Manhattan Theatre Club executive producer Barry Grove will step down at the end of the 2022-2023 season, concluding a 48-year partnership with artistic director Lynne Meadow.
Grove steps away to spend more time with his wife and family and to explore various teaching and consulting opportunities, he said in a statement.
A nationwide search is underway to find his successor.
Though MTC was founded in 1972 by Meadow, Grove started as managing director with the company in 1975. At the time, MTC’s home was at an Off-Off-Broadway venue, though many of the works produced transferred to bigger houses, including Broadway venues. During the 1983-1984 season, Grove and Meadow moved MTC Off-Broadway, occupying two spaces within New York City Center. In 1995, Grove was promoted to executive producer.
In 2001, after Sept. 11, Grove led the efforts to restore and reopen the Biltmore Theatre, renamed the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre in 2008, giving MTC its permanent Broadway home and third overall venue.
Financially, MTC’s budget was $172,000 when Grove began. Under his and Meadow’s leadership, the operating budget has since grown to approximately $27 million. During that time, Grove — along with MTC’s Board and development team — has raised $350 million to support the organization and sustain Meadow’s vision.
Under the leadership of Meadow and Grove, MTC has produced close to 450 American and world premieres. Productions have earned a cumulative 28 Tony Awards, seven Pulitzer Prizes and 50 Drama Desk Awards, in addition to Obie, Outer Critics Circle and Theatre World Awards. In 2001, MTC was given the Jujamcyn Award, which honors a theatrical organization for its contribution to the development of talent within the industry.
“It has been my joy and honor to partner with Barry for so many decades. He has sustained MTC with dedication and vision, executing growth, working as a force in creating our reputation for excellence, and fostering integrity in every aspect of our work,” Meadow said in a statement.
“MTC and the theater world have been my village, my Anatevka, my Grover’s Corners, and my Brigadoon,” Grove said in a statement. “Every night and on matinée afternoons, the streets and sidewalks are swarming with literally tens of thousands of theatergoers. They come here, leaving their technology behind and hopefully checking their cares and concerns at the door. And as they sit shoulder to shoulder with loved ones or strangers on either side, they do so with the sure and certain knowledge that they are about to experience something magical. I can’t tell you how happy and humbled I am to have been part of this village.”
