Gennaro will help lead the 43-year-old Tony(r) Award-winning company towards

a promising future. The executive director oversees all business operations

of the theater company. Gennaro succeeds Edgar Dobie, who resigned in

September to produce the Broadway-bound musical The Pirate Queen. He will

begin work at Trinity Rep in February 2007.

“I am truly excited to be joining my good friend and accomplished artist Curt

Columbus at Trinity Rep,” stated Gennaro, “Moreover, I am honored to be

joining one of the most respected regional theaters in the country in a city

in the midst of such an extraordinary renaissance. With the inspired

commitment of a dedicated group of trustees and a shared value for community

interaction, I believe Trinity is on the brink of its own promising

renaissance.”

Gennaro, 56, has been President and CEO of Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey

since 2003 where he oversaw the artistic and business operations of the

theater. In a recent statement, the Playhouse credits Gennaro with new

audience development, bringing top creative artists to the theater and

nurturing young talent. During his tenure with Paper Mill, Gennaro was

responsible for bringing such artists as Tovah Feldshuh, Karen Ziemba,

Estelle Parsons, John Mahoney, and recent Tony(r) Award-winner John Lloyd

Young to their stage. Prior to joining Paper Mill, Michael Gennaro was the

Executive Director of Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre for seven years where

Curt Columbus was Associate Artistic Director.

Artistic Director Curt Columbus states, “I am particularly delighted that

Michael will be joining Trinity Rep as our Executive Director, as we already

have an excellent working relationship in place from our years together at

Steppenwolf. He brings with him the rare combination of expert business

acumen and understanding of the artists’ work - a great and rare commodity

that allows him to fully support the theater’s mission. I have long been an

admirer of his ability to bring regional theater companies to both a national

and international spotlight.”

“We are thrilled about Michael bringing his decades of talent and experience

at running and managing theaters to Providence,” adds Jack McConnell,

president of Trinity Rep’s Board of Trustees, “Trinity is exceptionally

fortunate to have him partner with Curt Columbus in continuing to move

Trinity forward.”

Prior to his leading Paper Mill Playhouse as President and CEO, Gennaro was

the Executive Director of Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre for seven years.

During his tenure, in partnership with artistic director Martha Lavey,

Steppenwolf was awarded the National Medal of Arts, produced over 20 world

premieres, won the Tony(r) Award for Best Revival of a Play with One Flew

Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and transferred several notable productions (e.g. The

Man Who Came to Dinner, Side Man, Glengarry Glen Ross) to such theatres as

the Barbican in London, the Royale and Brooks Atkinson on Broadway, and to

international theatre festivals in Melbourne, Dublin, and Galway.

Gennaro had a brief career as an actor (Broadway and Off Broadway) before

becoming an entertainment attorney in New York. Before joining Steppenwolf he

held a variety of arts management positions including general manager of

George Street Playhouse, managing director of Ford’s Theatre, and executive

director of Pennsylvania Ballet.

Michael was born into show business royalty. His father was Peter Gennaro,

the acclaimed Broadway dancer and award-winning choreographer; his mother is

dancer Jean Kinsella. Born in New York City, Michael was raised in Manhattan

and Paramus, New Jersey. He is a graduate of Notre Dame University and

Fordham University Law School.

Since its founding in 1964, Trinity Repertory Company has been one of the

most respected regional theaters in the country. Featuring an acclaimed

resident acting company, Trinity Rep presents a balance of world premiere,

contemporary, and classic works, including six subscription productions, an

annual production of A Christmas Carol, for an estimated annual audience of

nearly 160,000. In its 42-year history, the theater has presented 54 world

premieres, mounted national and international tours, and, through its

graduate-level theater arts conservatory, trained hundreds of new actors and

directors. Project Discovery, Trinity Rep’s pioneering educational outreach

program launched in 1966, introduces over 30,000 Rhode Island and

Massachusetts students a year to live theater. Trinity Rep’s 43rd season

includes Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov, translated and directed by Curt

Columbus; A Christmas Carol, by Adrian Hall and Richard Cumming; Dublin Carol

by Conor McPherson; Our Town by Thornton Wilder; A Delicate Balance by Edward

Albee; The Fantasticks with music by Harvey Schmidt, book and lyrics by Tom

Jones and The Clean House by Sarah Ruhl. For more information, call the box