The Bushwick Starr

The Bushwick Starr
Interactive map of The Bushwick Starr
Address419 Eldert Street
Brooklyn, New York City
United States
DesignationOff-off Broadway
Public transitNew York City Subway: Halsey Street station

The Bushwick Starr is an off-off-Broadway non-profit theater in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. It was cofounded in 2007 by Sue Kessler and Noel Allain, who also serve as its directors. The Starr was located on Starr Street until 2020 when their space was sold and they announced the purchase of and relocation to a former dairy plant at 419 Eldert Street.

The Starr is known for its artists, including Jeremy O. Harris, Daniel Fish, Dave Malloy, and Heather Christian. They first programmed a full season in 2009 and were firmly a part of the Off Off Broadway community by 2011. The venue especially features experimental theatre works and seeks to avoid the commercial pressures of other larger theaters.

History

The Starr was founded by Sue Kessler and Noel Allain, serving as executive director and artistic director. The theater was created as an off-off-Broadway outlet in the pre-gentrified neighborhood of Bushwick. In 2001, Kessler and Josh Chambers converted a second-floor loft space at 207 Starr Street into a black box theater with Fovea Floods, a theater ensemble they founded with Allain and Technical Director Jay Maury at Skidmore College. When Fovea Floods disbanded in the early 2000s, Allain, Kessler, and Maury kept the theater and rented it out to various artists or groups in need of a performance space; they took over the theater's programming in 2007 after multiple productions they felt were "not good". Allain also described renting the venue to the play The Penitent Hours by Julia May Jonas as fueling their desire to develop similar works themselves. The Brooklyn Rail noted the Starr's opening as part of a trend of arts spaces appearing in Bushwick. The Starr curated its first full season in 2009.

In June 2020, the theater received notice that its building was to be converted into residential housing and that they would need to relocate. Kesller and Allain announced in 2021 that they had purchased a $2.2 million purchase of a former dairy plant on the eastern end of Bushwick, at 419 Eldert Street. They planned to convert for opening the following year. They officially opened the space in 2024. During the renovation of the 419 Eldert property, the Starr partnered with other organizations—including The Public Theater and the ¡Oye! Group—to co-produce new works.

In addition to its theatrical work, the Starr has also hosted events for the local community. In February 2018, the "Because the Night" panel featured discussions of gentrification in the wake of the creation of a city-wide Office of Nightlife. In October 2024, New York State Assembly Member Robert Carroll and Senator Julia Salazar used the theater to announce their proposal of a state law that would help incentivize small theater spaces in the city. Though it exists as a gentrifying force in the neighborhood, the Starr has intentionally sought to work within the community. It has run an afterschool eco-playwriting program called Big Green Theater for 16 years, partners with Caitlin Ryan O'Connell to run Senior Storytelling at various local senior centers, partnered with El Puente for it's Creating Performance class, and hosts a Saturday morning theater games class for kids at the theater. It hosted the annual Taste of Bushwick food showcase from 2014-2018. The theater also hosts an annual gala to fundraise for its own programming. In 2025, the gala received the organization $300,00 in donations.

Artistic style

In its early years, the venue was noted for its experimental theater projects, and described in the Wall Street Journal as "a terrific little house full of DIY charm." The Starr is known for transforming its performance space to fit the works on stage. Kessler said that the theater sought to prevent external pressures from critics or commercial performance from affecting the sharpness of the work on stage. In The New Yorker, Rollo Romig wrote that the Starr had "built a well-deserved reputation over the past decade for solid but adventurous programming".

Notable premieres

Year Creator Work Details Ref
2010 Performance Lab 115 The Ring Cycle (Part 1 + 2) Reimagining of The Ring Cycle
2011 Tina Satter In the Pony Palace/Football
2012 The Debate Society Blood Play
2013 Joshua Conkel & Matt Marks The House of Von Macramé
The TEAM RoosevElvis
2014 Dave Malloy Ghost Quartet
2015 Ariel Stess Heartbreak
2016 Clare Barron I'll Never Love Again
The Mad Ones Miles for Mary
2017 Kristine Haruna Lee Suicide Forest
Julia Benson [Porto]
Heather Christian Animal Wisdom
2018 Darian Dauchan The Brobot Johnson Experience
2019 Jeremy O. Harris Black Exhibition
2020 Jillian Walker Skinfolk
2021 Hillary Miller Preparedness
2022 Agnes Borinsky Song of Songs
One Whale's Tale Quince
2023 Keelay Gipson Demons
2024 Julia May Jonas A Woman Among Women Reimagining of All My Sons
2025 Shayok Misha Chowdhury Rheology
David Cale Blue Cowboy

