Drury Lane Welcomes Director of New Works

Executive Director Kyle DeSantis, Artistic Director William Osetek and Producer Drew DeSantis are proud to announce Laura Stanczyk, a New York-based independent producer and casting director, as the theatre's Director of New Works. In her new consulting role at Drury Lane, Stanczyk seeks out up-and-coming works, ushering in a new era for the theatre. Following in the footsteps of Founder Anthony DeSantis, the Drury Lane Executive Team aims to combine top quality Broadway hits with a commitment to developing new musicals to engage and stimulate the theatre's loyal and discerning audience.

"I am thrilled to join the Drury Lane team as they broaden their commitment to bring first-class entertainment to their audience with new, imaginative, heart-felt shows," said Stanczyk. "It's a natural extension for an organization as experienced as Drury Lane, for individuals with the passion of the DeSantis Brothers and Artistic Director William Osetek, and for an audience with the enthusiasm and sophistication of our patrons. We know we can achieve a protective environment to cultivate new works, allowing artists to develop and change a show throughout the course of rehearsal and production that helps pave the way for the next generation of great Broadway musicals."

Laura Stanczyk is an independent producer and casting director based in New York City. She is a lead producer of Broadway-bound musical adaptation of Bull Durham, a consulting producer for Schirmer Theatricals and has multiple projects in development, including a revival of Robert Sherwood's 1938 drama, The Petrified Forest. She was a member of the Senior Artistic staff of McCarter Theatre center in Princeton, New Jersey for five seasons and has been represented on Broadway with over a dozen shows, including Bill Condon's acclaimed revival of Side Show, After Midnight and the award-winning revivals of Follies and Ragtime.

"Laura is an influential and involved voice in today's theater scene and brings a new perspective to the works at Drury Lane," said Kyle DeSantis. "After the major success of last summer's pre-Broadway Beaches, A New Musical-our first new work in over 20 years-we are striving to push the artistic boundaries at Drury Lane, while remaining a leader in regional rivals of some of America's best musicals."

Over the last 60 years, Drury Lane has cultivated a "deeply loyal and trusting audience" (Chicago Tribune) where nearly five million audience members have enjoyed over 2,000 Broadway-quality productions featuring internationally acclaimed celebrities, Chicago's most-loved actors, and many rising stars. Recent productions of Chicagoland's most notable revivals include the "astonishingly beautiful, emotionally devastating" (Chicago Sun-Times) Billy Elliot; the "deeply moving" (Chicago Tribune) Next to Normal; and The Sound of Music, with "a superb cast" and a "winning production" (Time Out Chicago) (which was subsequently recorded and archived for The Lincoln Center of Performing Arts in New York City on behalf of the Rodgers and Hammerstein estate). With nearly 300 Jeff Award nominations under their belt and over 65 Jeff Awards, Drury Lane has established itself as one of the leaders in Chicagoland theater.

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