last=Barnes |first=Clive |date=June 18, 1969 |title=Theater: 'Oh, Calcutta!' a Most Innocent Dirty Show; Kenneth Tynan's Revue Opens at the Eden |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1969/06/18/archives/theater-oh-calcutta-a-most-innocent-dirty-show-kenneth-tynans-revue.html |access-date=April 17, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}{{cite news |date=June 19, 1969 |title=The Theater:: For Buffs Only |page=18 |work=Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|133388687}}}} While the Eden was as large as a standard Broadway theater, Oh! Calcutta! used an off-Broadway contract that limited the audience to 499 seats;{{Cite news |date=February 2, 1971 |title='La Mancha' to Move To Eden on March 2 |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/02/02/archives/la-mancha-to-move-to-eden-on-march-2.html |access-date=April 17, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} nonetheless, the show made a profit at the Eden.{{cite magazine |last=Morrison |first=Hobe |date=June 9, 1971 |title=N.Y. Legit Season N.G., 'Road' Ok |magazine=Variety |volume=263 |issue=4 |pages=1, 56 |id={{ProQuest|1014865052}}}} The revue moved to Broadway's Belasco Theatre in February 1971{{Cite news |date=February 8, 1971 |title='Oh! Calcutta!' Moving To Theater on Broadway |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/02/08/archives/-oh-calcutta-moving-to-theater-on-broadway.html |access-date=April 17, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} after running for 704 performances.{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1993|ps=.|p=20}}

File:2_Av_Apr_2022_14.jpg

In March 1971 the Broadway musical Man of La Mancha moved from the Martin Beck Theatre to the Eden.{{Cite news |last=Davis |first=James |date=February 2, 1971 |title='La Mancha' Loses Beck to a New Albee Drama |pages=203 |work=New York Daily News |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99933438/la-mancha-loses-beck-to-a-new-albee/ |access-date=April 17, 2022}} La Mancha operated under a Broadway contract, which allowed all of the Eden's seats to be used; the musical moved to Broadway's Mark Hellinger Theatre after three months.{{Cite news |last=Silver |first=Lee |date=May 13, 1971 |title='Man of La Mancha' Moving to Hellinger |pages=254 |work=New York Daily News |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99933677/man-of-la-mancha-moving-to/ |access-date=April 17, 2022}} That June, Jacob Jacobs leased the Eden with plans to host Yiddish shows there.{{cite magazine |date=July 7, 1971 |title=Legitimate: Legit Bits |magazine=Variety |volume=263 |issue=8 |pages=51 |id={{ProQuest|962906091}}}} Next, the rock musical Grease opened in February 1972{{Cite news |last=Barnes |first=Clive |date=February 15, 1972 |title=Theater: 'Grease,' 1959 as Nostalgia |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/02/15/archives/theater-grease-1959-as-nostalgia-rock-musical-at-eden-comes-from.html |access-date=April 17, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}{{cite magazine |last=Martin |first=Gottfried |date=February 16, 1972 |title=Arts & Pleasures A Daily Critique By WWD: The Theatre: 'Grease' |magazine=Women's Wear Daily |volume=124 |issue=13 |pages=22 |id={{ProQuest|1523638018}}}} under a Broadway contract that allowed all seats to be used. The musical moved to the Broadhurst Theatre that June{{Cite news |last=Green |first=Harris |date=June 4, 1972 |title='Grease'? Groovy |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/06/04/archives/grease-groovy-grooving-with-grease.html |access-date=April 17, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} and later became Broadway's longest-running musical.{{Cite news |last=Buckley |first=Tom |date=December 7, 1979 |title='Grease' Breaks a Record on Broadway |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/12/07/archives/grease-breaks-a-record-on-broadway-attracted-bluecollar-audiences.html |access-date=January 20, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} By then, Jewish Nostalgic Productions was raising funds for a series of Yiddish plays at the Eden.{{cite magazine |date=July 5, 1972 |title=Legitimate: Yiddish Show Series at Eden Theatre, N.Y. |magazine=Variety |volume=267 |issue=8 |pages=49 |id={{ProQuest|1017176523}}}}

