Ted Chapin has announced he will step down as president and chief creative officer of The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization at the end of his current contract later this month, ending a four decades-long career shepherding the musical theatre titans' catalog of musicals.
"It’s astonishing to me just how fast time passes when you love what you do," says Chapin. "I can’t help but feel that, over the course of our time together, this incredible organization and I have helped each other grow and flourish in ways that could never have been anticipated 40 years ago,” said Chapin. “As I look forward to the next act of my life in the theatre, I take with me cherished memories, dear friends, and—above all—gratitude. I am confident that Concord will continue to steward this catalog with passion and care."
Chapin was brought in by the Rodgers and Hammerstein families in 1981 to manage the copyrights owned by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. Chapin saw that catalog grow to include a host of additional works by other artists, including such musicals as The Light in the Piazza, In the Heights, Carrie, and more.
His tenure saw eight major Broadway revivals win the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical—On Your Toes, Carousel, Show Boat, Annie Get Your Gun, South Pacific, The King and I (in both 1996 and 2015), and Oklahoma! Chapin was also part of creating new works culled from existing material within the Rodgers and Hammerstein Theatricals catalog, which led to the creation of White Christmas, Cinderella, State Fair, A Grand Night for Singing, and Holiday Inn.
A noted theatre historian, Chapin published Everything Was Possible: The Birth of the Musical Follies in 2003, an account of the world premiere of Stephen Sondheim and James Goldman's landmark musical Follies. Chapin wrote the book from his own exhaustive journals from the period, having served as a production assistant for a college internship. The book went on to win ASCAP and Deems Taylor Awards and a Special Jury Prize for Distinguished Achievement by the Theatre Library Association. He is also a frequent interview subject in theatrical documentaries, including PBS' Broadway: The American Musical and Out of His Dreams. Chapin is also co-founder of the City Center Encores! series.
The Rodgers and Hammerstein catalog, handled by Concord Theatricals since 2018, will be managed by Concord Chief Theatricals Executive Sean Patrick Flahaven and Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications Imogen Lloyd Webber.
Chapin will continue to serve as chairman of the Kurt Weill Foundation and co-chair of the American Theatre Wing, and will continue to serve on the boards of New York City Center and Goodspeed Musicals.
