Joseph Cino (November 16, 1931 – April 2, 1967), was an Italian-American theatre producer. The Off-Off-Broadway theatre movement is generally credited to have begun at Cino's Caffe Cino in the West Village of Manhattan .
106-628: Joe Cino moved from Buffalo to New York City to become a dancer . In 1958, Cino retired from dancing and rented a storefront at 31 Cornelia Street in Greenwich Village to open a coffeehouse where his friends could socialize. He and his early customers created their own patois of Italian and English. He did not intend Caffe Cino to become a theatre, and instead visualized a café where he could host folk music concerts, poetry readings , and art exhibits . Actor and theatre director Bill Mitchell says he suggested that Cino start producing plays at
212-490: A Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Lyrics. The original cast album won Eyen a Grammy Award as lyricist, and one of the show's songs, " And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going ", as sung by Holliday, became a hit. In 1984, Eyen sought to duplicate his Dreamgirls success with Kicks: The Showgirl Musical , a collaboration with composer Alan Menken about the Rockettes during World War II . The show never made it past
318-509: A humid continental climate ( Köppen : Dfa ), and temperatures have been warming with the rest of the US. Lake-effect snow is characteristic of Buffalo winters, with snow bands (producing intense snowfall in the city and surrounding area) depending on wind direction off Lake Erie. However, Buffalo is rarely the snowiest city in the state . The Blizzard of 1977 resulted from a combination of high winds and snow which accumulated on land and on
424-612: A Dutch trader who arrived in 1789. As a result of the war, in which the Iroquois sided with the British Army , Iroquois territory was gradually reduced in the late 1700s by European settlers through successive statewide treaties which included the Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1784) and the First Treaty of Buffalo Creek (1788). The Iroquois were moved onto reservations, including Buffalo Creek . By
530-423: A century, free from the tyranny of audience, box-office, church, and criticism." Caffe Cino's first productions were plays from established playwrights such as Tennessee Williams and Jean Giraudoux . The first original play Cino produced is thought to be James Howard's Flyspray , in the summer of 1960. Cino became so excited by the audience response and his own response to the plays that he quickly established
636-494: A day (equivalent to $ 49 in 2023 ) in a six-day work week. Local inventor Joseph Dart and engineer Robert Dunbar created the grain elevator in 1843, adapting the steam-powered elevator. Dart's Elevator initially processed one thousand bushels per hour, speeding global distribution to consumers. Buffalo was the transshipment hub of the Great Lakes, and weather, maritime and political events in other Great Lakes cities had
742-796: A deal between fellow chief Cornplanter and the Dutch dummy corporation Holland Land Company . The Holland Land Purchase gave the Senecas three reservations, and the Holland Land Company received 4,000,000 acres (16,000 km ) for about thirty-three cents per acre. Permanent white settlers along the creek were prisoners captured during the Revolutionary War . Early landowners were Iroquois interpreter Captain William Johnston, former enslaved man Joseph "Black Joe" Hodges and Cornelius Winney,
848-620: A direct impact on the city's economy. In addition to grain, Buffalo's primary imports included agricultural products from the Midwest (meat, whiskey, lumber and tobacco), and its exports included leather, ships and iron products. The mid-19th century saw the rise of new manufacturing capabilities, particularly with iron. By the 1860s, many railroads terminated in Buffalo; they included the Buffalo, Bradford and Pittsburgh Railroad , Buffalo and Erie Railroad ,
954-458: A dozen railway terminals, as railroads remained a significant industry. The St. Lawrence Seaway was proposed in the 19th century as a faster shipping route to Europe, and later as part of a bi-national hydroelectric project with Canada. Its combination with an expanded Welland Canal led to a grim outlook for Buffalo's economy. After its 1959 opening, the city's port and barge canal became largely irrelevant. Shipbuilding in Buffalo wound down in
1060-636: A film version of The Dirtiest Show In Town for Showtime , making it the first made-for-cable television movie . The film featured John Wesley Shipp . In 1976, he appeared in Rosa von Praunheim 's documentary film about New York's SoHo theatre and arts scene in the 1970s, Underground and Emigrants . Eyen and Henry Krieger first worked together on the 1975 musical version of The Dirtiest Show in Town , called The Dirtiest Musical in Town . Nell Carter 's performance in that musical inspired Eyen and Krieger to craft
1166-481: A group of playwrights. Life magazine took photographs around off-off-Broadway for weeks for a feature that was never published. Generally, the minimal international press that the movement got was more enthusiastic. The mainstream attitude is summarized in this anecdote: George Haimsohn , librettist and lyricist for Dames at Sea and Psychedelic Follies , said the reason the Caffe Cino was omitted from publicity when
SECTION 10
#17330861899411272-513: A musical about a black singing trio, which they workshopped for Joe Papp with Carter, Sheryl Lee Ralph , and Loretta Devine . The project was shelved in 1978 when Carter took a role in a soap opera. A year later, the project caught the interest of Broadway director-producer Michael Bennett , who asked Eyen to direct a workshop production of Big Dreams , as the musical was then named, featuring Ralph, Loretta Devine, and gospel singer Jennifer Holliday as Carter's replacement. However, Holliday left
1378-509: A policeman appeared on the block, actors were ready at a signal from the doorman to leap offstage and sit, often in fantastic costumes, at tables with patrons. Caffe Cino shows received little major press, a notable exception being the trade paper Show Business , where married critics Joyce and Gordon Tretick risked their jobs by promoting the Caffe Cino and other off-off-Broadway venues. Downtown, critic and playwright Michael Smith and other Village Voice writers were supportive. They awarded
