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The Bushwick Starr

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Bushwick Starr
Map
Interactive map of The Bushwick Starr
Address419 Eldert Street
Brooklyn, New York City
United States
DesignationOff-off Broadway
Public transitHalsey Street station (BMT Canarsie Line)

The Bushwick Starr is an off off Broadway non-profit theater in the Brooklyn neighborhood of the same name that was founded in 2007. Its co-founders, Sue Kessler and Noel Allain, also serve as its directors. The Starr was located on Starr Street until 2020 when their space was sold and they announced the purchase of and relocation to a former dairy plant at 419 Eldert Street.

The Starr is known for its artists, including Jeremy O. Harris, Daniel Fish, Dave Malloy, and Heather Christian. They first programmed a full season in 2009 and were firmly a part of the Off Off Broadway community by 2011. The venue especially features experimental theatre works and seeks to avoid the commercial pressures of other larger theaters.

History

[edit]

The Starr was founded by Sue Kessler and Noel Allain, serving as executive director and artistic director. The theater was created as an off-off-Broadway outlet in the pre-gentrified neighborhood of Bushwick.[1] In 2001, Kessler and Allain leased and converted a second-floor loft space at 207 Starr Street into a black box theater that seated 72 patrons.[2] The space was originally intended for Fovea Floods, a theater ensemble they joined at Skidmore College. When Fovea Floods disbanded in the early 2000s, the duo kept the theater and rented it out to various artists or groups in need of a performance space; they took over the theater's programming in 2007 after multiple productions Kessler felt were "not good".[1] Allain also described renting the venue to the play The Penitent Hours by Julia May Jonas as fueling their desire to develop similar works themselves.[3] The Brooklyn Rail noted the Starr's opening as part of a trend of arts spaces appearing in Bushwick.[4] The Starr curated its first full season in 2009.[1]

In June 2020, the theater received notice that its building was to be converted into residential housing and that they would need to relocate. Kesller and Allain announced in 2021 that they had purchased a $2.2 million purchase of a former dairy plant on the eastern end of Bushwick, at 419 Eldert Street. They planned to convert for opening the following year.[2] They officially opened the space in 2024. During the renovation of the 419 Eldert property, the Starr partnered with other organizations—including The Public Theater and the ¡Oye! Group—to co-produce new works.[3]

In addition to its theatrical work, the Starr has also hosted events for the local community. In February 2018, the "Because the Night" panel featured discussions of gentrification in the wake of the creation of a city-wide Office of Nightlife.[5] In October 2024, New York State Assembly Member Robert Carroll and Senator Julia Salazar used the theater to announce their proposal of a state law that would help incentivize small theater spaces in the city.[6] Though it exists as a gentrifying force in the neighborhood, the Starr has intentionally sought to work within the community. It has hosted the annual Taste of Bushwick food showcase as well as its own Big Green Theater Festival, where professional actors perform work written by local students.[1][7] The theater also hosts an annual gala to fundraise for its own programming. In 2025, the gala received the organization $300,000 in donations.[8]

Artistic style

[edit]

In its early years, the venue was noted for its experimental theater projects,[9] and described in the Wall Street Journal as "a terrific little house full of DIY charm."[10] The Starr is known for transforming its performance space to fit the works on stage.[3] Kessler said that the theater sought to prevent external pressures from critics or commercial performance from affecting the sharpness of the work on stage.[11] In The New Yorker, Rollo Romig wrote that the Starr had "built a well-deserved reputation over the past decade for solid but adventurous programming".[12]

Notable premieres

[edit]
Year Creator Work Notes Ref
2010 Performative Lab 115 The Ring Cycle (Part 1 + 2) Reimagining of The Ring Cycle [13]
2011 Tina Satter In the Pony Palace/Football [14]
2012 The Debate Society Blood Play [15]
2013 Joshua Conkel & Matt Marks The House of Von Macramé [16]
The TEAM RoosevElvis [17]
2014 Dave Malloy Ghost Quartet [18]
2015 Ariel Stess Heartbreak [19]
2016 Clare Barron I'll Never Love Again [20]
The Mad Ones Miles for Mary [21]
2017 Kristine Haruna Lee Suicide Forest [22]
Julia Benson [Porto] [23]
Heather Christian Animal Wisdom [24]
2018 Darian Dauchan The Brobot Johnson Experience [25]
2019 Jeremy O. Harris Black Exhibition [26]
2020 Jillian Walker Skinfolk [27]
2021 Hillary Miller Preparedness [28]
2022 Agnes Borinsky Song of Songs [29]
One Whale's Tale Quince [30]
2023 Keelay Gipson Demons [31]
2024 Julia May Jonas A Woman among Women Reimagining of All My Sons [32]
2025 Shayok Misha Chowdhury Rheology [33]
David Cale Blue Cowboy [34]

