NYC’s Downtown Theaters Are Still Dark

The fallout from Sandy continued to punch holes in the Off-Broadway theater landscape, even as the lights came on for all Broadway shows by Nov 1.

Heading into the weekend, the popular “Blue Man Group” and “Sleep No More” were halted, the Flea Theater wasn’t sure it could mount the scheduled final performances of the hit plays “Job” and “Heresy,” and previews for the Public Theater’s highly anticipated “Giant” and “Sorry” were delayed. Meanwhile, the Vineyard Theater had yet to schedule a new opening night for “Checkers,” Douglas McGrath’s play about Richard and Pat Nixon. Nearby in Union Square previews for the Classic Stage Company’s production of “Ivanov,” starring Ethan Hawke, were on hold as well. Power outages in lower Manhattan were largely the culprit, though in some cases damage from flooding caused even bigger problems. Coney Island USA, the resident non-profit arts organization on Coney Island, sustained major damage when its entire theater was submerged under five feet of water for hours.