Old Reliable Theatre Tavern

The Old Reliable Theatre Tavern (or The O.R.) was located at 213 E. 3rd Street in the Alphabet City neighborhood of New York City's Lower East Side,[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. "The Village Voice - Google News Archive Search". News.google.com. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  2. "The Village Voice - Google News Archive Search". News.google.com. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  3. "The Village Voice - Google News Archive Search". News.google.com. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  4. "The Village Voice - Google News Archive Search". News.google.com. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  5. Albert Poland; Bruce Mailman (1972). The off, off Broadway book: the plays, people, theatre. Bobbs-Merrill.
  6. "The Village Voice - Google News Archive Search". News.google.com. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  7. "Celebrating Off-Off Broadway in a Peculiar Works Way". Thevillager.com. Retrieved 2014-05-25.
  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. "Manhattan's Most-Mourned Bars". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 January 2015.

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