As potential buyers began to seriously investigate the potential of reopening the south city landmark The Way Out Club, options were considered from across the curatorial spectrum. Would someone buy the space and the holdings in total, reopening the place as a turnkey? Or would an ownership group want to completely flip the space while moving toward a completely new model for the building, sitting in what's now a steadily improving corner of Fox Park? Perhaps a melding of the two, with the old name but with a new concept inside of it? So many ways to spend tens of thousands of dollars!
Greenfinch Theater & Dive (2525 South Jefferson Avenue, greenfinchstl.com) may have taken the best possible approach, turning the classic, two-roomed space into something completely reimagined.
That said, new owners Colin Healy, Bradley Rohlf and Alex Naeger plan to honor the old concept in ways both great and small. Posters from shows at the Way Out will be hung, the back bar remains and the club's spirit, Healy says, will be given an implicit nod as "the legacy part is our offer of cheap drinks and good shows. Different? Absolutely it is; it's not the same place."
Rohlf adds that "even with some of the structural pieces taken down," the vibe of the former occupant will shine through. Still, he says, "We bought this building, really, for what it was as a building and then the fact that it was a beloved institution is a perk on top of that. We want to carry out that legacy in our own image."
That image has already just begun to emerge publicly, as one of their own performances, Peter and the Starcatcher, has played the room, well in advance of what is hoped to be a full, October grand opening. In fact, even as construction takes place in both rooms and as the liquor license winds its way through the Excise Commission's arcane process, the shows will go on. Already, Rohlf and Healy have been contacted by local theater groups about putting on shows in the current, roughed-in space. That want and need confirms their pre-purchase impressions.
As the RFT's Jaime Lees wrote back in January, "Their goal is to make the performance area a rentable, affordable space for unhoused theater companies in town. Healy says he's been blessed with having his own company, Fly North Theatricals, taken under the wing of the Kranzberg Arts Foundation, and he's eager to pay it forward."
The pair, while giving a tour to some friends and collaborators as well as the RFT, point out some of the major and minor changes that'll greet visitors to the Greenfinch. While the barroom is undergoing some major rehab, with the club's eye-catching, super-long bar cut in size a bit, the performance space is the one that'll really open eyes. The Way Out Club's stage will be taken out, as will the load-bearing center poles. With sightlines improved and the weight born above, a lighting truss can be hung. Already, the performance side's basement has been given a "wow"-worthy once-over, with dressing rooms and a subterranean orchestra pit now in place.
From the theatrical perspective, theysay the latter addition is just one way that they'll create the black box theater, building their ideal performance home from the basement on up.
Rohlf says that "the orchestra pit will be an isolated room with better sound control. The actors won't be fighting for space with the band. We want other theater creators with big, ambitious ideas to be here." Rohlf says that "down the road we do want it to be a nicely spec'd out place. We anticipate it being a gem for all the small theatrical performance groups and a really social place."
To that end, the Greenfinch Dive will be in operation seven days a week, serving as the theater's lobby, as well as a place to simply unwind with unpretentious drink options.
Rohlf says that Greenfinch won't have the Way Out's booking policy, but that the combination of musical theater, burlesque, stand-up comedy, circus arts and indie productions of all sorts will sub in nicely for the rock & roll tradition of the Way Out.
"The best-kept secret in town is the vast amount of small theater happening in St. Louis," he says. "It's been said that we have more theater per capita than any other city in America."
To which Healy adds that "St. Louis has an awesome theater scene, and this will be a place to interface with that. If you came here to have a good drink and see a good show, that will not change for you when we reopen."
Greenfinch Theater & Dive is projecting a full open in October 2023, though shows will occur there prior to fall. Progress can be tracked at the club's Instagram page, greenfinchstl.
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