Buffalo Rising Online

Aug 27th 2008, 2:40pm By Eli George

Alt Theatre now has some company in the Great Arrow Building at 255 Elmwood Avenue – The Manny Fried Playhouse. The Subversive Theatre Collective has been bounced from venue to venue to produce plays and our proud to present this newly opened theatre as their permanent home. They will be celebrating with a Theatre Warming party on Friday, September 5th.

The Playhouse will be named after Manny Fried, the man in the photograph with this post. Fried is a Buffalo native who since the 1930s has been a force in the area. He was a union organizer and a writer, dedicated to social justice. He has written novels and essays, short stories and dramas, many of which encompass the way everybody is a human being, no different from anyone else. For his union activities and writings, he was blacklisted in the 50s and 60s and has spent his life knowing what it is like to live around political turmoil.

He retired as Professor Emeritus from Buffalo State College where he taught creative writing and now he still has an acting career, dedicated to portraying the plight of “everyman.” His life fighting for what is right and fair is what sets Fried apart and makes him the perfect person to name the theatre after. Especially when you consider that the Subversive Theatre Collective has a similar mission of recognizing political turmoil.

The Subversive Theatre has two goals: to provide the traditional theatregoers with professional productions and to reach beyond the typical audiences and involve a wider cross section of society. To do this, their productions speak about social issues that relate to everyone’s concerns. They believe that the purpose of art is not merely to entertain, but to address issues of discrimination, exploitation, empowerment, and activism, daring to do what other theatres tend to avoid.

They have been attempting to do this since 2002, fighting against only being able to do a limited number of performances per show, less than prime time performance dates, overpayment for rented space, and unavailability of grant funding. Regardless, the Subversive Theatre Collective has managed to stay a “pay what you can” theatre while creating quality productions for the masses, garnering excellent reviews from the local media and gaining a respectable and dedicated following.

Now, with their own theatre space, they will be bringing Buffalo four shows a week for five-week runs, a staged reading on May Day, and an Infringement Festival presentation. Their new space has allowed them to expand their programming, but they still have some work to do to gain everything they need to be a success. Namely, they need a lot of work done to the theatre space to make it truly functional, including chairs, sound and lighting equipment, carpentry, and electrical work.

Though these few hurdles remain, from their past successes, including the 2008 Artie Award for their production Waiting For Lefty, it should come as no surprise that they continue to succeed. Their gathering on September 5th will feature the first time the Manny Fried Playhouse doors open. Donations will be taken at the door for entry and there will be free food, drink, and entertainment. Joni Ruff and the Burning Humvees, Robb Nesbitt, and the Blood Thirsty Vegans will all be there to help welcome this new theatre’s existence. It starts at 6 PM and you enter the building under the awning. To learn more about the Subversive Theatre Collective, visit their website.