Exciting news for the East Village — we’ve discovered that the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre has designs on the former Two Boots Pioneer Theater space at 155 East 3rd Street. Alex Sidtis, directing manager of the UCB’s current location in Chelsea, revealed to us that the troupe is hoping to open an East Village outpost, depending on whether it can secure a tavern wine license (the theater will plead its case at a January 12 meeting of Community Board 3’s licensing committee). The location will mean more stage time for its performers, who in the past have included Grub Street favorites like the insatiable Aziz Ansari, grillmaster Eugene Mirman, and ramen hound David Cross.
Sidtis loves the fact that the 99-seat theater has a lobby, and says of the layout, “It’s a little different [than that of the Chelsea location]. The shows will be more presentational and less theatrical in nature.” Phil Hartman, who built the theater a decade ago and still owns the adjacent Two Boots pizza parlor and video store, tells us “I love the theater and I’m pleased to think that it would stay alive as a theater and not get gutted and turned into something else.” Incidentally, Hartman also has plans for expansion — he’s opening an L.A. location in two weeks and tells us the Hell’s Kitchen outpost should open in March.
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