“Checking in? Or are you coming to see the play?”
That may be the greeting at the Walker Hotel in New York’s Greenwich Village every Thursday night for the next few months as a play called "Room 204" is being performed in, yes, room 204.
The event is described as an intimate — with just 10 attendees — in-room performance by Anjelica Fellini, known for her roles in Netflix’s Teenage Bounty Hunters and Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch, starring alongside Dennis Flanagan (Ozark, American Rust, Banshee). The premiere was Sept. 18, and the play is scheduled to run through November.
But what does it mean for a hotel to host a theatrical event in a functioning room that, in fact, can be booked for the same night as the performance is being held? Peter Yeung, managing director of the Walker Hotel, said "Room 204" is just what the Walker Hotel is all about.
It all began, said Yeung, when Fellini, a photographer and actress, was involved in a hotel program called The Artist’s Stay. When a local artist visited the hotel, she would shoot them and the photos would be posted online. At one point she told Yeung about a new project she and Flanagan were developing called the Zusammen Project which involved producing one-of-a-kind plays outside a traditional theater setting.
“This was right in our wheelhouse,” said Yeung. “We aim to create one-of-a-kind experiences so this is not our first rodeo. We have partnered with dancers, artists and a music company to create these experiences.”
Yeung expects "Room 204" to sell out every night at $160 a seat. The room was selected because it is a larger unit but not a suite. Audience members sit on an “attractive” foldable bench made of recyclable paper that curves around the edge of the room.
Yeung said he did not read the play in advance but was going to see a preview before the official opening.
“I wanted to experience the play the way our guests would,” he said
"Room 204" is about a couple having an affair and goes through the trials of their relationship in a 70-minute drama set in a hotel room. The work is loosely based on William Gibson’s classic “Two for the Seesaw.”
Disruption will be minimal for the hotel and other guests, Yeung said. In fact, the room is available on performance nights because it is fairly short, there is no sound system, and the lighting and few props are removable. There will be no late seating and no use of the bathroom, so staff only needs to come in and briefly refresh the room. If tickets are available, hotel guests are welcome to purchase them.
When they arrive, ticket holders will congregate in the hotel bar and optionally order a drink and/or food. Shortly before “curtain time,” the maître d’ will welcome them and they will be escorted to room 204. The seats are sold on the hotel’s web site under the "Experiences" tab.
“We are super supportive of the arts, and this is not being done for profit,” Yeung said.
He said the Zusammen Project is paying a small fee for the cleaning and reconditioning of the room.
If things go well, Yeung said the play might be extended, and there may be a sequel in the future to see what happens with the affair. Scenes might even be added that would take place in other parts of the hotel.
While there might not be significant revenue involved, the play reinforces the hotel’s image as a haven for the arts, Yeung said. There has been extensive interest from local press.
The Walker has already had success with other artistic ventures. About three years ago, a company called Park Avenue Artists asked about creating a space where musicians could gather and collaborate. The hotel turned its gym into a studio music listening room and it has remained that way ever since. Participation is by invitation only and by word of mouth. There is no fee involved. Jon Bon Jovi and Dionne Warwick are among the luminaries who have used the room.
“We were bold enough to change our entire gym into this,” Yeung said.
He said the space has become a revenue generator because of food-and-beverage spending, as well as private events. Playfully, the gym has been renamed Jim. And to keep fitness-oriented guests happy, the hotel has a partnership with Planet Fitness with the hotel providing free day passes.
There are two Walker hotels — one in Greenwich Village and one in New York’s Tribeca neighborhood. Both are managed by boutique hotelier Bridgeton, whose portfolio also includes Marram Montauk and Ruschmeyers in the Long Island, New York, resort town of Montauk; and Dawn Ranch in northern California.