Trinity Rep Executive Director Michael Gennaro leaving

TRINITY REPERTORY CO. EXECUTIVE Director Michael Gennaro is leaving to take a leadership position at Goodspeed Musicals in East Haddam, Conn. / COURTESY TRINITY REPERTORY CO.
TRINITY REPERTORY CO. EXECUTIVE Director Michael Gennaro is leaving to take a leadership position at Goodspeed Musicals in East Haddam, Conn. / COURTESY TRINITY REPERTORY CO.

PROVIDENCE – Michael Gennaro is leaving his executive director position at Trinity Repertory Co. to take a job as executive director of Goodspeed Musicals in East Haddam, Conn.
Gennaro was selected by Goodspeed Musicals after a nationwide search, and will assume the position in February, according to information from Trinity.
“Michael has been an outstanding leader of Trinity and the arts community of southeastern New England for the past eight years, and a dear friend to so many of us. We will miss him,” Suzanne Magaziner, chairwoman of Trinity’s board of trustees, said in a statement. “But there is also a great deal of pride. Goodspeed is known as ‘the home of the American musical,’ having produced more than 250 shows over the past four decades. Those who know Michael and his family history can easily understand that to be asked to lead this national treasure is truly a dream come true for him.”
During his tenure at Trinity, Gennaro managed the company’s $8 million annual budget and more than 100 artistic and administrative staff. He also reduced debts and led an $18 million capital campaign, which will conclude next month.
Trinity Artistic Director Curt Columbus, who worked with Gennaro for nearly 20 years including at Steppenwolf in Chicago, said the work Gennaro has done at Trinity “has been transformational to our theater, and indeed, to the state of the arts in Rhode Island.”
Gennaro also was a leading figure in the Rhode Island Coalition for Arts and Preservation, which successfully campaigned for passage of a statewide referendum on November’s ballot supporting a $35 million investment in the state’s artistic, cultural and historic preservation organizations.
He joined Trinity Repertory Co. as executive director in 2007, after a longtime career in theater including eight years as executive director at Steppenwolf Theatre and, before that, leadership roles with Pennsylvania Ballet, Ford’s Theatre and Paper Mill Playhouse.
Gennaro said he is leaving with “mixed emotions.”
“I have been lucky beyond words that Trinity and Providence have been home to my wife and me for the last eight years. During that time, I have been surrounded by a truly supportive and generous board, an extraordinary staff of talented and dedicated people, and one of the great acting companies in America. I am very proud of all that we accomplished together and I am confident Trinity’s path will remain steady and true,” Gennaro said.

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