INTERVIEW: New Ohio Theatre turns off the lights, one last time
Photo: Lenora Champagne, Robert Lyons and Pepper Binkley celebrate the final show ever at the New Ohio Theatre. Photo courtesy of Suzanne Fiore Photography / Provided by DARR Publicity with permission.
The New York City theater scene is ever-changing, with theatrical companies opening and closing every few weeks. This month, the downtown theater scene says goodbye to one of its longest-serving members: the New Ohio Theatre, located on Christopher Street in the West Village. Headed by Robert Lyons, this creative space hosted numerous productions over the years and helped to cement the risk-taking identity of the off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway scene in the Big Apple.
The New Ohio’s programming finished up this past weekend with a most appropriate final show: Lyons’ Ultra Left Violence, which actually saw Lyons himself grace the stage at one performance. After the final blackout on Saturday, Aug. 12, the New Ohio staff also decided to throw a dance party, in order to celebrate the past 30 years — three decades that saw this little-company-that-could change venues a couple times, while always keeping their theatrical excellence at the forefront.
Hollywood Soapbox caught up with Lyons in the midst of the final storm, with only a couple performances of Ultra Left Violence left. The logistics of mounting a new show were keeping him blessedly busy, not constantly thinking about the end.
“Doing a show is so consuming that it’s really pulled me into that world, so I spend most of my time thinking about the show, which is the fun thing,” Lyons said in a recent phone interview. “So I’m really having a blast right now with the show and these collaborators. In fact, there’s a little bit in the show. At the end, we have a guest person who comes on at a certain point and reads a poem that I wrote, and last night, I read the poem. That was my stage debut. After 30 years, that’s the first time I’ve ever performed on stage as part of a show, and that was last night. So that was a big blast, and everybody got a big kick out of it. So right now, it’s mostly fun. … And then in the background, there’s the big transition that’s happening.”
Technically, the New Ohio will be in existence through the end of this month, but programming has now ceased. Lyons said the next few days will see him preparing for the great unknown. It’s cliche to say, but still apt to mention: This is bittersweet for the artistic director.
“It’s really 30 years plus,” he said. “When I sat down with the board, we all kind of agreed that an organization can have its own life cycle, and this is ours. Pretty much everyone was unanimous, so there was that element. Looking forward, looking ahead at the finances, I just didn’t want to end with a mad economic crash and funding pressures and all that. We had enough money to get through this season, which ends in August. There was peace of mind knowing that. I could meet all my obligations and everything that I promised to people, and that was all in place. I just felt like, yeah, let’s call it a day at this point.”
The 30-year mark hasn’t weighed too much on Lyons. For the past three decades, he simply curated theater and professionally lived from production to production. Those shows have included everything from Anisa George’s Holden to The Cherry Arts Inc.’s Hotel Good Luck. There was the summer season of Ice Factory productions and the Archive Residency, which gave two years of support to emerging theater companies. The New Ohio leaves behind an impressive theatrical footprint in the New York theater world.
“I didn’t really think about it in terms of duration or anything like that,” he said. “You’re just living your life and doing your thing. … Looking back, wow, 30 years, that is a long time. We did a lot of theater. There was a big outpouring of support. … I feel that the artists come to me [and say], ‘Thank you for supporting us.’ But I actually feel like the artists were supporting us by participating in the programs and in the seasons, and so I’m actually deeply appreciative to the artists who made the work all this time. That’s what really kept us going, so it works both ways.”
Lyons wanted Ultra Left Violence to be the final show at the New Ohio. There were a few reasons for this decision: He was able to collaborate with director Daniel Irizarry on a story that finds two activists working together on an anti-capitalist manifesto; there’s also live music and that guest artist spot — in other words, a little bit of everything.
“That was pretty consciously and strategically thought through,” Lyons said. “I wanted to end with one of my own shows, and again just for the reason when I started, just because it’s fun. I love the process of making theater. I love my director. I love my cast. I wanted to end things having fun, which is how I started, and also trying new things. This script is a departure, so it’s new text in a different way. Yesterday’s little cameo was a goof a bit, but it was very meaningful as well actually.”
When the lights are turned off in a few short days, Lyons will keep many memories with him, in particular the neighborhood on Christopher Street that he’s called his professional home for quite some time. “I think absolutely one of the things I will miss is that little street,” he said. “That little block of Christopher is gorgeous. You see the river. There’s the church across the street. The building we’re in is beautiful. Not having a reason to be in that physical space, that is definitely one of the things I’m going to miss.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Click here for more information on the New Ohio Theatre.
