Children's Musical Theater San Jose Artistic Director Kevin Hauge to Retire

Children’s Musical Theater San Jose Artistic Director Kevin Hauge will retire at the close of the 57th season, which coincides with his 30thanniversary at CMTSJ. Over the weekend, Hauge presented the 57th season line up which will end his legacy at the longest thriving arts organization in Silicon Valley and one of the nation’s most celebrated theater companies dedicated to youth.

“I came to this organization 30 years ago and have had the privilege to dream and create in unimaginable ways,” says Hauge. “I've witnessed this organization grow exponentially, and yet, at its core, the basic principles from more than a half century ago remain intact. I am incredibly proud and humbled to see my artistic vision take shape through generations of performers. Together with a team of dedicated staff, we have walked the tightrope of Artistic Excellence and inclusivity, finding new ways to stretch each young person who walks through our doors to gain new abilities and confidence. This is the heart and soul of my 30-year legacy”.
 
Local civic leader and long-time CMT board member Michael Mulcahy served as Executive Director in 1994 when he brought Kevin on as the organization’s first artistic director to elevate artistic excellence and organizational capacity. “I'm so grateful for the 30 years Kevin has given to our community and CMT," says Mulcahy. He has shaped thousands of lives that will be felt for generations. He is an artist, teacher, mentor, visionary—a once in a lifetime leader who leaves an incredible legacy of accomplishment and human impact.”
 
For his final year as Artistic Director, Kevin has curated a season reflective of his legacy. Season 57 was announced on Saturday night under the stars and surrounded by over 500+ members of the community at CMT’s annual community event, Preview Night. Throughout the evening, previews of the company’s three summer productions were performed before the annual tradition of the season announcement. Of the 11 shows in the 57th Season, three titles are too new to announce. Kevin shared with the community that they will be announced closer to the holidays and promised they’d be worth the wait in exchange for having new titles which the company will premiere later in the year.
 
CMT’s 57th season runs November 2024 through August 2025 and features three performance divisions: Marquee (MQ), Mainstage (MS) and Junior Talent/Rising Stars (JT/RS). The season includes the Fall Marquee premiere of Beautiful, the Carole King Musical, and the Winter Mainstage production of Rock of Ages. A second Marquee production will premiere in the springtime and will be announced closer to the holidays. Two additional brand-new Mainstage titles will also be announced closer to the holidays to round out the Mainstage season in spring and summer. CMT’s Junior Talents and Rising Stars were thrilled to learn their season to include The Lion King Jr. (JT), James and the Giant Peach (JT), A Christmas Carol (RS), The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (RS), Once Upon a Mattress (RS), and Guys and Dolls (RS).
 
Under Hauge’s artistic leadership, CMT San Jose has become a nationally acclaimed theater company recognized 13 times by the National Endowment for the Arts for Artistic Excellence. In 2018, the American Theater Wing gave Kevin an honorable mention for the Tony Award for Excellence in Theater Education. Kevin is the recipient of the prestigious Lin Wright Special Recognition Award by the American Alliance for Theater and Education and has collaborated on productions in a variety of venues all over the world. His innovative approach to projects like TADA –Theater as Digital Activity – an online program created with Apple computers back in 1998 where young people created theater by partnering with multiple children’s hospitals across the nation stands out as one of the highlights of his career. For over a year, stories and chats were collected and turned into “Pulse, the Rhythm of Life,” a new musical that premiered at the Montgomery Theater and chronicled into an Emmy Nominated PBS Special.
 
His boundless creativity will leave a legacy boasting groundbreaking titles allowing young people to be the first in the area the chance to perform shows like The Who’s Tommy, Aida, Miss Saigon, American Idiot, 13 the Musical and many more. Even in the wake of Covid, Hauge quickly redirected artistic teams to produce full length shows on zoom and a summer virtual experience which featured 200 performers from their homes and produced on the big screen at the Capital Drive-In. Always focused on the youth in the CMT community, Hauge helped CMT open the doors of their new Creative Arts Center in the Spring of 2021 with a custom designed and constructed outdoor theater, allowing performers and the CMT community to come back together and enjoy live performances once again.
 
CMT plans to celebrate Kevin Hauge’s legacy throughout the 57th season and expects many alumni to participate both on and off stage.  CMT’s Board of Directors is planning a national search to find a successor to Kevin’s leadership and help the organization continue to flourish for generations to come.