Inside The Kitchen on 11/1. Credit Sarah McSherry.
In case you hadn't noticed, I have spent the last week trying—in my own clumsy way—to document the effects of Hurricane Sandy on the theaters of downtown New York. What makes doing this hard is that the theaters who are in the most trouble are also the ones who are too busy to talk to reporters—even dashing reporters with sexy offbeat blogs. Coney Island USA, for instance, sustained serious damage, but I haven't been able to get any more information than that. I don't know much about theater in the Rockaways, but I'm sure that what is there is in very bad shape. And The Kitchen, in Chelsea, has posted a press release on their website saying that they are in very dire trouble indeed. Normally I wouldn't just quote from a release, but these are special times and, hey, this isn't a newspaper. It's my blog, dammit.
"Four feet of flooding filled the building's theater and lobby spaces, causing severe damage," sayeth the release. "Initial estimates of our loss are between $400,000 and $500,000, if not above, depending on how much material we are able to salvage for future use."
This is bad news. The Kitchen is a cool space and deserves as much love as you can spare this month. Besides wrecking their fall season, the storm forced them to postpone a November 12th benefit art auction which has now been postponed to November 26th. If you are in the market for some art, consider buying it here.
If art auctions are out of your price range, consider throwing a few dollars at the Red Hook Initiative, which is turning its November 13th Snacky Tunes concert into a benefit. More information available here on this, uh, photo of a flyer.
There are going to be lots of benefits this month, and I'm going to do my best to keep you updated on them. If you hear of anything interesting, or if you represent a theater that needs help, please drop me a line. I'm a man with a lot of spare time on his hands, and I can only take so many showers in a day.