NEW YORK CITY: The newly reopened Cherry Lane Theatre has announced a partnership with Pulitzer-winning playwright and director Annie Baker (The Flick, Janet Planet, John) to launch the nonprofit Cherry Lane Playwrights Collective.
The new collaboration continues the theatre’s history of fostering up-and-coming New York City-based playwrights. As the city’s oldest Off-Broadway theatre, Cherry Lane has hosted early and experimental works from legendary artists, including F. Scott Fitzgerald, Eugene O’Neill, Samuel Beckett, Pablo Picasso, T. S. Eliot, Tennessee Williams, Sam Shepard, and many more.
The program builds on the theatre’s roots in the downtown writing scene, aiming to develop new plays with six writers over each year. Playwrights who haven’t had a Broadway or Off-Broadway production are encouraged to submit a full-length play for consideration. Program details, dates and application deadlines will be forthcoming in early 2026.
The oldest Off-Broadway theatre in New York City, the century-old Cherry Lane Theatre was purchased in March 2023 by a partnership between film studio A24 and global private equity real estate firm Taurus Investment Holdings, LLC. The theatre now programs theatre as well as comedy, music, and film.
