A new season means new leadership at Lyric Stage.
The Dallas-based theatre company dedicated to the development and preservation of the musical has appointed two key members of its staff to new roles. Tricia Guenther has been named Patron Services & Co-Artistic Director, and Scott Guenther has been appointed Managing & Co-Artistic Director.
“I’m proud to announce the appointment of Tricia and Scott, a husband-and-wife team, to newly defined roles at Lyric Stage to better serve the company, our actors and actresses and those who attend our productions. Together, Tricia and Scott bring an unmatched set of skills and cooperation to the theatre scene in Dallas. Their decades of experience will help address artistic and fiduciary responsibilities for a bright future at Lyric Stage,” said Producer Catherine Carpenter Cox, on behalf of the Lyric Stage board.
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Tricia Guenther, a choreographer for various dance companies and an artistic director of her studio for more than 30 years, will handle the education and outreach aspects at Lyric. She will also oversee patron service roles and front-of-house operations.
“I was born to help people, and there is no better feeling than watching folks light up when they reach a milestone. Through Lyric Stage, I can reach out to the community and help performers and other organizations that want to feel the same. We have a real chance to connect throughout the DFW community and enable even more people to make Lyric Stage a part of their family,” she said.
Scott Guenther, an artist, designer, technical director, and business manager for theatre and dance companies for more than three decades, will combine his business side and artistic skills to take on the role of managing director.
The Scene
Scott and Tricia Guenther will share the artistic decisions with the theater’s producer, Catherine Carpenter Cox.
“Lyric Stage is a great company with a proud history of doing wonderful work in North Texas. Our goal is to honor that legacy and to modernize the company to allow for long-term growth and sustainability. Remembering our purpose, dedication to the development and preservation of the musical, and moving forward for a healthy future,” he said.
Lyric Stage opens its 2024-2025 season with Stewart Ross’ Forever Plaid: Plaid Tidings, running November 29 – December 22 at Lyric Stage Studio.
At first, Francis, Jinx, Smudge and Sparky aren't sure why they've returned to Earth for another posthumous performance, but a phone call from the heavenly Rosemary Clooney lets them know that they're needed to put a little harmony into a discordant world. Sprinkled among the Christmas offerings are audience favorites, like their riotous three-minute-and-eleven-second version of The Ed Sullivan Show – this time, featuring the Rockettes, the Chipmunks and The Vienna Boys Choir, as well as a Plaid Caribbean Christmas that puts the "Day-O" in Excelsis!
2025 begins with Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill by Lanie Robertson and featuring Billie Holiday’s greatest hits. The production is presented in honor of Black History Month, running January 31- February 23 at Lyric Stage Studio.
In 1959, in a small, intimate bar in Philadelphia, Billie Holiday puts on a show that unbeknownst to the audience, will leave them witnesses to one of the last performances of her lifetime. Through her brilliant voice and sometimes haunting songs, one of the greatest jazz singers of all time shares her loves and her losses.
Presented at the Lyric Stage Studio March 28 – April 19 and based on the classic story by Robert Louis Stevenson, Jekyll & Hyde features a score of pop-rock hits from multi-Grammy and Tony-nominated Frank Wildhorn and double-Oscar- and Grammy-winning Leslie Bricusse.
An evocative tale of two men – one, a doctor, passionate and romantic; the other, a terrifying madman – and two women – one, beautiful and trusting; the other, beautiful and trusting only herself– both women in love with the same man and both unaware of his dark secret. A devoted man of science, Dr. Henry Jekyll is driven to find a chemical breakthrough that can solve some of mankind's most challenging medical dilemmas. Rebuffed by the powers that be, he decides to make himself the subject of his own experimental treatments, accidentally unleashing his inner demons along with the man that the world would come to know as Mr. Hyde.
Guys & Dolls, Lyric Stage’s final show of the season, is a co-production with the artists from Turtle Creek Chorale. The musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows will be presented at the Moody Performance Hall in Dallas Arts District August 15-17 with a full orchestra and large cast.
Considered by many to be the perfect musical comedy, Guys & Dolls ran for 1,200 performances when it opened on Broadway in 1950. It received nearly unanimous positive reviews from critics and won several awards, including Tony Awards, Drama Desks, and Olivier’s.
Learn more: Lyric Stage
