Hayes Theater New York
Hayes Theater Tickets
What’s On at Hayes Theater
The Hayes Theatre’s reputation for platforming new work by contemporary writers continues with its current season. Theatergoers who want to catch the latest hot-button plays and be part of New York’s cultural conversation should book tickets for Job on Broadway, a hit psychological thriller by Max Wolf Friedlich. This tense show has already enjoyed sold-out Downtown runs, and transfers for a limited season. Directed by Michael Herwitz and featuring Tony nominee Peter Friedman and Sydney Lemmon, Job follows Jane, a tech professional desperate to return to her job after a viral incident, as she faces a therapist questioning the impact of her work.
About the Hayes Theater
The Hayes Theater is officially the smallest on Broadway, which explains why it was originally called the Little Theatre when it opened in 1912. The goal of the Little Theatre was to present smaller-scale productions, rather than the large, elaborate musicals that would come to dominate Broadway.
Harry Creighton Ingalls, of Ingalls & Hoffman, was the architect behind the original design, which seated only 300. It was first redesigned in the 1920s by Herbert J. Krapp, increasing capacity to 590. After being sold to the New York Times for use as a conference hall in 1931, then being bought by Martin Markinson and Donald Tick in 1979, the smaller-scale was renamed the Helen Hayes Theater in 1983, to honour the legendary film and stage actress of the same name.
In 2015 the Helen Hayes Theater was officially sold to Second Stage Theater Company, one of only four non-profit theatre companies operating on Broadway. The theatre was renamed The Hayes Theater in 2018. The first production under Second Stage was 2018’s Lobby Hero written by Kenneth Lonergan (screenwriter of Gangs of New York), featuring movie stars Michael Cera and Chris Evans.
Recently renovated and modernised, the Hayes Theater is a charming, intimate theatre that now focuses on an output of contemporary plays by living American playwrights.
Know Before You Go
• The Hayes Theater does not offer a coat check service
Map and Address
240 W 44th Street, New York, 10036