Dallas Summer Musicals has patched things up with its ousted leader, Michael Jenkins, today announcing an “amicable” curtain call on what had been a contentious separation between the Broadway tour company and its longtime president. In a statement, Dallas Summer Musicals says it is naming Jenkins, along with the late Tom Hughes and Charles Meeker, Jr., “managing director emeritus,” a title recognizing each man’s “loyalty, guidance, artistic drive and longtime commitment that propelled the organization to be a national leader in Broadway theater.”
The press release features a quote from Jenkins underneath a few paragraphs of back-slapping: “I was glad that I was able to program the 2017 and 2018 DSM seasons and to accept this Managing Director Emeritus recognition.” An awards ceremony to formally bury the hatchet is forthcoming, per the release.
Perhaps more critically, DSM board chairman Ted Munselle tells the Dallas Morning News that the financial issues between the two parties, as well as an age discrimination complaint Jenkins filed against his former employer, have been resolved.
Dallas Summer Musicals’ upcoming 2017 season, the last plotted entirely by Jenkins, kicks off in January with An American In Paris.
David Hyslop, an arts management consultant who steered the Dallas Symphony through its own financial problems several years ago, has temporarily taken the reins since Jenkins’ firing.
Peter wrote about Dallas Summer Musicals’ next act, and the problems facing one of Fair Park’s few remaining arts institutions, in the July issue of D Magazine.
