Boston Area Theaters To Dim The Lights And Pay Tribute To Producing Artistic Director Emeritus Spiro Veloudos, October 6

Boston area theaters will pay tribute to Spiro Veloudos, the longtime producing artistic director of Lyric Stage Company of Boston, on Friday evening, October 6, 2023, in honor of his legacy and his commitment to the Boston theater community. Veloudos passed away at the age of 71 earlier this week. 

Lyric Stage joins many local theaters and organizations including The Huntington, A.R.T., SpeakEasy Stage, Central Square Theater, the Boch Center, ArtsEmerson, Greater Boston Stage Company, Broadway in Boston/Charles Playhouse, and GBH in honoring Veloudos on Friday evening. Lyric Stage, Central Square Theater, and Greater Boston Stage Company will observe a moment of silence, The Huntington, A.R.T., and Broadway in Boston/Charles Playhouse will dim their marquee lights at 7:45pm, and GBH, ArtsEmerson, and the Boch Center will share Veloudos' photo on their digital marquees.

Veloudos played an outsized role in the Boston theater community as an arts leader, educator, director, and theater lover, and especially as a champion of Boston-area actors, directors, choreographers, designers, musicians, and technicians.  He was the face of the Lyric Stage for over 20 years and is fondly remembered throughout the community for engaging with audiences on a constant basis and for his infamous and beloved curtain speeches.

Producing Artistic Director Courtney O'Connor says, “It is with a heavy heart that we share the news that Spiro Veloudos, Producing Artistic Director Emeritus, has passed away.

For more than 20 years, he led the Lyric Stage with heart and passion, creating a vibrant and thriving theatre community along the way. Spiro also established a reputation for staging large musicals in the Lyric Stage's modest playing space, including his Sondheim Initiative, which covered ten musicals over twenty years.

For me, as for so many others, this loss is a professional one, but also profoundly personal.

I was attending a meeting with several Boston theatres on a rainy afternoon. As I prepared to leave, Spiro (to whom I'd never spoken before) whispered to me, “Call me tomorrow. I wanna talk to you.”

I did call. And the conversation we started that day lasted for over 20 years. While eating pastrami sandwiches at Sam LaGrassa's. Arguing at 1am after rehearsal for NICHOLAS NICKELBY. Laughing in his office as he regaled me with his favorite stories. Beaming and crying (both of us) when I told him I was being named Artistic Director. Sitting in the row of stools behind the last row of seats, watching audiences watch our work. Like him, our conversations were complex, and sometimes quite difficult. But we never stopped talking.

When I got Covid during rehearsals for ASSASSINS, he was one of my first calls. We had a lovely chat, in which he assured me everything would be ok, and gave me advice for my new position within the Lyric Stage. We ended the call by saying we loved each other.

I'm so grateful for that last call, but even more grateful to know our conversation continues. Every day, as I walk into the theatre and our office at Lyric Stage, Spiro is with me. For so many of us, Spiro was the entry into Boston theatre and our careers. No one worked harder than him to create the Boston theatre community. And so today and in the days ahead, I will honor him and our conversations the best way I can: by going to work and making theatre.

And maybe having a pastrami on rye.”

Founded in 1974 and in residence at 140 Clarendon Street since 1991, Lyric Stage Company is Boston's longest-serving resident theater company. Its mission is to produce and present live theater in Greater Boston with an intimate approach that promotes inclusivity and connection. The Lyric Stage leads an effort to integrate live theater and theater education into the lives of all residents of greater Boston.

Lyric Stage and Beacon Communities, LLC, the owners of 140 Clarendon Street, have agreed that the building will be Lyric Stage's “forever” home, ensuring that the theater will remain a vital and essential part of the cultural fabric of the city. 

In partnership with Beacon Communities, LLC, Lyric Stage will continue its commitment to improving the lives of Bostonians alongside a partner who shares those same values. With the partnership of Pine Street Inn, 111 of the units in the building will become supportive housing for people exiting homelessness. The combined energy of Beacon's supportive services alongside one of the city's cultural gems makes 140 Clarendon a paragon of two institutions coming together to make the city a better place for its residents.

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