1484-622: A satirical response to, and example of, the period's plays depicting nudity and sexual situations. The Dirtiest Show in Town initially ran at the Astor Place Theatre for two seasons, with later runs both off-Broadway in New York and in London's West End . He also wrote the song "Ode to a Screw" with Peter Cornell for the 1971 Miloš Forman film Taking Off . Eyen's other shows in the early 1970s included: According to The New York Times , "Eyen
1590-581: A shared Obie to Joe Cino and Ellen Stewart, founder of La Mama Experimental Theatre Club , in 1965. A number of short-lived downtown publications intermittently covered single shows. Most mainstream mentions were condescending, such as a famous 1965 New York Times Magazine article which basically seemed to be shocked by the poverty of the movement (the article was entitled "The Pass the Hat Theatre Circuit"). Playwright and actor Ruth Landshoff York persuaded Glamour magazine to publish an article on
1696-580: A small, active presence in the area, including the town of Amherst. A 2016 American Bible Society survey reported that Buffalo is the fifth-least "Bible-minded" city in the United States; 13 percent of its residents associate with the Bible . The Erie Canal was the impetus for Buffalo's economic growth as a transshipment hub for grain and other agricultural products headed east from the Midwest. Later, manufacturing of steel and automotive parts became central to
1802-541: A supermarket. Health disparities exist compared to the rest of the state : Erie County's average 2019 lifespan was three years lower (78.4 years); its 17-percent smoking and 30-percent obesity rates were slightly higher than the state average. According to the Partnership for the Public Good, educational achievement in the city is lower than in the surrounding area; city residents are almost twice as likely as adults in
1908-471: A total of thirty-five neighborhoods. Main Street divides Buffalo's east and west sides, and the west side was fully developed earlier. This division is seen in architectural styles, street names, neighborhood and district boundaries, demographics, and socioeconomic conditions; Buffalo's West Side is generally more affluent than its East Side. Several neighborhoods in Buffalo have had increased investment since
2014-471: A week; a trip from nearby Williamsville to Batavia could take over three days. British forces burned Buffalo and the northwestern village of Black Rock in 1813. The battle and subsequent fire was in response to the destruction of Niagara-on-the-Lake by American forces and other skirmishes during the War of 1812 . Rebuilding was swift, completed in 1815. As a remote outpost, village residents hoped that
2120-473: A weekly schedule for theatrical performances. He introduced the acts by saying, "It's magic time!" The first productions at Caffe Cino were done on the café floor. Eventually, Cino constructed a makeshift 8' x 8' stage from milk cartons and carpet remnants to use for some productions. The limited space dictated a need for small casts and minimal sets, usually built from scraps Cino found in the streets. Cino relied heavily on lighting designer Johnny Dodd , who lit
2226-514: A year. No official recording of 100 °F (37.8 °C) or more has occurred to date, with a maximum temperature of 99 °F (37 °C) reached on August 27, 1948. Rainfall is moderate, typically falling at night, and cooler lake temperatures hinder storm development in July. August is usually rainier and muggier , as the warmer lake loses its temperature-controlling ability. Several hundred Seneca, Tuscarora and other Iroquois tribal peoples were
SECTION 20
#17330861899412332-629: Is Back . Eyen's campy and disturbing parody of 1950s women's prison exploitation films, Women Behind Bars , became a major Off-Broadway hit in 1975. Pat Ast first played the lead role of the sadistic matron in drag , followed by Divine . The New York Times called it "an extraordinarily interesting work from one of America's most innovative and versatile playwrights." Eyen followed this success with The Neon Woman , another off-Broadway play starring Divine, in 1978. The New York Times wrote, "His plays are known for emotionally grotesque material combined with sharp satire." In 1980, Eyen directed
2438-630: Is based at the 3,019-seat Shea's Performing Arts Center in the Buffalo Theatre District of downtown Buffalo. Shea's Performing Arts Center was designed by the well-known Chicago firm Rapp and Rapp . The opera house was modeled in the style of European operahouses and decorated in a combination of French and Spanish Baroque and Rococo styles. The interior design was designed by the world-renowned designer and artist Louis Comfort Tiffany , and many of its elements are still there today. Originally there were nearly 4,000 seats, but in
2544-562: Is given annually to an extraordinary Off-Off-Broadway theatre company. In 2007, it was awarded to the first "playwright-in-residence" at the Caffe, Doric Wilson. On April 28, 2008, the office of the President of the Borough of Manhattan issued a proclamation honoring Joe Cino's achievement in founding Off-Off Broadway which "altered the world's conception of drama's possibilities forever." The proclamation
2650-824: Is on the Erie/Ontario Lake Plain of the Eastern Great Lakes Lowlands , a narrow plain extending east to Utica, New York . The city is generally flat, except for elevation changes in the University Heights and Fruit Belt neighborhoods. The Southtowns are hillier, leading to the Cattaraugus Hills in the Appalachian Upland . Several types of shale, limestone and lagerstätten are prevalent in Buffalo and its surrounding area, lining their stream beds . According to Fox Weather , Buffalo
2756-596: Is one of the top five snowiest large cities in the country, receiving, on average, 95 inches of snow annually. Although the city has not experienced any recent or significant earthquakes , Buffalo is in the Southern Great Lakes Seismic Zone (part of the Great Lakes tectonic zone ). Buffalo has four channels within its boundaries: the Niagara River, Buffalo River (and Creek), Scajaquada Creek , and
