Upon completion, OGS assumed management of the facility operations as well, contracting with Porter Van Zandt, a Broadway director and former executive of The Acting Company to advise the agency.

The move was initially opposed by then-mayor Erastus Corning II, who feared he would have less control over it, though appointed representatives ensured that he remained involved.

In 1988, a proposal brokered by local arts patron Lewis Swyer allowed the youth theatre program to continue at the Egg, while also expanding presentations.

The youth theatre company remained in residence at the facility, albeit with a reduced amount of usage amidst its own financial challenges, but new executive director Terry Lorden was hired to oversee the broader portfolio of activities.

Originally slated to take two years to build, the numerous arcs and complicated design features required uniquely delicate surveying and careful implementation, causing the project to take longer.

Construction supervisor John Byron noted that the spherical shape was designed to bring people closer together, in contrast to traditional proscenium theaters that are generally square in orientation.

[1] The building's organic shape reflects Nelson Rockefeller's original goal of architectural design that uses the fine artistic elements of sculpture.

[26] In March 1980, Capital Repertory Theatre debuted at The Egg, with a production of George M. Cohan's The Tavern, starring Court Miller, Sofia Landon Geier, Patricia Charbonneau and Steve Hytner.