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 3 4 Soloski, Alexis (2014-10-02). "A Brooklyn Home for Artists, With Love". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
  2. 1 2 Bahr, Sarah (2021-09-21). "Bushwick Starr Gets New $2.2 Million Home". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
  3. 1 2 3 Sims, Joey (2024-09-30). "Emergency Exits, Quieter AC, and Space for Community: The Bushwick Starr Reopens | The Brooklyn Rail". brooklynrail.org. Retrieved 2026-09-19.
  4. ↑ "DIY Bushwick | The Brooklyn Rail". brooklynrail.org. 2024-08-26. Retrieved 2026-09-19.
  5. ↑ Enman, Scott (2018-02-28). "Nightlife vs. Gentrification: Brooklyn as a cultural breeding ground". Brooklyn Eagle. Retrieved 2026-09-19.
  6. ↑ Tran, Diep. "New York State Lawmakers Are Trying to Create More Affordable Arts Spaces". Playbill. Retrieved 2026-09-19.
  7. ↑ "Pro Actors Will Perform Bushwick Students' Plays". Bushwick Daily. 2018-03-26. Retrieved 2026-09-19.
  8. ↑ Tran, Diep (October 29, 2025). "Photos: Keanu Reeves Is Honored by Off-Broadway's Bushwick Starr". Playbill. Retrieved 2026-09-19.
  9. ↑ Brantley, Ben (January 15, 2012). "The Week Ahead: Jan. 15-Jan. 21". The New York Times. Retrieved 2026-09-19.
  10. ↑ "Season's Must-Sees". Wall Street Journal. 2012-09-14. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2026-09-19.
  11. ↑ DiResta, John Michael (2024-08-19). "The Uptown Transfer: Playwrights Redux | The Brooklyn Rail". brooklynrail.org. Retrieved 2026-09-19.
  12. ↑ "The Plays We're Seeing in Theatres this Week". The New Yorker. 2017-11-30. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2026-09-19.
  13. ↑ Smith, Steve (2010-10-25). "Spears and Spandex: Wagner via World Wide Wrestling". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-09-19.
  14. ↑ Zinoman, Jason (2011-02-16). "Gender Blitz on a High School Gridiron". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-09-18.
  15. ↑ Rocco, Claudia La (2012-10-11). "High Jinks Draw Neighbors Away From Their 1950s Suburban Worldview". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-09-18.
  16. ↑ Isherwood, Charles (2013-01-27). "Models in Killer Shoes Totter Along a Runway to Death". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-09-19.
  17. ↑ Brantley, Ben (2013-10-18). "Finding Your Flair, Pompadour Optional". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-09-19.
  18. ↑ Padilla, Lily (2014-10-07). "Ghost Quartet — Dave Malloy's new show about love, whiskey, regret and hope". CULTUREBOT. Retrieved 2026-09-18.
  19. ↑ Soloski, Alexis (2015-05-14). "Review: In 'Heartbreak,' Talk Is Complicated". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-09-19.
  20. ↑ Brantley, Ben (2016-02-26). "Review: 'I'll Never Love Again,' From a Teenage Girl's Diary". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-09-18.
  21. ↑ Brantley, Ben (2018-01-23). "Review: A Master Class in Passive Aggression in 'Miles for Mary'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-09-19.
  22. ↑ Collins-Hughes, Laura (2019-03-05). "Review: A Family Divide Haunts Heart-Rending 'Suicide Forest'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-09-19.
  23. ↑ "[Porto]". The New Yorker. January 26, 2017. Retrieved 2026-09-19.
  24. ↑ "Animal Wisdom". The New Yorker. October 19, 2017. Retrieved 2026-09-19.
  25. ↑ Brantley, Ben (2018-02-27). "Review: An Afrofuturist Mr. Rogers Rules 'The Brobot Johnson Experience'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-09-19.
  26. ↑ Paulson, Michael (2019-11-04). "Secret From 'Slave Play' Creator: Surprise Show in Brooklyn". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-09-19.
  27. ↑ Solís, Jose (2020-03-06). "Review: In 'Skinfolk,' the Joys of Blackness Burst From the Earth". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-09-19.
  28. ↑ Vincentelli, Elisabeth (2021-11-13). "Review: Theater Professors Are Under the Gun in 'Preparedness'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-09-19.
  29. ↑ Collins-Hughes, Laura (2022-03-13). "Review: 'A Song of Songs' Makes a Sacrament of Remembrance". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-09-18.
  30. ↑ Collins-Hughes, Laura (2022-06-10). "'Quince' Review: A Mexican American Tale That Explains Too Much". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-09-19.
  31. ↑ Phillips, Maya (2023-05-24). "'Demons' Review: Grief Is the Thing With Red Fur". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-09-19.
  32. ↑ Green, Jesse (2024-10-23). "Review: A Reverse Angle on Arthur Miller in 'A Woman Among Women'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-09-19.
  33. ↑ Ramírez, Juan A. (2025-04-29). "In Two New Works, the Power of Generational Connections". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-09-19.
  34. ↑ Vincentelli, Elisabeth (2025-10-22). "'Blue Cowboy' Review: A Surprising Love Rides Into Town". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-09-19.

40°41′43.8″N 73°54′17.3″W / 40.695500°N 73.904806°W / 40.695500; -73.904806

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