2862-713: Is the region's largest employer. In the private sector, top employers include the Kaleida Health and Catholic Health hospital networks and M&T Bank , the sole Fortune 500 company headquartered in the city. Most have been the top employers in the region for several decades. Buffalo is home to the headquarters of Rich Products , Delaware North and New Era Cap Company ; the aerospace manufacturer Moog Inc. and toy maker Fisher-Price are based in nearby East Aurora . National Fuel Gas and Life Storage are headquartered in Williamsville, New York . Buffalo weathered
2968-556: Is today one of the leading operas in the United States and, with more than 3,000 seats, one of the largest opera houses in the world. Founded in 2004 by Valerian Ruminski , the Nickel City Opera has commissioned operas, and has staged world premieres of notable works. Matthias Manasi was music director and chief conductor of NCO from 2017 to 2021, his predecessor Michael Ching was music director and chief conductor of NCO from 2012 to 2017. The NCO collaborates with
3074-811: The 1930s the number of seats was reduced to the current number of 3,019 seats last but not least to increase the place for the orchestra by increasing the size of the orchestra pit . The NCO also performs at the Riviera Theatre in North Tonawanda , at the Nichols Flickinger Performing Arts Center in Buffalo, at the Artpark Mainstage Theatre and the Artpark Amphitheatre at the Earl W. Brydges Artpark State Park located on
3180-608: The 49th-largest metro area in the U.S. Before the 17th century, the region was inhabited by nomadic Paleo-Indians who were succeeded by the Neutral , Erie , and Iroquois nations. In the early 17th century, the French began to explore the region. In the 18th century, Iroquois land surrounding Buffalo Creek was ceded through the Holland Land Purchase , and a small village was established at its headwaters. In 1825, after its harbor
3286-526: The Black Rock Canal , adjacent to the Niagara River. The city's Bureau of Forestry maintains a database of over seventy thousand trees. According to the United States Census Bureau , Buffalo has an area of 52.5 sq mi (136 km ); 40.38 sq mi (104.6 km ) is land, and the rest is water. The city's total area is 22.66 percent water. In 2010, its population density
Joe Cino - Misplaced Pages Continue
3392-760: The Buffalo Central Terminal was built in the Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood in 1929; the Richardson Olmsted Complex , built in 1881, was an insane asylum until its closure in the 1970s. Urban renewal from the 1950s to the 1970s spawned the Brutalist -style Buffalo City Court Building and Seneca One Tower , the city's tallest building. In the city's Parkside neighborhood, the Darwin D. Martin House
3498-530: The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra , producing a wide range of operas , from 18th-century Baroque and 19th-century Bel canto to the Minimalism of the 20th century and to contemporary operas of the 20th and 21st centuries. These operas are presented in staged productions that range in style from those with elaborate traditional decors to others that feature modern conceptual designs. The NCO
3604-577: The Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition in 2009. Tom Eyen Tom Eyen (August 14, 1940 – May 26, 1991) was an American playwright, lyricist, television writer and director . He received a Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical for Dreamgirls in 1981. Eyen is best known for works at opposite ends of the theatrical spectrum. Mainstream theatergoers became acquainted with him in 1981, when he partnered with composer Henry Krieger and director Michael Bennett to write
3710-567: The Great Recession of 2006–09 well in comparison with other U.S. cities, exemplified by increased home prices during this time. The region's economy began to improve in the early 2010s, adding over 25,000 jobs from 2009 to 2017. With state aid , Tesla, Inc.'s Giga New York plant opened in South Buffalo in 2017. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States , however, increased
3816-517: The Latin Church ) has a significant presence in the region, with 161 parishes and over 570,000 adherents in the Diocese of Buffalo . Major Protestant denominations in the area include Lutheran , Baptist , and Methodist . Pentecostals are also significant, and approximately 20,000 persons are non-denominational adherents. A Jewish community began developing in the city with immigrants from
3922-656: The New York Central Railroad , and the Lehigh Valley Railroad . During this time, Buffalo controlled one-quarter of all shipping traffic on Lake Erie. After the Civil War , canal traffic began to drop as railroads expanded into Buffalo. Unionization began to take hold in the late 19th century, highlighted by the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 and 1892 Buffalo switchmen's strike . At the start of
4028-534: The Niagara Gorge in Lewiston . The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra was formed in 1935 and performs at Kleinhans Music Hall , whose acoustics have been praised. Although the orchestra nearly disbanded during the late 1990s due to a lack of funding, philanthropic contributions and state aid stabilized it. Under the direction of JoAnn Falletta , the orchestra has received a number of Grammy Award nominations and won
4134-559: The Province of New York —now a U.S. state—began westward expansion, looking for arable land by following the Iroquois. New York and Massachusetts were vying for the territory which included Buffalo, and Massachusetts had the right to purchase all but a one-mile-(1600-meter)-wide portion of land. The rights to the Massachusetts territories were sold to Robert Morris in 1791. Despite objections from Seneca chief Red Jacket , Morris brokered
4240-682: The University at Buffalo , Buffalo State University , Canisius University , and D'Youville University . Buffalo is also known for its winter weather , Buffalo wings , and three major-league sports teams : the National Football League's Buffalo Bills , the National Hockey League's Buffalo Sabres and the National Lacrosse League's Buffalo Bandits . Before the arrival of Europeans , nomadic Paleo-Indians inhabited
