Our team led the award-winning restoration of Broadway’s landmark James Earl Jones Theatre, delivering comprehensive engineering services throughout the project.
KCI’s engineers worked to restore and expand Broadway’s historic Cort Theatre, which was renamed the James Earl Jones Theatre in 2022. Serving as Engineer of Record, our multidisciplinary team provided structural, civil, geotechnical, survey, signage, rigging and entertainment engineering, along with construction engineering support.
The $47 million renovation included a full restoration of the theater’s neoclassical interior and upgrades to its building and theatrical systems. A new five-story annex was added on the west side of the structure, providing accessible restrooms, dressing rooms, a lounge, rehearsal space, a new elevator, and a grand three-story staircase. Within the existing theater, improvements included sightline enhancements and multiple access points connecting to the annex.
KCI designed a replacement for hemp rigging system and theatrical infrastructure in the stage house with a modern counterweight fly system, new gridiron, new side galleries, and replacement stage floor, as well as new front-of-house rigging points, lighting supports, and catwalks. Our team designed construction sequencing to ensure the structure remained stable throughout the work. Due to tight site constraints and the removal of load-bearing walls where the annex meets the theater, our engineers also designed extensive temporary shoring. Civil engineering services included porous pavement and stormwater management design compliant with standards set by the NYC Department of Buildings and the Landmarks Preservation Commission.
The completed award-winning restoration preserved original decorative features such as murals, plasterwork, and Versailles-inspired details while seamlessly blending historical elegance with modern functionality to ensure the theater’s continued use and legacy for generations to come.