The revue Crazy Now opened at the Eden in September 1972,{{Cite news |last=Wallach |first=Allan |date=September 11, 1972 |title='Crazy Now' isn't wild, it's only mild as a revue |pages=11 |work=The Herald Statesman |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99947422/crazy-now-isnt-wild-its-only-mild/ |access-date=April 18, 2022}}{{Cite news |last=Barnes |first=Clive |date=September 11, 1972 |title=The Stage: 'Crazy Now' |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/09/11/archives/the-stage-crazy-now-musical-revue-starts-season-at-the-eden.html |access-date=April 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} followed the next month by a revival of Yoshe Kalb.{{Cite news |last=Lisker |first=Jerry |date=October 24, 1972 |title=Musical 'Yoshe Kalb' A Splendid Production |pages=39 |work=New York Daily News |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99947493/musical-yoshe-kalb-a-splendid/ |access-date=April 18, 2022}}{{Cite news |last=Barnes |first=Clive |date=October 23, 1972 |title=Theater: 'Yoshe Kalb' |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/10/23/archives/theater-yoshe-kalb-a-new-life-for-yiddish-stage-begins-at-eden.html |access-date=April 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} In early 1973, the theater also hosted a dance special by Larry Richardson{{Cite news |last=McDonagh |first=Don |date=January 15, 1973 |title=Dance |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/01/15/archives/dance-richardson-brings-his-troupe-to-the-eden.html |access-date=April 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} and the Broadway musical Smith,{{Cite news |last=Barnes |first=Clive |date=May 21, 1973 |title=Stage: 'Smith,' a Pleasant Little Musical at the Eden |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/05/21/archives/stage-smith-a-pleasant-little-musical-at-the-eden-don-murray-is.html |access-date=April 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news |last=Watt |first=Douglas |date=May 21, 1973 |title='Smith' is a Musical About a Poor Musical |pages=186 |work=New York Daily News |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99948813/smith-is-a-musical-about-a-poor/ |access-date=April 18, 2022}} the latter of which relocated to the Alvin Theatre.{{Cite news |date=June 5, 1973 |title=Briefs on the Arts |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/06/05/archives/briefs-on-the-arts-outer-critics-circle-honors-plummer-ge.html |access-date=April 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} Jewish Nostalgic Productions staged several more shows, of which three had more than 100 performances. For the 1973–1974 season, the Eden was occupied by Aleichem's play Hard To Be a Jew.{{Cite news |last=Popkin |first=Henry |date=October 21, 1974 |title='Big Winner' is just that |pages=21 |work=The Herald Statesman |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99948776/big-winner-is-just-thathenry-popkin/ |access-date=April 18, 2022}}{{Cite news |last=Shepard |first=Richard F. |date=October 30, 1973 |title=Theater: Aleichem's 'Hard to Be a Jew' |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/10/30/archives/theateraleichems-hard-to-be-a-jew-play-is-set-to-music-by-sholom.html |access-date=April 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} This was followed in the 1974–1975 season by another Aleichem play, Dos Groyse Gevins ("The Big Winner"),{{Cite news |last=Shepard |first=Richard P. |date=October 22, 1974 |title=Stage: 'The Big Winner' |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/10/22/archives/the-new-yiddish-the-the-cast.html |access-date=April 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news |last=Norkin |first=Sam |date=October 22, 1974 |title=Sholom Aleichem's Return to 2d Ave. |pages=193 |work=New York Daily News |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99948913/sholom-aleichems-return-to-2d-avesam/ |access-date=April 18, 2022}} as well as a short run of A Wedding in Shtetel.{{Cite news |date=February 11, 1975 |title=Theater: 'Shtetl' at Eden |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/02/11/archives/theater-shtetl-at-eden.html |access-date=April 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} Senyar Holding Company, a firm owned by Martin Raynes, took ownership of the theater in March 1975. During the 1975–1976 season, the Eden hosted Sylvia Regan's musical The Fifth Season.{{Cite news |last=Lask |first=Thomas |date=October 13, 1975 |title=Theater |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/10/13/archives/theater-fifth-season-7th-ave-story-is-on-2d-ave.html |access-date=April 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news |last=O'Haire |first=Patricia |date=October 17, 1975 |title=Joe leaps a barrier |pages=69 |work=New York Daily News |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99949340/joe-leaps-a-barrierpatricia-ohaire/ |access-date=April 18, 2022}} The theater had become the 12th Street Cinema by mid-1976,{{cite magazine |date=June 14, 1976 |title=Admission Fees Cut |magazine=Boxoffice |volume=109 |issue=10 |page=E1 |id={{ProQuest|1476136477}}}} but this use only lasted a short time.

