Respected opera and theater director Richard D. Thompson has been appointed artistic director of the History Theatre. The arts veteran becomes the fourth leader of the 44-year-old St. Paul-based company, succeeding Ron Peluso, who led the organization for 27 years.
Peluso's legacy includes ushering in the perennially popular musical "Glensheen." Thompson, who starts Jan. 10, 2023, said he hopes to build on that legacy.
"I'm elated and very grateful that the board chose me to move the organization forward," Thompson said Friday. "If I'm doing a Mozart opera or Scott Joplin piece, I look at them all as period pieces. History is essential to telling a complete story and getting to the heart of the human condition."
Thompson was selected after a national search. Board president John Sebastian lauded him as "a visionary theater professional, an advocate for inclusivity in the arts and a respected member of the Minnesota theatre community."
For his part, Thompson said that he aims "to provide space for even more voices, and by that I don't mean just telling painful stories. I'm interested in stories of cooperation, resilience, triumph and joy, and in exploring the intertwined fabric of communities that is America."
A Minneapolis native, Thompson, 65, grew up with such figures as artist Seitu Jones and playwright Kim Hines. He credits his community-involved parents, Jacqui Smith and S. Douglas Thompson, with his interest in service through arts.
"They worked for neighborhood organizations in the '60s in south Minneapolis and I learned that art is a reflection of society," Thompson said.
Thompson trained at the Children's Theater in his youth. He also co-founded a dance troupe in the 1970s, the Uchawi Dancers and Musicians. As a child, Stokely Williams, later of Mint Condition fame, played drums for the troupe.
