Quin Gresham announces departure from Lyceum Theatre
After nineteen seasons advancing the artistic legacy of the Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre, Producing Artistic Director Quin Gresham takes his final bow in October after accepting the position of artistic director at Alabama Shakespeare Festival.
“My time in Arrow Rock has been personally and professionally transformative,” Gresham said in a September 3 news release that announced his impending departure. “Curating and fostering storytelling in such an unlikely setting has been and will always be an inspiration but doing that work with such hardworking and sincerely wonderful people has amplified the magic tenfold.”
He added, “If The Lyceum can draw loving and appreciative audiences to Arrow Rock, population fifty-six, I can’t help but believe that anything is possible.”
Gresham came to The Lyceum as an actor in 1999 and has appeared in more than fifty productions, including Noises Off this past August. In 2004 he was tapped to become The Lyceum’s associate artistic director, but when longtime Lyceum favorite Phillip Coffield faced a mounting health crisis during his first season as artistic director, Gresham stepped into the lead role, becoming just the fourth artistic leader in The Lyceum’s storied history.
During his twenty years with The Lyceum, Gresham has overseen an ambitious expansion of The Lyceum’s artistic quality, including scores of Broadway veterans, the addition of live orchestras for the musical offerings, first-rate creative and production teams, and programming specifically geared to young audiences. In addition to Gresham’s work for The Lyceum, he has directed at other theatres and universities around the country and, as an engaged member of the mid-Missouri community, has served on several boards and committees including DeafLEAD, J. Huston Tavern Society, Missouri Citizens for the Arts, and the Arrow Rock Improvement Committee. He was the 2020 recipient of the Missouri Arts Award for Leadership in the Arts.
Gresham also helped The Lyceum weather numerous challenges, particularly the COVID-19 pandemic. During the shutdown, he developed, directed, and performed a virtual presentation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol that warmed the hearts of longtime Lyceum patrons and also garnered new fans around the country. After the pandemic, while many American theatres shuttered their doors for good, “Lady Lyceum” has remained a vital arts organization and has consistently seen its attendance numbers rise, the news release explained.
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The Lyceum’s board collectively said that thanks to Gresham’s leadership, with his partner, longtime Managing Director Steve Bertani, The Lyceum is in its strongest financial position in its more than sixty-year history.
“Quin has been a transformational leader at The Lyceum, and I am grateful for his years of providing artistic excellence on our stage,” said Bertani. “It has been a privilege to partner with him for the past eighteen years, and I will miss him dearly. I wish him the best of luck on this amazing new opportunity with the Alabama Shakespeare Festival.”
The Lyceum’s Board of Directors will soon announce plans for the search for a new artistic director. The Lyceum’s 2024 season will continue with Moriarty: A New Sherlock Holmes Adventure, running September 6 through September 15, and Million Dollar Quartet, running September 27 through October 6. Gresham will return to Arrow Rock this winter to direct the tenth-anniversary production of his acclaimed adaptation of A Christmas Carol, which will perform from December 13 through December 22. The Lyceum’s 2025 season – the last season programmed by Gresham – will be announced in late September and will open in June of 2025.
“Quin’s announcement is truly bittersweet for me,” said Dave Griggs, president of The Lyceum’s Board of Directors. “The bitter part is that we are losing an amazing gentleman who, as we say, creates magic on our stage. The sweet part is that Quin is moving on to an outstanding opportunity, and he is truly deserving of that.”
Griggs said in the news release that he had the privilege of hiring Gresham “and convincing him that he could fill the role of our artistic director, and over the last twenty years I have had the honor of collaborating with him and watching our Lady Lyceum transform into a nationally recognized theatre.” Griggs forecasts a rosy outlook for the future.
“The Lyceum is on track for the best-attended season in history. We just broke the all-time record for season ticket holders,” he said. The Lyceum is in the process of a master plan for the theatre’s campus and recently completed remodeling the auditorium with 416 new seats.
“To achieve those milestones, and so many more, is a testament to Quin, Steve, and our truly unmatched team,” Griggs said. “Quin is leaving our organization in the best overall condition in history. We will miss him, but I know he will always be on our team if we need him, and we wish him only the best.”
Alabama Shakespeare Festival was founded in a high school auditorium in 1972 and received the designation as the State Theatre of Alabama in 1977, and built its current home — a stunning $21.5 million performing arts complex — in 1985. ASF broadens the cultural identity of the South by producing classics, Shakespeare, contemporary plays, musicals, theatre for young audiences, and exciting new works.
The Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre is a nonprofit 501(c)(3), professional theater located in the historic 19th-century village of Arrow Rock, Missouri. The Lyceum has been entertaining audiences for more than six decades, producing musicals, dramas, and comedies. Each year, the theater attracts professional actors, designers, stage managers, directors, and technicians who take residence in Arrow Rock to bring patrons Broadway-caliber productions.