Seattle Rep history

Then in 1970, Donnelly moved up from his general manager position to the Rep's producing director and W. Duncan Ross took on the artistic director slot.

In 1971 the group received a most welcome monetary grant from the Ford Foundation, and critical kudos for performances of Shakespeare's Richard II, featuring noted Hollywood actor Richard Chamberlain.

By mid-decade many locals had reached the conclusion that the Rep had earned a modern and dedicated theater building, and in 1977 voters approved the Seattle Center Bond Issue, which ultimately provided the initial $4.8 million to get that project started.

A capital campaign drive -- chaired by Dorothy L. Simpson -- got underway in 1978, and was boosted by a $1 million naming gift from Bagley Wright and a consortium of supporters.

In 1979 the Rep's education programs began with mobile productions touring schools in Washington and Idaho.

Two years later, in October 1983, the theater opened with the triumphant world premiere of Michael Weller's The Ballad of Soapy Smith.

In 1985 Benjamin Moore was named managing director.

After moving to Seattle in 1987, Jane Jones, Tony Pasqualini, Mark Jenkins, Robyn Smith, and Sarah Brooke, among others, formed The Collective at the Pasqualini/Smith acting studio in a three-story walk-up on Pine Street in Seattle’s Capitol Hill.

Myra Platt, Book-It’s future Co-Artistic Director, joined The Collective in 1988.

The Collective soon evolved into Book-It: A Performing Arts Company and in 1990, Book-It incorporated as a 501(c)3 organization, established its first Board of Directors and, along with the Pasqualini/Smith Studio, moved to the Oddfellows Hall.

1992-93: the Book-It audience kept growing along with its repertoire of stories.

In 1994, Jane Jones and Myra Platt became Book-It’s first co-artistic directors and the following year, Book-It established its first home by renovating a 50-seat black-box theatre on 1219 Westlake Avenue North.

In December 1996 the Rep's new Leo Kreielsheimer Theatre (the “Leo K”) opened just adjacent to the Bagley Wright Theatre and was dubbed in honor of the $2 million naming gift received from The Kreielsheimer Foundation.

In 2009 supporters of the Rep raised $1 million in new or increased gifts, thus successfully securing the Seattle Repertory Theatre Foundation's pledged matching loan and balancing the fiscal budget during challenging economic times.