The Caffe Cino is widely recognized as the birthplace of Off-Off-Broadway theater and was located on the ground floor of this building from 1958 to 1968. It is also highly significant as a pioneer in the development of gay theater, at a time when it was still illegal to depict homosexuality on stage. Header Photo
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Caffe Cino was an Off-Off-Broadway theater founded in 1958 by Joe Cino. The West Village coffeehouse, located at 31 Cornelia Street, was initially imagined as a venue for poetry, folk music, and visual art exhibitions. The plays produced at the Cino, however, became most prominent, and it is now considered the "birthplace of Off-Off-Broadway".
Joe Cino was born into an Italian-American family, and moved from Buffalo, New York to be a dancer in New York City. After 10 years, he used his $400 in savings and opened the Caffe Cino Art Gallery. Initially, Cino encouraged his friends to hang their artwork on the walls.
"Warhol came on several occasions to see his play The Bed at the Caffe Cino in 1965. The Bed featured two young men in an oversized bed and was filmed straight-on by Andy Warhol with Danny Williams shooting specific close-ups, hand movements and zoom-ins at Richard Bernstein's loft on the Bowery in the fall of 1965.
On Ash Wednesday 1965, a fire destroyed the interior of the Cino. The building's structure was not affected. A new lighting system had been installed, along with the fireproofing of the Caffe's ceiling, which prevented the fire from spreading to the rest of the tenement building.
The Caffe Cino was an incubator for first-time directors, playwrights, actors, and lighting or set designers. Many continued to work in stage, screen, or both after the Cino closed. Notable contributors include: John Guare. Sam Shepard.
After 10 years, he used his $400 in savings and opened the Caffe Cino Art Gallery. Initially, Cino encouraged his friends to hang their artwork on the walls. That led to poetry readings, which led to staged readings and eventually to productions of plays.
On Ash Wednesday 1965, a fire destroyed the interior of the Cino. The building's structure was not affected. A new lighting system had been installed, along with the fireproofing of the Caffe's ceiling, which prevented the fire from spreading to the rest of the tenement building.
Caffe Cino was an Off-Off-Broadway theater founded in 1958 by Joe Cino. The West Village coffeehouse, located at 31 Cornelia Street, was initially imagined as a venue for poetry, folk music, and visual art exhibitions.
Joe Cino (pronounced chino) built the tiny stage for Caffe Cino out of milk cartons and carpet remnants. His lover, Jon Torrey, wired the lighting to make the most of the cramped space. 1
A plaque at the location of the former Caffe Cino features a photo of Joe Cino at the espresso machine. The plaque states, "On this site, in the Caffe Cino (1958-1968), artists brought theater into the modern era, creating Off-Off Broadway and forever altering the performing arts worldwide."
According to Wendell C. Stone in Caffe Cino, The Birthplace of Off-Off Broadway, the benefit performance took place on April 26, 1965. (CC105) However, that is the same date that John Gilman gives for the opening of the film - see below - and it is not clear where Stone got his date from.
According to Cino playwright, Robert Patrick, it was Billy Mitchell who suggested that the Cino do plays. (RP050509) Robert recalls that the plays "became a regular thing in February, 1960, when actor/director Bob Dahdah brought his "Strolling Players" in to do No Exit.
The benefit for the Cino was a result of a fire at the venue which resulted in its temporary closure. (CC99) Stone also notes that a revival of the play took place after the run of performances that opened in July 1965 during the following September. (CC105). The play was the producing debut of Ron Link.
Dahdah remained at the Cino through 1966, mounting dozens of classics and new plays, climaxing with the Cino's greatest hit, Dames at Sea .". (RP060509) From Playing Underground: A Critical History of the 1960s Off-Off-Broadway Movement by Stephen J. Bottoms:
Although Smith got Cino to the hospital, he (Cino) developed peritonitis from his wounds and died on April 2, 1967. His death made the front page of the 6 April 1967 issue of the Village Voice. Michael Smith ("Theatre Journal," Village Voice, 6 April 1967, pp. 1, 29) "Joe Cino is dead.
The lighting designer at the Cino was Johnny Dodd who also appeared in a Kiss film (with Freddy Herko) by Warhol and Haircut No. 3. (It was from Dodd's apartment that Freddy Herko would jump to his death in 1964.) Warhol star Ondine was also involved with the Cino.
Playwrights who used the Cino for early productions of their work included Doric Wilson, John Guare, Sam Shepard, Lanford Wilson, Robert Heide, H. M. Koutoukas, Robert Patrick and Tom Eyen. It was at the Cino that the musical Dames at Sea was first presented.
Joe Cino was born November 16, 1931, in Buffalo, New York, and ran away from home to New York City when he was 16 with three of his friends. Despite feeling that he needed to leave, he always maintained a warm relationship with his family of origin. The family he created in New York was quite a different story.
At this time gay bars were paying off the police to avoid raids on their clientele, and coffee shops were also under fire for hosting ticketed events without a Cabaret license. Cino dealt with both these challenges.