Lincoln Center Theater Reveals Complete Executive Team

Lincoln Center Theater's Board of Directors, incoming LCT Artistic Director Lear deBessonet and Executive Producer Bartlett Sher announced the completion of appointments for the new executive leadership team that will begin their tenures to coincide with the upcoming 2025-2026 season.

Maria Manuela Goyanes (currently Artistic Director, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company) has been named Artistic Director of LCT3 and will also take on the role of Producer. 

Mike Schleifer (currently Managing Director, Alliance Theatre) will be Lincoln Center Theater's Managing Director. 

Goyanes and Schleifer join the newly appointed Lear deBessonet (Artistic Director), Bartlett Sher (Executive Producer) and Nicole Kastrinos (Producer), alongside Naomi Grabel (Executive Director of Development & Planning), to complete the LCT executive leadership team.

The appointment of Goyanes signals an expanded vision for LCT3 and the Claire Tow Theater.  LCT3 is dedicated to producing new work by the next generation of theater artists with a goal to bring new audiences to Lincoln Center Theater.  While it will continue its programming in the Claire Tow Theater, it will also occupy alternative spaces both inside the building and externally.  Simultaneously, the Claire Tow Theater will program events, concerts and comedy shows, in addition to LCT3 productions, serving as a hub for community gatherings.  Goyanes' role extends beyond the artistic leadership of LCT3 in her role as Producer, leading other select artistic projects across the organization.

"The Claire Tow Theater, perched atop Lincoln Center Theater, is a jewel box - a brave space for vulnerability and courage in close proximity,” said Maria Goyanes. “I remember when it opened, and it's hard to believe it's now just two years shy of its 15th anniversary! I am deeply humbled to build upon the foundation of magnificent new work at LCT3, stewarded by two brilliant minds - Evan Cabnet and, before him, Paige Evans. I know Lear thinks as expansively about theater as I do, and I'm thrilled to join such an illustrious team to help bring her remarkable vision to life while also creating my own for LCT3."

 “Maria Goyanes' electric energy and passion for new voices will be transformative for LCT3,” said deBessonet and Sher in a joint statement. “A specialist in imaginative producing, she knows how to create an environment that welcomes adventure and new ideas. Her extraordinary vision will elevate LCT3 as a dynamic space for bold, fresh storytelling.”

Schleifer, who, along with deBessonet and Sher, will report to the Board, will oversee Lincoln Center Theater's financial and operational health and ensure long-term sustainability and growth. He will work closely with deBessonet and Sher to align strategic planning with artistic goals, manage the theater's union relationships, and lead budgeting, marketing, and capital planning efforts. Schleifer is also tasked with identifying and developing new revenue opportunities, fostering a spirit of entrepreneurialism to diversify income streams and strengthen the organization's financial position. Additionally, he will focus on building a collaborative and transparent organizational culture, strengthening relationships with the Board, and ensuring that Lincoln Center Theater remains a leader in producing innovative and diverse theatrical productions.

“I am truly honored to join Lincoln Center Theater as its new Managing Director,” Mike Schleifer said. “This institution represents the pinnacle of artistic excellence and creativity, built on the foundational legacy of André Bishop and Adam Siegel, whose vision and leadership set the standard for extraordinary theater and artistic integrity.” He continued, “I am excited to collaborate with this incredible team to continue pushing the boundaries of what theater can be. I am especially eager to partner in this new chapter with Lear deBessonet and Bartlett Sher, whose visionary artistic leadership inspires bold storytelling and deep community engagement. Together, we will build on this remarkable legacy while exploring new ways to engage audiences and support the next generation of artists onstage and off.”  

“Mike Schleifer has exceeded every expectation of what a managing director can accomplish,” said deBessonet and Sher. “With deep experience across both the nonprofit and commercial Broadway realms, he has a unique ability to balance the health, stability, and growth of an organization. His leadership is front-footed, whip-smart and wise, with a contagious spirit that uplifts everyone around him. Mike's vision and expertise make him an invaluable partner as we look toward the future of LCT, and we are incredibly fortunate to have him by our side.”

“The mission of Lincoln Center Theater is to bring exceptional theater to life, and the successful completion of our senior leadership team will enable us to continue doing just that,” said Board Chair Kewsong Lee.  “Much thanks to the Board and the entire staff for the hard work, partnership, and commitment to our theater during a period of organizational transition.”

Programming for the 2025-2026 season at Lincoln Center Theater will be announced soon.

As previously announced, André Bishop will continue to lead LCT through its current 40th anniversary season before stepping down following an esteemed 33-year tenure as Artistic Director.  Lincoln Center Theater's current 40th Anniversary season includes Henrik Ibsen's Ghosts, featuring a new version by Mark O'Rowe and directed by Jack O'Brien, currently in performances at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater; Floyd Collins, featuring music and lyrics by Adam Guettel and book, additional lyrics and direction by Tina Landau, which will begin previews on Thursday, March 27 ahead of an opening night on Monday, April 21 at the Vivian Beaumont Theater; as well as the LCT3 world premiere of Five Models in Ruins, 1981, a new play by Caitlin Saylor Stephens, directed by Morgan Green, which begins previews on Saturday, April 19 and opens on Monday, May 5 at the Claire Tow Theater.

