How can Lincoln Center Theater evolve to reflect a more populist ethos? That’s the question driving artistic director Lear deBessonet, who aims to widen the legacy institution’s appeal while honoring its loyal supporters.
Since taking the reins last summer from André Bishop, who led Lincoln Center Theater (LCT) for just over three decades, deBessonet, 45, has assembled a new class of collaborative leaders and overseen the creation of a community engagement department. She also directed a Broadway production of “Ragtime” that upholds the company’s reputation for lavish, crowd-pleasing revivals.
“We exist to be a gathering place, where people come and feel a sense of belonging and inspiration and life,” deBessonet said. Greeters have been hired for the front doors. The night we spoke, the building’s stately lobby — newly recarpeted in radiant crimson — was the scene of a free dance party, co-hosted by a Queens speakeasy.
DeBessonet pointed me to a quote emblazoned outside the stage door, from the first president of Lincoln Center, John D. Rockefeller III, declaring, “The arts are not for the privileged few, but for the many.” Still, not many people familiar with New York theater would think of LCT, perched uptown and tucked behind the Metropolitan Opera, as a theater for the people.
