Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC), one of the four nonprofits that operate and produce on Broadway, has named Nicki Hunter as its new artistic director. Hunter, who currently serves as the organization’s associate artistic director, will step into the leadership position on Dec. 1. Hunter will succeed Lynne Meadow, who, as previously reported, will step down from her 53-year-long tenure leading MTC and will move into a new role as artistic advisor.
Hunter first joined MTC as an intern in 2009. Since then, Hunter has assumed several titles, including artistic associate, line producer and artistic producer before her current post as associate artistic director.
“I’m elated and deeply honored to be stepping into the role of artistic director of MTC,” Hunter said in a statement. “I’m inspired by the unparalleled body of work Lynne Meadow has created for the last 53 years as artistic director. She is a titan in our industry. I look forward to building on the theater’s legacy to see it through to a successful and bold new era, working together with Chris Jennings, our board of directors and the theater’s dedicated staff. I’m committed to ensuring that MTC remains a premier destination for outstanding live theater.”
“I am thrilled that Nicki Hunter has been chosen to be my successor,” said Meadow. “I believe that she has the skills, talent and vision to lead us into an exciting new era and to create a vibrant repertoire for our three theaters. I have treasured 16 years of working closely with her and have been consistently impressed by her ability to identify talent, by her gifted producing instincts and by her passion for new ideas. She has a deep commitment to our mission and has collaborated both with longstanding MTC artists as well as new talent she introduced to our company. In short, she has played a vital role at MTC and represents the best of a new generation of bold new leadership.”
The search for MTC’s new artistic director was led by Diane Carlyle Executive Search, a firm specializing in leadership among arts nonprofits.
“During an extensive search process, we and our fellow members of the search committee had the privilege of getting to know more about Nicki’s passion for the work and learning about her inspired ideas for this venerable institution’s future,” said MTC board chair David C. Hodgson and president Thomas F. Secunda in a joint statement. “We firmly believe that Nicki will build on the best of her mentor Lynne Meadow’s remarkable legacy while bringing her own bold, new vision and energy to the position. We have great confidence that MTC will continue to thrive as a vital and inclusive force in American theater in its second act with Nicki and executive director Chris Jennings at the helm.”
“I will foster an inclusive theatrical home for artists to create—and audiences to experience—entertaining, challenging and vibrant new work both on and off Broadway,” Hunter added.
MTC won the 2025 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play for producing Jonathan Spector’s “Eureka Day.” The nonprofit’s 2025-2026 Broadway lineup includes the currently running “Punch” by James Graham as well as upcoming mountings of Tracy Letts’ “Bug” and David Lindsay-Abaire’s “The Balusters.” MTC’s Off-Broadway programming will include Martyna Majok’s “Queens,” Ngozi Anyanwu’s “The Monsters: A Sibling Love Story” and Amber Ruffin, David A. Schmoll and Kevin Sciretta’s “Bigfoot!”
