HISTORY & MISSION

At Second Stage, we create and champion plays and musicals solely from contemporary American writers. On our mainstage Broadway theater, the Hayes, and in our Off Broadway theaters over the past 47 years, we have developed and presented over 200 daring and provocative theatrical experiences by working with countless artists who have contributed their talents to our award-winning productions. As the only Broadway company exclusively devoted to contemporary American writers Second Stage is dedicated to introducing the world to bold and diverse voices of American creativity.  

BIO / HISTORY

Celebrating its 47th season, Second Stage Theater is dedicated to producing contemporary plays and musicals from modern American writers. The 2025/26 season is the first under the leadership of Artistic Director, Evan Cabnet, and Executive Director, Adam Siegel. It included Jordan Harrison's Marjorie Prime and Gina Gionfriddo's Becky Shaw on Broadway at the Hayes theater as well as the Off-Broadway productions of Talene Monahan's Meet the Cartozians, Adam Bock's The Receptionist and Aya Ogawa's Meat Suit or the shitshow of motherhood at The Pershing Square Signature Center.

Founded in 1979, Second Stage began producing in the McGinn Cazale Theater on the upper west side in 1982. Notable productions from this period include This Is Our Youth by Kenneth Lonergan; Ricky Jay and His 52 Assistants by Ricky Jay; Coastal Disturbances by Tina Howe; and Crumbs from the Table of Joy by Lynn Nottage. In its early years, Second Stage worked with many actors, directors, and playwrights who would go on to illustrious careers in American theater, including Jeff Daniels, Annette Bening, Angela Bassett, Kate Nelligan, Nathan Lane, Austin Pendleton, Kevin Bacon, Judith Ivey, Frances Conroy, Betty Buckley, Cynthia Nixon, Dianne Wiest, and Laurence Fishburne, among many others.

In 1999, Second Stage renovated and took up residence at the Tony Kiser Theater in midtown. Production highlights at the Kiser include Jitney by August Wilson; Metamorphoses by Mary Zimmerman; The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee by William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin; Next to Normal by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey; The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity by Kristoffer Diaz; By The Way, Meet Vera Stark by Lynn Nottage; Dear Evan Hansen by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, and many more. The McGinn Cazale Theater became home to the company’s ‘Uptown Series’, where such notable writers as Rajiv Joseph, Bess Wohl, Adam Bock, and Leslye Headland debuted new productions.

In 2015, Second Stage acquired and renovated the Hayes Theater, bringing its dedication to producing new American plays to Broadway. The inaugural production in 2017 was Kenneth Lonergan’s Lobby Hero, followed by Young Jean Lee’s Straight White Men. Notable productions at the Hayes include Appropriate by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (2024 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play); Take Me Out by Richard Greenberg (2022 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play); Linda Vista by Tracy Letts; Grand Horizons by Bess Wohl; Clyde’s by Lynn Nottage; Between Riverside and Crazy by Stephen Adly Guirguis; The Thanksgiving Play by Larissa FastHorse; Mother Play by Paula Vogel; Cult of Love by Leslye Headland, Marjorie Prime by Jordan Harrison; and Becky Shaw by Gina Gionfriddo.

Since its founding, Second Stage’s productions have had the distinction of being recognized by 22 Tony Awards, 57 nominations, 29 Obie Awards including a special citation in 2017, 17 Lucille Lortel Awards, 13 Drama Desk Awards, 8 Outer Critics Circle Awards, 23 AUDELCO awards, three Pulitzer Prize winners, and four Pulitzer Prize finalists.