Nashville Repertory Theatre is a professional, Actors' Equity-affiliated regional theatre company based in Nashville, Tennessee.
Nashville Repertory Theatre was founded as Tennessee Repertory Theatre in 1985 by Mac Pirkle and Martha Rivers Ingram.[1] The first production was Macbeth.[2] The theatre's original home base for production was the 1100-seat James K. Polk Theater in the Tennessee Performing Arts Center. With an annual budget of more than $3 million, Pirkle emphasized the development of new musicals.[3] Dream, a musical revue based on the lyrics of Johnny Mercer, was developed at Tennessee Rep and had a Broadway run in 1997.[4]
After Pirkle's departure from Tennessee Rep in 1999,[5] the leadership of the theatre changed hands frequently.[6] David Grapes was artistic director until 2004, when David Alford took over.[7] In 2007, René Copeland was named artistic director. During this period of transition, Tennessee Rep shifted its production base from the Polk Theater to the 250-seat black box Andrew Johnson Theater, still located within the Tennessee Performing Arts Center. With the production of Sweeney Todd in October 2014, Tennessee Rep was rechristened Nashville Repertory Theatre.[8] Copeland held the artistic director position until her departure in May 2019,[9] after which managing director Drew Ogle assumed leadership.[10] 2021's production of Ragtime marked the Rep's return to the Polk Theater, with the company henceforth producing shows in both the Polk and the Johnson. In 2023 Micah-Shane Brewer was named artistic director of Nashville Rep.
Founded in 2009, Nashville Rep's Ingram New Works Project helps new playwrights develop their work, and has three parts:[11]
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