(NEW YORK, NY) -- SheNYC Arts is excited to announce that after being kicked out of their home of 8 years, The Connelly Theater, they have found a new home at Classic Stage Company’s 13th Street theater.
In October, the Connelly Theater announced that their landlord, Archdiocese of New York, would be imposing strict content guidelines on the shows performing at the theater. They directed the theater to deny the space to any shows or companies that would be seen as inappropriate by the Catholic Church.
SheNYC Arts was told that shows about reproductive rights, trans characters, and gender issues would no longer be allowed on the stage, with the Archdiocese specifically calling out shows that SheNYC had produced at the Connelly Theater in the past as examples of shows that were “inappropriate” for the venue. The organization was told that given the nature of their mission, they should not seek to renew their contract with the theater. The Connelly Theater then announced they were ceasing all operations.
In the aftermath of this news, Artistic Director Jill Rafson of Classic Stage Company reached out to offer their theater as a new home for SheNYC.
“I’ve long admired the work that SheNYC has been doing, and when I learned that they were in need of a new home, I was eager to reach out and see if CSC could be a small part of ensuring that they can continue to fulfill their mission in 2025. We’re honored to celebrate their 10th anniversary season at CSC and can’t wait to see how many of these artists become part of the classical canon.”
The SheNYC Summer Theater Festival will happen at Classic Stage Company from July 14-27, 2025, and will present 8 original full-length plays and musicals by women, trans, and non-binary writers. The 8 shows will be selected by an open, anonymous script submission process.
Additionally, an off-Broadway run of the new musical Chasing Grace by Elizabeth Addison - an alumni of the 2023 SheNYC Theater Festival - will be produced by SheNYC at the A.R.T./New York Theatres in early 2026.
“I’m incredibly grateful to both CSC and A.R.T./New York for being true partners in finding this solution. They’ve already been so welcoming of us and our mission, and our entire team is thrilled to be working with them throughout our tenth anniversary season,” SheNYC Artistic Director Danielle DeMatteo said.
SheNYC Arts is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization devoted to fighting for gender equity in the entertainment industry. Founded in 2015, SheNYC Arts has since become the premier incubator for the best up-and-coming talent in the entertainment industry nationwide. SheNYC produces Summer Theater Festivals in New York City, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Dallas-Fort Worth annually, as well as CreateHER, a semester-long program for high school students interested in careers as playwrights and producers. New Pages, SheNYC’s licensing and publishing wing, makes the scripts that have been through our programs available for licensing across the country. Through additional educational and community engagement programs, including The Broadway Women’s Alliance, SheNYC aims to make the theater industry a better place for all people.
Classic Stage Company (CSC) challenges the traditional perception of classic work by exploring and reimagining great stories across the world’s repertoire that illuminate our common humanity. As a home for the classics, CSC collaborates with artists to produce work that is inclusive, relevant, and accessible. CSC believes that theater can both reflect and improve society by reaching across cultural divides in order to foster shared empathy and understanding.
In 1967, director Christopher Martin founded CSC Repertory in a 100-seat theater at Rutgers Presbyterian Church on West 73rd Street. Following short stints in small spaces, CSC grew to the point where it needed a permanent home. In 1973, the theater moved to its present premises on 13th Street, an intimate space that was formerly an East Village carriage house.
In the 57 years since, CSC has become a leading Off-Broadway theater that is a home for new and established artists, as well as audiences seeking epic stories intimately told. Productions have been cited by all major Off-Broadway theater awards including the Obie, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Drama League, and the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Body of Work.
