Bloomington accountant who championed community theater from behind the scenes dies at 76

Mary Beth King, a frequent producer of community theater shows, remembers standing behind the scenes one opening night, watching the action onstage, when she heard a peculiar jingling.

"There, on the other side of the stage, was Bill — rocking back and forth on his shoes and jingling the change in his pockets," King recalled.

That's what William Muchow did when he was pleased with a theater production. As an accountant by day and a theater devotee the rest of the time, he must have done a lot of jingling.

"Among of his favorite things were columns and columns of numbers — the complete opposite of the other love of his life, theater," King said. "Numbers made his mind happy and theater made his heart happy."

Muchow, of Bloomington, died March 27 of heart failure complicated by COVID. He was 76.

"To say that he's an arts advocate would be an understatement," said his friend Scott Swanson of Shakopee. "Bill was the single most generous human being that I've ever known in my life."

Muchow was born in Pittsburgh to parents who were both accountants. He was involved with theater in high school and in college, graduating from Westminster College with majors in accounting, economics and business administration, and minors in history and political science.

He became involved in theaters around the Twin Cities, contributing to nearly 200 productions during his lifetime, King said. When traveling on business, around the country and overseas, he would spend spare evenings watching plays at local theaters.

"He'd go to watch theater in languages he didn't even understand," King said.

In 2008, Muchow retired from business and turned to theater full-time: donating money, building sets, solving technical problems, keeping things organized, cheering from the wings.

"He was unflappable in a crisis and he had great ideas," King said. "But he also let artistic temperaments flicker like they had to flicker. He made people look good out front while he stayed behind the scenes."

Muchow founded two companies, the Minnesota Short Play Club and Minnesota Short Play Company. He held leadership positions with Community Theatre of Burnsville (now Applause Community Theatre), Dakota Fine Arts Consortium, Ensemble Theater Company, and state, national and international community-theater associations. He served on the board of the Lake Alimagnet Center for the Arts in Burnsville, and served on a committee that drew up specifications for the two theaters in the Burnsville Performing Arts Center (now the Ames Center).

He supported other art forms as well, including museums and public radio.

"He was never looking for any glory," Swanson said. "He just played pretty much whatever role was necessary to make sure that art would come to life all over the state — hell, all over the country."