The Players Theatre, located at 115 MacDougal Street at Minetta Lane in the heart of Greenwich Village, has been purchased by Michael Sgouros.
"At a time when many off-Broadway theatres, including the Promenade, Sullivan Street Theatre, Circle in the Square Downtown, Houseman, Fairbanks, Variety Arts and Perry Street Theatres have closed, this marks a new beginning for a well-loved but neglected Village theatre. Renovations have begun on the 248 seat theatre as well as its five rehearsal studios. In addition, Mr. Sgouros is creating an office suite with individual work stations available to small theatre companies at reasonable rates," state press notes.
The Players Theatre, which has been home to such long run productions as Ruthless! and An Evening with Quentin Crisp, has been mostly inactive in recent years.
Sgouros, who is a well-known musician and a faculty member at Molloy College and Queens College, has performed all over the world from Broadway, Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center to London's Wigmore Hall. He plans to begin booking legit theatre productions this fall as soon as the renovations are complete. He will also produce a weekly Sunday morning family music series called "Percussion People" featuring interactive activities for all ages. In addition, he will present a monthly chamber music series on Monday evenings as well as a monthly showcase for New York City's emerging filmmakers.
Sgouros said "As a native New Yorker, I am excited to revive this fantastic building. Greenwich Village has always been NYC's artistic center and we plan to create a welcoming, supportive home for some of our most creative and innovative artists."
"The Players Theatre is also home to the famous "Café Wha?" which has been a Greenwich Village mainstay since the 1960s. One of the Village's original and most famous rock clubs, it was the regular hang out for Allen Ginsburg, Abbie Hoffman and Bob Dylan. Jimi Hendrix, Bruce Springsteen, Kool and the Gang, Bill Cosby and Richard Pryor are some of the performers who began their careers at Café Wha? Even Mary Travers was a waitress at the club before hooking up with Peter Yarrow and Paul Stookey. The club continues this tradition today with the famous Café Wha? Band, Brazooka Band, and Vintage Funk with Cheryl Pepsil Riley and 'Disfunktion.'"
In addition to the comfortable, accessible theatre and flexible rehearsal studios, The Players Theatre will provide publicity and marketing support to producers and concert presenters as well as a new website with detailed listing information and links to organizations' websites.
For theatre and rehearsal studio rental information call (212) 475-1449, via email at ethos@earthlink.net or go to www.theplayerstheatre.com
