Grand opening, Brooklyn beginning for theater
Photo:Peter Grossinger
The Roulette Theater will showcase experimental music in Brooklyn
By Paul Grossinger September 16, 2011
Walking in, one can hear the booming sounds of hammers, the screech of a chain saw, and the loud “clonk” of large wooden boards being dropped into piles on the dusty floor.
It is Tuesday September 13th at the Roulette Theater at the corner of Third and Atlantic avenues, the busy intersection on the border between the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Fort Greene and Boerum Hill. Workers and theater staff are hurriedly preparing for Thursday’s grand opening of their new 600-seat Art Deco theater space for emerging artists.
The four-day grand opening, from Thursday September 15th to Sunday the 18th, celebrates the reincarnation of a theater that first came to life 32 years ago in Manhattan and will now bring experimental music to a part of the city that has few cultural and musical venues like Roulette, but it’s home to many emerging and aspiring artists and to the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
Located in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood since 1979, Roulette was well known for its focus on experimental, lesser-known artists. However, the theater outgrew its 74-seat facility in and owner Jim Staley went in search for a newer, larger space. When he found the new space, an abandoned building, he said, “it was perfect and made to order.”
He broke ground on the renovation in November 2010.
With a two-level, 600-seat venue, the new Roulette is nearly seven times larger than the original in SoHo. That will allow the theater to showcase experimental music in a venue that could grow into a local mecca for emerging artists and serve as a new arts linchpin for the neighborhood.
“It is great to have more of an arts presence in the area,” said Josh Fowler, 31, an employee of Nunu Chocolates, a store across the street from the theater. “Roulette has a strong history of experimental music and it will have a strong impact on the neighborhood.”
Doron Sadja, 29, Roulette’s design, publicity, and web director, emphasized the focus on serving artists and that part of the community. “I think the community is excited here because it’s a big venue but it’s still community-oriented and aimed at delivering impactful, artist driven music,” he said.
However, not all members of the community were initially excited about the project. “People heard the name Roulette and thought it was a gambling club,” Sadja said.
The dispute centered on whether to grant Roulette the liquor license it needs to serve beer at its events and rent the venue out to other vendors. Eventually, the dispute was resolved. Those community members who were initially opposed the project declined to be named, but one former opponent said that once the opposition realized it was an artistic venue, the opposition gradually melted away.
Last minute construction is ongoing but Roulette should be ready for its grand opening Thursday night, according to Sadja. General admission is $35, and front row is $100 but $65 of the front row ticket price is one-time tax deductible in honor of the Grand Opening, according to the theater’s website roulette.org.
The first concert will feature music and performance by Henry Threadgill and his ensemble, Zooid, and be followed by Kaiija Saariaho, pianist Margaret Leng Tan, and finally the duo of Sylvie Courvoisier and Mark Feldman.
