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Helen Hayes Theatre

 
American Theater Guide: Helen Hayes Theatres
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Helen Hayes Theatres (New York). The famous actress has had her name attached to two Broadway theatres, which seems only right for one of the American theatre's most beloved stars. The first was a structure on West 46th Street that opened in 1911 as a restaurant‐theatre called the Folies‐Bergère, but the plan to copy the famous Paris attraction quickly failed, so it was remodeled into a legit theatre called the Fulton a few months later. The Henry Herts‐ and Tallant‐designed playhouse had only 1,000 seats and featured a pastel‐colored interior that was deemed one of the loveliest on Broadway. Although it switched to films a few times during the Depression, the Fulton was a favorite venue for plays, and it was renamed after Helen Hayes in 1955. Despite many protests, the old theatre was torn down in 1982 to make way for the Marriott Marquis Hotel, which included a new, larger theatre for musicals. The developers offered to name the new venue after Hayes, but she politely declined the offer. Instead the Little Theatre on West 44th Street was renamed after her in 1983, and it remains the Helen Hayes Theatre today. The Little was built by Winthrop Ames in 1912 as a small space (299 seats) in the colonial style for new and innovative plays. The venture failed and a balcony was added in 1916 to make it a more traditional Broadway house. With twice as much seating, the Little found tenants until it became a lecture hall in 1931 and a television studio in 1959. It returned as a legit house in 1963 and was renamed the Winthrop Ames Theatre for two years. Today the intimate little space is ideal for small or one‐person shows and has been frequently booked.

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Wikipedia: Helen Hayes Theatre
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For the Helen Hayes Theatre built in 1911 and demolished in 1982, see Fulton Theatre.
The Helen Hayes Theatre, 2006.
The Helen Hayes Theatre showing Xanadu, 2007.
Helen Hayes Theatre (left) and St. James Theatre (right), 2007.

Helen Hayes Theatre (formerly the Little Theatre, New York Times Hall and Winthrop Ames Theatre) with 597 seats is the smallest Broadway theatre and is located at 240 West 44th Street in midtown-Manhattan.

Since 1979 it has been privately owned and operated by Martin Markinson and the late Donald Tick. In July 2008 it was announced that Markinson and the Tick Family planned to sell the theatre to the Second Stage Theatre Off Broadway company for an undisclosed price. Second Stage said it needs to raise $135 million to then possibly buy the theatre, which would likely be renamed. Second Stage's first season is targeted for 2010.[1]

Contents

History

Little Theatre

The Helen Hayes Theatre was designed by the architect Harry Creighton Ingalls of the firm Ingalls & Hoffman, and built by Winthrop Ames. When it first opened, it was known as the Little Theatre, owing both to the theatre's small size (with a seating capacity of only 300), and also because the theatre's goal was to create small, intimate productions. The theatre in fact gave birth to what became known as the Little Theatre Movement in the early twentieth century.

The theatre opened on March 12, 1912 with John Galsworthy's play The Pigeon.

In the 1920s, Herbert J. Krapp redesigned the theatre to increase its seating capacity to 590 and improve its acoustics.

New York Times Hall

In 1931, the building was sold to the New York Times and converted into a conference hall renamed New York Times Hall. CBS used the theatre as a radio facility for a time, but it was reconverted by ABC into a legitimate theatre in 1958, once again as the Little Theatre. Dick Clark's Saturday night The Dick Clark Show originated from there from February 1958 through September 1961. During this time, ABC also broadcast the daytime hit Who Do You Trust? with Johnny Carson from the theatre. It was briefly renamed the Winthrop Ames Theatre in 1964. From 1965 through 1983 it was again the Little Theatre. During the first half of that period, Westinghouse Broadcasting taped the popular, syndicated Merv Griffin Show at the theatre.

Helen Hayes Theatre

The theatre was finally renamed for Helen Hayes in 1983 when the renowned actress' existing namesake theatre located on West 46th Street was demolished, along with the Morosco Theatre and the Bijou Theatre, in order to construct the New York Marriott Marquis. Hayes, known as the "First Lady of the American Theater," was still living at the time, and because of the unusual and embarrassing nature of her having outlived her monument, it was decided to rechristen the Little Theatre in her honor.

When not being used as a theatrical venue, the building also has been leased to CBS Radio and the Westinghouse Corporation.

Notable productions

References

  1. ^ Second Stage Will Set Up a Broadway Shop at Helen Hayes - New York Times - July 17, 2008

External links

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Broadway theatres
 
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Vivian Beaumont Theatre (LCT) · Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (formerly the Biltmore) (MTC) · Circle in the Square Theatre (independent) · Helen Hayes Theatre (independent) · Hilton Theatre (Live Nation) · New Amsterdam Theatre (leased by Disney)
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on Broadway

Coordinates: 40°45′28″N 73°59′15″W / 40.75778°N 73.9875°W / 40.75778; -73.9875


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American Theater Guide. The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. Copyright © 2004 by Oxford University Press, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Helen Hayes Theatre".  Read more