Theatre 80 St. Marks to Reopen Soon for Dining and Live Entertainment

The original marquee hangs by the entrance to Theatre 80 St. Marks

With all New York City theaters closed since the start of the coronavirus epidemic in March 2020, Lorcan Otway, owner and operator of Theatre 80 St. Marks, used the extended down time to reimagine the use of his historic off-Broadway space. When Theatre 80 St. Marks reopens in the near future, it will pair dining with varied live entertainment.

In preparation of this conversion, Otway removed six rows of theater seats, terraced the seating levels, and placed socially-distanced tables and chairs on two vast platforms. He also updated and expanded the air filtration system, which will re-circulate a mix of filtered and fresh air throughout the dining area every two minutes. Pending a few more renovations, including the installation of sloping brass railings, he will solidify the menu, book live music and theater, and announce an opening date.

Lorcan Otway

"I wanted to keep alive the historical artifact," Otway told The Manhattan Beat. "I redesigned the space to bring together two epochs, the jazz club of the prohibition age and the theater it became in the 1960s. Customers will have the sense of walking into both the Jazz Gallery and the theater that my dad built."

Otway will present a changing menu that will be supplied by local chefs. The menu could include British pub food, Mexican cuisine and American sandwiches. Diners will enjoy a variety of programs, ranging from symphony, theater, comedy, rock and the Great American Songbook. As an example, he said, one day at Theatre 80 St, Marks could begin with Broadway singers in the afternoons, lead to legitimate theater in the early evening, and end with punk rock bands late into the night. Otway anticipates the venue will be the home base of the Manhattan Symphony Orchestra and the Negro Ensemble Company. The variety of programming, he said, makes standard terms like "dinner theater" and "cabaret" inappropriate and limiting.

This past fall, the William Barnacle Tavern, which operates out of the venue's storefront space at the street level, extended into outdoor service. A team quickly constructed a curbside shed with heated benches. The new indoor dining area will further the operation of the tavern.

Government-mandated COVID restrictions at the time of the opening will dictate capacity limitations. Otway expects that, once all the restrictions are lifted, he will be able to serve as many as 74 diners indoors and 49 outdoors at any given time.

With the present reinvention of the space, the colorful history of Theatre 80 St. Marks begins a new chapter.

A Century of Entertainment

The two-room Museum of the American Gangster, opened in 2010 on the second floor of 80 St. Marks Place, is dedicated to chronicling the gangster era in New York and Chicago in archived photographs, newspaper clippings and memorabilia. The museum documents in part the background of the building at 80 St. Marks. The edifice has a 100-year history as an entertainment venue.

During prohibition, reported gangster Walter Scheib opened a speakeasy called Scheib's Place at 80 St. Marks Place. After the repeal of prohibition, Scheib's Place remained a popular nightclub and then became a jazz club called the Jazz Gallery. Frank Sinatra, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Mingus, and Harry "Sweets" Edison were among the celebrated music acts that performed on this stage.

In 1964, Scheib sold the venue to Howard Otway, an actor, singer, novelist and playwright. Otway converted the nightclub into a theater, digging about six feet by hand with the help of Lorcan Otway, one of his two sons. In 1965, a production of You're a Good Man Charlie Brown established the venue as legitimate theater.

Clockwise from upper left, Dom DeLuise, Hildegarde, Myrna Loy and Joan Crawford were among the many who left signatures and handprints in cement

Clockwise from upper left, Ruby Keeler, Gloria Swanson, Lillian Roth and Joan Blondell left their mark.
Additional imprints are further along the sidewalk and also inside the theater.

In 1971, the elder Otway turned the space into a film theater, showing rear projection 16mm double bills of Hollywood classics. He opened with a premiere party, at which Gloria Swanson was the host. The theater attracted old-time Hollywood stars, who imprinted their marks in cement. Swanson, Joan Crawford, Myrna Loy, Ruby Keeler, Joan Blondell, Kitty Carlisle, Allan Jones and many other golden-era actors left their signatures, footprints and/or handprints in the sidewalk. Theater 80 St. Marks became New York City's longest continuously running movie house devoted exclusively to revival films.

Upon the death of Howard Otway in 1994, the Otway family managed the venue and leased it for live theater. Moving into the 21st century, Theatre 80 St. Marks staged several plays by the Amoralist Theatre Company and also showed art and independent film. Films were now projected digitally. Lorcan Otway assumed the role of owner and operator of the venue.

Lorcan Otway stands by the back row seats, where former presidents and the families of legendary movie stars sat

In many ways, the current renovations capture the legacy of the space, yet also give the venue a new identity. Looking forward requires looking back.

"We have kept the back row," said Lorcan Otway of the current renovations. "It would be hard to remove these seats. Those are the seats where former presidents and the families of Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford and others sat and enjoyed our productions."

The Village Sun first reported the renovations on February 4.