St. James Theatre Set to Expand While Helen Hayes Theater Begins Renovations

According to Variety, one of Broadway's most notable houses, the St. James Theatre is set to expand its stage. The renovations include pushing the back wall of the theater out into the alley behind it. Work is scheduled to begin this summer while the Helen Hayes Theater next door begins its own renovations.

Currently the St. James Theatre houses the hit Broadway musical SOMETHING ROTTEN!, but don't fear- the renovations will not interfere with performances.

The alley currently between the St. James and the Helen Hayes was previously part of the Helen Hayes Theater. However, now that the Helen Hayes was purchased by Second Stage, Jujamcyn Theaters, which owns the St. James, bought the alley from the nonprofit organization. The renovations look to deepen the St. James by 10 feet in order to accommodate the large technical demands of many of today's new musicals.

According to Variety, Jujamcyn president Jordan Roth states, "At the end of it all, the Hayes will be a beautifully renovated play house and the James, which is already a premier musical house, will have a stage that can accommodate anything our creative teams dream up."

While SOMETHING ROTTEN! is still running, Jujamcyn will begin construction and renovation in the alley that will prep the space to become a part of the St. James stage, in a process that will include clearing out a few floors of offices that occupy the upper portions of the alley. Sometime in 2017, the theater's current back wall will be knocked down to connect the stage with the new expansion.

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