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Signature Theatre to Open Permanent New Home on West Side

The non-profit, off Broadway Signature Theatre Company is set to open its new permanent 70,000-square-foot home on Manhattan's West Side Tuesday.

Frank Gehry designed the $66-million Pershing Square Signature Center at 480 W. 42nd St. between Dyer and Tenth Avenues. The complex has three theaters, a studio theater for more experimental works, a rehearsal studio and a central plaza containing a public café and bookstore.

At its new home, the Signature Company will continue to do what it is known for: devote an entire season to the work of one playwright.

The new center will allow the company to expand its programming, and be able to offer multiple playwrights five-year residencies to develop new work and host its Legacy Program, which honors the lifetime achievements of artists who have previously been in residence at Signature.

Rendering of the Pershing Square Signature Center on West 42nd St.
Rendering of the Pershing Square Signature Center on West 42nd St. (Rendering by Daniel Black)
Model of the cafe and bookstore.
Model of the cafe and bookstore. (Gehry Partners, LLP)
Architect Frank Gehry, Signature Capital Campaign Chair and Board Member Edward Norton and Signature Founding Director James Houghton check out one of the center's model.
Architect Frank Gehry, Signature Capital Campaign Chair and Board Member Edward Norton and Signature Founding Director James Houghton check out one of the center's model. (Photo by Steve and Anita Shevett)
Model of the center's Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre.
Model of the center's Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre. (Gehry Partners, LLP)
The Pershing Square Signature Center groundbreaking in 2009 (L-R): Tony Kushner, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Christine Quinn, James Houghton, Michael Bloomberg, Erika Mallin, John Guare.
The Pershing Square Signature Center groundbreaking in 2009 (L-R): Tony Kushner, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Christine Quinn, James Houghton, Michael Bloomberg, Erika Mallin, John Guare. (Photo by Brian Estrada)
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