The Playgoer: another B'way closing

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Friday, April 21, 2006

another B'way closing

As if losing McHale's was not bad enough...

If you're going to a Broadway show this weekend, don't count on before or after eats at Sam's on what is now an intersection of broken dreams, 8th & 46th.

According to Playbill:

Sam's is the fourth low-slung, old-time theatre mecca to shutter in the West 40s in the past year. JR's, on the south side of W. 46th Street near Eighth Avenue, ceased operations in July 2005. Its neighbor across the street, McHale's, ended a 50-year run in the same location in January of this year. And Barrymore's, Sam's next-door neighbor, served its last drink soon after.
I'm even more shocked about Barrymore's--my own personal standby for over a decade. Always seemed to be doing well. I always liked you could always get a table there. I guess that was the problem.
A sign on what was once Barrymore's bears the forlorn message: "Closed forever. Thanks to all."
So, if you want to grab a good cheap burger in an unpretentious, untouristy atmosphere, and an adventurous new American play without Julia Roberts... Broadway is just not for you anymore.

3 comments:

Larissa said...

That is so very depressing...This sort of news is why I cringe whenever I hear someone call New York "The Greatest City in the World"--if we don't protect its history or its uniqueness or the little things that make it liveable, how can we feel we have any business bragging about it?

Anonymous said...

The so-called theater district is home to an increasingly pricey kind of theater and caters to an increasingly well-heeled variety of theater person. When I was working on a very small-scale show a few years ago, I attended a production meeting at McHale's. Not possible anymore. Sigh...

Andrew said...

Ack--I hadn't heard about Barrymore's. That's awful! I'm obviously not a regular, but I'd pop in a few times a year & always found it very welcoming. What a loss.