Signature Theatre Company to Name Theatre After Playwright Romulus Linney

Signature Theatre announced today that philanthropist and Signature Board of Trustees member Margot Adams has made a gift honoring playwright Romulus Linney in support of Signature Center, the Company's new, permanent home opening in February 2012. Spanning an entire city block at 42nd Street between Dyer and 10th Avenue, the Frank Gehry-designed Signature Center features three intimate theatres, a Studio Theatre, rehearsal studio, and a public café and bookstore. The Center will be both a theatre community hub and a neighborhood destination, and has been designed to foster interaction among playwrights, artistic collaborators, and the public.

Mrs. Adams, a long-time supporter of Signature Theatre since her late husband, actor Mason Adams, performed with the Company in 1999, made the gift in honor of playwright Romulus Linney. Linney was Signature's founding playwright-in-residence during the Company's first season in 1991, and a collaborator and friend of Mr. Adams'. Upon Linney's passing in early 2011, Mrs. Adams resolved to honor the playwright's memory in the form of a donation in support of Signature Center. In recognition of this $5 million gift, one of Signature Center's new theatres-a flexible 199-seat space that can be transformed into multiple configurations-will be named "The Romulus Linney Courtyard Theatre."

"Signature Center fills a void in New York's theatrical landscape, by providing an artistic home for multiple playwrights to create new work, interact with the public, and support one another in an extraordinary creative community," noted donor and Board of Trustees member Margot Adams. "As a long-time supporter of this great Company, I am proud to support Signature Center and to honor Romulus Linney's legacy with the naming of this glorious new theatre."

Signature Theatre is distinguished for its pioneering programs that celebrate the playwright's body of work. Signature Center will enable the 20-year old Company to expand its programming, introduce new initiatives, and build audiences. The Company will present up to nine plays each season at the Center, which will serve as the artistic home for as many as 11 playwrights at any one time, allowing Signature to expand its commitment to playwrights and foster a creative community that brings together audiences and theatre artists.

"Romulus Linney inspired our beginnings and without him there simply wouldn't be a Signature Center," noted Signature's Founding Artistic director James Houghton. "We are indebted to Margot Adams for her extraordinary gift and vision. We look forward to honoring Romulus' memory and work with the naming of ‘The Romulus Linney Courtyard Theatre' and it is my hope that ‘The Linney' will serve as an inspiration for the generations of playwrights to come who will work at Signature Center."

Photo Credit: Linda Lenzi