37 Arts in Foreclosure

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 10/19/07 at 11:43am

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

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 10/19/07 at 11:53am

It really doesn't help that the place is five blocks away from the middle of nowhere.

I believe Riedel mentioned that, as well.

[WaltSummersPI]

Posted: 10/19/07 at 12:01pm

Yankee, the link is the Riedel article. :)

[jaystarr]

Posted: 10/19/07 at 12:19pm

Sad... but I agree with Yankee... too far from a subway....hard to walk specially during winter months.

J

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 10/19/07 at 12:23pm

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?

[jaystarr]

Posted: 10/19/07 at 12:25pm

Yeah-- and the street that lead to that theater is a little shady at night .. say after 10:30 pm (like after a long show ) ..and all those establishments next to it are closed.

J



Updated On: 10/19/07 at 12:25 PM

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 10/19/07 at 12:31pm

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

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 10/19/07 at 12:39pm

I agree WAT. I told the friend I went with at intermission that I didn't see it making it much past Jan./Feb. (especially given the horrible location).

[jaystarr]

Posted: 10/19/07 at 12:43pm

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

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 10/19/07 at 12:49pm

"I told the friend I went with at intermission that I didn't see it making it much past Jan./Feb."

I told my friend I went with that it would close on opening night! Another friend who went this past Wednesday left at intermission! I'm sorry, but it was dreadful.

[markymatt]

Posted: 10/19/07 at 4:45pm

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.

[TheEnchantedHunter]

Posted: 10/19/07 at 9:21pm

Just pull the plug on this dreck-y monster and be done with it.





Ensign Lisa Minnelli
French Polynesia

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 10/19/07 at 9:32pm

Glad I've got comps.

[Webb2]

Posted: 10/20/07 at 9:37am

Too far froma subway. The train station and the bus station, as well as their respective subway stops, are only a few blocks away! Get off at 42nd street and walk to half of the B'way theaters and it's the same walk. I think you're making an issue of a non-issue.

[Webb2]

Posted: 10/20/07 at 9:38am

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

[Webb2]

Posted: 10/20/07 at 9:39am

You're really a bit of a putz, aren't you. What is your problem? Your profile states you "love" theater, but your obnoxious posts prove otherwise. And by the way, anyone using that photo shouldn't put down anyone else.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 10/20/07 at 9:56am

Welcome to the board, Mr. McCollum.

[Dover]

Posted: 10/20/07 at 10:37am

I thought the neighborhood was going to be really desolate, but after working there a while I'm impressed with how much there actually is. If you get off the A/C/E at the south end of the 42nd St. platform and walk through the south building of Port Authority you're already most of the way there, without even going outside. There are a lot of good restaurants on that area of 9th (LOVE the Japanese place, almost ate there last night but the friends wanted the Thai place a few doors down). Unfortunately with audiences it's all about first impressions, and I also felt like it was in the middle of nowhere for the first day or two before I figured out where everything was.
Updated On: 10/20/07 at 10:37 AM

[stevenycguy]

Posted: 10/20/07 at 11:09am

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.

[Webb2]

Posted: 10/20/07 at 11:41am

How presumtuous --- how dare you speak for the majority of posters when this thread is represented by 3 or 4 naysayers. As a lover of theater, why in the world would you want a theater to close. Selfish, silly, argumentative.