Tuesday, October 26, 2021
Social justice was not at the core at The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis for many years. Then Hana Sharif took over.
www.stlmag.com: I’m sitting in a dim auditorium next to Hana Sharif, the first Black woman to serve as artistic director of a major American regional theater—in her case, the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis—and the stage in front of us at the Loretto–Hilton Center for the Performing Arts on Webster University’s campus is blazing with light and sound and sweat, but Sharif is not looking at it. She’s hunched over, thumbing notes into her iPhone on how to tweak it. This is an urgent task.
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A common thread through this article is questioning whether a change in artistic directors at The Rep will cause a dip in ticket sales due to a more diverse season. I agree that not every show has to be aimed at the target audience. The Rep, like most repertory theaters in a city, has a very white, largely older audience, but I do not think that means they won’t support a diverse season. As long as you still give them the annual Christmas Carol, I think season ticket holders would still come around. I could be wrong, but I think overall it only does good to produce new and exciting theater, even if your audience is not diverse. I sincerely hope this not only gives patrons of The Black Rep another place to see theater, but also encourages people who have always gone to The Rep to give The Black Rep a try.
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