Biographies

MARIA MANUELA GOYANES (Artistic Director, LCT3; Producer) is an artistic leader dedicated to creating courageous new work for the American Theatre. She recently served as the Artistic Director of Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Washington, DC, only the second person to hold that position in 45 years. Woolly Mammoth holds national reputation for producing theatre that is gutsy, catalytic, and boundary-breaking in form and content. Over Maria's seven year tenure, Woolly won the 2022 Tony Award (Best Musical, A Strange Loop by Michael R. Jackson), 11 Helen Hayes Awards, toured multiple works nationally (Where We Belong, The Telephonic Literary Union's Human Resources Hotline, Amm(i)gone, and this summer ha ha ha ha ha ha ha), and created a dedicated commission program for writers connected to the Greater Washington, DC region. Maria deepened Woolly's commitment to its community engagement program, Connectivity, elevating it to equal importance as the work onstage, collaborating with Connectivity Core Partners including artists DC's rich spoken word community, a juvenile detention center in Ivy City,  local Indigenous artists & artisans, and the Afrofuturist LGBTQ+ collective, Black in Space, among others. Through Maria, Woolly Mammoth has been a part of the Bold Women's Leadership Circle, a visionary initiative of the Helen Gurley Brown Foundation to bridge the career gaps for women+ in the American theatre. A serious advocate for apprentice-type mentorship, Maria expanded Woolly's learning programs with the Lin-Manuel Miranda Family Fellows, the Arts & Social Justice High School Fellowships, and strengthened its long-standing affiliation with Howard University. Maria was named one of the 150 Most Powerful Women in Washington, DC in both 2022 & 2023, and in 2020, co-founded the Professional Non-Profit Theatre Coalition to advocate unprecedented federal funding from the federal government. Prior to joining Woolly, she worked for over 14 years at The Public Theater in NYC where, as the Director of Producing and Artistic Planning, she oversaw the day-to-day execution of a full slate of plays and musicals at The Public's five-theater venue at Astor Place and the Delacorte Theater for Shakespeare in the Park. There, Maria worked with countless leading theatre artists, including on acclaimed productions such as Hamilton, Fun Home, and Passing Strange; she also produced the 100-person Public Works pageants alongside Public Works Founding Director Lear deBessonet. While at The Public, Maria also held a position on the adjunct faculty of Juilliard and curated the junior year curriculum of the Playwrights Horizons Theater School at NYU. She has guest lectured at Bard College, Barnard College, Brown University, Columbia University, Juilliard, the National Theater Institute at The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, UCSD, the University of Texas-Austin, and Yale University, among others. She served as a member of the Board of the National Alliance for Musical Theatre. She co-chaired the Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab for three seasons under Sarah Benson's leadership, and from 2004 to 2012, Maria was the Executive Producer of Obie-winning 13P, a 13-member playwright collective that disrupted the endless cycle of new play development by mounting one play by each writer and then imploding. Working for 13P remains one of her proudest achievements. Maria is a first-generation Latina and native New Yorker, born and raised in Jamaica, Queens to parents who emigrated from the Dominican Republic and Spain. She is a graduate of the Bronx High School of Science and earned her Bachelor of Arts from Brown University.

Mike Schleifer (Managing Director) has been the Managing Director at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta since 2015 where he oversees all operational, marketing, financial, fundraising and shared services activities.  Mike has led the administrative and producing team on over 100 productions and has moved four shows to Broadway including last season's Water for Elephants and this season's Maybe Happy Ending.  He spearheaded the $36mm renovation of the award-winning Coca-Cola Stage and is currently leading the $26mm renovation of the Goizueta Stage for Youth and Family.  Under his leadership the Alliance has more than doubled their operating budget, tripled the endowment and continued to lead the country in work for young audiences.  Mike is a board member of the League of Resident Theatres and Atlanta's True Colors Theatre Company.  In 2018 he co-founded Volute Partners, a theatre consultancy focused on capital projects and the subsequent operational support and budgets needed to sustain them.  Prior to Atlanta, he spent 13 years at Baltimore's Center Stage working in several roles including Associate Producer, Director of Production and Resident Stage Manager.  While in Baltimore, Mike was an adjunct faculty member at Towson University and has guest lectured all over the country.  Mike began as a Stage Manager and has over 50 professional stage management credits between his time in New York and working regionally including world premiers by August Wilson, Lynn Nottage, Jose Rivera, Kwame Kwei-Armah and many others.  He's a graduate of Towson University, Harvard's executive training, and Leadership Atlanta.  Mike is married to theater director, intimacy director, sensitivity specialist and educator Laura Hackman and they are the proud parents of two young men, Jack and Ben.

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