Signature Theatre Company Inc.

City-funded organization

Signature Theatre Company Inc. is a nonprofit off-Broadway theater company founded in 1991 by James Houghton, based at the Pershing Square Signature Center at 480 West 42nd Street in Manhattan. The city's Department of Design and Construction funded the theater's home with $22 million (contract ended 2012) and a further $3.4 million Phase II award (ended 2014), plus a currently active $1.45 million grant for continued reconstruction; Checkbook NYC tags all of the company's Department of Design and Construction contracts as "Grant" awards, meaning 100% of the company's $29 million in career NYC contract value ($28,601,078 across 17 contracts) was awarded without a fresh competitive bid. The Department of Cultural Affairs has also made annual grants to the company, and City Council members, including Erik Bottcher and Johnson, have steered $95,000 in discretionary funding to it across 19 awards since FY2009, in every fiscal year since. Its top paid officer, Artistic Director Barbara Paige Evans, was paid $363,829 in FY2023, per the organization's IRS Form 990.

Industry (per city contracts)
Construction Services
City contracts (active)
$1,445,768 · 1 contract
Awarded all-time
$28,601,078 · 17 since 2009, incl. expired
Paid to date
$28,248,243
Won without a fresh bid
100% of contract value · $28,601,078 · 17 contracts
Discretionary funding (FY2009-FY2027)
$95,000 · 19 awards
Funding history
Funded every year since FY2009 (19 years running)
Top officer pay (FY2023)
$363,829 · Barbara Paige Evans, Artistic Director (To Jun 2024)

Holds contracts at

City contracts

Registered city contracts, largest first by current contract value (not amount spent): running now, then registered to start later, then ended. Totals count every registered contract. Each line shows its Checkbook contract ID. The tag on each row is how it was awarded (“no-bid” = non-competitive).

Discretionary funding received

City Council discretionary (member-item) awards, largest first. Covers FY2009-FY2027.

Funded by these council members

City Council members who steered discretionary (member-item) money to this organization, largest first (FY2020 and later, where the sponsoring member is disclosed). Sitting members link to their page.

Officer & key-staff pay

Reportable compensation from this organization's IRS Form 990 (Part VII), latest available filing (FY2023). Includes pay from related organizations where reported; an annual figure, not a running total. Source: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.

Officer pay over time

Total officer pay changed +20% from FY2020 to FY2023. Top-officer reportable compensation by year (org-paid only), with each year's share of total revenue. Source: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer 990 filings.

Federal awards

Federal awards made directly to this organization in fiscal years 2023 through 2026. Each amount is what the federal government has OBLIGATED on that award as recorded on USAspending.gov as of 2026-08-31 — money committed, not money paid out. These are prime awards only: federal money this

Sources