[Ads-l] Antedating of "off-off-Broadway"

[Steven Losie]

Off-off-Broadway.
OED3 cites the New York Times on May 5, 1957. Here are two earlier
citations:

[begin quote]
Audrey Hepburn's understudy in "Ondine," a young lady named Eva Stern, quit
her job last week for a real part in what might, under the right
circumstances, be referred to as an off-off-Broadway production.
[end quote]
Source: New York Daily News, Mar 9, 1954, p.15C, col.4
Article title: French 'Mutiny' Stars; R&H Ahead of Schedule
Author: Douglas Watt
Database: ProQuest Historical Newspapers

[begin quote]
One church group is having off-off-Broadway tryouts of its shows, sending
them to out of town churches before bringing them in.
[end quote]
Source: Chicago Tribune, Mar 27, 1955, p.K4, col.1
Article title: A True Actor Can't Be Kept from Theater
Author: John Chapman
Database: ProQuest Historical Newspapers

The second quote is written by John Chapman, longtime theater journalist at
the New York Daily News. The quote might have originally appeared in that
newspaper, but I could not find it. The Chicago Tribune article indicates
it may have been "Special" to that publication, but the original might be
hiding somewhere in the New York Daily News a few days earlier.

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