Theater visionary Peter Rothstein, who co-founded Theater Latté Da, is leaving Minnesota for Florida this summer.
The artistic director's last show for the Minneapolis company that's dedicated to musicals and plays with music will be "Next to Normal," which opens in June at the Ritz Theater. Rothstein leaves at the end of that month and begins his new job July 1 as producing artistic director of Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota.
"I will be forever grateful to the artists, audiences and generous donors who have made Theater Latté Da a reality. You have made me a better artist and a better human being," said the Grand Rapids, Minn., native, who has made the theater his artistic home since its 1998 inception with co-founder and resident music director Denise Prosek.
"Peter has always been willing to take leaps to move the theater forward and to give a platform to stories that haven't had them," said Prosek. "This puts him more on the national stage. As he rises, so do we."
Latté Da has a $4 million budget. Asolo Rep's is three times that with two stages — a 535-seat mainstage and a smaller stage half that size.
"As a curator, I'm excited to open the scope of programming to include the full range of work, not just musical theater but plays," said the 56-year-old Rothstein. "They've built an amazing campus with amazing scene shops and the nicest rehearsal hall I've ever seen."
In the past five years, Asolo Rep programmed Rothstein's productions of "Sweeney Todd" and "Ragtime," both of which originated at Latté Da. The Florida theater also has emotional significance for Rothstein because it was while working there on "Ragtime" that he became close to theater legends Terrence McNally, the show's book writer, and Stephen Flaherty, its composer. Rothstein then directed the world premiere of McNally's final play, "Immortal Longings," in Texas.
"Those moments had a profound impact on me," Rothstein said.