Harvey Fierstein Donates $250K Matching Grant to La MaMa

 Harvey Fierstein Donates $250K Matching Grant to La MaMa

‍The donation will help complete the renovation and restoration of the historic theatre, where the four-time Tony winner got his start.

BY LOGAN CULWELL-BLOCK
JANUARY 04, 2023

Read the article in Playbill.

Harvey Fierstein has donated a $250,000 matching grant to La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club's capital campaign, with funds going to help complete the renovation and restoration of the company's building in NYC's East Village.

The four-time Tony-winning actor and writer, who got his start at the landmark Off-Off-Broadway institution, is encouraging the public to make their own donations so his matching grant can be used in full.

"[La MaMa founder] Ellen Stewart, La MaMa, called us her babies and tended to us in the nurseries that were her theatres," says Fierstein in a statement. "Every artist needs a safe place to develop, to experiment, to engage other artists, to seek the feedback of audiences, and to grow. I, and thousands of other artists, found that place to be La MaMa ETC. Please join in this effort to modernize and strengthen the nursery for the generations of theatre artists and audiences to come. There’s no better way to support the arts than by supporting the arts."

Fierstein, currently represented on Broadway with Funny Girl (for which he penned a new book), made his La MaMa acting debut in Andy Warhol's Pork, later appearing in Robert Patrick's The Haunted Host. He would go on to debut much of his early work as a playwright at the Off-Off-Broadway theatre, including the three one-act plays that would later collectively become Torch Song Trilogy; the work earned Fierstein his first two Tony Awards (Best Actor in a Play and Best Play) when it transferred to Broadway in 1982.

"Harvey is a revolutionary artist who breaks boundaries using his heart and his mind to speak truth through his work," shares La MaMa Artistic Director Mia Yoo. "He paved the way for so many other artists who came after him, helping to shape La MaMa's legacy. We are deeply grateful for his gift which will help ensure that artists of all identities can continue to pursue their creative dreams at La MaMa."

Among the improvements planned for the historic building are ADA accessibility on all floors, an enlarged lobby, dedicated community space, an outdoor terrace, and a building-wide data network.

To donate to the campaign, visit lamama.org.

Remake a World Gala — May 5, 2022

 

"Every human is the other human. We are one world."
—Ellen Stewart, La MaMa Founder

Thursday, May 5, 2022

La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club

66 East 4th Street, 2nd Floor (between Bowery & 2nd Ave)

Cocktails at 6PM, Dinner at 7PM

Attire: Festive

Honorary Chair: Ping Chong

Honoring Cecile Guidote-Alvarez (Philippines), Richard Lanier (United States), Álvaro Restrepo (Colombia), Beka Vučo (The Balkans/United States), & Duk Hyung Yoo (South Korea)

The Remake a World Gala celebrates La MaMa's artists and audiences who have long been part of our One World Vision.

• Come celebrate La MaMa’s 60 years as a creative home for artists!
• Toast the newly renovated 74A reimagined for future generations of artists!
• See performances sharing new perspectives, practices, and rituals from artists around the world.
• Dine in the legendary Ellen Stewart Theatre as we pay tribute to five outstanding individuals whose work as global citizens embodies La MaMa’s One World Vision

Support this global event today - Remake A World!

Sponsorships and Tables

$60,000 Gala Title Sponsor
$30,000 Gala Co-Sponsor
$10,000 Table Sponsor
$5,000 Sponsor
$2,500 Committee Member

Onsite Tickets

$750
$500

Donations

Journal Ads

Work Resumes on 74 East 4th Street!

After nearly three months, work on our renovations of 74 East 4th Street, the first permanent home of Ellen Stewart's La MaMa, resume with NYC entering phase one of reopening after shutdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Below are photos of a new concrete floor being poured:

To learn more about the plans for our capital project and to find out how you can help: 

CLICK HERE

Progress Report: 74 East 4th Street Capital Project

If you've walked by 74 East 4th Street lately, you've seen La MaMa's beloved building and first permanent home is being renovated as part of a multi-phase capital project.

To everyone's surprise, windows that no one knew were there were revealed on the west wall of The Club.  If these walls could talk...

When the project is finished, 74 East 4th Street will be handicapped accessible with the installation of an elevator and the lowering of the street entrance so there is no longer a step.   This renovation was long over-due to insure that the building will be available to everyone for years to come.

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To learn more about La MaMa's Restore a Building/Remake a World capital project:
CLICK HERE

La MaMa in the News

Oscar Perry Abello writes about La MaMa's Capital Project to renovate the historic 74 East 4th Street theaters:

"Phase one of the capital campaign involves a $17-million renovation of La MaMa’s building at 74 E. 4th Street, its first permanent home, which Ellen Stewart acquired in 1967. Most of the current 10,500 square-foot structure dates to 1873 and some parts of the building are much older than that. The cost covers a restoration of the façade to its original appearance, a completely new first-floor lobby, a revamped club-style second floor theater, and a conversion of the third and fourth floors (which once housed the theater company’s offices as well as Stewart’s personal residence) into indoor and outdoor spaces for youth and community programming. A new elevator and other tweaks will make the building 100-percent compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act."

"...this particular block of East Fourth Street has found ways to defend itself against the dark arts of real estate investors."

Read the full article here.

And find out how you can get involved in La MaMa's Captial Project here!

Restore A Building. Remake A World.

  La MaMa ETC | Capital Campaign from La MaMa on Vimeo.

La MaMa’s first permanent home at 74 East 4th Street has been on the block since 1967 providing a welcoming home to artists at all stages of their careers, and community members of all backgrounds. After more than 50 years of non-stop, intensive use by more than 100,000 artists and audiences of all nations, cultures, races, and identities, our building must undergo urgently needed renovations and be made ADA accessible if it is to remain a viable resource for the next generations of artists and audiences.

You, our artists, audience members, and supporters, are at the heart of La MaMa. We hope you will help us to restore and remake this building as a creative home for new artists, new work, and new ideas for decades to come.

Timeline: Spring 2018 – January 2020

For more information and to find out how you can get involved: 

CLICK HERE