Second Stage Buys a Broadway Theater

The nonprofit Second Stage Theatre plans to buy and renovate the 499-seat Helen Hayes Theater on West 44th Street, the New York Times reported Wednesday. The company's artistic director, Carole Rothman, told the Times that Second Stage will raise $35 million to purchase and renovate the theater, which will probably be renamed. Second Stage, which has transferred hit productions, such as "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" and "The Little Dog Laughed," to Broadway, will also continue to produce shows in the two off-Broadway theaters it leases, on West 43rd Street at Eighth Avenue and Broadway at 76th Street.