The Tony Awards, which recognizes achievements in Broadway theater, was held recently. Stereophonic, written by David Adjmi, holds the record for the most Tony nominations for a play and won the coveted Best Play award. The production debuted in 2023 at my favorite Off-Broadway theater, Playwrights Horizons, and opened on Broadway the following year. Playwrights Horizons is a highly regarded Off-Broadway theater that showcases only new American work and includes some of the most original, new voices in the theater world. Its 50-year history has nurtured the development of nearly 400 American playwrights, lyricists, and composers.
Adam Greenfield, my old Brooklyn neighbor and friend, is the Artistic Director of Playwrights Horizon. He was instrumental in bringing the Stereophonic to the theater. Today, I celebrate him not only because of his recent, well-deserved acknowledgment, but even more so for his devotion to the theater at its most elevated and inclusive. He's been passionate about theater since he was a lonely, geeky adolescent (his description). Watching local theater gave him tools to process his internal experience and helped him access a broader range of emotions.
Adam took over as director in 2020, just as the theater world shut down because of COVID-19. Many theaters moved online during the pandemic, but Adam and his colleagues chose not to go this route. They believe the audience must experience theater in person for its full impact. The extended pause created space for Adam and his colleagues to envision how to return in a way that would be more inclusive of the communities that make New York the vibrant city that it is.
I spoke to Adam while researching for my book on vibrant communities, The Practice of Belonging. Adam's commitment to returning Playwrights Horizons to its roots of theater as a civic ritual inspires me. He wants his theater to engage with communities in the city more deeply. However, like all institutions, theaters have significant issues regarding who has access and who is represented in plays. Now, plays have more diverse themes than ever and are written by a greater diversity of writers, yet the people who go to plays remain notoriously older, upper middle class, and white. Adam wants the plays to be relatable and accessible to a wide spectrum of communities in New York City.
He shared the history of Western theater, which first evolved in ancient Greece. Its purpose was not to make money, but to fill a deep need for ritual and to reconcile great conflicts and questions. Theater in ancient Greece was, at its essence, a civic ritual deeply interwoven in the fabric of daily life. It was a sort of pop-up community where citizens could step back from their daily grind and participate in something greater than themselves. Theater addressed questions like “Why do good people suffer?” and, like Sophocles posed in Antigone, “What happens when the needs of the individual are at odds with the needs of the state?”
Adam says that in the United States, theater has distanced itself from its roots as a civic ritual and evolved into a for-profit venture, which has created barriers to access for many communities. In the 1970s, when Playwrights Horizons was founded, there was a push to institutionalize theater. For example, many theaters adopted a business model of subscriptions because money paid upfront allowed for consistent program planning. Theaters became associated with their buildings, which sprang up in neighborhoods where residents were more likely to give money.
Before Playwrights Horizons joined the movement for institutional stability, it was a scrappy theater. It was initially located in the West Village, then moved to Queens, and then relocated again to Hell's Kitchen in what was once a burlesque hall. After the theater raised over $30 million, the old building was knocked down, and a new one was built with terrazzo floors and glass walls. The theater debuted its new home in 2002, and the transformation defined it as an institution for a particular audience.
Before the pandemic, many artists and playwrights questioned the direction that theater had taken. Could Playwrights Horizons, post-pandemic, be more intentional in creating access and welcoming a wider audience to its productions?
Adam and the team at Playwrights Horizons are committed to testing new models for production, including getting out of their building in midtown Manhattan and performing in other neighborhoods. Adam hopes to create malleable, mobile productions to transport plays from its Hell's Kitchen location to venues throughout the city to reach underserved communities. Additionally, the company will produce less expensive plays to offer more affordable ticket prices. Outside funding remains necessary, but more effort will go toward finding ways for New Yorkers of all stripes to experience the theater.
"It's not enough to lower ticket prices or even give them away," Adam said. "We actually want to bring our work to you and give it to you for free. We want to be a community with you, and at some point, you can find your way to us. So that, hopefully, we can share the city together."
Stereophonic playwright David Adjmi, in his acceptance speech, thanked Playwrights Horizons for bringing his play to the stage. In fact, all the best play nominees this year got their start in mission-driven non-profit theaters, which take more creative risks and provide a home for emerging artists and fresh voices. Unfortunately, Off-Broadway theaters have been financially struggling. They need support from their home cities so they can continue to offer their invaluable services. In return, I hope they continue to honor their ancient communal roots, finding more ways to provide access to the vibrant, diverse communities throughout the city that don’t typically attend theater.