Hayes Theater

The Hayes Theater is at 240 West 44th Street, on the south sidewalk between Eighth Avenue and Seventh Avenue, near Times Square in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. The land lot is nearly rectangular, with an indentation on the western end. The lot covers , with a frontage of on 44th Street and a depth of . == Design ==

The Hayes Theater was designed by Ingalls & Hoffman for impresario Winthrop Ames using elements of the neo-Federal, colonial, It was originally constructed in 1912 as the Little Theatre. In its original configuration, the Little's auditorium had just one level of seating. The layout was meant to give theater patrons the feeling that they were Ames's "guests for the nonce, in an old colonial house behind a garden wall, left behind in the march of progress, the front untouched and the interior remodeled by an amateur of the stage". The Hayes is operated by Second Stage Theater, a nonprofit theater company, . Facade The facade consists of red brick with Flemish bond, as well as limestone trim. It is asymmetrically arranged, with the theater's main entrance to the far east (left) side of the ground floor. A stone water table runs along the bottom of the ground-floor facade. The second-story window panes are arranged in an eight-over-twelve format; above them are splayed stone lintels, containing keystones with bead motifs and brackets. There are curved metal balconies in front of the four westernmost windows, while the two easternmost windows share a terrace over the main entrance. The third-story window panes are arranged in an eight-over-eight format with paneled keystones. A cornice with modillions runs above the third story. A balustrade formerly ran above the cornice but has since been removed. The box office was originally paneled in ivory-colored wood. A passage to the stage is through a door to the west of the box office. The main section of the lobby is a rectangular foyer, accessed through a doorway on the box office's right wall. To the north of the foyer is a secondary area, one step below the foyer, which leads to the four emergency-exit doors on 44th Street. The foyer's north wall contains Ionic-style columns, behind which is the emergency-exit area. The south wall contains doors to the auditorium, as well as Ionic-style pilasters that are directly across from the north-wall columns. There are staircases on the western and eastern ends of the foyer's north wall, which lead up to the balcony; the eastern staircase has a metal railing with lyres. An architrave, with a frieze depicting urns and lyres, runs along the top of the foyer walls. The auditorium has an orchestra level, one balcony, and a stage behind the proscenium arch. The space is designed with plaster decorations in relief. Originally, the Little Theatre had only 299 seats on a single level, the orchestra. The rear of the auditorium did initially have a balcony-level terrace, but it was only wide and had no seats. The rear or southern end of the orchestra contains two paneled-wood doors from the foyer. The orchestra level is raked, sloping down toward the stage, similar to in the original layout of the theater. The rear of the balcony contains a promenade, accessed on either end by the stairways in the foyer. The underside of the balcony is made of plaster paneling with lights inset into the paneling. The front railing of the balcony has Adam-style plasterwork paneling with pilasters, urns, and molded bands, with light boxes mounted in front. There were coat racks that could be pushed behind a Spanish-leather screen during performances. Also in the basement was a men's smoking room with oak wainscoting, yellowish-brown walls with benches, a cream-colored ceiling, and a red tile floor. Though green rooms were falling out of favor by the time the Little Theatre was constructed, one was included on Ames's insistence. The room was decorated with green walls, a long seat, and mirrors. == History ==

Times Square became the epicenter for large-scale theater productions between 1900 and the Great Depression. Manhattan's theater district had begun to shift from Union Square and Madison Square during the first decade of the 20th century. From 1901 to 1920, forty-three theaters were built around Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, including the Little Theatre. Winthrop Ames, a member of a wealthy publishing family, did not enter the theatrical industry until 1905, when he was 34 years old. After being involved in the development of two large venues, Boston's Castle Square Theatre and New York City's New Theatre, Ames decided to focus on erecting smaller venues during the Little Theatre Movement. Initial Broadway run Development and early years 's play The Pigeon (1912). In September 1911, Ames announced his intention to build a 300-seat playhouse around Times Square. The 299-seat capacity exempted Ames from New York City Fire Department regulations, wherein theaters with at least 300 seats required emergency-exit alleys on either side. Ames released further details about the theater in December 1911. The Little was to be a single-level auditorium without balconies or boxes, and it was to host "plays of wide appeal" and "novelties". Ames wanted the theater to host "the clever, the