- By Brett Bossard
- Entertainment
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Kevin MoriartyThe decision to leave his post at the Hangar after a successful seven-year tenure was not an easy one for Moriarty. “The opportunity offered to me by the Dallas Theatre Center was simply too great to pass up,” he says. “I’m honored that they’ve selected me as their leader and am thrilled about the opportunities that await me there as I embark on this new journey in my artistic life.” One of the leading regional theatres in the country, DTC produces new, contemporary, and classical plays to an audience of more than 90,000 patrons annually.
While Moriarty’s departure was not planned in advance, the Hangar’s Executive Director, Lisa Bushlow, notes that “this season serves as a perfect swan song for Kevin, since it contains all the hallmarks of his time at the theatre—the regional premiere of the most recent winner of the Pulitzer; a joyful family musical; a perfect summer comedy, the world premiere of a new play, and a theatrical event that will be like nothing else you have seen before on our stage. In other words, Kevin has lived up to his promise to offer diverse, professional theatre for everyone in our community, all summer long.”
Moriarty’s work on that promise began in 2001, with his first full season as Artistic Director. Since then, according to Bushlow, “Kevin exceeded our expectations of every commitment he made to our community. He has strengthened and expanded our winter education programming, providing opportunities for students and teachers throughout Tompkins County to participate in theatre.” Bushlow hailed Moriarty’s “commitment to nurturing the young theatre professional. By allowing emerging artists like our Lab Company members to return year after year for new professional opportunities, the Hangar has helped our alumni thrive professionally while continuing to consider Ithaca their artistic home.”
Bushlow also praised his passion for producing new works: “The Hangar’s national reputation as a theatre that supports playwrights has become more prominent, as the new plays he’s developed here were subsequently featured on Broadway and at regional theatres.” Still, despite all those achievements, she says, “It will be hard to lose the friend and colleague that I’ve spoken with every day for the last 7 years, but I know that amazing opportunities lay ahead for both Kevin and the Hangar. We celebrate Kevin’s new position much as we celebrate the Tony nominations of so many Hangar alumni in New York this weekend. They all serve as examples of the Hangar’s enduring contribution to the American stage.”
The Hangar’s Board of Trustees will lead the theatre through the coming transition. Board President Paula Peter Sidle is hopeful that the theatre’s next stage of development will grow out of Moriarty’s many successes: “We feel blessed to have had Kevin’s artistic energy for these past 7 years. We are excited for him, and now we are looking forward to building on his legacy to take the Hangar to new heights.” Moriarty says he is ready to support that transition in any way he can: “I will pass on the artistic leadership of the theatre, in the same way Bob Moss and Mark Ramont passed it to me in 2001. The values of the theatre, which are embodied and upheld by its amazingly engaged board and its deeply committed staff, will live on long after I’m gone.” He is particularly thrilled to enjoy the Hangar from a new perspective: that of a spectator. “I’m so excited to cheer from the sidelines,” he laughs, “I fully plan to return to Ithaca, buy a ticket, sit in the audience, and celebrate its many successes in the years to come.”
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