Theater Group That Nurtured Lin-Manuel Miranda Moves To Village

GREENWICH VILLAGE, NY — The popular off-Broadway theater group that's nurtured stars including Lin-Manuel Miranda is moving from its current home in Hell's Kitchen to a new space in Greenwich Village, the theater announced last week.

Ars Nova will move into the Greenwich House Theater, the performing space at 27 Barrow St. which currently houses Barrow Street Theatre group, in 2019.

Ars Nova launched in 2002, and is known for supporting up-and-coming off-Broadway talent. The Tony award-winning show "Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812" was first performed at Ars Nova's Midtown theater in 2012, where the New York Times dubbed it a critic's pick. The group's current theater, located at 511 W. 54th St., also staged Miranda's very first New York production in 2004, years before the writer, producer and actor would became famous for his Broadway hit "Hamilton."

Ars Nova's move means that the Barrow Street Theatre group will have to find a new home. The company has performed in the Greenwich House Theater since 2003 and is currently staging "Sweeney Todd" in the space.

The group was notified on Thursday that their lease would not be renewed, the New York Times reported.

"I’m not pleased," Scott Morfee, Barrow Street’s founding producer, told the Times. "I suppose over time that there will be more to say, but for now I wouldn’t have a way of being able to say what comes next."

Jason Eagan, Ars Nova's artistic director, told the Times that the company would keep its space on 54th Street and use the larger space on Barrow Street as a hub for its performances.

"Now we can increase our artist programs and offer them year-round," Eagan told the Times. "The 54th Street space will become even more robust, and there’s no loss to Midtown."

Image credit: Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions. Image caption: Lucas Steele and Josh Groban perform onstage with the cast of 'Natasha, Pierre and The Great Comet of 1812' onstage during the 2017 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 11, 2017 in New York City.