It isn’t often that a set designer gets to design the entire interior of a theatre. But architect and designer David Rockwell got to do exactly that with the new home of New York theatre company Second Stage. Now, 2ST will honor him at its 38th Anniversary Gala, May 1 at Tao Downtown restaurant in Manhattan.

The company, which has been a fixture of the Off-Broadway scene for most of the last four decades, makes the jump to Broadway in 2018 when it opens its first season at the1912 Helen Hayes Theatre, which it purchased and is in the process of renovating. Rockwell will be honored at the gala along with the 2ST Building Committee.

Celebrities set to perform or speak at the gala include Tony Award winners Jane Krakowski, James Lapine, Marisa Jaret Winokur, Jerry Mitchell, and Jack O'Brien, plus Kerry Butler, Moisés Kaufman, Brooke Shields, Aaron Tveit, Scott Ellis, Reed Birney, Tony Goldwyn, Joe Pantoliano, Rachel Bay Jones, Benim Foster, Jeffrey Lahoste, Kristolyn Lloyd, Constance Schulman, Gale Brewer, and Corey Johnson.

Rockwell designed Broadway productions including Kinky Boots, Legally Blonde, Hairspray, On Your Fee!, and recent revivals of Falsettos, On the 20th Century, and She Loves Me.

Second Stage’s inaugural Broadway season will kick off in March 2018 with Lobby Hero by Kenneth Lonergan, starring Michael Cera and Chris Evans.

Tao is located at 92 Ninth Avenue between 16th and 17th Streets.

Kerry Butler has been a special guest performer on one of Playbill’s Broadway on the High Seas cruises. Playbill’s inaugural river cruise along the Rhône River May 21–28 is sold out, but cabins are available for the Rhine River cruise in August 2017, featuring Seth Rudetsky, Andréa Burns, Faith Prince, Terrence Mann, Charlotte d’Amboise, and Santino Fontana. Playbill Travel is now also booking Broadway on the Danube River for November 2017, with celebrity guests to be announced. Visit PlaybillTravel.com for booking and information.

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