Asolo Rep Names New Producing Artistic Director
Peter Rothstein
Image: Courtesy Photo
After a nine-month search, Asolo Repertory Theatre has selected Peter Rothstein—the founding artistic director of Minneapolis-based Theater Latté Da—as its new producing artistic director. Rothstein's five-year contract will begin July 1, 2023, following the planned departure of Michael Donald Edwards on June 30, 2023.
“Peter is a visionary theater artist, a seasoned director and an experienced and humble leader who can bring a new generation of musicals and plays to Asolo Rep," says Asolo Rep board president Randall Johnson. "I think he offers a new perspective and energy for the Sarasota community, and will continue our theme: ‘Broadway begins here.’”
Rothstein has directed 82 main-stage productions, including 13 world premieres, for Theater Latté Da since its inception in 1992. In addition to Theater Latté Da, he directed Sweeney Todd and Ragtime at Asolo Rep and has also helmed productions at Guthrie Theater, Children’s Theatre Company, The 5th Avenue Theatre, Minnesota Opera, Florida Grand Opera and an upcoming world premiere for Chicago Opera Theater. Before assuming his new role as producing artistic director, he'll direct Man of La Mancha at Asolo Rep, which will run May 13-June 11, 2023.
“From my first collaboration with Asolo Rep in 2018, I felt a true simpatico,” Rothstein says. “It was so clearly a place that prioritized artists and the creative process. Throughout the course of my interviews, I was able to engage with many of the organization’s stakeholders and was inspired by their profound investment in the company. They are rightly proud of what Asolo Rep has accomplished over its robust history, but equally unafraid to dream about what it may become. I am honored to be a part of its next chapter.”
Rothstein has also received grants and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, Theater Communications Group, the Minnesota State Arts Board and the McKnight Foundation. Additionally, he has been a panelist and evaluator for the Playwrights’ Center, the McKnight Foundation, the Minnesota State Arts Board and the National Alliance for Musical Theatre’s Festival of New Musicals.
Over the next several months of the leadership transition, Rothstein will collaborate extensively with Edwards, including selcting shows and making casting choices for the 2023-24 season, which will be announced this spring.
Asolo Rep's managing director Linda DiGabriele also announced her planned departure when her contract expires in June 2023. That search is in its final stages, and Rothstein is participating in the selection process.
