Wonderland

A24’S NEXT ACT

As the cult film studio re-opens the doors to Cherry Lane Theatre, New York’s oldest off-Broadway stage takes its second bow.

This September, the century‑old Cherry Lane Theatre – ‘The Birthplace of Off‑Broadway’ – reopens on New York’s Commerce Street after a two‑year renovation under its new owner, indie film powerhouse A24. Once a stage known solely for bold, boundary‑pushing theatre (with a résumé that includes Beckett, Mamet, and even Bob Dylan), Cherry Lane will now host it all: theatre, comedy, music, and film. The bones remain the same, the iconic stage, the historic details, but everything else is sharper – new seats, upgraded tech, a film projector, a reimagined lobby, and Wild Cherry, a bar‑restaurant from Frenchette’s Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr, fresh off a James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurateur.

A24’s move matters because it’s the meeting of two cult institutions – the scrappy, century‑old home of Off‑Broadway risk‑taking and the studio that turned outsider art into Oscar bait. With its knack for spotting the next big thing and making the underground feel essential, A24 is primed to turn Cherry Lane into the city’s most electric cross‑pollination lab for stage, screen, and everything in between. The warm‑up has been happening quietly: a reading of Robert Nemiroff’s play To Be Young, Gifted and Black (which premiered here in 1969), stand‑up from Ramy Youssef, and HAIM previewing their new album for a packed room of die‑hards. The public debut runs September 8–14 with The Red Door Reopening – a curated week of one‑night‑only events. It closes with Sundays with Sofia, Coppola’s new screening series opening with Adrian Lyne’s Foxes on September 14. After the credits? A block party in the street. From longer‑run productions to emerging talent presentations, pop-up performances to surprise stand-ups, Cherry Lane is poised to become New York’s most exciting cultural clubhouse – with those red doors set to become shorthand for the city’s most distinctive voices.