File:Jaffe Art Theater Interior (1985).jpg

By September 1977, the Jaffe Art Theatre was known as the Entermedia Theater.{{Cite news |date=September 3, 1977 |title=Dance Umbrella Set For Its Busiest Season |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/09/03/archives/dance-umbrella-set-for-its-busiest-season.html |access-date=April 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} The theater reopened the next month with The Possessed, a dance special by Pearl Lang. Its operator Entermedia presented not only films but also dance, experimental legitimate shows, and other events.{{Cite news |last=Barnes |first=Clive |date=October 20, 1977 |title=Dance: Pearl Lang Opens Umbrella |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/10/20/archives/dance-pearl-lang-opens-umbrella.html |access-date=April 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} Among the Entermedia's early shows was the musical The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, which opened in 1978{{Cite news |last=Eder |first=Richard |date=April 18, 1978 |title=Play: 'Best Little House in Texas' |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/04/18/archives/play-best-little-house-in-texas-entermedia-theater-stages-musical.html |access-date=April 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} and subsequently transferred to Broadway,{{Cite news |date=June 8, 1978 |title='Whorehouse' moving uptown |pages=315 |work=New York Daily News |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99953252/whorehouse-moving-uptown/ |access-date=April 18, 2022}} as well as the musical God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater in 1979.{{cite web |date=October 14, 1979 |title=God Bless You Mr. Rosewater |url=http://iobdb.com/Production/2384 |access-date=April 18, 2022 |website=Lortel Archives}}{{Cite news |last=Gussow |first=Mel |date=May 21, 1979 |title=Stage: 'God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater' |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/05/21/archives/stage-god-bless-you-mr-rosewater-in-vonnegut-land.html |access-date=April 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} The theater also hosted events such as an independent film festival,{{cite magazine |date=September 27, 1978 |title=Pictures: 'American Misfits': Scenario for Fest |magazine=Variety |volume=292 |issue=8 |pages=26 |id={{ProQuest|1401338408}}}} a jazz showcase,{{Cite news |last=Palmer |first=Robert |date=March 2, 1979 |title=Jazz at Entermedia Puts Soloists in Spotlight |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/03/02/archives/jazz-at-entermedia-puts-soloists-in-spotlight-walked-in-at-right.html |access-date=April 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} and a samurai film festival.{{Cite news |date=November 21, 1980 |title=Samurai Film Festival on Lower East Side |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1980/11/21/archives/samurai-film-festival-on-lower-east-side.html |access-date=April 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} The musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, which later transferred to Broadway, opened at the Entermedia in 1981{{Cite news |last=Gussow |first=Mel |date=November 19, 1981 |title=Theater: 'Joseph and the Dreamcoat' |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/11/19/theater/theater-joseph-and-the-dreamcoat.html |access-date=April 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} and was so successful that its audience was allowed to use all the seats.{{Cite news |date=November 22, 1981 |title='Joseph' Will Double Capacity at Entermedia |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/11/22/theater/joseph-will-double-capacity-at-entermedia.html |access-date=April 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} Other popular shows at the theater were the 1982 play Lennon{{Cite news |last=Rich |first=Frank |date=October 6, 1982 |title=Stage: 'Lennon' a Biography, Opens |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/10/06/theater/stage-lennon-a-biography-opens.html |access-date=April 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} and the 1983 musical Taking My Turn.{{Cite news |last=Gussow |first=Mel |date=June 10, 1983 |title=Theater: Growing Old in 'Taking My Turn' |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/06/10/theater/theater-growing-old-in-taking-my-turn.html |access-date=April 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} The Jaffe Art Theatre was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 19, 1985.{{cite web |date=February 25, 1986 |title=Federal Register: 51 Fed. Reg. 6497 (Feb. 25, 1986) |url=https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/fedreg/fr051/fr051037/fr051037.pdf |access-date=March 8, 2020 |publisher=Library of Congress |page=6654 (PDF p. 158)}} The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission also considered protecting the theater as a landmark in 1985 and 1986 but did not make a decision.

