‘STOMP’ is Leaving the East Village Over Poor Theater Conditions
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Orpheum Theatre, Photo: Fabian Payton
STOMP is stabbing the East Village in the back. The off Broadway stalwart will soon depart its home of twenty-one years – the Orpheum Theatre – due to a lack of upkeep.
It’s a sudden decision that will no doubt affect the recovery of Second Avenue in the wake of the fatal explosion last last month. The Orpheum is directly across the street.
Apparently STOMP already has a new theater lined up near Times Square. The announcement prompted a lawsuit from the theater owner and a sense of betrayal from neighbors.
From the New York Post:
Lawyers for the theater asked a Manhattan judge for an injunction to block the move, but their request was denied.
“I am not stopping them,” Judge Jeffrey Oing said. “At the end of the day, you can’t hold them hostage.”
The issue is headed for arbitration.
And more detail from the Daily News:
Glenn Spiegel, a lawyer for STOMP’s producers, said the show has been a “cash cow” milked for years by Orpheum’s owners who have refused to maintain the historic theater for years.
“STOMP did not want to move,” but “it smells like sewage” in the lobby, the carpets are in a state of disrepair and there are signs in the rest rooms asking people to dispose of soiled toilet paper in the waste basket, not the toilets, Spiegel said.
The lawyer also said patrons have complained about rats, which have been seen in larger numbers in the neighborhood since a gas explosion two doors down on Second Ave. leveled three buildings and killed two people on March 26.
The Orpheum doesn’t have a backup show in the pipeline. From out perspective, it seems doubtful theater will return to this address. Not good.
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