unusual drama that has a chance of becoming a library classic". Some critics said the site was too far from Times Square, but Ames countered that the Belasco Theatre, one block east, was the same distance from Times Square. Another criticism was that Ames's theater was elitist because all seats had equally good views of the stage, with one ticket price for all seats. The Little opened on March 12, 1912, with John Galsworthy's play The Pigeon. This was followed by a special matinee with Charles Rann Kennedy's The Terrible Meek and Ma Tcheu-Yuen's The Flower of the Palace of Han. as well as the original productions Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Rutherford and Son. Ames financed several of the initial shows at the theater, including Prunella and The Philanderer in 1913. In addition, in 1914, Ames started hiring musicians to play "new, original, unpublished American music" during intermission. At the end of that year, Ames's physician ordered him to take a twelve-month hiatus from theatrical productions. as Ames did not return to producing until August 1916. Expansion and Morosco/Golden operation By early 1915, the small capacity of the Little had restricted Ames's ability to profit from the venue, Two months later, Ames leased the dwelling at 244 West 44th Street for the possible enlargement of the theater. The New-York Tribune lamented that the city would "lose its gem among playhouses" with the planned enlargement. A Billboard magazine article that July indicated that the theater would receive a 200-seat balcony, increasing the capacity only to 500 seats. Ames hired Herbert J. Krapp in 1917 to remodel the theater with a balcony. Krapp kept the box office, the lobby, and the auditorium ceiling in their original condition. He removed the wainscoting and wall coverings, since these did not conform to New York City building regulations for larger venues, and added Adam-style decorations in their place. A disagreement with the New York City Department of Buildings delayed the renovation by three years. In 1918, Rachel Crothers's play A Little Journey opened at the Little, running for 252 performances. and Ames leased the theater to Oliver Morosco the same month. The same year, Morosco presented Please Get Married, featuring Ernest Truex and Edith Taliaferro. John Golden's production of Frank Craven's The First Year, starring Craven and Roberta Arnold, opened at the Little in October 1920; that play ran for nearly two years. By that year, Ames had incurred a net deficit of $504,372 from the theater's operation, and the corporation operating the theater was dissolved. and stayed at the Little for three months. Two plays by Guy Bolton were staged at the Little in 1923: Polly Preferred with Genevieve Tobin and Chicken Feed with Roberta Arnold. The latter was transferred to another theater when Golden sought to transfer the revue Little Jessie James to the Little. The comedy Pigs opened at the Little in September 1924 and ran for 347 performances. This was followed in 1926 by two shows with over a hundred performances: and Gladys Buchanan Unger's Two Girls Wanted. Additionally, Rachel Crothers's Let Us Be Gay opened in 1929 with Francine Larrimore and Warren William, running for 353 performances. Two months later, the Little Theatre was leased to Chauncey W. Keim of the Harkem Holding Corporation for ten years. Harkem gave up its lease in June 1930, citing an unprofitable season. Later that year, the Little hosted Mr. Samuel with Edward G. Robinson, which was Ames's last show at the theater. Vincent Astor sold the theater to the New York Times Company that November. According to the Times, the theater would "protect the light and air" of the Times annex at 229 West 43rd Street, as well as provide an additional exit from the annex. the Times decided to keep the theater operating for at least a year. Ames's lease on the Little expired in May 1932. The New York Times Company leased the theater to Little Theatre Operating Company for one year starting in September 1932. The new operator planned to host "contemporary light comedies". including "a spate of plays with 'Honeymoon' in their titles". The theater passed to the Frankwyn Corporation, operated by Arch Selwyn and H. B. Franklin. In December 1934, Allen Robbins and Jacob Weiser assumed operation of the theater. The next February, the theater was leased to CBS as a broadcast studio. At the time, producer Brock Pemberton had offices on the upper stories; he was allowed to stay. The playwright Anne Nichols leased the theater for legitimate productions in September 1936. Nichols moved her play Pre-Honeymoon there, and the venue became Anne Nichols' Little Theatre. Sun Kissed with Jean Adair and Charles Coburn, and ''Abie's Irish Rose. The theatrical firm of Bonfils and Somnes were leasing the theater at the time. The Shubert family (which operated several nearby theaters) and the operators of the neighboring Astor Hotel objected that the proposed demolition would lower their property values. In 1940, the Little hosted the revue Reunion in New York'', featuring the American Viennese Group. Intermittent theatrical use 1940s and 1950s The theater became a conference center named the New York Times Hall in December 1941. The first event at the conference