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01/27/2012 12:00 AM

New Signature Center Ushers In World-Class Design

By: Jill Urban

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A new 75,000-square-foot performing art and public space designed by world-renowned architect Frank Gehry is set to open Tuesday. NY1’s Jill Urban filed the following report.

It’s 75,000 square feet of dynamic theater and public space designed by one of the most world-renowned architects. The curtain will soon go up on the Signature Theater Company’s new Signature Center. As crews put on the finishing touches, NY1 was allowed a sneak peek.

“We are beyond ecstatic to be able to introduce the new Frank Gehry Signature to the New York community. We think it's a game changer, and it’s going to absolutely change how the audience interfaces with theater and artists here,” says founding artistic director Jim Houghton.

Located inside the MiMa building on 42nd Street and 10th Avenue, the spectacular new space includes three venues, a 300-seat theater with a massive Broadway size stage, a 200-seat jewel box venue designed to replicate a European opera house, and a 200-seat capacity convertible space that can be adjusted for any type of performance.

In the center of it all is an open lobby with a grand staircase that’s designed to bring a community together.

“There’s 7,500 square feet of lobby. There’s a café, a book store, a concierge desk, there’s a digital wall you can interface with. It’s just meant to create an invitation for audience and artist to intersect,” says Houghton.

The interiors were all created by architect Frank Gehry. Here he modesty uses raw materials like plywood and concrete, but in a very artistic way. The center reflects the philosophy of the Signature Theater Company but certainly showcases Gehry’s signature style.

“One of the wonderful things about Frank is that is imagination is so rich. In our largest theater, Frank has taken plywood and cracked it and shaped it and as you experience it in the room, one end its very understated and low key, and as you come to the back of the room it becomes extremely dynamic and sculptural,” says Houghton.

While the building is top of the line with world-class design, the mission here is to keep theater affordable. Any performance in any venue is always $25 a ticket. So, when it opens its doors on Tuesday, the space will certainly take center stage, but over time it’s its accessibility that will remain in the spotlight.