Kansas City Repertory Theatre

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Kansas City Repertory Theatre is a professional resident theater company serving the Kansas City area. It is the theater-in-residence at the University of Missouri–Kansas City (UMKC).

The company has had five artistic directors: founder Patricia McIlrath (1964–1985), George Keathley (1985–2000), Peter Altman (2000–2007), Eric Rosen (2007–2019), and Stuart Carden (2019–present). McIlrath started the UMKC Summer Repertory Theatre in 1964 to give students and others a chance to work in professional theatre. James Costin served as the administrative director, and the two-week summer season grew into a lasting partnership behind the Rep’s early work.

In 1967 the Rep became affiliated with Actors’ Equity, the national union for actors. In 1968 the company launched the Missouri Repertory Theatre touring program, bringing in nationally renowned artists. In 1979 the company moved to the Helen F. Spencer Theatre in the new Olson Center for the Performing Arts. That year also saw the not-for-profit MRT, Inc. form to govern the organization, with UMKC continuing to provide important support.

McIlrath retired in 1985, and George Keathley guided the theater for another stretch, expanding contemporary plays while keeping classic works in the mix. When Costin retired in 2000, Peter Altman became producing artistic director, and the board and leadership aimed to broaden the theatre’s reach and repertoire. In 2004 the company was renamed Kansas City Repertory Theatre, and a major refurbishment of the Spencer Theatre was completed the same year.

Eric Rosen became artistic director in 2007, bringing a focus on new work and diverse programming. His first season included Clay, Radio Golf, Arabian Nights, Winesburg, Ohio, The Borderland, The Glass Menagerie, and A Flea in Her Ear. In 2007 the Rep opened Copaken Stage, a 317-seat theatre in downtown Kansas City’s Power & Light District.

Stuart Carden joined as the fifth artistic director in 2019. The company also runs the KCRep for All community tour and the Ghost Light storytelling event. Today, Kansas City Repertory Theatre continues to serve KC audiences with a mix of new work, contemporary plays, and classic dramas.