Algonquin Theater Productions Announces move to Pier 17 at the South Street Seaport

March 10, 2011 - PRLog -- On Saturday March 26th Algonquin Theater Productions will host an all day party, introducing the new Algonquin Seaport Theater to its neighbors, community, the tourists and the seaport itself. They will feature activities for the family, comedy and live music from bands such as The Karen Davis Duo, Gerald Lucas and Niall Connolly. Nick Ciavatta will host the all day event, which starts at 10 a.m. and goes until 10 p.m. at the South Street Seaport at Pier 17 in the new Algonquin Seaport Theater.

The producers of Sessions, The Devil and Billy Markham, and An Evening at the Carlyle left their home at 123 East 24th Street in January of 2010 and were content to focus on their shows out of town, but in the words of Artistic Director Tony Sportiello “The deal at the Seaport was simply too good to pass up. The management there reached out to us and made it almost impossible to refuse. They were extremely helpful throughout the negotiations, as they really want a performance space there. They have more than five million people attending the Seaport every year, which is a figure any theater would love. That, combined with the prosperous and growing Battery Park area, convinced us that an audience could be found for legitimate theater.” The new space will tentatively be called Algonquin Seaport Theater.

The plan is to eventually build a 200-seat theater that would accommodate Off Broadway shows. The space is on the second floor of the Seaport mall overlooking the river and a breathtaking view of the Brooklyn Bridge. For the first part of 2011, Sportiello says the plan is to open up with cabaret shows, musical revues, live music from various bands, children's theater and comedy acts. “We need to get people down to the theater, to show them how easy it is to get to and also to show them what else is in this amazing neighborhood. Some of the best restaurants in the city are within walking distance of the Seaport. The mall itself has over 100 shops in its interior. And, of course, there’s the view.”

Sessions co-producer Jason Hewitt (Ten Grand Productions) found the location and initiated negotiations with the Seaport. He felt the 3700 square foot space could be used in a variety of ways and purposes. He brought the space to Sportiello's attention and the two agreed to share the running of it. In 2010 Hewitt also initiated talks with theatrical luminaries in Guadalajara, Mexico, which led to Sessions becoming the first Off Broadway musical to run in Guadalajara, a city of five million people with a plan in place to move Sessions to Mexico City.

Algonquin Theater Productions hopes to officially open the Algonquin Seaport Theater for regular events in April 2011. For more information, contact Tony Sportiello at algonquinprod@aol.com

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Watch some show clips on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/AlgonquinTheaterProd.

Keep abreast of the new theater space at http://www.algonquinseaporttheater.org/

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About Algonquin Theater Productions: is a not-for-profit theater company dedicated to moving shows on to the next level, whether that be Broadway, Off Broadway, regional, film or television. Created in 2004 by Artistic Director Tony Sportiello, Algonquin Theater Productions has enjoyed both critical and popular success Off-Broadway with Al Tapper’s Sessions, a musical that ran for over 300 performances in New York City before moving to Guadalajara, Mexico. Algonquin also produced Al Tapper’s cabaret An Evening at The Carlyle, which ran for more than six months, Levy Lee Simon's Same Train and their production of Shel Silverstein's The Devil and Billy Markham. Algonquin has had shows optioned by HBO, nineteen one act plays chosen for the Samuel French Short Play Festival and a comedy National Pastime performed in the National Baseball Hall of Fame which has been turned into a musical with an intended move to Broadway sometime in 2012.