4346-723: The county seat of Erie County . It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie , at the head of the Niagara River on the Canadian border . With a population of 278,349 according to the 2020 census, Buffalo is the second-most populous city in New York state after New York City , and the 81st-most populous city in the U.S. Buffalo is the primary city of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area , which had an estimated population of 1.2 million in 2020, making it
Joe Cino - Misplaced Pages Continue
4452-490: The western New York region from the 8th millennium BCE . The Woodland period began around 1000 BC, marked by the rise of the Iroquois Confederacy and the spread of its tribes throughout the state. Seventeenth-century Jesuit missionaries were the first Europeans to visit the area. During French exploration of the region in 1620, the region was sparsely populated and occupied by the agrarian Erie people in
4558-532: The 1840s. Buffalo was a terminus of the Underground Railroad , with many free Black people crossing the Niagara River to Fort Erie, Ontario ; others remained in Buffalo. During this time, Buffalo's port continued to develop. Passenger and commercial traffic expanded, leading to the creation of feeder canals and the expansion of the city's harbor. Unloading grain in Buffalo was a laborious job, and grain handlers working on lake freighters would make $ 1.50
4664-547: The 1950s, his continual struggles with weight curtailed his dance career. Cino became addicted to amphetamines as he struggled to keep up the pace that Caffe Cino demanded. On January 5, 1967, Cino's partner Jon Torrey was electrocuted and died in Jaffrey, New Hampshire . Though his death was ruled accidental, insiders claimed that he committed suicide . The event sent Cino into a depressive spiral. He began socializing with members from Andy Warhol 's Factory who'd been attracted to
4770-542: The 1960s due to reduced waterfront activity, ending an industry which had been part of the city's economy since 1812. Downsizing of the steel mills was attributed to the threat of higher wages and unionization efforts. Racial tensions culminated in riots in 1967 . Suburbanization led to the selection of the town of Amherst for the new University at Buffalo campus by 1970. Unwilling to modernize its plant, Bethlehem Steel began cutting thousands of jobs in Lackawanna during
4876-588: The 1990s, beginning with the Elmwood Village . The 2002 redevelopment of the Larkin Terminal Warehouse led to the creation of Larkinville , home to several mixed-use projects and anchored by corporate offices. Downtown Buffalo and its central business district (CBD) had a 10.6-percent increase in residents from 2010 to 2017, as over 1,061 housing units became available; the Seneca One Tower
4982-609: The 20th century, Buffalo was the world's leading grain port and a national flour-milling hub. Local mills were among the first to benefit from hydroelectricity generated by the Niagara River. Buffalo hosted the 1901 Pan-American Exposition after the Spanish–American War , showcasing the nation's advances in art, architecture, and electricity. Its centerpiece was the Electric Tower, with over two million light bulbs, but some exhibits were jingoistic and racially charged. At
5088-655: The Buffalo–Niagara Falls MSA was $ 53 billion (~$ 62.3 billion in 2023). The city's cultural landmarks include the oldest urban parks system in the United States, the Buffalo AKG Art Museum , the Buffalo History Museum , the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra , Shea's Performing Arts Center , the Buffalo Museum of Science , and several annual festivals . Its educational institutions include
5194-404: The Caffe Cino by the success of Dames at Sea , including Ondine , with whom Cino did a great deal of drugs. Caffe Cino was beginning to suffer. As a commercial enterprise, it was ineligible for the government grants which allowed other experimental theatres to prosper. Joe refused to charge any admission. On March 31, 1967, Cino hacked his arms and stomach with a kitchen knife. He was rushed to
5300-620: The Caffe Cino have been published. In 1985, scholar Richard Buck and Cino artist Magie Dominic curated an exhibition at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts of images and artifacts demonstrating the Caffe Cino's importance in theatre history. In 2005, in honor of Joe Cino's courage and innovation, the New York Innovative Theatre Awards presented the first Caffe Cino Fellowship Award. This award
5406-422: The Caffe Cino's productions, and Joe Cino paid off the police a significant amount of money during the 1960s. Rumors abounded that Cino received protection from the Mafia due to his alleged family affiliations. These rumors have never been proven. Cino was industrious, acting as host while simultaneously serving as maintenance man, server , and barista . He generally kept other jobs in order to support himself and
SECTION 50
#17330861899415512-566: The Caffe Cino, it was the success of The Madness of Lady Bright which convinced Cino to concentrate on works by new playwrights. Caffe Cino was a friendly social center for gay men at a time when most gay life was restricted to bars and bathhouses. Although The Madness of Lady Bright is often referred to as the first American play to feature an explicitly gay character, a number of earlier Cino productions also dealt with gay identity, including Wilson's 1961 Now She Dances! Alan Lysander James presented several programs of Oscar Wilde material at
5618-895: The Cino from 1962 through 1965, while director Andy Milligan staged a number of homoerotic productions, including Jean Genet 's The Maids and Deathwatch and a dramatization of Tennessee Williams ' short story One Arm , which was the first production at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club . After The Madness of Lady Bright, however, the Cino came to be recognized as a venue for plays dealing with explicitly gay themes. Robert Patrick's The Haunted Host , William M. Hoffman's Good Night, I Love You , Bob Heide's The Bed , and Haal Borske's The Brown Crown all dealt with gay themes. Ruth Landshoff York , H.M. Koutoukas , Jean-Claude van Itallie , Jeffrey Weiss, Soren Agenoux, and George Birimisa presented plays with gay content at Cino, which would likely have been unacceptable outside of off-off-Broadway at that time. The musical Dames at Sea opened at