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Soloski, Alexis (October 2, 2014). "A Brooklyn Home for Artists, With Love". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 Sims, Joey (September 30, 2024). "Emergency Exits, Quieter AC, and Space for Community: The Bushwick Starr Reopens | The Brooklyn Rail". brooklynrail.org. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  3. ↑ "DIY Bushwick | The Brooklyn Rail". brooklynrail.org. August 26, 2024. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  4. ↑ Bahr, Sarah (September 21, 2021). "Bushwick Starr Gets New $2.2 Million Home". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  5. ↑ Enman, Scott (February 28, 2018). "Nightlife vs. Gentrification: Brooklyn as a cultural breeding ground". Brooklyn Eagle. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  6. ↑ Tran, Diep. "New York State Lawmakers Are Trying to Create More Affordable Arts Spaces". Playbill. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  7. ↑ "Pro Actors Will Perform Bushwick Students' Plays". Bushwick Daily. March 26, 2018. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  8. ↑ Tran, Diep (October 29, 2025). "Photos: Keanu Reeves Is Honored by Off-Broadway's Bushwick Starr". Playbill. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  9. ↑ Brantley, Ben (January 15, 2012). "The Week Ahead: Jan. 15-Jan. 21". The New York Times. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  10. ↑ "Season's Must-Sees". Wall Street Journal. September 14, 2012. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  11. ↑ DiResta, John Michael (August 19, 2024). "The Uptown Transfer: Playwrights Redux | The Brooklyn Rail". brooklynrail.org. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  12. ↑ "The Plays We're Seeing in Theatres this Week". The New Yorker. November 30, 2017. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  13. ↑ Smith, Steve (October 25, 2010). "Spears and Spandex: Wagner via World Wide Wrestling". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  14. ↑ Zinoman, Jason (February 16, 2011). "Gender Blitz on a High School Gridiron". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 18, 2026.
  15. ↑ Rocco, Claudia La (October 11, 2012). "High Jinks Draw Neighbors Away From Their 1950s Suburban Worldview". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 18, 2026.
  16. ↑ Isherwood, Charles (January 27, 2013). "Models in Killer Shoes Totter Along a Runway to Death". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  17. ↑ Brantley, Ben (October 18, 2013). "Finding Your Flair, Pompadour Optional". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  18. ↑ Padilla, Lily (October 7, 2014). "Ghost Quartet — Dave Malloy's new show about love, whiskey, regret and hope". CULTUREBOT. Retrieved September 18, 2026.
  19. ↑ Soloski, Alexis (May 14, 2015). "Review: In 'Heartbreak,' Talk Is Complicated". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  20. ↑ Brantley, Ben (February 26, 2016). "Review: 'I'll Never Love Again,' From a Teenage Girl's Diary". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 18, 2026.
  21. ↑ Brantley, Ben (January 23, 2018). "Review: A Master Class in Passive Aggression in 'Miles for Mary'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  22. ↑ Collins-Hughes, Laura (March 5, 2019). "Review: A Family Divide Haunts Heart-Rending 'Suicide Forest'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  23. ↑ "[Porto]". The New Yorker. January 26, 2017. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  24. ↑ "Animal Wisdom". The New Yorker. October 19, 2017. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  25. ↑ Brantley, Ben (February 27, 2018). "Review: An Afrofuturist Mr. Rogers Rules 'The Brobot Johnson Experience'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  26. ↑ Paulson, Michael (November 4, 2019). "Secret From 'Slave Play' Creator: Surprise Show in Brooklyn". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  27. ↑ Solís, Jose (March 6, 2020). "Review: In 'Skinfolk,' the Joys of Blackness Burst From the Earth". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  28. ↑ Vincentelli, Elisabeth (November 13, 2021). "Review: Theater Professors Are Under the Gun in 'Preparedness'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  29. ↑ Collins-Hughes, Laura (March 13, 2022). "Review: 'A Song of Songs' Makes a Sacrament of Remembrance". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 18, 2026.
  30. ↑ Collins-Hughes, Laura (June 10, 2022). "'Quince' Review: A Mexican American Tale That Explains Too Much". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  31. ↑ Phillips, Maya (May 24, 2023). "'Demons' Review: Grief Is the Thing With Red Fur". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  32. ↑ Green, Jesse (October 23, 2024). "Review: A Reverse Angle on Arthur Miller in 'A Woman Among Women'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  33. ↑ Ramírez, Juan A. (April 29, 2025). "In Two New Works, the Power of Generational Connections". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  34. ↑ Vincentelli, Elisabeth (October 22, 2025). "'Blue Cowboy' Review: A Surprising Love Rides Into Town". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 19, 2026.

40°41′43.8″N 73°54′17.3″W / 40.695500°N 73.904806°W / 40.695500; -73.904806