4 Fun Facts About Second Stage Theater’s New Broadway Home

Second Stage has long been celebrated for its innovative and exciting off-Broadway work, but did you know that the company now has a permanent home on the Great White Way? The historic Helen Hayes Theater on 44th Street was purchased by Second Stage in 2015. It reopened to the public in 2018 after undergoing an extensive renovation.

Read on to learn more about Second Stage’s remarkable new digs, and the unique role the company is filling on the Broadway scene.

1. The Helen Hayes Theater Is over a Century Old

When the theater now known as the Helen Hayes first opened, the year was 1912. The Little Theater, as it was called then, was an intimate 300-seat theater that presented new playwrights, experimental dramas, and other work considered too risky for Broadway’s larger venues.

Throughout its life, the theater has been the original home of The New York Times town hall. It has also served as television studio premises for shows including The Merv Griffin Show and The Dick Clark Show.

The building was renamed the Helen Hayes Theater in 1983, after the legendary actress known as the “first lady of American theater.” It was designated as a Landmark Site by New York’s Landmark Preservation commission in 1987.

2. Renovating the Helen Hayes Theater Cost $22 Million

Not surprisingly, by the time Second Stage took possession of the Helen Hayes Theater in 2015, the century-old building was in need of significant upgrades. Second Stage tackled the challenge by collaborating with David Rockwell — the renowned architect, Tony Award-winning theatrical designer, and head of the Rockwell Group — on a $22-million renovation. Some of the most important elements the renovation focused on were:

Public Spaces and Audience Comfort

A new café lounge, a multi-functional space for hosting play readings and other events, upgraded artist dressing rooms, and expanded washrooms were some of the renovation features that helped to modernize the building and create a more welcoming environment for audiences and artists alike. The theater’s capacity has also been expanded, growing from its original 300 seats to 575 seats post-renovation.

ADA Accessibility

As is the case with most historic buildings, the Helen Hayes Theater was not designed to support patrons with mobility impairments. A top priority of the renovation was therefore to ensure freedom of movement for all guests through features such as a full-service elevator, a wheelchair-friendly box office, and new seating options in the auditorium.

Design and Infrastructure

An exciting challenge of the renovation was to respect the history of the theater while infusing it with a contemporary sensibility. Upgrades that helped achieve this included a full upgrade of the stage’s technical capacity, an overhaul of the building’s HVAC system, and a striking environmental mural designed by the Rockwell Group in collaboration with EverGreene Architectural Arts. The overall renovation aimed to achieve a LEED silver certification.

3. Second Stage’s Inaugural Broadway Season Featured Two Plays

For Second Stage’s first Broadway season at the new Helen Hayes Theater in 2018, the company’s artistic director and cofounder Carole Rothman chose two plays that spoke directly to the issues and themes that contemporary American culture was, and is, grappling with.

Lobby Hero

Second Stage opened its Broadway season with a revival of this 2001 drama from Kenneth Lonergan. Set in the lobby of a Manhattan apartment building during a murder investigation, the play is a revealing look at what happens when emotions come up against principles, and how the choices we make under pressure reveal who we truly are.

Dealing with such timely issues as sexual harassment and respect for law and order, the 2018 Broadway revival of Lobby Hero earned Tony Award nominations for two of its performers (Michael Cera and Brian Tyree Henry) and for Best Revival of a Play.

Straight White Men

When Straight White Men by Young Jean Lee made its Broadway premiere at the Helen Hayes Theater in the summer of 2018, it marked the first presentation of a work by a female Asian-American playwright on Broadway. Unfolding in the form of a conventional three-act domestic drama, Straight White Men offers a nuanced, complex, and satirical look at the family dynamics at play amongst an aging father and his three adult sons.

Ultimately, the play questions what exactly it means to be a successful straight white man in today’s world. It uses its tongue-in-cheek format to confront tough questions around identity and privilege.

4. The Helen Hayes Theater Will Help Second Stage Increase Its Impact on American Theater

Now that Second Stage has a permanent home at the Helen Hayes Theater, it has become the only company on Broadway to focus exclusively on work from living American playwrights. With this new space, Second Stage aims to showcase the rich diversity of voices in American theater, support both established and emerging writers, and keep American plays at the heart of the Broadway experience.