The Argyle Theatre Founding Artistic Director Evan Pappas to Retire; Tommy Ranieri to Take Over
Pappas will conclude his tenure by returning to the director’s chair for Disney and Cameron Mackintosh’s Mary Poppins, running November 12, 2026, through January 3, 2027.
The Argyle Theatre's founding Artistic Director Evan Pappas will retire following a nearly nine-year tenure. Taking the helm is Long Island native Tommy Ranieri, who will work alongside Executive Producers and Managing Partners Mark and Dylan Perlman to guide the theatre into its next chapter.
Pappas will conclude his tenure by returning to the director’s chair for Disney and Cameron Mackintosh’s Mary Poppins, running November 12, 2026, through January 3, 2027.
The artistic transition comes as The Argyle continues its current season, featuring On Your Feet! The Story of Emilio & Gloria Estefan, Disney and Cameron Mackintosh’s Mary Poppins, All Shook Up, The Cher Show, and Escape to Margaritaville.
Under Pappas’s leadership, and in partnership with Mark and Dylan Perlman, The Argyle grew into one of Long Island’s largest professional Equity theatres, presenting Broadway-caliber musicals, plays, concerts, family programming, and educational opportunities throughout the year.
Pappas directed the theatre’s inaugural production, Guys and Dolls, in the spring of 2018, establishing the artistic standard for the new venue. His many Argyle Productions have included The Producers, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Full Monty, Cabaret, West Side Story, A Chorus Line, An American in Paris, Elf, A Christmas Carol: The Musical, Fiddler on the Roof, The Music Man, Sister Act and the Long Island premiere of Stephen Schwartz’s The Prince of Egypt.
“My years at The Argyle have been among the most unexpected, invigorating, and rewarding of my career,” said Pappas. “Mark and Dylan invited me to help create a theatre, but together we created something even greater: an artistic home. It became a place where audiences gathered, artists were encouraged to take risks, and the next generation of theatre-makers could learn and grow. I am enormously proud of what we built in Babylon Village and deeply grateful to every Actor, Director, Choreographer, Musical Director (shout out to Jonathan Brenner with 25 Productions), Stage Manager, Designer, Musician, Technician, Crew Member, Staff member, and Audience Member who joined us on this extraordinary ride. A special thank you to Casting Director Michael Cassara for being by my side from day one. Knowing that Tommy Ranieri will help lead The Argyle into its next chapter makes this transition especially meaningful. He is a gifted, imaginative, and deeply committed artist, and I cannot wait to see what he, Mark, and Dylan create together.”
The Perlmans’ friendship with Pappas began in 2006, when he and Dylan Perlman, then a young teenager, toured together in a production of On Golden Pond.
A San Francisco native, Evan Pappas brought more than four decades of experience as an actor, director, and educator to The Argyle. His Broadway credits include A Chorus Line, Ahrens and Flaherty’s My Favorite Year, Jason Robert Brown and Alfred Uhry’s Parade, directed by Harold Prince, and Stephen Sondheim’s Putting It Together opposite Carol Burnett. He toured nationally with A Chorus Line, Dreamgirls, and On Golden Pond, and appeared in the London premieres of Stephen Sondheim’s Follies and Merrily We Roll Along. His many honors include the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical for his performance in Lucky Stiff at Olney Theatre Center. As a director, Pappas’s work has been seen Off-Broadway and at regional theatres throughout the country. He is a member of Actors’ Equity Association, SAG-AFTRA, and the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society and has taught and directed at Manhattan School of Music and AMDA.
Tommy Ranieri, a native of Commack, returns to Long Island after serving for the past three seasons as Artistic Director of Timber Lake Playhouse, Illinois’ oldest professional summer theatre. At Timber Lake, he led an ambitious period of artistic rebuilding focused on adventurous programming, talent development, community engagement, and the organization’s long-term sustainability.
“It is an extraordinary honor to succeed Evan and take on the leadership of a theatre that has become so important to Long Island,” said Ranieri. “Evan established a legacy of quality, generosity, and artistic ambition, and as I turn 30, the opportunity to come home and lead a theatre 15 minutes from where I grew up feels like the right next chapter. There is extraordinary talent coming to The Argyle, and a real hunger here for meaningful shared experiences. What Evan, Mark, Dylan, and the entire Argyle team have built in less than a decade has been a major part of the cultural boom in Babylon and across Long Island. Moving forward, I want to protect what audiences already love about this theatre and build on it with new voices, new partnerships, and impactful work that feels made for this community. I want The Argyle to be a place where our patrons can see themselves onstage; where artists can do their most ambitious work, and where we create, for the next generation of Long Island theatre-makers, the same kind of professional theatre that changed my life. I take up this new challenge with enormous gratitude, a great deal of energy, and a clear sense of responsibility to the artists and audiences who made me the leader that I am.”
Ranieri earned a BFA in Directing from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, where he trained at the Playwrights Horizons Theater School. His career began in the Long Island theatre community, with work at The John W. Engeman Theater, CM Performing Arts Center, Plaza Broadway Theatricals, and Studio Theatre of Long Island. Before joining Timber Lake Playhouse, Ranieri spent several years with RWS Global as Manager of Theatrical Creative Development and as a Creative Lead, developing live entertainment as a director, writer, and producer for projects around the world. His collaborators and clients included Warner Bros. Discovery, Holland America Line, The Hershey Company, Six Flags, Dollywood, Turner Classic Movies, Palace Entertainment, and Iberostar Resorts. He also contributed to Broadway’s historic reopening following the COVID-19 shutdown, serving as COVID Safety Manager for Tina – The Tina Turner Musical at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in partnership with The Nederlander Organization. He is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.
Further information regarding the leadership transition and The Argyle Theatre’s upcoming season will be announced shortly.
|
Little Shop of Horrors: 40th Anniversary Screening Hosted By Ellen Greene Patchogue Theatre (8/30-8/30) |
|
THE WEDDING SINGER The John W. Engeman Theater (7/09-8/23) |
|
Megan Hilty Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center (8/22-8/22) |
|
Bonkers in the Boroughs Bay Street Theater (9/02-9/06) |
|
Forever Plaid Theatre Three - NY (3/05-3/19) |
|
Cabaret Theatre Three - NY (9/20-10/25) |
|
Tommy Sullivan and John Ziegler to Perform at LI Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame (8/16-8/16) |
|
Funny Girl The Gateway Performing Arts Center of Suffolk County (1/22-2/21) |
|
I Hate Hamlet South Shore Theatre (8/14-8/14) |
|
Trinity Irish Dance Company Tilles Center for the Performing Arts Long Island University (3/17-3/17) |