5724-428: The Cino in May 1966 for an unprecedented twelve-week run. That production, along with other long runs and revivals of past hits (especially those by Wilson, Eyen, and Heide) and the availability of better facilities in some of the new off-off-Broadway theaters, drove some playwrights away from the Cino. Some regulars, accustomed to avant-garde works such as those of Koutoukas, disliked the commercial Dames at Sea , while
5830-459: The Cino. Dated photographs show that plays were staged at the coffeehouse from at least December 1958. After 1960, plays were usually directed by Bob Dahdah. Cino initially saw theatre as simply another kind of event to host. Compared to painting and writing, theatre is an expensive art form that requires a space and collaborators, and is subject to the scrutiny of church, state, and the press. The Caffe Cino made its living not from public approval of
5936-432: The East Side, who moved to newer housing; Italian immigrant families settled throughout the city, primarily on the lower West Side. During the 1830s, Buffalo residents were generally intolerant of the small groups of Black Americans who began settling on the city's East Side. In the 20th century, wartime and manufacturing jobs attracted Black Americans from the South during the First and Second Great Migrations . In
6042-404: The Theatre of the Eye Repertory, in 1964. The company performed for a decade, and took Eyen's play about Sarah Bernhardt , Sarah B. Divine! , to the Spoleto Festival in Italy in 1967. Eyen's work was central to the 1960s neo-expressionist off-off-Broadway movement. The New York Times wrote in 1984, "His plays are known for emotionally grotesque material combined with sharp satire." Eyen
6148-542: The U.S. During the 1940s and 1950s, Puerto Rican migrants arrived en masse, also seeking industrial jobs, settling on the East Side and moving westward. In the 21st century, Buffalo is classified as a majority minority city , with a plurality of residents who are Black and Latino. Buffalo has experienced effects of urban decay since the 1970s, and also saw population loss to the suburbs and Sun Belt states, and experienced job losses from deindustrialization. The city's population peaked at 580,132 in 1950, when Buffalo
6254-399: The World War II and postwar years from 1940 to 1970, the city's Black population rose by 433 percent. They replaced most of the Polish community on the East Side, who were moving out to suburbs. However, the effects of redlining , steering, social inequality , blockbusting , white flight and other racial policies resulted in the city (and region) becoming one of the most segregated in
6360-429: The age of 50. Eyen was born in Cambridge, Ohio , the youngest of seven children. His parents, Abraham and Julia Eyen, owned and ran a family restaurant. He attended Ohio State University but left before graduating. Eyen moved to New York City in 1960 to study acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts . Eyen sought acting roles without success, and worked briefly as a press agent, before he began writing for
6466-506: The book and lyrics for the hit Broadway musical Dreamgirls , about an African-American female singing trio. Eyen's career started, however, with experimental theatre that he wrote and directed Off-Off Broadway in the 1960s. This led to his Off-Broadway success with The Dirtiest Show in Town (1970), a musical revue with nudity, and Women Behind Bars (1975), a camp parody of women's prison exploitation films . Eyen died of AIDS -related complications in Palm Beach, Florida at
SECTION 60
#17330861899416572-463: The café. He lived by the motto "Do what you have to do" and encouraged his writers to do the same. At the Caffe Cino's peak, plays were performed twice nightly, with three shows per night on weekends. The goal was not simply to get as many paying customers as possible. Even if there was no audience, Cino insisted on a show. He would tell the performers to, "Do it for the room," and they did. After Cino's death, police issued summonses so frequently that when
6678-421: The city became a stronghold of labor unions and the Democratic Party . During World War II , Buffalo regained its manufacturing strength as military contracts enabled the city to manufacture steel, chemicals, aircraft, trucks and ammunition. The 15th-most-populous US city in 1950 , Buffalo's economy relied almost entirely on manufacturing; eighty percent of area jobs were in the sector. The city also had over
6784-403: The city's economy. When these industries downsized in the region, Buffalo's economy became service-based. Its primary sectors include health care, business services (banking, accounting, and insurance), retail, tourism and logistics , especially with Canada. Despite the loss of large-scale manufacturing, some manufacturing of metals, chemicals, machinery, food products, and electronics remains in
6890-438: The city's summers are drier and sunnier than other cities in the northeastern United States, its vegetation receives enough precipitation to remain hydrated. Buffalo summers are characterized by abundant sunshine, with moderate humidity and temperatures; the city benefits from cool, southwestern Lake Erie summer breezes which temper warmer temperatures. Temperatures rise above 90 °F (32.2 °C) an average of three times
6996-540: The country's 49th-largest. Compared to other major US metropolitan areas, the number of foreign-born immigrants to Buffalo is low. New immigrants are primarily resettled refugees (especially from war- or disaster-affected nations) and refugees who had previously settled in other U.S. cities. During the early 2000s, most immigrants came from Canada and Yemen ; this shifted in the 2010s to Burmese ( Karen ) refugees and Bangladeshi immigrants. Between 2008 and 2016, Burmese, Somali , Bhutanese , and Iraqi Americans were
