37 Arts in Foreclosure

I wonder how this might affect the FRANKENSTEIN musical currently playing there:

" THE money pit into which Mikhail Bar yshnikov and hot shot Broadway pro ducers Kevin McCollum and Jeffrey Seller have tumbled is getting deeper.

McCollum and Seller's state-of-the-art off-Broadway theater - 37 Arts, which is also home to Baryshnikov's dance studio and foundation - is being foreclosed on by the company that built it, The Post has learned.

The Builders Group is expected to foreclose within days on liens against the theater totaling nearly $14 million, sources say.

In foreclosure documents obtained by The Post, the Builders Group claims it is owed nearly $10 million by 37 Arts, which is run by McCollum, Seller and their partner, Alan Schuster.

Builders Group also claims Baryshnikov's dance company is in the hole for almost $4 million.

"They're in danger of having their entire investment wiped out," a source involved in the dispute says of 37 Arts. "And if Baryshnikov doesn't pay the $4 million, he could have his dance studio taken right out from under him."

Christina L. Sterner, the managing director of Baryshnikov's dance company, said she hadn't yet seen the foreclosure papers, but added: "I suspect this is just their [Builders Group] latest kind of maneuver."

Robert S. Peckar, the lawyer for 37 Arts, said: "It is ridiculous that they are doing this. It doesn't accomplish anything. We are in negotiations to try to resolve the dispute to everyone's satisfaction. We are very hopeful that those negotiations will be successful."


http://www.nypost.com/seven/10192007/entertainment/theater/tough_step_for_37_arts.htm

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Yankee, the link is the Riedel article. :)

Sad but very true. It's really a shame, because it's a great little space. But it's just too damn far off the beaten track. It's a pain the rear to get to, there's nothing else (including a decent restaurant)in the neigborhood, and transporation is practically nil after the show. Very sorry this had to happen, but where were the brains when they decided on that location in the 1st place?

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Frankenstein wasn't going to last very long anyway...

hmmm... Its good that I passed on this one and opted for Forbidden Broadway : Rude Awakening instead for Sunday , besides I am too lazy to walk that far and I will be seeing Young Frankenstein tomorrow night.. I dont want to saturate myself with Frankenstein's !

J

Updated On: 10/19/07 at 12:43 PM

The location is only one problem this space has. No stage door, no loading dock door (I don't know how they get large set pieces in), less bathrooms than a lot of older theatres, leaky roofs, bad heating/air conditioning... the list goes on. This place just was not well thought out. It kind of makes sense that the financials wouldn't be in order either.

When I saw In the Heights, it was feezing in the lobby and three people slipped and fell on the wet (from the snow) concrete floor.

Glad I've got comps.

There is a fantastic Chinese/Japanese restaurant on the SE corner of 37th and 9th --- let alone a half a dozen others. Geesh.

Welcome to the board, Mr. McCollum.

I dislike going to that area, like most other patrons here.

The walk from 37st/10av (Frankenstein) to the 42st/7av subway is quite a bit longer than the walk from 44st (between 7 & 8av, let's say any Broadway theater on that block) to 42st/7av.

Plus, for certain Broadway shows, you can take the N/R/W to the 49th Street Station (or 47th ST exit). Or you can take the A/C/E to the 44th & 8th exit. Certain Broadway theaters are just steps from these exits.

The sooner this 37 Arts theater closes, the better. It will certainly not be missed by the vast majority of us here.