Lear deBessonet officially began her previously announced tenure as Lincoln Center Theater’s (LCT) artistic director on July 1, succeeding longtime artistic director André Bishop. Newly announced is a namesake title for the position. DeBessonet’s role will now be called the Kewsong Lee Artistic Director, named for the chair of LCT’s board of directors. Song and his spouse, Zita Ezpeleta, have made a sizable donation to LCT to fund deBessonet’s role leading the organization, which is one of four nonprofits to produce work on Broadway.
“This is a momentous time at Lincoln Center Theater,” Lee said in a statement. “Zita and I have loved our engagement with this special place over many years, and we are excited about LCT’s future and mission to bring exceptional theater to life. We are delighted to support LCT for everything that it is and all that it can be. Lear is profoundly gifted, and we can’t wait to experience the exciting and imaginative work she brings to our stages and beyond.”
Lee joined LCT’s board of directors in 2009 and served as board president, prior to taking on the role of chair in 2023. Lee is the founder and CEO of private holding company BellTower Partners. He previously served as chief executive officer of the Carlyle Group. Lee and Ezpeleta, the latter of whom serves as the chair of the board of the School of American Ballet (SAB), also created and funded Ezpeleta’s namesake artistic director and chair of faculty position at SAB.
“Kewsong Lee is a passionate, visionary board chairman, whose tremendous energy and sense of possibility for Lincoln Center Theater has set us up for our next chapter of great success,” stated deBessonet. “He has forever impacted my life, and I couldn’t be more proud to carry his name as the Kewsong Lee artistic director.”
Following the announcement of the retirement of LCT’s longtime producing artistic director Bishop, Lee led LCT board’s search in identifying the organization’s new leadership team. This resulted in the appointment of not only deBessonet, but also Bartlett Sher as executive producer and Mike Schleifer as managing director.
LCT’s Broadway programming for the 2025-2026 season will include a previously reported revival of the “Ragtime.” The musical, with a book by Terrence McNally and score by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, is scheduled to begin previews on Sept. 25 ahead of an Oct. 16 opening night at the Vivian Beaumont Theater, LCT’s flagship venue.
