Allan’s Story
Allan in 1971
Allan Buchman has built a career at the intersection of art and social justice, driven by a conviction that theatre can engage pressing social and political questions. For Allan, art has always been a way to reckon with the world—a means not only of expression, but of inquiry and response. Before entering the world of theatre, he served as head piano technician at the Manhattan School of Music, one of the premier conservatories in the United States. There, he worked with legendary musicians including Arthur Rubinstein, Arnold Steinhardt, André Segovia, Roselyn Turich, and Betty Allen. His technical skill attracted private clients such as Sting, Keith Richards, Roberta Flack, Michael Eisner, Sanford Weill, Tony Bennett, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
His work also included restoring Richard Wagner’s Bechstein piano for the musical instrument collection at Yale University. In conjunction with the Hamamatsu Piano Company, Allan helped establish Japan’s foremost collection of antique instruments.
Allan working on a Piano in 1991
Through his company, Classical Keyboard Instruments, Allan founded Buchman Hall—a 400-seat performance space that became home to early iterations of Women’s Center Stage and the Salon Theatre Company. These would later form the foundation of the Culture Project.
In the late 1990s, Allan was hired to recreate the artistic spirit and legacy of the Algonquin Round Table with voices like Spalding Gray and Frank McCourt. The series was featured in The New York Times and became a fixture of downtown cultural life.
After the closure of Buchman Hall, he transformed a former lumberyard on Bleecker Street into a two-theater venue. There, driven by the profound loss of his daughter and inspired by his spiritual teacher, Sri Chinmoy, he created the Culture Project, an Off-Broadway home for socially and politically engaged performance.
Allan with Sri Chinmoy in 1991
The company’s breakout production, The Exonerated—selected as the number one play of the year by The New York Times—ran for 18 months to widespread critical acclaim. It was followed by Guantánamo: Honor Bound to Defend Freedom, which featured a rotating cast that included Desmond Tutu, Howard Zinn, Danny Glover, and Samantha Power.
Allan in 2003 with the cast of The Exonerated
Under Allan’s leadership, the organization produced major initiatives including the Impact Political Arts Festival, Blueprint for Accountability, and the Central Park Bandshell Concert. Notable events included the 2009 UN Day Concert, A Tribute to Peacekeeping; Twin Spirits, performed by Sting and Trudie Styler at Jazz at Lincoln Center; and Blueprint events held at NYU Skirball, the New York Times Center, and Georgetown University.
Though Allan faced serious health challenges in 2016, his artistic spirit remains undimmed. Today, he is developing a bold new adaptation of the Ramayana, crafted to reflect and confront the fractured political moment in which we find ourselves. This project is an expression of his enduring belief in the arts as a powerful force for dialogue and social transformation.
Sting, Allan, and Trudie Styler in 2010