Final answer:
It is true that off-off-Broadway theatres in places like Café LaMama and the Wooster Group are renowned for hosting avant-garde works. These venues offer a space for innovative theatre that is less bound by the commercial pressures of Broadway, allowing for more experimental and socially critical pieces to be produced.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that some of the most important contemporary avant-garde works can be found off-off-Broadway in theatres such as Café LaMama, the Living Theatre, Mabou Mines, and the Wooster Group, among others, is true. Off-off-Broadway theatres, known for their smaller seating capacity (less than 100 seats), are hubs for innovative and cutting-edge performances that might not be seen in the larger commercial venues of Broadway due to their experimental nature and often smaller budgets. This allows for the avant-garde, contemporary works to thrive, offering a space for artists and audiences willing to explore unconventional and socially critical themes, in the spirit of past influential playwrights like Bertolt Brecht, Henrik Ibsen, and George Bernard Shaw.
While Broadway productions are often large-scale with significant monetary investments, off-off-Broadway productions are more intimate and typically produced with less commercial pressure. This aligns with the historical and contemporary practices of commercial theatre and community theatre, wherein the former is driven by financial success and the latter by artistic expression and connection to the community. Noteworthy productions that have come from these smaller venues often challenge traditional theatrical norms and explore more daring subject matter.