History
Below you'll find a timeline of key dates in The Rep's 50+ year history. Be sure to also visit our Production History Archive, a fully searchable database of every show that The Rep has produced since 1966.
May 8, 1966: Webster University dedicates the Loretto-Hilton Center for the Performing Arts, the first facility in the United States designed specifically to house both a professional acting company and an undergraduate theatre arts department.
July 1, 1966: The Rep debuts its premiere production with a performance of The Private Ear and the Public Eye. The Rep began as a true repertory company, with numerous plays performed in a rotation by a resident company of actors.
1970-1971: The Rep goes dark for a year to reassess and improve its financial situation.
1971-1976: The Rep roars back to life, growing its subscriber base from 3,500 to 16,500 within five years.
1975: The Rep’s Imaginary Theatre Company makes its first performances for young audiences. The program is still going strong more than 40 years later, entertaining youngsters in schools, libraries and community centers throughout Missouri and Illinois.
March 29, 1978: The Rep presents its first-ever Studio Theatre production with David Rudkin’s Ashes.
1980: Under new artistic director Wallace Chappell, The Rep disbands its resident acting company and begins to bring in more nationally known stars to perform in its shows.
1981: The Rep presents Sam Shepard’s controversial Buried Child, featuring future Oscar winner Holly Hunter.
1982: Featuring a cast of more than 80 performers, A Tale of Two Cities becomes The Rep’s biggest production ever.
1983: The Rep presents the world premiere of Under the Ilex, featuring six-time Tony Award-winner Julie Harris.
February 1986: A 29-year-old Tony Kushner directs Clifford Odets' Golden Boy on The Rep's Mainstage. Five years later, the first half of his landmark Angels in America would premiere in San Francisco. Kushner also wrote and directed several productions with The Rep's Imaginary Theatre Company during his time in St. Louis.
1986-1987: During The Rep’s 20th Anniversary Season, the theatre undergoes a momentous change in leadership. Steven Woolf officially becomes The Rep’s artistic director, and Mark Bernstein arrives as managing director. This dynamic duo will lead the theatre for the next three decades.
1992: Future Hollywood star Lucy Liu appears in The Rep’s production of M. Butterfly.
1992, 1995: The Rep premieres two of Tony Award-winning composer Steven Lutvak’s musicals: Almost September (‘92) and Esmeralda (’95).
1996: The Rep debuts its WiseWrite Young Playwrights Festival, bringing the work of elementary school students to life on stage.
1996-97: The Rep celebrates its 30th anniversary with an artistically ambitious season that includes The Three Musketeers, Arcadia and The Glass Menagerie.
2002: The first-ever St. Louis Food & Wine Experience creates a new tradition of culinary celebration to benefit The Rep.
2005-2008: The Rep's Off Ramp Series brings daring and unconventional works to the Grandel Theatre in Midtown St. Louis.
2007: The Rep wins a company-record 18 Kevin Kline Awards for its work. Ace, Urinetown, I Am My Own Wife and The Musical of Musicals lead the way in racking up awards for The Rep.
2010: High, starring Kathleen Turner, enjoys its world premiere at The Rep.
2012: A production of Stephen Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George earns mass acclaim for The Rep, and later wins eight St. Louis Theater Circle Awards.
2012: One year before he wins the Pulitzer Prize for Drama with Disgraced, playwright Ayad Akhtar premieres his production The Invisible Hand at The Rep. Its debut coincides with the launch of The Rep’s Ignite! Festival of New Plays.
2016-2017: The Rep celebrates its 50th anniversary with a packed season of all-star shows. To commemorate the occasion, the Augustin Family donates the largest gift in Rep history: a $1 million endowment for The Rep's artistic director position. Steven Woolf's new title becomes the Augustin Family Artistic Director.
2016: St. Louis theatre icon Joneal Joplin appears in his 100th Rep production, portraying Jacob Marley in A Christmas Carol. It's his fourth time appearing in a Rep staging of the show and his third time appearing as the ghost of Scrooge's former business partner.
August 2017: Steven Woolf announces that he will retire as Augustin Family Artistic Director in 2019. A national search begins for his successor.
July 2018: The Rep announces Hana S. Sharif as its next artistic director.
April 2019: The Rep pays tribute to retiring artistic director Steven Woolf with its A Standing Ovation for Steve celebration. The theatre also successfully raises $1 million to fund the newly renamed Steve Woolf Studio Series.
June 2019: Hana S. Sharif begins her tenure as The Rep's Augustin Family Artistic Director, programming a debut season that kicks off with Tony Kushner's Angels in America. Amelia Acosta Powell also arrives as The Rep's new associate artistic director.
2020: In response to the Covid-19 Pandemic, The Rep launches virtual and outdoor programming, including innovative shows and workshops like Cooking, Carols and Cocktails, The Black Album Dinner, Black Like Me, Glowy Snowy Day and more. The Rep also gains national recognition for its Play @ Home micro-commissions and the creation of the Artistic Caucus.
2021: The Rep returns to live productions with two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage's Mlima's Tale.
2022: Danny Williams was named The Rep's Managing Director, coming from the renowned Public Theatre of New York City and bringing his expertise to the role.
2023: Augustin Family Artistic Director Hana S. Sharif departs for D.C.'s Arena Stage. The Rep announces its multi-year fundraising campaign and The Rally for the Rep is born, culminating in the successful sold out Holiday Benefit featuring John Goodman and other notable St. Louisan figures.
2024: Kate Bergstrom becomes the Augustin Family Artistic Director, marking a new renaissance for The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. Danny Williams & Kate Bergstrom announce the 58th Season and the return of the beloved Steve Woolf Studio Series.