Entermedia left the theater in 1985, and the venue was leased to M Square Productions, which renamed it the Second Avenue Theater. It was one of M Square's three off-Broadway houses. M Square's managing director Alan J. Schuster said the company wanted "to have a legitimate theater and a film theater at the Second Avenue" without incurring the exorbitant costs of Broadway theatre contracts.{{Cite news |last=Gerard |first=Jeremy |date=January 14, 1987 |title=Who Are the Powers Behind Off Broadway? |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/01/14/theater/who-are-the-powers-behind-off-broadway.html |access-date=April 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} The movie theater would have been above the legitimate theater, but these plans never materialized. The Second Avenue hosted Zalmen Mlotek and Moishe Rosenfeld's bilingual revue The Golden Land, which opened in November 1985{{Cite news |last=Gussow |first=Mel |date=November 13, 1985 |title=Stage: 'Golden Land,' English-Yiddish Revue |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/11/13/theater/stage-golden-land-english-yiddish-revue.html |access-date=April 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news |last=Wallach |first=Allan |date=November 12, 1985 |title=Yiddish evocations of 'Golden Land' |pages=146 |work=Newsday |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99976291/yiddish-evocations-of-golden/ |access-date=April 18, 2022}} and ran for 277 regular performances.{{Cite news |date=July 9, 1986 |title='Golden Land' to Close |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/07/09/theater/golden-land-to-close.html |access-date=April 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}{{efn|{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1993|ps=|p=21}}, counts both previews and regular performances. For example, The Golden Land is counted as having 295 performances (including 18 previews), and The Chosen is recorded as having 58 performances (including 52 previews).|name=2nd-Ave-performances}} For the 1986–1987 season, the theater staged the musical Have I Got a Girl for You!, which opened in November 1986,{{Cite news |last=Holden |first=Stephen |date=November 2, 1986 |title=Stage: 'The Frankenstein Musical' |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/11/02/theater/stage-the-frankenstein-musical.html |access-date=April 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news |last=Wallach |first=Allan |date=October 30, 1986 |title=Frankenstein With a Song in His Heart |pages=200 |work=Newsday |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99977561/frankenstein-with-a-song-in-his/ |access-date=April 18, 2022}} and the musical Staggerlee, which opened in March 1987.{{Cite news |last=Gussow |first=Mel |date=March 19, 1987 |title=The Stage: 'Staggerlee' |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/03/19/theater/the-stage-staggerlee.html |access-date=April 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news |last=Robins |first=Wayne |date=March 20, 1987 |title=The Musical Legend of 'Staggerlee' |pages=201 |work=Newsday |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99978137/the-musical-legend-of/ |access-date=April 18, 2022}} The theater also hosted a tribute to the late off-Broadway actor Charles Ludlam in mid-1987.{{Cite news |last=Gerard |first=Jeremy |date=July 14, 1987 |title=Charles Ludlam Is Eulogized By Friends From the Theater |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/07/14/theater/charles-ludlam-is-eulogized-by-friends-from-the-theater.html |access-date=April 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} The Chaim Potok play The Chosen opened in January 1988{{Cite news |last=Gussow |first=Mel |date=January 7, 1988 |title=Theater: 'The Chosen,' as a Musical |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/01/07/theater/theater-the-chosen-as-a-musical.html |access-date=April 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news |last=Watt |first=Douglas |date=January 8, 1988 |title='The Chosen': A Not-So-Great Choice |pages=328 |work=New York Daily News |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99978335/the-chosen-a-not-so-great/ |access-date=April 18, 2022}} but flopped with just six regular performances.{{Cite news |date=January 9, 1988 |title='The Chosen' to Close |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/01/09/theater/the-chosen-to-close.html |access-date=April 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}{{efn|name=2nd-Ave-performances}}