7102-433: The end of the 18th century, only 338 sq mi (216,000 acres; 880 km ; 88,000 ha) of reservations remained. After the Treaty of Big Tree removed Iroquois title to lands west of the Genesee River in 1797, Joseph Ellicott surveyed land at the mouth of Buffalo Creek. In the middle of the village was an intersection of eight streets at present-day Niagara Square . Originally named New Amsterdam, its name
7208-463: The exposition, President William McKinley was assassinated by anarchist Leon Czolgosz . When McKinley died, Theodore Roosevelt was sworn in at the Wilcox Mansion in Buffalo. Attorney John Milburn and local industrialists convinced the Lackawanna Iron and Steel Company to relocate from Scranton, Pennsylvania to the town of West Seneca in 1904. Employment was competitive, with many Eastern Europeans and Scrantonians vying for jobs. From
7314-429: The film's release, DreamWorks and the licensee of the musical, The Tams-Witmark Music Library , paid the licensing fees for all non-professional stage performances of Dreamgirls in 2006. As a result, more than fifty high schools, colleges, and community theaters staged productions of Dreamgirls that year. Eyen died of complications from AIDS in 1991, at the age of fifty, in Palm Beach, Florida . A memorial service
7420-510: The first time in history, the stage could be unpopular, an area of primary expression, rebellion, novelty, and a vehicle for social and aesthetic change. One novelist wrote: "Off-Off-Broadway: The first place in human history where theatre is treated as the equal of the other arts, as a thing responsible and important above popularity ratings, outside monetary concerns, beyond academic and legal restrictions: The first studio of theater where playwrights can experiment as painters and poets have done for
7526-400: The four largest ethnic immigrant groups in Erie County. A 2008 report noted that although food deserts were seen in larger cities and not in Buffalo, the city's neighborhoods of color have access only to smaller grocery stores and lack the supermarkets more typical of newer, white neighborhoods. A 2018 report noted that over fifty city blocks on Buffalo's East Side lacked adequate access to
7632-527: The frozen Lake Erie . Although snow does not typically impair the city's operation, it can cause significant damage in autumn (as the October 2006 storm did). In November 2014 (called " Snowvember "), the region had a record-breaking storm which produced over 5 + 1 ⁄ 2 ft (66 in; 170 cm) of snow. Buffalo's lowest recorded temperature was −20 °F (−29 °C), which occurred twice: on February 9, 1934, and February 2, 1961. Although
7738-411: The hospital, where doctors announced that he would live. However, three days later on April 3, Jon Torrey's birthday, Cino died. He was age 35. Although friends tried to keep Caffe Cino open, it closed the following year in 1968, succumbing to the strict cabaret laws being enforced by the young councilman Ed Koch . Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a city in the U.S. state of New York and
7844-435: The late 19th century to the 1920s, mergers and acquisitions led to distant ownership of local companies; this had a negative effect on the city's economy. Examples include the acquisition of Lackawanna Steel by Bethlehem Steel and, later, the relocation of Curtiss-Wright in the 1940s. The Great Depression saw severe unemployment, especially among the working class. New Deal relief programs operated in full force, and
7950-407: The local unemployment rate to 7.5 percent by December 2020. The local unemployment rate had been 4.2 percent in 2019, higher than the national average of 3.5 percent. Buffalo is home to over 20 theater companies, with many centered in the downtown Theatre District . Shea's Performing Arts Center is the city's largest theater. Designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany and built in 1926,
8056-571: The metropolitan area to lack a high-school diploma. During the early 19th century, Presbyterian missionaries tried to convert the Seneca people on the Buffalo Creek Reservation to Christianity. Initially resistant, some tribal members set aside their traditions and practices to form their own sect. Later, European immigrants added other faiths. Christianity is the predominant religion in Buffalo and Western New York. Catholicism (primarily
8162-505: The mid-1800s; about one thousand German and Lithuanian Jews settled in Buffalo before 1880. Buffalo's first synagogue , Temple Beth El, was established in 1847. The city's Temple Beth Zion is the region's largest synagogue. With changing demographics and an increased number of refugees from other areas on the city's East Side, Islam and Buddhism have expanded their presence. In this area, new residents have converted empty churches into mosques and Buddhist temples. Hinduism maintains
8268-489: The mid-1970s before closing it in 1983. The region lost at least 70,000 jobs between 1970 and 1984. Like much of the Rust Belt , Buffalo has focused on recovering from the effects of late-20th-century deindustrialization . Buffalo is on the eastern end of Lake Erie opposite Fort Erie, Ontario . It is at the head of the Niagara River, which flows north over Niagara Falls into Lake Ontario . The Buffalo metropolitan area
8374-452: The mid-19th century, Buffalo transitioned to manufacturing, which came to be dominated by steel production. Later, deindustrialization and the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway saw the city's economy decline and diversify. It developed its service industries , such as health care, retail, tourism, logistics, and education, while retaining some manufacturing. In 2019, the gross domestic product of
8480-481: The musical moved was because, "We don't want to be associated with drugs and homosexuality." The Cino's reputation was improved in the late 1970s, when Ellen Stewart proclaimed, "It was Joseph Cino who started Off-Off Broadway." Leah D. Frank, founding editor of the first enduring Off-Off-Broadway publication, Other Stages , commissioned Cino artists to write about their experiences there. In recent years, several books about early Off-Off-Broadway and two specifically about
