The Leading Ladies are a dynamic group dedicated to celebrating and elevating women in theatre. We support The Rep through philanthropy, advocacy, and community engagement. Join us in supporting the arts, building community, and making a lasting impact in St. Louis.
Each year, the Leading Ladies come together to sponsor a production in The Rep's mainstage season. Join us for a resplendent evening as we launch our underwriting campaign in support of this season's production of Ken Ludwig's Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood, running March 19 through April 13, 2025.
Learn more about our giving levels, benefits, and history below or by calling the Development team at (314) 687-4030.
Thank you to our Leading Ladies co-chairs for the 2024-2025 season, Margaret Augustin, Jane Robert, and Judi Scissors!
This is the perfect giving level for those just beginning their philanthropic lives, or as a gift made in honor of young women with a passion for theatre.
Benefits include:
Condola Rashād is an actor who rose to prominence as Sophie in the 2009 Off-Broadway premiere of Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Ruined. Her Broadway roles include Cheryl in Stick Fly, Thelma in The Trip to Bountiful, Juliet in the 2013 production of Romeo and Juliet, Emmy in A Doll’s House, Part 2 and the title role in the 2018 revival of Saint Joan.
Benefits include:
Phillipa Soo is an actor and singer best known for her role as Elizabeth Schuyler in the original cast of Hamilton and the live stage recording released in 2020. Other major roles include Natasha Rostova in the off-Broadway production of Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, the title role in the Broadway production of Amélie and Rebecca in the Broadway production of The Parisian Woman.
Benefits include:
Anika Noni Rose is an actor and singer best known for providing the voice of Princess Tiana in Disney’s The Princess and the Frog. Rose won a Tony Award for her performance as Emmie Thibodeaux in the original Broadway production of Caroline, or Change. Other major roles include Maggie in the 2008 Broadway revival of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Beneatha in the 2014 Broadway revival of A Raisin in the Sun and Lorrell the 2006 film adaptation of Dreamgirls.
Benefits include:
Paula Vogel is a playwright and stateswoman of the theatre whose plays have explored a wide range of traditionally controversial themes—such as prostitution, HIV/AIDS, abuse and homosexuality—with humor and compassion. Vogel won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1997 for How I Learned to Drive. Other major works include Indecent, The Baltimore Waltz, And Baby Makes Seven and Desdemona, A Play about a Handkerchief.
Benefits include:
Marianne Elliott is a British director whose productions have received transcontinental acclaim. Her major works on both Broadway and the West End include War Horse (Tony winner), The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Tony and Olivier winner), the 2017 revival of Angels in America and the 2018 revival of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s Company.
Benefits include:
Suzan-Lori Parks is a playwright and screenwriter whose innovative and stylistic plays have challenged and thrilled audiences since the turn of the century. Parks became the first Black woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2002 for Topdog/Underdog. Other major works include The America Play, Venus, In The Blood, Father Comes Home From The Wars (Parts 1, 2 & 3) and the book for the 2011 revival of The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess.
Donors at this level will receive:
Benefits include:
Idina Menzel is an actor and singer known for her distinctive voice and powerful belt. Menzel is perhaps best known for her Tony Award winning performance as Elphaba in Wicked (2003) and her performance as Elsa in the 2013 film Frozen, lending her voice to the Oscar and Grammy winning song “Let It Go.” Other major roles include Maureen Johnson in the off-Broadway, Broadway and film casts of Rent, Elizabeth in the original Broadway cast of If/Then and Kate in the original off-Broadway cast of Andrew Lippa’s The Wild Party.
Benefits include:
Julie Taymor is a director and designer who has helped create some of the most exciting and notable productions of the last 25 years. Taymor became the first woman to receive the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical for The Lion King (1997). Other major works include Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark and the 2017 Broadway revival of M. Butterfly, as well as several Shakespeare productions off-Broadway.
Benefits include:
Lynn Nottage is a playwright and screenwriter who has remained one of the most vital voices of the American theatre. Nottage is the first (and only) woman to have won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama twice, for Ruined (2009) and Sweat (2017). Other major works include Mlima’s Tale, Intimate Apparel, Crumbs from the Table of Joy and By the Way, Meet Vera Stark.
Benefits include:
The Rep's Leading Ladies began their efforts during the 2008-2009 season. It was the first time in the history of The Rep that a group of individuals - men or women - came together to be the Major Sponsor of a Mainstage Production. This vibrant fundraising effort led by women interested in theatre arts has raised more than $1,000,000 since then.
2008 - 2009
The Miracle Worker by William Gibson
Directed by Susan Gregg
2009 – 2010
The Diary of Anne Frank by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, adapted by Wendy Kesselman
Directed by Steven Woolf
2010 – 2011
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Directed by Paul Mason Barnes
2011 – 2012
Race by David Mamet
Directed by Timothy Near
2012 – 2013
Double Idemnity by James M. Cain, adapted by David Pichette and R. Hamilton Wright
Directed by Michael Evan Haney
2013 - 2014
Noises Off by Michael Frayne
Directed by Edward Stern
2014 – 2015
Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike by Christopher Durang
Directed by Michael Evan Haney
2015 – 2016
The Lion in Winter by James Goldman
Directed by Edward Stern
2016 – 2017
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, adapted by Christopher Sergel
Directed by Risa Brainin
2017 – 2018
The Marvelous Wonderettes by Roger Bean
Directed and choreographed by Melissa Rain Anderson
2018 – 2019
Oslo by J.T. Rogers
Directed by Steven Woolf
2019 – 2020
The Mystery of Irma Vep by Charles Ludlam
Directed by Nelson T. Eusebio III
2020 – 2021
Supported virtual Learning and Community Engagement programming during the dark season of 2020-2021
2021 – 2022
Supported The Rep’s historic first season fully led by women directors
Dreaming Zenzile by Somi Kakoma
Directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz
The Gradient by Steph Del Rosso
Directed by Amelia Acosta Powell
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, adapted by Michael Wilson
Directed by Hana S. Sharif
Stick Fly by Lydia R. Diamond
Directed by Chanel Bragg
The 39 Steps by Patrick Barlow, from the novel by John Buchan
Directed by Kate Bergstrom
2022 – 2023
Supported five productions directed by women this season
House of Joy by Madhuri Shekar
Directed by Lavina Jadhwani
Private Lives by Noel Coward
Directed by Meredith McDonough
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, adapted by Michael Wilson
Directed by Hana S. Sharif
Confederates by Dominique Morisseau
Directed by Elizabeth Carter
Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express adapted by Ken Ludwig
Directed by Hana S. Sharif
2023 – 2024
Moby Dick by Herman Melville, adapted by David Catlin
Directed by David Catlin
2024-2025
Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood by Ken Ludwig
Directed by Stuart Carden
