Pearl executives signed a 20-year lease on the space at 555 W. 42nd Street, after the Signature moved to its new, multi-million dollar complex several blocks away in late January. The classics-minded theatre company will begin offering programming at its new space in the fall. (The venue was known as the Peter Norton Space in the Signature era; the New York Times reported that the Pearl will rename the theatre.)

Artistic director J.R. Sullivan took on his role at the Pearl just as the company was making its transition to midtown Manhattan. The Pearl will begin a $3 million capital campaign to cover renovations, new equipment and to secure the company's future sustainability.

"This move to 42nd Street marks a tremendous opportunity for The Pearl and its audiences," Sullivan said in a statement. "The former home of the Signature Theatre Company is justly renowned as a great space for great plays. It is convenient, comfortable, and offers audiences an intimate relationship to an especially fine stage space. It will prove a perfect fit for the classics to come from The Pearl."

The Pearl's upcoming production will be Eugene O'Neill's A Moon for the Misbegotten, featuring Dan Daily, Kim Martin-Cotten and Andrew May, beginning March 6 at City Center Stage II.

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