If you enjoy a simple well-made play of the kind that used to be commonplace on Broadway, you will like going to the Mint Theater, which specializes in “excavating buried theatrical treasures.”
On the third floor of an industrial building just west of Eighth Avenue,with the main floor in the process of being renovated, the Mint is an unlikely looking venue for good theater. But it is.
When you get to the third floor, you suddenly find the theater’s tiny lobby filled with eager patrons.
The current production of London Wall by John Van Druten, a 1931 play with feminist leanings,
filled its 99-seat house on the Thursday night we attended
and no wonder. We saw a handsome traditional set that converts to an office with the unobtrusive help of the actors and it was just fine.
Equity actors directed by Davis McCallum performed this tightly written play with style and simplicity–no onerous director’s point of view imposed on a play that only needed the lightest touch.
The full price for tickets is $54, very reasonable compared to other Broadway and Off-Broadway venues, but the company’s own bargain seats called Cheaptix cost only $27.50, available certain nights in limited quantities. As you can see equally well from any seat, these are a steal but you need to purchase them well in advance. You can also join the Mint for as little as $150, which enables you both to support it and also buy discount tickets. Go to http://www.minttheater.org to look through your options.
The Mint has received special Drama Desk and Obie Awards for its service to the theater and her audiences and it’s easy to understand why. You can see London Wall through April 13. From June 3 through July 27 they will be mounting Jules Romains’ comedy, Donogoo,
(Source; mintheater.org) and doing readings of Van Druten’s I am a Camera on March 31 and April 1.