Today was the ribbon cutting for the new home of St. Ann's Warehouse, in the renovated Tobacco Warehouse under the Brooklyn Bridge.

The new theater is the first permanent home for the indispensable performing arts organization since it was founded in 1979, at the St. Ann and the Holy Trinity Church in Brooklyn Heights. In 2000, St. Ann's moved to 38 Water Street (since demolished for Two Trees' 60 Water Street tower); for the last three years they rented a temporary building at 29 Jay Street.

Grand opening of St. Ann's Warehouse!
A photo posted by Ben (@dzny85) on Oct 6, 2015 at 8:23am PDT

The main theater is 10,000 square feet and can accommodate 700 seats. The acclaimed Donmar Warehouse (The Machine) will christen the space with an all-female production of Henry IVstarting on November 6. (Other opening festivities are planned throughout October if you want to get a peek at the space.) The rest of the season includes a new opera, The Last Hotel, from Donnacha Dennehy and Enda Walsh (a St. Ann's & Gothamist favorite); the annual Labapalooza puppet festival; Nice Fish, a play about fishermen starring the amazing Mark Rylance; and Benedict Andrews’s "maverick production" of A Streetcar Named Desire, starring Gillian Anderson, Ben Foster, Corey Johnson and Vanessa Kirby. ("With its transparent, revolving set, all conversations are overheard, there’s nowhere to hide and the ensuing tragedy purposefully spins toward its inevitable last line.")

The renovation of the pre-Civil War era Tobacco Warehouse, originally built in 1860, cost $31.6 million, about half of which came from the city. The inner part of the theater can be configured in various ways with giant sliding curtains. There is also a smaller "studio" room with seating for 180 that will be available for rent to community organizations, and an outdoor garden area designed by the same landscape architects who did Brooklyn Bridge Park (you can see that it's still under construction in the image below.)

This neon signage is courtesy of artist Tom Fruin:

#stannswarehouse #dumbo
A photo posted by tubafresh (@tubafresh) on Oct 5, 2015 at 5:20pm PDT

The new St. Ann's is located at 45 Water Street at the corner of Old Dock Street, and deliciously close to Shake Shack, No. 7 Sub, Juilana's, and Luke's Lobster.