Kyle Hatley Becomes Resident Director at Kansas City Rep; Theatre Hunting for New Associate Artistic Director

Kansas City Repertory Theatre Artistic Director Eric Rosen today announced changes to its artistic staff for its 50th Anniversary Season.

Associate Artistic Director Kyle Hatley, who is planning to return to Chicago over the coming year, will become Resident Director. As previously announced, his duties will include performing in An Iliad and developing and directing the world premiere of Nathan Jackson's Sticky Traps; in addition, he will support the annual production of A Christmas Carol, now directed by Jerry Genochio. Eric Rosen will direct The Santaland Diaries.

"Kyle has been an important and beloved member of the Rep's team over the last six years, and a key leader of our booming theater community," Rosen said. "We are grateful to have one last year to celebrate Kyle's unique artistic vision and indefatigable spirit of collaboration, as we look to the future to find a new Associate Artistic Director during the year."

"Kansas City has been and will continue to be an artistic home to me," Hatley stated. "I could not be more thankful to Eric Rosen and KC Rep for giving me the opportunity to work, learn and grow as an artist and as an arts leader in a city so passionate about its local artists and committed to their success," Hatley stated. "Though soon I will be based out of Chicago, Kansas City will always be home to my family. I look forward to the coming season as the Rep's Resident Director, and hope to be a part of the Kansas City theater community for many years to come."

The national search for a new Associate Artistic Director will begin in the coming months.

Hatley has served as KC Rep's assistant artistic director since June 2008. His directing credits for the organization are numerous. He has directed the Rep's production of A Christmas Carol from 2010 to 2013, When I Come to Die, in 2014, Carousel in 2013 and Little Shop of Horrors in 2012. He has also directed the Rep's critically acclaimed production of Nathan Louis Jackson's Broke-ology and Jim Grimsley's The Borderland and served as assistant director for A Christmas Story, the Musical! directed by Rosen, and Into The Woods, directed by Moisés Kaufman. He has also directed numerous productions at The Living Room and the Coterie Theatre.

His writing credits include Master of the Universe for The Living Room opening June 13, Head and Watering the Grave for Kansas City Fringe Festival.

This fall, Hatley will appear in the production of Danny Casolaro Died For You at Chicago's Timeline Theatre, where he had his first artistic internship ten years ago. Additional KC Rep acting credits include most recently The Foreigner, Hurlyburly, Carousel, Death of a Salesman, The Whipping Man and The Glass Menagerie, among many other productions.

While in Chicago, Hatley was an actor, assistant director and script supervisor for Rosen at About Face Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre, and Chicago Children's Theatre, along with many other award-winning theatre professionals, including Moises Kaufman, and Gary Griffin. He holds a degree in theatre from Rhodes College in Memphis.

Now celebrating its 50th anniversary, Kansas City Repertory Theatre is one of the nation's oldest and most respected regional theaters. Lauded by The Wall Street Journal, TIME magazine, Variety and the Toronto Sun, the Rep produces mainstage plays and special events at Spencer Theatre, where it serves as the professional theatre in residence at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC), and Copaken Stage located in downtown Kansas City. Kansas City Rep employs more than 250 professional artists, technicians and administrators, and serves more than 100,000 patrons and 12,000 school children annually. Kansas City Repertory Theatre is led by Artistic Director Eric Rosen, Executive Director Angela Lee Gieras and Producing Director Jerry Genochio.

50th Anniversary 2014-2015 Season At A Glance:

Kansas City Repertory Theatre ticket office 816.235.2700

Purchase tickets online at www.kcrep.org.

Our Town

September 5-28, 2014| Spencer Theatre | Written by Thornton Wilder | Directed by David Cromer | Co-production with UMKC Theatre

Acclaimed Broadway director and Macarthur Fellow David Cromer presents his innovative and electrifying new production of Thornton Wilder's Pulitzer Prize-winning classic The New York Times calls David Cromer's new version "wonderfully intimate...a highly rewarding production."

The Who and The What

October 17- November 16, 2014 | Copaken Stage| Written by Ayad Akhtar | Directed by Eric Rosen

From the 2013 Pulitzer Prize-winning director of Disgraced, comes a passionate and searing look at a family divided by faith, bonded by love and searching for truth in contemporary America.

The Santaland Diaries

December 6- December 24, 2014 | Copaken Stage | Written by David Sedaris | Directed by Eric Rosen

America's favorite irreverent elf Crumpet arrives in Kansas City! David Sedaris' hysterical tale of elfin' woe is a hilarious send-up of his brief, misguided career as a Macy's elf.

A Christmas Carol

November 21 - December 26, 2014 | Spencer Theatre | Directed by Jerry Genochio

A ripping good telling of the classic story of Ebenezer Scrooge, the curmudgeonly businessman who requires the intervention of a few spectral guides to understand the true meaning of Christmas and life.

An Iliad

January 23 - February 15, 2015 | Spencer Theatre | Written by Denis O'Hare & Lisa Peterson | Directed by Jerry Genochio

This retelling of Homer's epic poem illuminates an ancient classic by taking a harrowing look at the human cost of war. Kyle Hatley will star in the production, directed by Jerry Genochio. Obie-Award winners Lisa Peterson and Denis O'Hare (HBO's True Blood) have created a spellbinding work of theatre that spans three millennia.

Angels in America

February 20 - March 29, 2015 | Copaken Stage | Written by Tony Kushner | Directed by Jerry Genochio

A world-class revival of a modern classic. The most honored play in a generation, winner of the Tony Award for Best Play and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Angels in America melds love, hate, religion and politics into a uniquely American epic. Part I, Millennium Approaches and Part II, Perestroika will be presented in rotating repertory at Copaken Stage.

HAIR!

March 20 - April 12, 2015 | Spencer Theatre | Book and Lyrics by James Rado & Gerome Ragni | Music by Galt MacDermot | Directed by Eric Rosen

The musical that defined a generation and brought rock music to the theatrical stage, Hair! captures the essence of the revolution and passion of the 1960s. In addition to its legendary score, this production will feature documentary interviews with original Broadway artists, and continues KC Rep's tradition of re-imagining the classic musical.

Sticky Traps

April 24- May 24, 2015 | Copaken Stage | Written by Nathan Louis Jackson | Directed by Kyle Hatley

In a small town not far from Kansas City, a mother protects her son's honor in a new play by KC Rep's Playwright-in-Residence Nathan Louis Jackson. Her actions have unintended consequences that will test her whole family- and the power of their love- in the face of hate.

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