The Old Reliable Theatre Tavern (or The O.R.) was a theater and bar located at 213 E. 3rd Street in the Alphabet City neighborhood of New York City's East Village,[1] and played a vital part of the early Off-Off-Broadway scene. The Old Reliable presented plays by Guy Gauthier, Ilsa Gilbert,[2] William M. Hoffman, Michael McGrinder,[2] Stanley Nelson,[3] Jeannine O'Reilly,[3] Robert Patrick, Joseph Renard, Donald Kvares[4] and Thomas Terefenko.[5]

The Old Reliable was initially a working-class Polish bar, until late 1963 when the owner sought to turn it into a "Village bar", with the advice of a passing hipster.[6] The neighborhood around the Old Reliable was dangerous during its heyday; popular actor/director Neil Flanagan quipped, "It's easy to find. Just turn left at the burning automobile." Playwright Jeannine O'Reilly said, "It's no wonder we get such good audiences. Everyone's afraid to come here alone."[7] Robert Patrick described the neighborhood as "downtown Lebanon".[8] There was for a period of time a Second Avenue bar called Downtown Beirut.[9]

References

  1. ^ "Off-Off B'way". The Village Voice. February 5, 1970. p. 23. Retrieved January 10, 2015 – via Google News.
  2. ^ a b Martin Washburn (January 1, 1970). "Theatre: Singles And Doubles". The Village Voice. Retrieved January 10, 2015 – via Google News.
  3. ^ a b Martin Washburn (November 25, 1971). "Sifting suggest of neurotica". The Village Voice. Retrieved January 10, 2015 – via Google News.
  4. ^ David De Porte (September 16, 1969). "Theatre: O'Reilly, Terefenko, Kvares". The Village Voice. Retrieved January 10, 2015 – via Google News.
  5. ^ Albert Poland; Bruce Mailman (1972). The off, off Broadway book: the plays, people, theatre. Bobbs-Merrill. ISBN 9780672517532.
  6. ^ Sally Kempton (September 10, 1964). "Baby Beatniks Spark Bar Boom on East Side". The Village Voice. Retrieved January 10, 2015 – via Google News.
  7. ^ Bonnie Rosenstock (May 10, 2006). "Celebrating Off-Off Broadway in a Peculiar Works Way". The Villager. Archived from the original on May 26, 2014. Retrieved May 25, 2014.
  8. ^ Stephen James Bottoms (2004). Playing Underground: A Critical History of the 1960s Off-off-Broadway Movement. University of Michigan Press. p. 292. ISBN 0-472-11400-X.
  9. ^ Rosie Schaap (October 10, 2012). "Manhattan's Most-Mourned Bars". The New York Times. Retrieved January 10, 2015.

40°43′21″N 73°58′56″W / 40.72251°N 73.98228°W / 40.72251; -73.98228

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