File:Village_east_space_2002_70_mm_IMG_7198.jpgThe failure of The Chosen had been particularly devastating for M Square, which had spent three years creating the play and could no longer afford to continue operating the Second Avenue Theater. The venue was the only surviving Yiddish theater building on Second Avenue, as well as one of the few off-Broadway houses in the East Village. In 1988, M Square leased the theater to City Cinemas, a branch of Reading International, for use as a movie theater called Village East. City Cinemas converted the auditorium into a seven-screen multiplex.{{Cite news |last=Lyons |first=Richard D. |date=March 14, 1990 |title=Real Estate; Cinemas Blossoming In Manhattan |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/03/14/business/real-estate-cinemas-blossoming-in-manhattan.html |access-date=April 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}{{cite magazine |date=December 10, 1990 |title=New York: More screens for Gotham |magazine=Variety |volume=341 |issue=9 |pages=63 |id={{ProQuest|1286176308}}}} Averitt Associates preserved the balcony but split the orchestra and backstage areas into six screens. The renovation had to conform with historic-preservation guidelines because Village East was still being considered for city-landmark designation. The architects used archival photos to restore the theater's design features.

File:2_Av_Apr_2022_16.jpgThe project ultimately cost $8 million. Village East Cinemas opened on February 22, 1991,{{Cite news |last=Passalacqua |first=Connie |date=February 8, 1991 |title=Making Moviegoing Mellow |pages=70, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99981658/ 71] |work=Newsday |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99981644/making-moviegoing-mellowconnie/ |access-date=April 18, 2022}} initially with only five screens in operation. The LPC designated the exterior and interior of the theater as a landmark in 1993. Since then, it has shown a mixture of Hollywood productions and indie films. The Village East Cinema also shows films that originally opened at the Angelika Film Center, an arthouse chain that is also an arm of Reading International. The multiplex also hosted movies that were screened as part of the annual New York International Children's Film Festival.{{Cite news |last=Graeber |first=Laurel |date=March 6, 2014 |title=Warning: Teenagers May Like These Movies |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/07/nyregion/warning-teenagers-may-like-these-movies.html |access-date=April 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}

