Helen Hayes Theatre

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The Helen Hayes Theatre, 2006
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The Helen Hayes Theatre, 2006

The Helen Hayes Theatre (originally the Little Theatre) is a Broadway theatre at 240 West 44th Street in New York City. Designed by Ingalls & Hoffman, and built by Winthrop Ames, it opened on 12 March 1912.

In 1931 it was sold to the New York Times, converted into a conference hall and renamed New York Times Hall. It was reconverted into a theatre in 1959, once again as the Little Theatre, and was briefly renamed in 1964 as the Winthrop Ames Theatre. From 1965 to 1983 it was again the Little Theatre, finally being renamed in honor of Helen Hayes, who was often called the "First Lady of the American Theater", in 1983.

When not being used as a theatrical venue it has been leased to CBS radio, ABC Television, and the Westinghouse Corporation.

Among the more recent popular shows which have played there are Shakespeare For My Father, Torch Song Trilogy, Prelude to a Kiss, By Jeeves, Golda's Balcony.

The theatre has recently been home to Latinologues, Bridge and Tunnel, Kiki and Herb, and currently Jay Johnson: The Two and Only. Its current seating capacity is 597, making it one of Broadway's smaller theatres.

The first Helen Hayes Theatre in New York was located at 201-14 West 46th street. Built in 1911, originally called the Folies-Bergere, it was renamed the Fulton Theatre later the same year. After 44 years as the Fulton, it was renamed in Hayes' honor in 1955. The theatre was demolished in 1982, along with the Morosco Theatre and the smaller Bijou Theatre in order to build a hotel. Hayes was still living at the time, and because of the unusual and embarrassing nature of having the honoree outlive her monument, the Little Theatre was renamed for Hayes the following year. Hayes died in 1993.

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