hall was a speech by mayor Fiorello La Guardia about air-raid preparations at schools. Under the Times ownership, the theater sometimes hosted concerts and discussions. The events included "victory garden lectures", a book conference for children, an instrumental concert, and recitals from figures such as basso Emanuel List and dancer Lotte Goslar. The hall's steep rake was removed, and the pipes throughout the theater building were replaced. In August 1944, the New York Times Company filed plans for a 11-story building on the site of the Little Theatre, but these plans were not executed. The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) leased the theater as a television studio by July 1951. ABC renovated the theater for The Frances Langford–Don Ameche Show, a variety show featuring Frances Langford and Don Ameche. The stage apron was extended into the orchestra, and lighting, control rooms, and camera arrangements were modified. The Little Theatre was also used for ABC radio broadcasts. In 1953, executives of the Ern Westmore Show arranged to broadcast from the Little for six and a half years. Dick Clark's The Dick Clark Show started broadcasting from the Little Theatre in February 1958, remaining there through September 1960. During this time, ABC also broadcast the daytime show Who Do You Trust? with Johnny Carson from the theater. 1960s and 1970s In June 1962, Roger Euster purchased the Little Theatre through his company Little Theatre Inc., beating out several other bidders. The acquisition cost $850,000, part of which the company financed through a stock offering of $294,000. Euster planned to host daily "marathon presentations", with various legitimate plays, impersonations, children's shows, and classic shows running for 17 hours a day. The first new legitimate show at the theater was Tambourines of Glory, and closed after a week. Euster opened a bar in the Little's basement and offered free alcoholic beverages to patrons, but the New York City license commissioner quickly halted the practice because the theater had no liquor license. At the end of the year, the Paul Taylor Dance Company performed at the Little. Subsequently, in early 1964, the Habima Theatre of Israel performed three shows at the Little: The Dybbuk, Children of the Shadows, and Each Had Six Wings. Euster and Leonard Tow sold the theater in June 1964 to Leonard B. Moore and Richard S. Smith. The theater was renamed the Winthrop Ames Theatre that September, when Frank D. Gilroy's play The Subject Was Roses transferred there. and the theater's name reverted to the Little. as it was seeking to lease the theater as a broadcast studio. At first, Westinghouse taped the syndicated Merv Griffin Show at the Little. and the theater was being used for taping The David Frost Show. The 1969–70 season of the game show Beat the Clock, hosted by Jack Narz, was also taped there. A show by psychologist Joyce Brothers was also hosted at the Little Theatre. Amid a general decline in the Times Square neighborhood, the Little Theatre became vacant by mid-1972. The venue stood vacant for six months in 1973, reopening in September as a venue for gay pornographic films. In May 1974, Westinghouse Broadcasting acquired the Little Theatre from Moore's company, after Moore defaulted on a mortgage that had been placed on the theater building. Broadway revival 1974 to 1989 The Little Theatre returned to legitimate productions a second time in 1974, when Ray Aranha's My Sister, My Sister opened there. Because of the Little's small size, the Actors' Equity Association gave the theater a special designation, which exempted the theater from some of Actors' Equity's strict rules regarding profits. as well as in 1976 by a six-month run of The Runner Stumbles. The next hit at the theater was Albert Innaurato's play Gemini, which transferred from off Broadway in 1977 and ran for 1,819 performances over the next four years. for $800,000. Springer's group, known as the Little Theater Group, planned to spend $400,000 to renovate the theater. The theater's next hit came in June 1982 when Harvey Fierstein's play Torch Song Trilogy opened; it ran for three years. Ed Koch, then the mayor of New York City, said that Hayes wanted her name on "a small theater" when asked whether she wanted the hotel's new 1,500-seat theater (later the Marquis Theatre) renamed in her honor. After Torch Song Trilogy ended, the Hayes hosted the musical The News, which flopped after four performances in 1985. The next year, the Hayes staged the comedy Corpse!, the mime show Mummenschanz: "The New Show", The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) started to consider protecting the Hayes as a landmark in 1982, with discussions continuing over the next several years. The LPC designated the Hayes's facade and part of the interior as landmarks on November 17, 1987. That month, the owners announced that they would auction off the theater at a starting price of $5 million. The New York City Board of Estimate ratified the landmark designations in March 1988. The theater was auctioned the same month; both Jujamcyn Theaters and the Nederlander Organization attended the auction, but there were no bidders. Late in the decade, the Hayes hosted Larry Shue's The Nerd in 1987 and the two-act musical Romance/Romance in 1988. This was followed in 1989 by Mandy Patinkin's Dress Casual and Artist Descending a Staircase. 