Nicki Hunter has been appointed the new artistic director of Manhattan Theatre Club, a producer of Broadway and Off-Broadway shows. She succeeds Lynne Meadow, who has served as MTC’s artistic director for over five decades. Meadow will assume a new role as artistic advisor when Hunter steps into the artistic director position on December 1.
Meadow is the latest New York artistic director to step down from her post. The longtime leader of Manhattan Theatre Club, Meadow has served at MTC since 1972, when MTC was just a small Off-Off-Broadway space. Fifty-three years and more than 600 shows later, MTC now operates two Off-Broadway theatres out of New York City Center and a Broadway house, and has won 31 Tony Awards as the producer on numerous Broadway shows—including at the 2025 Tony Awards for producing Eureka Day, which won Best Revival of a Play. Under her leadership, Meadow has focused on developing and presenting the works of living American and international writers.
Hunter, who is presently MTC’s associate artistic director, first joined MTC in 2009 as an intern. In the 16 years since, she has held several key positions, including artistic associate, line producer, and artistic producer before being promoted to associate artistic director. She has worked closely with MTC’s staff and artists to further Meadow’s mission.
“I’m elated and deeply honored to be stepping into the role of artistic director of MTC,” said Hunter in a statement. “I’m inspired by the unparalleled body of work Lynne Meadow has created for the last 53 years as artistic director. She is a titan in our industry. I look forward to building on the theatre’s legacy to see it through to a successful and bold new era, working together with Chris Jennings, our Board of Directors, and the theatre’s dedicated staff. I’m committed to ensuring that MTC remains a premier destination for outstanding live theatre. I will foster an inclusive theatrical home for artists to create—and audiences to experience—entertaining, challenging, and vibrant new work both on and off Broadway.”
“I am thrilled that Nicki Hunter has been chosen to be my successor,” said Meadow in a statement. “I believe that she has the skills, talent and vision to lead us into an exciting new era and to create a vibrant repertoire for our three theatres. I have treasured 16 years of working closely with her and have been consistently impressed by her ability to identify talent, by her gifted producing instincts, and by her passion for new ideas. She has a deep commitment to our mission and has collaborated both with longstanding MTC artists as well as new talent she introduced to our company. In short, she has played a vital role at MTC and represents the best of a new generation of bold new leadership. I’m excited by the partnership of Nicki and our executive director, Chris Jennings, and look forward to the next great chapter of MTC under their direction.”
Meadow is the latest leader of a major New York theatre to announce a departure. This past summer, André Bishop stepped down from his longtime post as artistic director of Lincoln Center Theater. Other recently departed leaders include Todd Haimes (who died in 2023) at Roundabout Theatre Company and Carole Rothman at Second Stage Theater. All of these companies operate spaces on Broadway, and with the departure of leaders that have overseen those companies for decades, it is clear there is a large generational turnover underway in New York theatre.
Meadow's departure follows the exit of her longtime producing partner, Barry Grove, who stepped down as executive director of MTC in 2023 after 48 years. He and Meadow first worked together at MTC's Off-Off-Broadway space at the Bohemian National Hall on East 73rd Street, which included a 150-seat proscenium theatre, a 100-seat cabaret, and rehearsal studios. In 1984, the company moved to New York City Center. In 2003, MTC ventured onto Broadway, when it opened the Biltmore Theatre, now named the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. In addition to its 31 Tonys, MTC has received 52 Drama Desk Awards and seven Pulitzer Prizes under Meadow.
The shows that premiered under Meadow's watch include Ruined by Lynn Nottage, Jaja's African Hair Braiding by Jocelyn Bioh, Love! Valour! Compassion! by Terrence McNally, Proof by David Auburn, Doubt by John Patrick Shanley, and more. The theatre has also been an artistic home for influential playwrights such as McNally, Shanley, Beth Henley, Sam Shepard, Donald Margulies, and David Lindsay-Abaire.
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