8586-543: The new, mainstream audience attracted by Dames at Sea and Wilson's plays didn't like experimental works, such as a series of plays using comic books as scripts (first conceived by Donald L. Brooks). Throughout Caffe Cino's existence, Joe Cino experienced police raids as he took responsibility for licensing violations. There was no applicable license available for the Caffe Cino. Flyers were designed by artist Kenny Burgess so that they looked like abstract art to passersby but could still be read by patrons. Police were aware of
8692-983: The plays submitted for his consideration. He was more likely to ask a novice playwright what his astrological sign was. If he liked the answer, he staged the play. Many of the young playwrights who premiered their works at Cino's venue, including Doric Wilson (who would later found TOSOS, the first professional gay theatre), William M. Hoffman (who later wrote As Is ), Robert Patrick ( Kennedy's Children ), John Guare ( Six Degrees of Separation ), Tom Eyen ( Dreamgirls ), Sam Shepard ( True West ), Robert Heide ( The Bed , filmed by Andy Warhol ), Paul Foster ( Tom Paine ), Jean-Claude van Itallie ( America Hurrah ), and Lanford Wilson ( Burn This ); directors Tom O'Horgan ( Hair ) and Marshall W. Mason ( Talley's Folly ); and actors such as Al Pacino and Bernadette Peters went on to significant commercial and critical success. Wilson's four hits in 1961 made him off-off-Broadway's first cult success and proved that there
8798-606: The power to put even animals and plants to sleep, which could affect the harvest. At the conclusion, audience members typically offered gifts, such as tobacco, to the storyteller as a sign of appreciation. During the Beaver Wars in the mid-17th century the Senecas conquered the Erie and Neutrals in the region. Native Americans did not settle along Buffalo Creek permanently until 1780, when displaced Senecas were relocated from Fort Niagara . Louis Hennepin and Sieur de La Salle explored
8904-511: The primary residents of the Buffalo area before 1800, concentrated along Buffalo Creek. After the Revolutionary War, settlers from New England and eastern New York began to move into the area. From the 1830s to the 1850s, they were joined by Irish and German immigrants from Europe, both peasants and working class, who settled in enclaves on the city's south and east sides. At the turn of the 20th century, Polish immigrants replaced Germans on
9010-514: The project, unhappy that her character died at the conclusion of the first act. After several workshops and numerous rewrites, Bennett decided that the production needed Holliday, and the team rewrote act two to build up Holliday's character. Produced on Broadway in 1981, Dreamgirls was the biggest commercial success of Eyen's career. It was nominated for thirteen Tony Awards , including two for Eyen: Best Book and Best Original Score. The show won six Tonys, including Best Book. It also earned Eyen
9116-404: The proposed Erie Canal would bring prosperity to the area. To accomplish this, Buffalo's harbor was expanded with the help of Samuel Wilkeson ; it was selected as the canal's terminus over the rival Black Rock. It opened in 1825, ushering in commerce, manufacturing and hydropower . By the following year, the 130 sq mi (340 km ) Buffalo Creek Reservation (at the western border of
9222-489: The region. Advanced manufacturing has increased, with an emphasis on research and development (R&D) and automation . In 2019, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis valued the gross domestic product (GDP) of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls MSA at $ 53 billion (~$ 62.3 billion in 2023). The civic sector is a major source of employment in the Buffalo area, and includes public, non-profit, healthcare and educational institutions. New York State, with over 19,000 employees,
9328-872: The south and the Neutral Nation in the north, with a relatively small tribe, the Wenrohronon , between and the Senecas , an Iroquois tribe, occupying the land just east of the region. The Neutral grew tobacco and hemp to trade with the Iroquois, who traded furs with the French for European goods. The tribes used animal- and war paths to travel and move goods across what today is New York State. (Centuries later, these same paths were gradually improved, then paved, then developed into major modern roads.) Traditional Seneca oral legends, as recounted by professional storytellers known as Hagéotâ, were highly participatory. These tales were told only during winter, as they were believed to have
9434-427: The stage using electricity stolen from the city grid by Cino's lover, electrician Jonathan "Jon" Torrey (died January 5, 1967). The space created intimacy between the performers and audience, with little room for typical fourth-wall illusionary theatre. Cino decorated the café with fairy lights , mobiles , glitter , and Chinese lanterns, and covered the walls with memorabilia and personal effects. Cino seldom read
9540-493: The theater presents Broadway musicals and concerts. Shakespeare in Delaware Park has been held outdoors every summer since 1976. Stand-up comedy can be found throughout the city and is anchored by Helium Comedy Club, which hosts both local talent and national touring acts. The Nickel City Opera (known as NC Opera Buffalo and NCO ) is an American opera company based at Shea's Performing Arts Center in Buffalo and
9646-590: The theatre. He found an artistic home in the 1960s off-off-Broadway Experimental theatre scene, based at Caffe Cino and La MaMa Experimental Theatre Company . He gave Bette Midler her first professional acting roles in Miss Nefertiti Regrets and Cinderella Revisited. Both were produced in 1965, a children's play during the daytime and an adult show by night. With a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation , Eyen formed his own theatrical company,
9752-510: The upper Niagara and Ontario regions in the late 1670s. In 1679, La Salle's ship, Le Griffon , became the first to sail above Niagara Falls near Cayuga Creek . Baron de Lahontan visited the site of Buffalo in 1687. A small French settlement along Buffalo Creek lasted for only a year (1758). After the French and Indian War , the region was ruled by Britain. After the American Revolution ,
9858-473: The village) was transferred to Buffalo. Buffalo was incorporated as a city in 1832. During the 1830s, businessman Benjamin Rathbun significantly expanded its business district. The city doubled in size from 1845 to 1855. Almost two-thirds of the city's population was foreign-born, largely a mix of unskilled (or educated) Irish and German Catholics . Fugitive slaves made their way north to Buffalo during