1990 to 2007 Premiering at the Helen Hayes Theatre in 1990 were a short run of Estelle Parsons's solo show ''Miss Margarida's Way, as well as a year-long run of the off-Broadway hit Prelude to a Kiss. The Hayes was remodeled in 1992, and the musical revue The High Rollers Social and Pleasure Club and the musical 3 From Brooklyn were staged the same year. Lynn Redgrave performed her solo show Shakespeare For My Father in 1993, followed the next year by Joan Rivers in Sally Marr...and Her Escorts'' and a stunt show by The Flying Karamazov Brothers. Rob Becker's monologue Defending the Caveman opened at the Hayes in 1995 and ran for nearly two years. This was followed in 1997 by Alfred Uhry's play The Last Night of Ballyhoo, The Hayes's productions at the end of the 1990s included Getting and Spending in 1998, as well as Band in Berlin, Night Must Fall, The revue Dirty Blonde opened in 2000 and was a hit. This was followed by Hershey Felder's solo musical tribute George Gershwin Alone and the musical By Jeeves in 2001, as well as the black comedy The Smell of the Kill in 2002. Frank Gorshin performed solo in Say Goodnight Gracie for 364 performances starting in 2002. William Gibson's play ''Golda's Balcony opened the next year, featuring Tovah Feldshuh, and ran for 493 performances. During 2005, Jackie Mason hosted his comedy Freshly Squeezed at the Hayes, and the Latino comedy revue Latinologues'' was also presented. The theater's productions in 2006 included Bridge and Tunnel, Kiki & Herb: Alive on Broadway, and Jay Johnson: The Two and Only. While Tick died the same year, his family still co-owned the theater with Markinson. Second Stage Sale and continuing productions In July 2008, Markinson and the Tick family indicated their intention to sell the Hayes to Second Stage Theater, which planned to take over the theater in 2010. Second Stage was raising $35 million for both the acquisition and a renovation. In the meantime, ''Slava's Snowshow had a limited run at the Hayes during the 2008–2009 winter season. The 39 Steps'' moved to the Hayes in 2009 and ran for a year before relocating off-Broadway. In 2010, Second Stage launched a $45 million capital campaign, with commitments for half that amount, and the theater company was planning to sell the theater's naming rights for $15 million. Pfeiffer Partners had completed plans for a renovation of the theater's interior. The same year, the Hayes staged the play Next Fall, as well as Colin Quinn's one-man show Long Story Short, the latter of which was recorded at the theater as an HBO special. The popular rock musical Rock of Ages transferred to the Hayes in 2011, running there for nearly four years. Rock of Ages achieved the box office record for the Helen Hayes Theatre, grossing $744,667 over nine performances for the week ending December 30, 2012. After Second Stage finally raised enough money to buy the theater, Tick's family and Markinson requested that the sale be delayed until Rock of Ages closed. In February 2015, Second Stage sued the Hayes's owners for allegedly reneging on the 2008 sale agreement. Second Stage alleged that Tick's family and Markinson were trying to invalidate the sale by rushing the closing process. By then, the costs of acquiring and renovating the theater had increased to $58 million from $35 million. The dispute was resolved in April 2015, when the sale of the Hayes to Second Stage was finalized. With the sale, Second Stage became one of four nonprofit theater companies to own and operate Broadway theaters. and then The Humans in 2016. Renovation and reopening The Humans relocated to another theater in July 2016 to make way for Second Stage's renovation. Jordan Roth of Jujamcyn Theaters, which operated the neighboring St. James Theatre, approached Second Stage about the possibility of simultaneously renovating both theaters. Second Stage sold the alley between the theaters to Jujamcyn, which helped Second Stage fund the cost of renovating the Hayes. and the basement became a lounge and concession space. Second Stage planned to host works by living American playwrights, particularly from female and minority writers, at the Hayes Theater. This was a contrast to other Broadway theaters, which often hosted revivals by dead playwrights as well as foreign works. This was followed the same year by Young Jean Lee's Straight White Men and a revival of Torch Song Trilogy. Subsequently, in 2019, the Hayes hosted Heidi Schreck's What the Constitution Means to Me and Tracy Letts's Linda Vista. After Linda Vista, the Hayes was to have presented two plays in early 2020: Bess Wohl's Grand Horizons and a revival of Richard Greenberg's 2002 play Take Me Out. Grand Horizons was staged from January to March 2020. and previews of Take Me Out were delayed. The Hayes reopened on November 3, 2021, with previews of ''Clyde's by Lynn Nottage. Take Me Out'' opened in April 2022, The Hayes then hosted Jordan Harrison's play Marjorie Prime starting in December 2025, == Notable productions ==

Productions are listed by the year of their first performance. Little Theatre Helen Hayes Theatre (1983–2017) Hayes Theater (Second Stage) == See also ==