logo
    • Magazine
    • Membership
    • Donate
  • Racial Justice
  • Economic Justice
    • Collections
  • Climate Justice
  • Health Justice
  • Leadership
  • CONTENT TYPES
  • Subscribe
  • Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Complimentary Webinars
    • Premium On-Demand Webinars
  • Membership
  • Submissions

Broadway’s Helen Hayes Theater Reopens under Nonprofit Stewardship

Steve Dubb
February 7, 2018
Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print
By Photo: Andreas Praefcke (Self-photographed) [GFDL or CC BY 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

February 5, 2018; New York Times

The Helen Hayes Theater opened 106 years ago as the Little Theater, “the smallest house on Broadway.” Michael Paulson reports in the New York Times that the theater is “about to reopen yet again, this time run by a nonprofit.

The theater, operated by the Second Stage Theater company, becomes the sixth of Broadway’s 41 officially designated theaters to be nonprofit-operated. Among them, you’ll find the holdings of the Roundabout Theatre Company (which operates three theaters), Lincoln Center Theatre, and the Manhattan Theatre Club. And, though it’s technically an “off-Broadway” theater, one can’t deny the influence of another New York City nonprofit theater company—the Public Theater, which famously premiered Hamilton before it moved to Broadway.

Outside New York City nonprofits dominate the theater industry. However, most Broadway shows are run on a for-profit basis. As Variety noted a few years ago, three companies—Shubert Organization, the Nederlander Organization, and Jujamcyn Theaters—own most of the venues, which they then lease out for individual productions. As of 2012, these companies operated 31 of what were then 40 Broadway theaters (with Shubert running 17 theaters, Nederlander nine theaters, and Jujamcyn five).

In 2010, Tim Donahue and Jim Patterson, who had both long worked in the theater department of the University of South Carolina and were co-authors of the book Stage Money: The Business of the Professional Theater, distinguished commercial and not-for-profit theater as follows:

Sign up for our free newsletters

Subscribe to NPQ's newsletters to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

Commercial Theater Not-for-Profit Theater
Typically formed as a partnership or company or produce one play only and then disband. Theoretically continues forever. Usually produces a slate of plays each season.
A production is often planned as an open-ended run, playing for as long as ticket sales support it. A production is rarely planned as an open-ended run; not-for-profit theaters generally have closed runs, with established ending dates.
Producers do not necessarily own and operate the theater where the show is playing After the starting years, most groups own or lease long-term and maintain their own theater space.
Box office results determine if a show runs. Only 40 to 60 percent of the budget comes from box office.
Profits for investors are taxable; losses are deductible for the most part. Income in excess of costs is called “surplus” and is maintained by the theater for another use. Donations to the not-for-profit theater are deductible for the most part.

As is true with many nonprofit theater companies, the nonprofit Second Stage Theater’s mission is to support works that would otherwise be unlikely to see a Broadway premiere. In particular, Second Stage has declared that it intends to focus on presenting works written “by living American playwrights.” This focus on new works by American playwrights, Paulson writes, functions as “a form of counterprogramming at a time when [commercial] Broadway is dominated by musicals, revivals and British imports.”

Second City paid $64 million to obtain the 589-seat capacity Helen Hayes Theater. About 83 percent of that amount has been raised so far. Fundraising continues with the goal of retiring the remaining debt. The building, whose name currently honors actress Helen Hayes, could “be renamed if and when a donor steps up to buy the rights,” notes Paulson.

The first post-renovation show will be Lobby Hero. Written by Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester by the Sea) and starring Chris Evans, previews are slated to begin March 1st, with the official opening on March 26th. That production will be followed this summer by Straight White Men, a play that is written by Young Jean Lee and which stars Armie Hammer (Call Me by Your Name). “The play,” notes Paulson, “will be the first by an Asian-American woman presented on Broadway.”

The original theater was built by Winthrop Ames, a wealthy producer, director and playwright. The theater opened with only 299 seats. President Woodrow Wilson was an early patron and the theater also included “a custom-designed seat up front to accommodate J.P. Morgan,” the famed financier. In 1920, a balcony was added, which increased the theater’s capacity to its current size.

From the 1940s through the 1960s, the building was only intermittently used for theater and instead was used largely for New York Times-sponsored events and television shows—Merv Griffin’s show among them. The building was then restored to regular use as a theater in 1974. The building was renamed the Helen Hayes in 1983, Paulson explains, “after another theater named for the actress was torn down.” Among Helen Hays’ best-known productions is Torch Song Trilogy. The Harvey Fierstein play, which ran from 1982 to 1985, got recognized with the Tony award for “Best New Play” in 1983.—Steve Dubb

Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Steve Dubb

Steve Dubb is senior editor of economic justice at NPQ, where he writes articles (including NPQ’s Economy Remix column), moderates Remaking the Economy webinars, and works to cultivate voices from the field and help them reach a broader audience. Prior to coming to NPQ in 2017, Steve worked with cooperatives and nonprofits for over two decades, including twelve years at The Democracy Collaborative and three years as executive director of NASCO (North American Students of Cooperation). In his work, Steve has authored, co-authored, and edited numerous reports; participated in and facilitated learning cohorts; designed community building strategies; and helped build the field of community wealth building. Steve is the lead author of Building Wealth: The Asset-Based Approach to Solving Social and Economic Problems (Aspen 2005) and coauthor (with Rita Hodges) of The Road Half Traveled: University Engagement at a Crossroads, published by MSU Press in 2012. In 2016, Steve curated and authored Conversations on Community Wealth Building, a collection of interviews of community builders that Steve had conducted over the previous decade.

More about: arts nonprofitsManagement and LeadershipNonprofit Newstheatre

Become a member

Support independent journalism and knowledge creation for civil society. Become a member of Nonprofit Quarterly.

Members receive unlimited access to our archived and upcoming digital content. NPQ is the leading journal in the nonprofit sector written by social change experts. Gain access to our exclusive library of online courses led by thought leaders and educators providing contextualized information to help nonprofit practitioners make sense of changing conditions and improve infra-structure in their organizations.

Join Today
logo logo logo logo logo
See comments

NPQ_Winter_2022Subscribe Today
You might also like
Hierarchy and Justice
Cyndi Suarez
Salvadoran Foreign Agent Law Threatens Human Rights Movements
Devon Kearney
Charitable Tax Reform: Why Half Measures Won’t Curb Plutocracy
Alan Davis
Healing-Centered Leadership: A Path to Transformation
Shawn A. Ginwright
Into the Fire: Lessons from Movement Conflicts
Ingrid Benedict, Weyam Ghadbian and Jovida Ross
How Nonprofits Can Truly Advance Change
Hildy Gottlieb

Popular Webinars

Remaking the Economy

Black Food Sovereignty, Community Stories

Register Now

Combating Disinformation and Misinformation in 21st-Century Social Movements

Register Now

Remaking the Economy

Closing the Racial Wealth Gap

Register Now
You might also like
Hierarchy and Justice
Cyndi Suarez
Salvadoran Foreign Agent Law Threatens Human Rights...
Devon Kearney
Charitable Tax Reform: Why Half Measures Won’t Curb...
Alan Davis

Like what you see?

Subscribe to the NPQ newsletter to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

See our newsletters

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

Independent & in your mailbox.

Subscribe today and get a full year of NPQ for just $59.

subscribe
  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Copyright
  • Careers

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

 

Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.