Lincoln Center Theater (LCT), one of Broadway’s nonprofit theater companies, has announced new leadership. Tony Award nominee Lear deBessonet has been named LCT’s new artistic director, while Tony winner Bartlett Sher is named executive director. DeBessonet succeeds André Bishop, who, as previously announced, will complete his 33-year tenure at the helm of LCT in June 2025. Sher previously served as resident director of the nonprofit.
DeBessonet will oversee programming and season offerings for the organization’s Broadway venue, the Vivian Beaumont Theater, with the potential of other programming within LCT’s venues. Additionally, deBessonet will cultivate and maintain relationships with LCT’s roster of artists and manage the day-to-day operations. In his new post, Sher will manage the development of international partnerships, fundraising and LCT’s brand expansion. Both will begin these roles with LCT on July 1, 2025, reporting to the chair of LCT’s board. DeBessonet and Sher will also join the board as ex-officio members.
DeBessonet is currently the New York City Center Center Encores! artistic director, a post she has held since 2021. During her tenure, she has helmed concert stagings of “Oliver!,” “Into the Woods” and “Once Upon a Mattress,” the latter two which transferred to Broadway. The 2022 Broadway mounting of “Into the Woods” earned deBessonet a Best Direction of a Musical Tony nomination. DeBessonet is slated to direct the Encores! gala presentation of “Ragtime” in October. DeBessonet is the founder of the Arts for EveryBody initiative, which focuses on communal arts projects in cities across the country.
“It is the deepest honor of my professional life to serve as the next artistic director of Lincoln Center Theater, following the astonishing legacy of André Bishop,” said deBessonet in a statement. “From the moment I first stepped onto the campus at Lincoln Center, I felt a sense of awe and magic. From thrilling, important new plays and new musicals to exquisite revivals and revelatory explorations of the classics, I have experienced LCT as a place where intellectual rigor can live alongside wonder, imagination and beauty. I am thrilled to work alongside my dear friend Bartlett Sher, whose artistry and vision have profoundly affected my work as a director, and the extraordinary board and staff of Lincoln Center Theater to lead this theater into its next chapter of great success.”
Sher is a longtime collaborator with LCT. Of his 15 Broadway directing credits, 11 were LCT-produced mountings. His LCT credits include 2005’s “Light in the Piazza,” “Awake and Sing!,” “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone,” “Golden Boy,” “The King and I” and “My Fair Lady,” all of which earned Sher Tony nominations; he took home the trophy for helming LCT’s 2008 revival of “South Pacific.”
“Lincoln Center Theater is one of the most important theaters in America, and it has been led brilliantly by André Bishop leaving a legacy of exceptional quality and enormous strength,” added Sher. “At the same time, theater has never been more important to our culture for building discourse, engagement and community. Our magnificent theater spaces combined with our fantastic staff have led to profound and lasting work in the heart of New York and our nation. Lear deBessonet is an incredible artist and leader and I am deeply honored to collaborate with her as she guides Lincoln Center Theater into a transformative future.”
LCT’s Broadway offerings in the 2024-2025 season include Ayad Akhtar’s artificial intelligence-themed, Robert Downey Jr.-led play “McNeal,” directed by Sher, and the first Main Stem production of Tina Landau and Adam Guettel’s “Floyd Collins.”
Prior to joining LCT in summer 2025, deBessonet will remain with Encores!, whose season programming includes mountings of “Urinetown,” “Love Life” and “The Wild Party.”
“Encores! has given me the happiest time of my artistic life,” deBessonet reflected. “City Center is truly a sanctuary for artists, and the joy of this remarkable staff, board and the artists is beyond expression. I can’t wait for the rapturous experience directing ‘Ragtime’ this fall and sharing our three electrifying 2025 Encores! shows in the spring.”
A replacement for deBessonet at Encores! has not been named.
