Union Square Theatre, Off-Broadway theatre
Union Square Theatre is an off-Broadway venue on East 17th Street in Manhattan, operated by Liberty Theatres and focused on smaller, independent productions. The hall is compact, with the stage visible from every seat, and the interior is plain and without decoration.
A first theatre with this name opened in 1870 on East 14th Street, staging plays and operettas before converting to a cinema and closing in 1936. The current venue opened in 1985 a short walk away, operating as an off-Broadway house until early 2016.
The theatre sits next to Union Square, a plaza long associated with public gatherings, markets, and everyday city life in Manhattan. Attending a show here feels close and direct, with the stage just a few rows away from most of the audience.
The building is steps from Union Square station, one of the most connected transit stops in Manhattan, making it easy to reach from most parts of the city. The area has plenty of places to eat and drink nearby, which makes planning around a performance straightforward.
The theatre became known for running certain productions for unusually long stretches, with shows like Slava's Snowshow and Wit returning season after season to the same stage. Long runs of this kind are rare for an off-Broadway house of this size.
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