Catholic Church Suspends Operations at Connelly Theater in Flap Over Controversial Plays

New York City’s Connelly Theater has suspended its operations after its owner, the New York Archdiocese which was trying tighten its grip on the type of theatrical productions that could be staged there and blocked several new plays from being staged there.

Several theatrical productions that were trying to stage edgy or controversial shows there are now scrambling to find new venues and the long time general manager resigned in protest.

An all-girls Catholic middle school that used profits from the theather that is adjacent to the school in downtown Manhattan is getting caught up in the center of it all.

The theater has been home to many Off-Broadway shows over the years, including several independent theater productions and shows addressing more taboo subjects. Now, though, as the New York Times first reported last week, the theater has ceased operations indefinitely

This came after the archdiocese, which owns the Connelly Theater, prevented New York Theatre Workshop from putting on the play “Becoming Eve,” which tells the story of a transgender woman within the Ultra-Orthodox Jewish community.

“It is the standard practice of the archdiocese that nothing should take place on Church-owned property that is contrary to the teaching of the Church,” wrote archdiocese director of communications Joseph Zwilling in a statement. “That applies to plays, television shows or movies being shot, music videos being recorded, or other performances.”

Meanwhile, the New York Theatre Workshop is scrambling to find somewhere else to produce the show.

“We remain fiercely committed to presenting Emil Weinstein’s compelling and singular play, “Becoming Eve,” in our season,” reads a statement on New York Theatre Workshop’s website. “We are drawn to the rigorous debate and beautiful care for humanity embedded in the work. ... We are profoundly disappointed by the Archdiocese’s decision and reaffirm our unwavering commitment to produce this powerful story.”

The New York Times reported that this is just one instance of what seems like a crackdown on content. Additionally, the building’s former general manager Josh Luxenberg resigned because of the issue.

“Remaining in this position now requires screening production proposals for any content that is objectionable to the Catholic Church,” Luxenberg wrote to the New York Times. “This puts me in the untenable position of becoming a censor rather than an advocate of artistic freedom.”

The theater is part of the larger Cornelia Connelly Center—which includes the all-girls Catholic school, Connelly Middle School. The theater’s revenue played a part in funding the small Catholic school. The CCC did not respond to a request for comment from Our Town Downtown.

As for the theater itself, its website has seen some changes since the indefinite ceasing of operations.

When users reach the Connelly Theater’s website, they are now met with the following message: “The Connelly Theater is not currently accepting submissions. We do not have a timeframe for when we will be accepting submissions in the future, but we will update this page when we have more information.” The links to both the form for submitting proposals and the FAQ page bring users to an error screen

On the page with information about proposal submissions (some of which is still viewable), there is the same note, a second reminder that when there is more information, the website will share it, and an email address for any questions, “except questions about when we will be accepting submissions again.”