Signature to Name One of its New Theaters After Playwright Romulus Linney

One of the spaces in the Signature Theatre Company’s new home, Signature Center, will be named after the playwright Romulus Linney, who passed away in January of this year at the age of 80.

The Romulus Linney Courtyard Theatre, a flexible 199-seat space that can be transformed into multiple configurations, is made possible due to a $5 million donation from philanthropist Margot Adams, who resolved to honor the writer who had also been a collaborator and good friend of Mrs. Adams’ husband, actor Mason Adams.

As previously reported, the Frank Gehry-designed Signature Center features three intimate theatres, a studio theatre, rehearsal studio, and a public café and bookstore. It spans an entire city block at 42nd Street between Dyer and 10th Avenue, and will open in February 2012.

Linney’s The Love Suicide at Schofield Barracks was performed on Broadway in 1972. He was also the founding Playwright-in-Residence at Signature Theatre Company during the 1991-92 season.

Among his many plays are A Lesson Before Dying, True Crimes, Childe Byron, The Sorrows of Frederick, F.M., Heathen Valley, Holy Ghosts, and Klonksy and Schwartz. His honors include an Obie Award for sustained excellence in playwriting, and both the Academy Award in Literature and Award of Merit Medal for Drama from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.