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On a sweltering June night in 1964 in a wooden playhouse on the University of Missouri-Kansas City campus, the curtain rose for the Rep’s first production, Emlyn Williams’ The Corn Is
Green. But the idea for the theatre that would develop into MRT had come many years earlier.
In 1954 Dr. Patricia McIlrath returned home to her native Kansas City and joined the University of
Kansas City—now UMKC—as the director of the University Playhouse and Chairman of the Theatre Department. There she became increasingly convinced of the need to expose theatre students to the rigors and demanding
standards of professional theatre.
By starting the UMKC Summer Repertory Theatre she was able to do just that. Professional actors, community players and members of the UMKC Theatre Department
assisted with the first productions. James Costin joined McIlrath as administrative director, creating a dynamic partnership that would continue for 20 years.
That first season featured two
plays in two weeks. Fifteen hundred patrons were witnesses to the fledgling effort. Backstage the shoestring operation was primitive, but audiences found what they saw on stage highly entertaining and increasingly
professional.
In 1967, the Rep became affiliated with Actor’s Equity Association, a national union of professional actors. Season tickets more than doubled. As the Rep continued to develop,
Dr. McIlrath became increasingly passionate about the importance of live theatre in a community. Thus, the Missouri Repertory Theatre touring program was launched.
The growing company,
officially taking the name “Missouri Repertory Theatre” in 1968, built an enhanced reputation. Actors and directors of national and international acclaim shared their talents with Kansas City actors and audiences.
The Rep’s place in the region’s and nation’s theatre life became secure in the mid-1970s, when a commitment was made to construct a newUMKC Center for the Performing Arts accommodating the
Rep in a theatre plant comparable to the best in the country. The Rep’s audiences were treated to a new level of quality and professionalism when Missouri Repertory Theatre moved into its new home in 1979. That same
year marked the not-for-profit incorporation of Missouri Repertory Theatre. A volunteer corporate board structure was established to guide and support the theatre. The Rep now operates independently of UMKC;
however, it maintains its commitment to and a close relationship with UMKC’s theatre training programs.
Twenty years have now passed since in 1981 the Rep first introduced what is now a Kansas
City tradition — its annual production of A Christmas Carol.
Dr. McIlrath retired in 1985 as artistic director of the Rep after serving the organization for more than 20 years. It was
the end of an era. An extensive search to fill the position led to the appointment of George Keathley as the new artistic director. With 35 years of experience in acting, directing and producing, Keathley was an
outstanding choice. Keathley was able to build on the rich traditions of the Rep while introducing new dimensions and programming to the theatre. After 15 successful seasons, Keathley retired from the Rep in 2000.
Costin, after completing 36 years at the administrative helm of the organization, also retired.
A new era for the company is now beginning as Peter Altman assumes leadership of Missouri
Repertory Theatre as producing artistic director. Altman comes to the Rep after 18 years as founding producing director of the renowned Huntington Theatre Company in Boston. Missouri Repertory Theatre welcomes him
and looks forward to even more exceptional artistic achievement and growth under his direction.
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