EverGreene Architectural Arts restored the theater at the beginning of 2015.{{cite web |date=July 8, 2021 |title=Village East Cinema |url=https://evergreene.com/projects/village-east-cinema/ |access-date=April 18, 2022 |website=EverGreene}} The work involved replacing some of the historical design features that had deteriorated over the years. The theater closed temporarily in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City. When the theater reopened on March 5, 2021,{{cite web |last=Ramsay |first=James |title=With Everything Streaming, Will Moviegoers Return To NYC Theaters For The Love Of The Big Screen? |website=Gothamist |date=March 4, 2021 |url=https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/everything-streaming-will-nyc-moviegoers-return-theaters-love-big-screen |access-date=April 18, 2022}}{{cite web |last=Hayes |first=Dade |title=NYC Art House Movie Theaters Awaken After Year Of Hibernation, But One Holds The Popcorn |website=Deadline |date=March 5, 2021 |url=https://deadline.com/2021/03/new-york-arthouse-movie-theaters-reopen-ifc-streaming-1234707767/ |access-date=April 18, 2022}} it was rebranded as Village East by Angelika.{{Cite news |last=Kenigsberg |first=Ben |date=March 5, 2021 |title=Which Movie Theaters Are Reopening in New York City? Here's a Guide. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/05/movies/new-york-movie-theaters-guide.html |access-date=April 14, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} After Village East reopened, several movies were screened in 70 mm.{{cite web | last=Sampson | first=Mike | title=Less Popcorn, More Distance: How Indie Movie Theaters Are Gingerly Reopening | website=Curbed | date=March 5, 2021 | url=https://www.curbed.com/2021/03/new-york-indie-movie-theaters-reopen.html | access-date=July 21, 2023}} A new bar and kitchen were announced for the theater in late 2021.{{cite web |last=Rogers |first=Jake |date=November 10, 2021 |title=Village East Cinema Plans To Expand With New Bar And Kitchen |url=https://whatnowny.com/village-east-cinema-plans-to-expand-with-new-bar-and-kitchen/ |access-date=April 18, 2022 |website=What Now NY: The Best Source For New York News}} {{As of|2022|alt=By 2022}}, the theater generally screened newly released films, though it sometimes showed revivals as well.{{Cite news|last=Kenigsberg|first=Ben|date=2022-07-19|title=New York's Movie Theaters, From Art-House to Dine-In|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/article/movie-theaters-nyc.html|access-date=2023-01-17|issn=0362-4331}} Among these was the premiere of Tommy Wiseau's second film Big Shark in 2023.{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2023/film/trailers/tommy-wiseau-the-room-big-shark-trailer-1235562280/ |title=Tommy Wiseau Unveils His Follow-Up Film to 'The Room' With 'Big Shark' Trailer (EXCLUSIVE) |website=Variety |first=J. Kim |last=Murphy |date=March 23, 2023 |access-date=April 6, 2023}}

Productions are listed by the year of their first performance. This list only includes theatrical shows; it does not include films, burlesque shows, or other types of live performance.

{{Div col|colwidth=25em}}

{{Div col end}}

• List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan below 14th Street
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan below 14th Street

{{Notelist}}

{{reflist}}

• {{cite report |url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/85002427.pdf |title=Historic Structures Report: Yiddish Art Theatre |date=September 19, 1985 |publisher=National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service |ref={{harvid|National Park Service|1985}}}}
• {{cite book |last=Nahshon |first=Edna |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ku0dDAAAQBAJ |title=New York's Yiddish Theater: From the Bowery to Broadway |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=2016 |isbn=978-0-231-54107-7}}
• {{cite report |url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1764.pdf |publisher=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission |title=Yiddish Art Theatre |date=February 9, 1993 |ref={{harvid|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1993}}}}
• {{cite report |url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1765.pdf |publisher=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission |title=Yiddish Art Theatre Interior |date=February 9, 1993 |ref={{harvid|Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior|1993}}}}

{{Commons category|Louis N. Jaffe Art Theater}}

• [https://www.angelikafilmcenter.com/villageeast Village East by Angelika website]
• {{IBDB venue|1138|Eden Theatre}}
• {{IOBDB venue|118|Eden Theatre}}
• {{CTO theater|290}}

{{East Village, Manhattan}}

{{Off-Broadway theatres}}

{{Portal bar|Architecture|National Register of Historic Places|New York City}}

Category:1926 establishments in New York City

Category:1920s architecture in the United States

Category:1990s in Manhattan

Category:1991 establishments in New York City

Category:Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan

Category:Cinemas and movie theaters in Manhattan

Category:East Village, Manhattan

Category:New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan

Category:New York City interior landmarks

Category:Off-Broadway theaters

Category:Theatres completed in 1926

Category:Yiddish theatre in the United States

Category:Second Avenue (Manhattan)