Signature Theater Company Receives $3 Million Gift

The family foundation of Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg has donated $3 million to Signature Theater Company for the centerpiece stairway of its new Frank Gehry-designed home on 42nd Street between Dyer and 10th Avenue, artistic director James Houghton announced today at a press event.

The new Signature Center, which will open to the public on January 31, features three theatres — The End Theatre, the Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre, and The Romulus Linney Courtyard Theatre — as well as a studio theatre, rehearsal studio, and a public café and bookstore. The project is expected to cost approximately $66 million, and 80 percent of the funds have been already raised.

The 2012 season will feature seven productions: Athol Fugard’s Blood Knot, My Children, My Africa! and The Train Driver; Edward Albee’s The Lady from Dubuque, starring Jane Alexander; Katori Hall’s Hurt Village; Will Eno’s Title and Deed; and a yet-to-be-titled play by Kenneth Longergan.

In addition, Juilliard Drama Division’s “Professional Studio” will be hosted by Signature Theatre, beginning in the fall of 2012. As part of the five-year arrangement, fourth and final-year students in both Juilliard’s Bachelor degree, and new Master of Fine Arts degree programs in Drama will take part in professional workshops, rehearsals, and performances at the studio theater.