Judge Asks Second Stage and Helen Hayes Owners to Settle Out of Court

After last week's news that Second Stage Theater had filed for an extension to close on Broadway's Helen Hayes Theatre, The New York Times writes that judge Joan M. Kenney of New York State Supreme Court has urged both parties in the purchase deal -- now at a standstill -- to settle out of court.

Second Stage was unable to close with Hayes owners Jeffrey Tick and Martin Markinson by the planned date of Tuesday, February 17, because the company couldn't raise the $25 million necessary to finalize the venue's purchase. Second Stage filed for an extension on February 13 to stop the Hayes owners from backing out of the deal, but an agreement couldn't be made.

Today, the judge reportedly called the lawyers for both Second Stage and the Hayes owners to her bench for 10 minutes of talks, after which Second Stage's attorney Robert J. Ward said, "She [the judge] wants us to sit down to try to settle. I'm trying to get my principals to come down," referring to Second Stage artistic director Carole Rothman, who was supposed to come to the courthouse to discuss the deal.

Matthew E. Hearle, lawyer for the Hayes owners, said: "It's our position that a reasonable offer on an extension was made last week, and Second Stage flatly rejected it."

The Hayes owners had offered an extension through March for a fee of $175,000. Second Stage countered with terms of $175,000 and a 90-day extension, as originally stipulated in the purchase agreement.

The Hayes owners rejected this offer because the delay was "depriving them of possible rental income for the Hayes." Tick told the Times: "We had several producers who were interested in putting shows in the theater this spring, but that won't be possible."

Tick has also had an overall change of heart about selling the venue for personal reasons related to the death of his daughter more than a year ago.

Second Stage was aiming to purchase and renovate the Hayes in time for the 2017-18 season. The off-Broadway company announced it would be acquiring the Hayes in 2007. Whether the deal goes through or not, Second Stage will continue to lease and operate their original theaters on the city's Upper West Side and in Midtown Manhattan.