Second Stage Theater, a leading nonprofit that presents work by living American writers both on and off Broadway, is giving up its Rem Koolhaas-designed Off Broadway home in a former bank near Times Square, saying its rent was too high and its lease had unfavorable terms.
The theater company, which has nurtured multiple Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning shows over the years, until recently operated three theaters: the Hayes Theater on Broadway, an Off Off Broadway space on the Upper West Side and an Off Broadway theater, the Tony Kiser Theater, in a former bank building at the corner of West 43rd Street and Eighth Avenue.
Last year, Second Stage gave up the lease on its Off Off Broadway space. Now it is also relinquishing the Kiser Theater, a 296-seat theater space where it has been presenting plays and musicals since 1999. The Broadway house has been unaffected by the changes. The company said it was committed to continuing to produce work Off Broadway, and was searching for a new place in which to do so.
Second Stage is letting go of the Kiser at a time of significant strain on nonprofit theaters everywhere, and at a time of transition for the organization. Carole Rothman, one of the company’s founders and now its president and artistic director, is leaving the organization this summer after a 45-year tenure; the board is conducting a search for her successor.
The Second Stage board had agreed to an 8-year lease renewal for the West 43rd Street building in 2021, but decided late last year to exercise a one-time option that allowed it out of the lease at the end of this year.
Lisa Lawer Post, the company’s executive director, cited financial concerns in explaining the decision by the organization’s board to terminate the lease for the West 43rd Street building, which is where the company presented early productions of shows including “Dear Evan Hansen,” “Next to Normal” and “Between Riverside and Crazy.”
She said the building’s infrastructure was aging, and under the lease terms, the occupant was responsible for repairs and maintenance, which would be difficult to finance given the relatively short term of the lease. She said that the company had concluded that its rent was about twice the market rate, and that there were concerns because the landlord had an option to terminate the lease at any time with 18 months notice.
“It was a very precarious situation, so the board made the decision to terminate, and we’re actively in conversations to find a more permanent home for the theater,” Post said.
Asked about the company’s overall financial health, Post said, “I would say we’re in a strong position given that we are just out of Covid, and we’ve been fortunate to have a very strong season that certainly has helped us.”
The company said it currently has an annual budget of $23.5 million and has 45 full-time employees.
Second Stage is having a good winter because its current Broadway show, “Appropriate,” a drama about a Southern family with unsettling secrets, is a hit. It is the first Broadway production of a play written by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, an acclaimed American playwright whose work grapples with serious societal issues. And, with Sarah Paulson as the star, it has been selling so strongly that a group of commercial producers is moving it to a for-profit Broadway house after the Second Stage run ends next month.
The theater’s landlord could not be reached for comment. There have been reports that developers are looking at the block, which includes several low buildings along Eighth Avenue, for possible redevelopment. According to a 2022 report in Crain’s New York, Trans World Equities has accumulated several holdings along Eighth Avenue, which, the publication said, “could indicate Trans World’s plans to assemble a large development parcel.”
Second Stage is currently presenting “The Apiary” at the Kiser. It next plans to present a new work by Paula Vogel, “Mother Play,” on Broadway starting in April, and then an Off Broadway play called “Breaking the Story” starting in May at the Kiser.
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