A24 Revives Historic Cherry Lane Theater with Spike Lee Event, Signals Expansion into Live Experiences
NEW YORK - A24 has reopened the Cherry Lane Theater in Greenwich Village, marking the independent film studio’s foray into live performance and signaling a broader strategy of brand extension and artist collaboration. The reopening week featured a conversation between filmmaker Spike Lee and actor Edward Norton, reminiscing about their work on the film 25th Hour.
The move represents a shift for A24 beyond film distribution, aiming to provide a platform for artists with whom the studio has previously collaborated, and also discover new talent. Many creatives associated with A24, including Jeremy O. Harris (Euphoria), Coleman Domingo (Sing Sing), and Tarell Alvin McCraney (moonlight), have backgrounds in theater.While A24 is unlikely to host premieres of its films at the theater due to its small size, and intends to maintain accessible ticket pricing, the studio isn’t ruling out potential adaptations of works staged there. The company has not imposed restrictions on the type of programming, emphasizing “quality” as the primary criterion. A24’s danielle Rait stated,”We don’t really have a mandate or guardrails for programming,quality is the only unifier,and we just want to give talent and amazing voices an opportunity to share their stories.”
The theater hosted private events over the summer, including stand-up comedy performances by Ramy Youssef and Alex Edelman, and a preview of HAIM‘s new album, I Quit. Currently,the only visible branding change is the addition of “A24 movie candy bars” at the concessions stand. Lee’s most recent film, Highest 2 Lowest, was produced in part by A24.
The reopening comes amid a trend of producers investing in Off-Broadway spaces, with Seaview Productions leasing the former Tony Kiser Theater and No Guarantees Productions, backed by Christine Schwarzman, taking over the Astor Place Theater. Rait and her team are actively scouting for future bookings, attending performances in London and at the Edinburgh fringe Festival, where Weather originated.
