Oklahoma City Repertory Theater artistic director Kelly Kerwin stepping down: What to know

After three seasons, Kelly Kerwin is stepping down as artistic director of Oklahoma City Repertory Theater.

Kerwin is leaving the award-winning regional theater to be closer to family in New York, she said in an email.

Selected through a nationwide search, Kerwin is just the second artistic director in the Oklahoma City Repertory Theater's 25-year history. She ushered the nonprofit professional theater through a time of great transition: She succeeded Founding Artistic Director Donald Jordan, who announced his retirement in fall 2020, and guided OKC Rep out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Leading OKC Rep has been a privilege. I began my tenure in July 2021, and I’m so proud of the huge strides we’ve made these past three years. We made it through one of the most challenging times in the American Theater; I know the remarkable board of directors and the staff will keep pushing OKC Rep into the future," Kerwin said in a statement.

"I’m very grateful for my time in Oklahoma City, and I’m so proud of all the beauty we brought into the world."

What shows did OKC Repertory Theater put on under Kelly Kerwin's tenure?

Originally from Springfield, Missouri, Kerwin came to OKC Rep from New York City, after working as a producer at The Public Theater and the Under the Radar Festival.

She forged partnerships between OKC Rep and The Public Theater as well as with Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center to produce shows never before seen in Oklahoma City. Under her leadership, the local theater also increased representation of people of color among its artists, staff and board.

In January 2022, OKC Rep produced its first in-person show since fall 2019. Since, Kerwin has brought to Oklahoma several internationally celebrated artists and visionary directors as well as fostered opportunities for many local artists. She also has worked with many students from area universities.

At OKC Rep, Kerwin partnered with the Under the Radar Festival to bring shows straight from NYC to OKC, a partnership now entering its fourth year.

Since 2022, OKC Rep has produced 13 shows, including works by acclaimed multidisciplinary artists like Roger Guenvuer Smith, Inua Ellams and James & Jerome. Under Kerwin's leadership, the theater produced six original productions of contemporary plays, including the regional premieres of "The Great Leap," "The Brothers Size" and the 2023-2024 season finale "Vietgone."

Plus, Kerwin worked with a team of collaborators to create "Of a Mind: Oklahoma City," a bespoke theatrical audio tour for downtown OKC featuring the voices of more than 30 local residents.

“Kelly’s work as artistic director of our theater has served to raise the bar for OKC Rep and the theatergoing expectations in Oklahoma City, generally,” said OKC Rep Board President Clifford Hudson in a statement “Her sustaining impact should be that we continue to offer this level and quality of theater she has produced. We are thankful for the creative leadership she has provided and wish her the best of luck!”

In addition, Kerwin's husband, scenic and projections designer Edward T. Morris, worked on several productions for OKC Repertory Theater as well as Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park during the couple's time in Oklahoma City.

What's next for OKC Repertory Theater?

Kerwin will be departing Oklahoma City Repertory Theater at the end of June. OKC Rep’s board of directors, along with Managing Director Emily Comisar, are working to ensure a smooth transition, according to a news release.

"OKC Rep is a community of curious, thoughtful, generous dreamers, and I look forward to seeing the next chapter of inventive and high-quality work," Kerwin said in a statement.

The theater already has announced the titles for its 2024-2025 season, which consists entirely of regional premieres, starting in November with "The Thanksgiving Play," the first Broadway play by a Native American woman, and continuing with the next show in the Under the Radar partnership, the return of Smith and the most produced play in the United States.

What shows are on OKC Repertory Theater's 2024-2025 season?

'The Thanksgiving Play'

When and where: Nov. 7-17, Oklahoma Contemporary's Te Ata Theater, 11 NW 11.

Good intentions collide with absurd assumptions in this funny satire, as a troupe of terminally woke teaching artists scramble to create a pageant that somehow manages to celebrate both Turkey Day and Native American Heritage Month. The hit play was written by Larissa FastHorse, making her the first Native American woman playwright produced on Broadway. The OKC production will be directed by David Ruttura.

Under the Radar

When and where: Jan. 17-19, 2025, Oklahoma Contemporary.

New York's Under the Radar Festival and OKC Rep embark on their fourth year in partnership, bringing one of Under the Radar's innovative 2025 shows straight from New York City to Oklahoma City. The title coming to OKC has not yet been announced.

'What the Constitution Means to Me'

When and where: April 3-13, 2025, Oklahoma Contemporary.

Playwright Heidi Schreck resurrects her teenage self in order to trace the profound relationship between four generations of women and the founding document that changed their lives. The show was the most produced play in American theater in 2023. OKC Rep's production will star Oklahoma Broadway and television actor Annie Funke.

'Frederick Douglas NOW'

When and where: May 1-4, 2025, Oklahoma Contemporary.

Created and performed by Smith, the show is inspired by the life and work of the self-liberated abolitionist and pioneering feminist Frederick Douglass. Smith has edited Douglass' 19th-century texts into a jazz-infused narrative, bookended by original writing to produce the kind of edgy stylistic mash-up of which vital contemporary theater is made.

For tickets and information, go to https://www.okcrep.org.