September 2025
Preserving The Past, Producing The Future
Dear Friends of Flipping The Script Productions,
Last month, I shared my excitement from the League of Historic American Theatres National Conference in Pittsburgh. I’ve mentioned my work with the Biltmore Theatre in my previous letters, but this month, I’d like to take a step back and share why the work of preservation means so much to me personally.
Long before founding Flipping The Script Productions, I co-founded Friends of the Biltmore, a grassroots group dedicated to protecting one of Broadway’s most storied playhouses. At the time, there were real fears that the Biltmore Theatre (now known as the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, and the Manhattan Theatre Club’s Broadway home) would be swallowed by hotel development. We raised funds, sold T-shirts, and rallied alongside countless others who believed that these buildings are not disposable. I believe these individuals are the very soul of New York theater.
One token I still appreciate from those days was Peter Filichia’s words about my personal efforts in TheaterMania:
“A whole bottle of elderberry wine to Stephen Rourke, chairman of Friends of the Biltmore, which is dedicated to restoring both the Biltmore Theatre and other playhouses in Times Square.” – Peter Filichia, TheaterMania
Preservation work also led me to write letters and advocate publicly. In 1997, The New York Times published my call to protect Times Square’s playhouses from the wave of “adaptive reuse” that had already claimed the Morosco, Helen Hayes, and other theatres. Some were turned into conference centers, nightclubs, or even churches.
I argued then - as I still believe now - that Broadway and Off-Broadway cannot thrive without protecting the spaces that give artists a stage. Like I wrote to the New York Times almost 50 years ago:
“The landmarking of Times Square’s historic theaters came too late to save the Morosco and Helen Hayes. And the process of ‘adaptive re-use’ has claimed a number of historic theaters.” – Stephen R. Rourke, Letter to the Editor, The New York Times (1997)
That tension continues today. Take the Ed Sullivan Theatre, for example, a historic Broadway house later adapted into a television studio. With The Late Show soon departing, its future is uncertain. Will it remain a space for performance, or will it join the long list of theatres repurposed beyond recognition? It’s a reminder that even the most famous stages can slip away without care and advocacy.
This history is not just nostalgia for me, it’s the foundation of why I produce. Preserving the past taught me that theatre isn’t just about the stories onstage, but about the spaces that hold them. And that’s why I chose to support the development of Someone Close To You by Melissa Borgerding. New plays deserve the same commitment as historic theatres: to be nurtured, protected, and given room to grow.
Thank you, as always, for being part of this community. Together we can honor the past while building the future—one play, and one theatre, at a time.
Warm regards,
Stephen Rourke
Founder, Flipping The Script Productions
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Someone Close to You
We are still working to mobilize Someone Close to You by Melissa Borgerding.
Scenes are available on YouTube: https://www.flippingthescriptshows.com/scty-video
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Flipping The Script Productions
6719 Old Pimlico Road, Baltimore, Maryland, 21209
OFFICIAL WEBSITE
www.flippingthescriptshows.com
CONTACT MR. ROURKE’S PRESS REPRESENTATIVE
Jay Michaels Global Communications, LLC
jay.michaels.theatricals@gmail.com
jaymichaelsarts.com
