New York Theatre Workshop is famous for having developed Jonathan Larson’s phenomenal rock musical Rent. The show had its world premiere production here in January 1996; Larson died tragically and unexpectedly on the night before the first performance. The show went on to have a 12-year run on Broadway and to tour the world.

NYTW began in 1979 as the brainchild of founding trustee Stephen Graham, who envisioned an organization that would support new playwrights and directors outside the commercial arena. The company was incorporated in 1982, and James Nicola came on board as artistic director in 1988. In addition to Rent, productions here have included Doug Wright’s Quills, Claudia Shear’s Blown Sideways Through Life, Tony Kushner’s Homebody/Kabul, and director Ivo Van Hove’s bold reinterpretations of A Streetcar Named Desire, Hedda Gabler, and The Little Foxes.