The Bushwick Starr is an off-off-Broadway non-profit theater in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. It was cofounded in 2007 by Sue Kessler and Noel Allain, who also serve as its directors. The Starr was located on Starr Street until 2020 when their space was sold and they announced the purchase of and relocation to a former dairy plant at 419 Eldert Street.
The Starr is known for its artists, including Jeremy O. Harris, Daniel Fish, Dave Malloy, and Heather Christian. They first programmed a full season in 2009 and were firmly a part of the Off Off Broadway community by 2011. The venue especially features experimental theatre works and seeks to avoid the commercial pressures of other larger theaters.
History The Starr was founded by Sue Kessler and Noel Allain, serving as executive director and artistic director. The theater was created as an off-off-Broadway outlet in the pre-gentrified neighborhood of Bushwick. In 2001, Kessler and Allain leased and converted a second-floor loft space at 207 Starr Street into a black box theater that seated 72 patrons. The space was originally intended for Fovea Floods, a theater ensemble they joined at Skidmore College. When Fovea Floods disbanded in the early 2000s, the duo kept the theater and rented it out to various artists or groups in need of a performance space; they took over the theater's programming in 2007 after multiple productions Kessler felt were "not good". Allain also described renting the venue to the play The Penitent Hours by Julia May Jonas as fueling their desire to develop similar works themselves. The Brooklyn Rail noted the Starr's opening as part of a trend of arts spaces appearing in Bushwick. The Starr curated its first full season in 2009.
In June 2020, the theater received notice that its building was to be converted into residential housing and that they would need to relocate. Kesller and Allain announced in 2021 that they had purchased a $2.2 million purchase of a former dairy plant on the eastern end of Bushwick, at 419 Eldert Street. They planned to convert for opening the following year. They officially opened the space in 2024. During the renovation of the 419 Eldert property, the Starr partnered with other organizations—including The Public Theater and the ¡Oye! Group—to co-produce new works.
In addition to its theatrical work, the Starr has also hosted events for the local community. In February 2018, the "Because the Night" panel featured discussions of gentrification in the wake of the creation of a city-wide Office of Nightlife. In October 2024, New York State Assembly Member Robert Carroll and Senator Julia Salazar used the theater to announce their proposal of a state law that would help incentivize small theater spaces in the city. Though it exists as a gentrifying force in the neighborhood, the Starr has intentionally sought to work within the community. It has hosted the annual Taste of Bushwick food showcase as well as its own Big Green Theater Festival, where professional actors perform work written by local students. The theater also hosts an annual gala to fundraise for its own programming. In 2025, the gala received the organization $300,000 in donations.
Artistic style In its early years, the venue was noted for its experimental theater projects, and described in the Wall Street Journal as "a terrific little house full of DIY charm." The Starr is known for transforming its performance space to fit the works on stage. Kessler said that the theater sought to prevent external pressures from critics or commercial performance from affecting the sharpness of the work on stage. In The New Yorker, Rollo Romig wrote that the Starr had "built a well-deserved reputation over the past decade for solid but adventurous programming".
Notable premieres
+YearCreatorWorkDetailsRef2010Performance Lab 115The Ring Cycle (Part 1 + 2)Reimagining of The Ring Cycle2011Tina SatterIn the Pony Palace/Football2012The Debate SocietyBlood Play2013Joshua Conkel & Matt Marks The House of Von MacraméThe TEAMRoosevElvis2014Dave MalloyGhost Quartet2015Ariel StessHeartbreak2016Clare BarronI'll Never Love AgainThe Mad OnesMiles for Mary2017Kristine Haruna LeeSuicide ForestJulia Benson[Porto]Heather ChristianAnimal Wisdom2018Darian DauchanThe Brobot Johnson Experience 2019Jeremy O. HarrisBlack Exhibition2020Jillian WalkerSkinfolk2021Hillary MillerPreparedness2022Agnes BorinskySong of SongsOne Whale's TaleQuince2023Keelay GipsonDemons2024Julia May JonasA Woman Among WomenReimagining of All My Sons2025Shayok Misha ChowdhuryRheologyDavid CaleBlue Cowboy
References