9964-671: The work it presented, but from selling food and drink. No one was paid, except the police who were paid off, reviewers seldom came (and reviews were usually published after a show had closed), and theatre entered the modern era, which the other art forms had entered a hundred years earlier. Dozens of theaters based on the Cino model began to appear in places making their living other ways: cafes, bars, art galleries, and churches. To distinguish these theaters from Broadway (large Actors' Equity theatres) and Off-Broadway (smaller Equity theatres), this new theatre world became known as Off-Off-Broadway. For
10070-420: The workshop stage, though individual numbers from the show have been performed in concert. A film adaptation of Dreamgirls , written and directed by Bill Condon , was released in 2006 by DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures . Two of Eyen's songs from the soundtrack, "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going", as sung by Jennifer Hudson , and " One Night Only ", as sung by Beyoncé Knowles , became hits. To promote
10176-659: Was 6,470.6 per square mile. Buffalo's architecture is diverse, with a collection of 19th- and 20th-century buildings. Downtown Buffalo landmarks include Louis Sullivan 's Guaranty Building , an early skyscraper; the Ellicott Square Building , once one of the largest of its kind in the world; the Art Deco Buffalo City Hall and the McKinley Monument , and the Electric Tower . Beyond downtown,
10282-534: Was an audience for new, daring plays. Foster's Beckettian puppet play , Balls , was so popular that one of the first articles about off-off-Broadway was titled, "Have You Caught 'Balls?'" Wilson's The Madness of Lady Bright (May 1964), about a lonely, aging drag queen , was the Cino's breakthrough hit. The play was performed over 200 times, with Neil Flanagan in the title role. Although playwrights Jerry Caruana, Wilson, Claris Nelson, and David Starkweather had each previously presented numerous well-received works at
10388-471: Was apparently offered and refused the role. Following this setback, Eyen began commuting to Los Angeles to write for television and films. In 1974, he became one of the first well-known writers to write a hardcore pornographic film. He contributed writing to the 1976/1977 satirical soap opera Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman , produced by Norman Lear . In 1978, Eyen earned an Emmy Award nomination for writing Midler's first television special , Ol' Red Hair
10494-506: Was called the Neil Simon of Off-Off-Broadway at one point when he had four plays running simultaneously." In 1973, Eyen co-wrote the book for and directed one of Broadway's most notorious flops, the Paul Jabara disco musical Rachael Lily Rosenbloom (And Don't You Ever Forget It) , which closed after seven previews. The lead character, a flamboyant entertainer, was inspired by Midler, who
10600-460: Was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in his Prairie School style. Since 2016, Washington DC real estate developer Douglas Jemal has been acquiring, and redeveloping, iconic properties throughout the city. According to Mark Goldman, the city has a "tradition of separate and independent settlements". The boundaries of Buffalo's neighborhoods have changed over time. The city is divided into five districts , each containing several neighborhoods, for
10706-547: Was improved, Buffalo was selected as the terminus of the Erie Canal , which led to its incorporation in 1832. The canal stimulated its growth as the primary inland port between the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean. Transshipment made Buffalo the world's largest grain port of that era. After the coming of railroads greatly reduced the canal's importance, the city became the second-largest railway hub (after Chicago ). During
10812-506: Was prolific, writing, and usually directing, 35 plays at La MaMa alone during the 1960s and 1970s. His early off-off-Broadway plays, other than those noted above, included: The title character in Why Hanna's Skirt Won't Stay Down has been described as representative of the crudeness, exuberance, decadence and profundity of the movement and the period. In 1970, Eyen had his biggest commercial success to date with The Dirtiest Show in Town ,
10918-445: Was read by John Guare at the unveiling of a bronze plaque depicting Cino at his espresso machine affixed to the wall at 31 Cornelia Street. Joe Cino, the son of first-generation Sicilian-Americans , was born into a working class family in Buffalo, New York . He moved to New York City at the age of sixteen, studying performing arts for two years in hopes of becoming a dancer. Though he made his living dancing throughout much of
11024-595: Was redeveloped in 2020. Other revitalized areas include Chandler Street, in the Grant-Amherst neighborhood, and Hertel Avenue in Parkside. The Buffalo Common Council adopted its Green Code in 2017, replacing zoning regulations which were over sixty years old. Its emphasis on regulations promoting pedestrian safety and mixed land use received an award at the 2019 Congress for the New Urbanism conference. Buffalo has
11130-573: Was soon changed to Buffalo. The village of Buffalo was named for Buffalo Creek . British military engineer John Montresor referred to "Buffalo Creek" in his 1764 journal, the earliest recorded appearance of the name. A road to Pennsylvania from Buffalo was built in 1802 for migrants traveling to the Connecticut Western Reserve in Ohio. Before an east–west turnpike across the state was completed, traveling from Albany to Buffalo would take
11236-501: Was the 15th-largest city in the United States ;– down from the eighth-largest city in 1900, after its growth rate slowed during the 1920s. Buffalo finally saw a population gain of 6.5% in the 2020 census, reversing a decades long trend of population decline. The city has 278,349 residents as of the 2020 census, making it the 76th-largest city in the United States. Its metropolitan area had 1.1 million residents in 2020,
#940059