Stages Hires New Artistic Director Derek Charles Livingston to Lead Leading Arts Organization in Houston

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — One of our city’s local theaters is preparing to welcome a new artistic director for the first time in nearly 25 years.

Derek Charles Livingston will assume this role at Stages in early August and become one of the first black men to lead a prominent arts organization in Houston.

Livingston told Eyewitness News he looks forward to becoming a Houstonian, exploring our arts and food scenes and bringing diverse stories to life.

Livingston will leave his current role as director of new play development at the Tony Award-winning Utah Shakespeare Festival, a multi-million dollar production organization, where he has worked since 2021.

During its 2023 season, Livingston directed the festival’s premiere production of Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun,” which received widespread and critical acclaim. To bid farewell to Utah, he will direct the rarely performed “Henry VIII.”

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In June 2023, Stages’ current artistic director, Kenn McLaughlin, announced his retirement after serving 25 seasons at the theater, including 18 as artistic director.

Under his tenure, McLaughlin produced over 100 shows on Stages, including nine original ‘panto’ productions, and personally directed over 30 shows. He has presented several world and U.S. theater premieres, including “The Great American Trailer Park Christmas Musical,” and is particularly proud to direct a production of “Road Show” by John Weidman and Stephen Sondheim.

McLaughlin co-led the development of the theater’s new home at The Gordy, a three-stage, $35 million complex that opened in January 2020.

Livingston’s story encompasses a number of accomplishments that speak to his ability to unite people, which will further his leadership of the stages and arts in Houston. His documented influence includes a photo at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture and his service as national co-chair of the 1993 LGBTQ Equal Rights March on Washington, one of the largest in the history of the United States.

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